For decades, women’s jewelry watches were regarded more as glamorous accessories than marvels of mechanical engineering. The recent resurgence of the sautoir trend, spurred by new models from Chanel, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Van Cleef & Arpels at last year’s Watches and Wonders, harks back to an era when timepieces were discreetly hidden in jewelry, as it was considered impolite for women to check the time publicly.
Both watchmakers and jewelers have since redefined jewelry watches. This evolution has been further influenced by the increasing popularity of jewelry watches among men, thanks to the impact of hip-hop culture.
This shift prompts the question: does a watch need to be encrusted with gems to be considered a jewelry watch?
Cartier, a maison renowned for seamlessly blending haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie for over a century, revisited this concept at this year’s Watches and Wonders. The house presented a slightly larger Baignoire in solid yellow gold, echoing the bold aesthetics of the 70s, alongside a gem-set Tigrée jewelry watch featuring a striking zebra-stripe pattern. However, it is the new Reflection de Cartier that epitomizes their interpretation of a jewelry watch.
The Reflection de Cartier boasts an openwork metal bracelet with a diminutive watch dial at one end and a mirrored surface at the other, allowing wearers to tell time from the reflection, creating the illusion of time running backwards. From a jeweler’s perspective, this piece innovatively displays time through techniques like gold polishing. Despite offering bejeweled versions, Cartier demonstrates that women’s watches can be functionally innovative and beautiful, even without the addition of eye-catching gems.
Van Cleef & Arpels takes a different yet complementary approach with its Poetic Complications collection, showcasing how a jeweler can maintain its identity without sacrificing mechanical innovation. Known for whimsical designs, this collection uses retrograde complications to animate its dials, creating exquisite watches that do more than just tell time.
This year, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced the 38mm Lady Arpels Brise d’Été watch, featuring a painted garden scene with butterflies as hands, animated by the watch’s movement. This dynamic addition to the Poetic Complications line also includes two versions of the Pont des Amoureux model, using retrograde mechanisms to depict lovers meeting and parting across a bridge under the moonlight.
While diamonds and other jewels add more than just sparkle to a watch, the use of gem settings and color combinations allows jewelers and watchmakers to express their aesthetic ethos. Chopard, for instance, has garnered acclaim with the relaunch of its athletic-style Alpine Eagle. This year, they enhanced the glam factor with the Alpine Eagle Frozen Lake, encrusted in diamonds of various cuts, transforming the watch into a dazzling high jewelry bracelet.
Piaget, another jewelry house known for its high jewelry approach to watchmaking, unveiled an upgraded version of its Aura watch, first introduced in 1989. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the design, Piaget revealed two unique Aura pieces set with rubies, pink sapphires, and diamonds, blurring the line between watch and jewelry with an ultra-thin movement.
Even traditional watchmakers like Vacheron Constantin have ventured into jewelry watch territory. The maison’s Grand Lady Kalla, presented this year, can be worn on the wrist or as a pendant, with a diamond pavé bracelet that detaches from the dial and connects to an Akoya pearl and onyx bead necklace.
As the line between watches and jewelry continues to blur, one enduring truth remains: skillfully crafted timepieces seamlessly blend functionality and fashion, ensuring they serve as both precise timekeeping devices and exquisite accessories.
Related Topics:
