High jewelry watches represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship, transforming timepieces into a dazzling celebration of fascination and excellence.
Creating high jewelry watches is a masterful blend of art and precision, demanding exceptional craftsmanship and keen attention to detail, resulting in shimmering masterpieces. Adorned with various combinations of diamonds and a painter’s palette of colored gemstones that are feats of technical ingenuity that can take one or several artisans hundreds of hours to perfect.
This time, we will take you to explore how these incredible creations are made at the hands of some of the most skilled craftsmen in the watchmaking world through the historical high jewelry watches from the collections of Cartier, Chopard and Bvlgari.
The process of creating a high jewelry watch starts with the meticulous selection of gems, where color, clarity, and size must be meticulously matched. As a result, perfect harmony in a watch’s design requires the eye of a seasoned gemologist and the skill of a master setter. Some watch brands employ their in-house gem setters, while others collaborate with specialized artisans for the labor-intensive and exacting process.
Cartier’s High Jewelry Watches that Inspired from Animals
In the past, there was a saying that – “Playing with shapes, crossing the border between the real and the imaginary or stepping through a looking glass: Cartier approaches time from the perspective of a magician.” It all comes from the fact that – the French luxury brand’s perceives the magic of time, measuring its beauty and revealing its mystery through its watchmaking repertoire. An infinite creative field that allows for all kinds of exploration, from the most formal to the most abstract, from the most technical to the most precious, from the most daring to the most fantastic.
Charismatic and untameable, the emblematic animals of Cartier menagerie have been present in its watchmaking since 1914, the year in which the panther’s coat first appeared on a watch case. A fascinating chimera, born from a meeting of the zebra and crocodile, inspires this entirely paved creation. It is simultaneously graphic and organic, with each stripe lacquered by hand. The silhouette of this imaginary creature encircles a diamond-shaped dial, as if to embrace it. The delicacy of the engraving around each colored stone reflects the Maison’s expertise.
Perhaps, no animal more famous than Panthère (Panther), which has become the brand’s symbol. During the Art Deco era (1920s to 1930s), the French jeweler and watchmaker produced some of its most iconic creations, the big cat was a popular motif.
Choosing to interpret the character of the panther in a figurative and sculptural way, the vision for the big cat has led to many of Cartier’s iconic panther creations that are still renowned today, including two historic pieces owned by the late Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.
Over the decades, the panther has appeared in more literal forms in Cartier’s timepieces, few of them were as emblematic as the Panthère de Cartier that was created in 1983. This timepiece is often regarded as one of the first jewelry watches in contemporary watchmaking – not jewelry in the sense that it is set with gemstones, but rather as a watch-meets-jewelry type of object and the accessory that embodied the glamour and powerful energy that was so symbolic of the 1980s.
In the early 2000s, Cartier stopped producing the Panthère watch. However, upon seeing that there were many young women bringing in their mothers’ or grandmothers’ Panthère de Cartier pieces for servicing because they loved wearing them, Cartier decided to relaunch it in 2017. As successful and well-loved as it was, the Panthère de Cartier exemplifies an enduring style that transcends eras – there was no need for transformation of any kind.
Currently, the Panthère de Cartier watches share the same iconic design as their predecessors in the 1980s, but are updated to reflect the technical advancements and design finesse of the current era, and also to play up the jewelry aspects of the watch.
The Panthère de Cartier is currently available in two case sizes (small and medium) and in many more finishes and material combinations than before, ranging from entry-level steel models to fully gem-set high jewelry renditions. Reworked details include a whiter dial, and tighter links on the slinky bracelet (known as the Maillon bracelet).
The legendary Panthère de Cartier continues to be seen on the wrists of some of the most stylish, inspirational, and influential women of today.
Chopard – Inheriting Craftsmanship from Generation to Generation
For decades, jewelry watches have been one of the historic specialties of the Scheufele family, which now presides over the destiny of Chopard. At the exact intersection between beauty and precision, the L’Heure du Diamant collection reaps the benefits of this technical virtuosity dedicated to great artistic modernity. From designer to watchmaker, from jeweller to gemsetter and from polisher to watchmaker, exponents of the full range of artistic crafts combine their talents in bringing these creations to life.
To create L’Heure du Diamant collection, Chopard masterfully captures the beauty of diamonds. Acknowledged masters in the realm of jewelry watches, the artisans of the Manufacture have orchestrated a meeting between contemporary design and the queen of precious stones.
The collection is enriched by a 26 mm-diameter jewelry watch in ethical gold, richly set with diamonds. Powered by a mechanical manual-winding movement that is one of the smallest and thinnest on the market – Chopard 10.01-C – this talisman timepiece bears witness to the energy emerging from a perfect alchemist’s blend of form and matter.
The subtle balance between the art of jewelry-making and watchmaking expertise enables L’Heure du Diamant to combine intelligence and beauty, thereby offering the perfect expression of today’s femininity. The new timepiece joining the collection is fresh demonstration of this reality.
The absolute purity of the diamond is majestically highlighted by an emblematic gem-setting technique called crown setting, which exalts the beauty of each stone by allowing the light to blaze through. This ribbon composed of more than two carats of brilliant-cut diamonds encircling the case lights up a dainty mother-of-pearl dial set with 12 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Crafted in ethical 18-carat white gold, this L’Heure du Diamant timepiece is paired with a satin bracelet comfortably moulding the shape of the wrist. At its heart beats a mechanical manual-winding movement driving hours and minutes indications, with a 45-hour power reserve. Measuring 15.70 mm in diameter and only 2.90 mm thick, this brand-new in-house movement is one of the daintiest and slimmest to date, thus making it a perfect fit for dainty jewelry watches.
Bvlgari Creates Intricate Patterns in the Divas’ Dream Peacock Collection
The Italian luxury fashion house, Bvlgari specializes in jewelry, artisanal crafts and horological complications demonstrating this through the innate grandeur of the peacock, an enchanting creature within the brand’s bestiary, illustrating a continuing narrative of elegance and craftsmanship.
The Divas’ Dream Peacock collection, born in 2017, Bvlgari “has transcended the Swiss concept of métiers d’art and taken it to a different level”, inspired by Bvlgari’s rich heritage, creativity, and expertise, the Divas’ Dream Peacock collection unfolds a story as sublime as the peacock itself, a marvel of nature arrayed in gala splendor.
The iconic Divas’ Dream Peacock Dischi marries the horological mechanics of an automatic calibre with mysterious hours to a dial adorned with marquetry of natural peacock feathers – a technique mastered by Bvlgari since the 1970s.
The Divas’ Dream Peacock Diamonds reveals a dial decorated with fan-shaped motifs, inspired by the mosaics of Caracalla. Indeed, on these vestiges, testament to past splendor, you will find renditions of the peacock, a powerful symbol since ancient Egypt and associated with the goddess Juno in Roman mythology.
And recently, Divas’ Dream Peacock unveils new masterpieces, showcasing Bvlgari’s artistry of marquetry and evoking the most exquisite and precious ancient mosaics: The Divas’ Dream Peacock Feather Marquetry, the Divas’ Dream Peacock Mother-of-Pearl Marquetry, and the remarkable Divas’ Dream Peacock Precious Marquetry with Jumping Hours and Retrograde Minutes, an opulent creation featuring a rose gold dial set with diamonds and inlaid with aventurine and malachite.
Discover more brands and collections at Cortina Watch boutiques, or online. Contact a sales representative today to learn more.
