Luxury: Watches & Jewellery

In the space of only 12 months, the notion of a buy-one-get-one-free digital amalgamation of two historic trade shows – normally drawing thousands to Geneva, then Basel every year – doesn’t seem at all far-fetched. Thus, with the physical renditions of Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) and Switzerland’s famed Baselworld cancelled yet again on account of Covid-19, at the start of April the industry’s retailers, journalists and VIP clients descended not on a cavernous convention centre, but rather remained rooted to their laptops at home. Probably in their sweats, drinking tea.

While that crucial in-the-flesh product experience could never be supplanted, the irony is that Watches & Wonders’ online portal offered more brand-engagement opportunities than ever, trickling down to the benefit of everyone in attendance. Sure, the brands’ Instagram posts feature yet another pack shot, but not even the most fleet-footed of traditional fair-goers could access as many keynotes, Q&As, unveilings and panel discussions as afforded by Watchesandwonders.com and its 38-strong line-up of star players – accessible 24/7, Wi-Fi permitting.

Like most things affected by the pandemic (ie, everything) it’s still too early to know whether such a successful pivot spells the end of the “old way”. But for the customers and collectors upon whom the entire industry depends, who just want to know about the watches themselves, the good news for this year is that the hills of the Swiss Jura are still alive with the sound of music (or ticking).

Post-crash, back in 2009, every watchmaker and their dairy cow seemed to rein in the R&D and hunker down on nostalgia. This year it’s nothing but dazzling technical wizardry, a return to oversize bombast, rainbows of colour pops, multi-carat bling, you name it. Gold envelopes at the ready: here’s our pick of this year’s winning watches.

1. Most synchronised swimmer: TAG Heuer Aquaracer

The diver’s watch is pure, dangerous and storied; a cult genre with little to mess with, and where any quirks of character are lionised. So hats off to Swiss watchmaking’s most democratic practitioner for adopting a brass-tacks-led strategy in reduxing its Aquaracer, all with functionality in mind. That signature 12-sided uni-directional rotating bezel, for example – now integrating a scratch-resistant ceramic insert and fluting for easy grip – plus a magnifying glass over the date bulging below the crystal.

2. Shining the brightest: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Glow Me Up

Horological prodigy Roger Dubuis, who died in 2017, only formed his eponymous brand in 1995. But, untethered by heritage, it’s had ample time to turn traditional watchmaking on its head. Quite literally in the case of the gravity-defying tourbillons you see in this piece, tumbling in skeletal space frames, with an aesthetic that at once references King Arthur, steampunk and glam-noir, all while conforming to the Poinçon de Genève’s strict standards of top-flight craftsmanship. This year, the disco beckons with the Excalibur Glow Me Up, which luridly backlights its baguette diamonds with multicoloured luminosity. 

3. Sharpest dresser: Bulgari Octo Perpetual Calendar

Patek Philippe’s In-line Perpetual Calendar may have stolen the show with the concise date display we’ve always craved, but Bulgari’s take on the always-correct calendar function comes a close second, as it’s not only the brand’s seventh ultra-thin record in complicated watchmaking, but an honourable mention in the legibility stakes. The Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar arranges the usual constellation of day, date and month subdials in poetic sympathy with Bulgari’s Octo design – rapidly establishing itself as an icon of 21st century watchmaking – crowning only 5.8 millimetres of minutely sandwiched componentry.

4. Star of CSR: Oris Aquis Dat Watt

Over the past decade, Oris has emerged as a plucky independent putting much larger contemporaries to shame when it comes to sustainability. Given the solid sub-aqua credentials of its Aquis diving watches, the brand’s ocean-going direction is hardly surprising, lately to the benefit of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, a trilateral organisation covering Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, protecting the Wadden Sea. Bottom line: the Dat Watt Limited Edition displays the lunar cycle and tidal range in the Northern Hemisphere via the Oris-developed Pointer Moon function.

