Monthly Archives: April 2015

Divers Sixty-Five

You either need to hop into a time machine (if only one existed!) or delve into the Oris archives (the more likely and easier option) to get to grips with this watch’s design features. As the name suggests, the Divers Sixty-Five is no ordinary timepiece; it’s inspired by the very first diving watch designed by Oris in 1965. Confused? Don’t be! The case’s chrome-plated brass has been replaced by steel. The surround with a rotating black aluminium bezel engraved with a minute track is now 40mm in diameter. It houses the self-winding Oris 733 calibre which brings to life the date and time functions on the black lacquer dial. Three central hands coated in Super-LumiNova® display the hours, minutes and seconds whilst the date stands at 6 o’ clock. But our favourite thing about the watch is the style and display of the 3, 6, 9 and 12, which are luminescent like the indices. Price: 1,750 CHF

PIAGET – Altiplano Broderie Micro-Pointillisme

First presented in 1982, the Yves Piaget rose hasn’t just become an inspiration for the dazzling designs by the eponymous brand but also its symbol. The peony shaped rose unfurls 80 indented intensely colourful petals and delicately fresh fragrance in a spellbinding bloom. Away from gardens and rose bushes, this magical flower blossoms from the dial of the ultra-thin Altiplano in a celebration of two precious art forms: miniature versions of embroidery and pointillism (a.k.a. divisionism) small enough to adorn a watch face. The rose is drawn onto white silk, the edges of the petals are lined with silver thread and each petal is embroidered with 4 different shades of pink thread. Silver-tone hour and minute hands burst from the heart of this masterpiece brought to life by the ultra-thin manual wind 430P calibre nestled inside the 38mm diamond and white gold case. Price: 37,800 CHF

Happy Fish

Do you want to unleash your inner water baby as soon as the first rays of spring sunshine appear? Whip off your winter coat and dive into crystal clear turquoise water as free and content as the fish swimming on the dial on the Happy Fish model. The flat fish and its fins are in blue mother-of-pearl with a luminescent coating. The sea creature is inspired by the stripy Amazonian discus, engraved in bas-relief and adorned with gold leaf. As night falls, the fish comes to life and glows with Super LumiNova just like the 7 loose diamonds dancing around it. 3 gold-plated spear-shape hour and minute hands and a slim central seconds hand sprout from beneath its red jasper eye. A self-winding calibre deep in the 36mm rose gold case brings to life the time functions and 42-hour power reserve. Price: 48’700 CHF

Villeret Shakudō

Ganesh, the god of wisdom, intelligence and knowledge, is one of the most worshipped deities. The warmth of the god sitting with one leg over the other, four arms and an elephant’s head inspires both respect and emotion. The sculpted green effigy of Ganesh takes pride of place in the heart of the inlaid Shakudō dial alongside his “vahana” or “mount”, the impish rat Mushika. Shakudō is a copper and gold alloy of Japanese origin with a dark patina which glows blue to black depending on the light and is illuminated by yellow and bronze hues. Villeret’s signature hour and minutes burst from the bend in Ganesh’s trunk. The time functions are brought to life by a manual wind 15B calibre which you can see through the sapphire back of the 45mm rose gold case. Price: 150,000 CHF

BREGUET – Rêve de Plume Haute Joaillerie

Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) was famous for the letters she wrote to her family and friends. Many of the messages written by the Queen, including the last one written on the morning of her execution, are stored in the National Archives and appear in the book by historian Evelyne Lever, Marie-Antoinette – Correspondance (1770-1793). In tribute to her love of writing, Breguet has unveiled a timepiece with a dazzling baguette and brilliant-cut diamond quill. It starts at the spherical diamond lug (at 6 o’ clock) and wraps its feathers around the bezel’s left-hand side. The mother-of-pearl dial is adorned with engraving reminiscent of a feather’s waves, a mother-of-pearl hour track with Arabic numerals and two blue open-tipped hands at 6 o’ clock. The time functions are brought to life by the self-winding 586/1 calibre in the oval white or rose gold case whose caseband is engraved with delicate feathers. Price: 136’000 CHF (pink gold) – 137’000 CHF (white gold)