5. Coolest chrono: Hublot Unico

How can you not be smiling right now, looking at this sunny-side-up timepiece? Because it’s Hublot, forever young in its anarchic take on the Swiss craft, it doesn’t care that you’re not even noticing the Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic’s inner works, flipped backside-forward for you to admire the column wheel dial side, as you fiddle with the flyback chronograph function. Nope, you’re dazzled by the world-first banana-yellow ceramic case.

6. Shouting the loudest: Ulysse Nardin Hourstriker

It’s hard to keep up with Ulysse Nardin, with its high-octane horology and carbon-fibre experimentation – all leaning on a noble lineage of marine chronometry. But the new Blast Hourstriker could be the innovation to consolidate the brand’s dual personality. It’s a clever evolution of the minute repeater function, which usually chimes the time to the minute by striking tiny circular “gongs” with similarly tiny hammers. In this case, the wire gongs are replaced by a titanium diaphragm, measuring only three tenths of a millimetre – deployed front and centre like a speaker cone for all to admire, suitably agog.

7. Best in show: Patek Philippe Ref 5236P-001

Patek Philippe not only unveiled the hands-down highlight of this year with nonchalant elan, but right when we thought Watches & Wonders was all but done. Its Ref 5236P-001 does away with the fussy subdials of your “normal” perpetual calendar, instead representing the always-correct date as you’d inscribe in your journal – “SUN29FEB”. The best engineering is about simplification, so while its in-line display requires 118 additional parts over your usual calendar complication, the ease of legibility easily wins.

8. Highest climber: Rolex Explorer II

The choice of alpinists since 1971, the new-generation Explorer II gets a 50th-birthday spruce-up. It’s equipped with a calibre 3285, incorporating all the bells and whistles that keep Rolex ahead of the rest in “tool watch” reliability: nickel-phosphorous Chronergy escapement and Parachrom hairspring, plus a 70-hour power reserve. Also essential to polar or subterranean explorers is that joyous pop of orange: a 24-hour hand allowing the wearer to clearly distinguish day from night. When you’re in the midst of a six-month winter, in temperatures that render batteries and LCD screens highly fickle, this is a lifesaver.

9. Most magnificent flying machine: Montblanc Monopusher Chronograph Origins

Montblanc’s black-dial 1858 Monopusher Chronograph Origins is pure reach-for-the-blue-skied brilliance, which if nothing else reassures you of the masterful duty of care exacted by Hamburg’s pen-maker in its assumption of Switzerland’s historic Minerva factory back in 2007. This reverence is proved unequivocally by the gorgeously hand-crafted chronograph mechanics of the Monopusher, which are admirable from the rear: 1930s in origin, military by intention, future-proofed thanks to Montblanc.

10. Materials science prize: Panerai eLab

Panerai has a reputation for materials innovation. Starting with radioactive Radiomir, then less-lethal Luminor dial paint, this year Panerai reaches a zenith with nothing less than the “most recycled” watch in history: 98.6 per cent of the Submersible eLab-ID’s case, sandwich dial and bridges are composed of lightweight EcoTitanium, 80 per cent of which is alloyed with metal upcycled from the aerospace industry. It’s also the first watch to use 100 per cent recycled Super-LumiNova on its dial and hands. Science prizewinner, and another CSR star.

11. Green with envy: Breitling Premier Heritage

Ex-IWC chief executive Georges Kern has thrashed his way through Breitling’s previously bloated catalogue, refocusing on the brand’s golden mid-century period. The Premier was a break from the watchmaker’s Second World War duties kitting out RAF cockpits, instead offering chaps on Civvy Street some welcome sartorial respite. The swoonsome new Premier Heritage Chronograph is manually wound, like its 1940s predecessors, powered by in-house-engineered Caliber B09 mechanics. It’s all about the bonnet topping that engine, though: a pistachio switch-up on the ubiquitous green-dial trend, which provokes instant cravings for gelato.

12. Global leader: Greubel Forsey GMT Sport

When you’re one of only 33 lucky collectors sporting Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel’s latest micro-mechanical masterpiece, with a fresh $500,000 hole in your bank balance, the notion of actual sport will be far from your mind. But in this rarefied world, “sport” is more of a look than a pursuit, and those clever chaps have knocked it out of the park, streamlining their aerobatically inclined tourbillon and immersive, world-timer globe display, with their first metal bracelet. Anyone for a game of lacrosse?

Maria Tash discusses our primal urge to adorn our bodies. By Selina Denman

Since the dawn of mankind, humans have had the primal urge to adorn their bodies. “I do see it as very instinctual,” says Maria Tash, who is continuing this age-old tradition with her innovative piercing techniques and carefully considered jewellery creations. She points to the historical evidence –from the Native Americans to the Maasais to the Inuits, the act of piercing the body has been prevalent throughout human history.

“It is definitely a way to assert individuality, as it reflects what’s going on in your brain,” Tash says. “I would also say, historically, that it was a way to honour nature, so a lot of feathers were used to honour local birds, particularly if you look at Africa, where you might pierce a lip and put a plate in it to honour some bird or other form of wildlife.”

Adding anything new to a tradition that has been around for millennia presents considerable challenges, Tash acknowledges. But this is what she has done since launching her eponymous brand in Manhattan’s East Village in 1993. She has been at the forefront of moving piercing from the fringes of popular culture, placing it firmly in the luxury sphere. She rejected the existing piercing traditions of the time, which were largely coming out of San Francisco and tended towards the extreme – the thick steel circular barbells popularised by Jim Ward, founder of the first piercing studio in the US, being a case in point.

“Things like circular barbells were inspired by Tiffany key chains, but they were really thick. There was a lot of creativity in that world, and I give them a lot of credit,” Tash says.“I also spent a lot of time in San Francisco, I got married to someone out there who is also in the piercing industry, and I was part of the scene. But it was not, I thought, that beautiful or practical. Even though I had a lot of respect for it, it was not where I thought it needed to go.”

Instead, Tash’s creations consist of delicate gems in myriad shapes. Five-pointed diamond stars are suspended from the uppermost ridge of the ear; shimmering pearls and opals hug the septum; and a smattering of rubies cascade from the navel. Designs created specifically for helix, daith, conch, contraconch and tragus piercings transform the ear into a mini canvas.

Most recently, Tash has debuted the Tash Rook piercing, where the entry point, as well as the wearable components of the jewellery, are all concealed under the ridge of the rook, or the uppermost ridge of the inner ear, allowing the pieces to cascade over the conch; and the Tash Helix, where the entry point is hidden under the upper fold of the helix, the upper cartilage of the ear.

“Trying to create something new is difficult,” Tash says. “That’s why, with the Tash Helix and Tash Hidden Rook, it takes me a while to come up with these things, but it’s been a lot of fun and I’m really proud of them, because making something new that people haven’t seen before, in an industry that has essentially been around for thousands of years, takes some effort.”

Even as a child, Tash would layer on her mother’s necklaces, finger rings and clip-on earrings, she says. “I guess I had a predilection for layering very early on.” But it was in her teen years, as she was increasingly exposed to the music and visual messaging of the new wave punk and Goth era, that her interest in piercing was consolidated.

Visits to Manhattan’s West Village and Greenwich’s famed MacDougal Street, and then two terms spent at King’s College London as part of her astronomy degree at Columbia University, sealed her fate. In the UK capital she discovered Kensington Market, and had her nose pierced. Twice.

“You were coming out of the 1970s and ‘80s, and then you had new wave goth and punk. That’s really where I started to see a lot more asymmetry. Where you would do one helix piercing high up and people tended to favour one side, which kind of matched the hair, where, for example, you would shave one side of your head, or pull your hair in front of your face on one side. Those were the things I hadn’t seen before and it also reflected in the jewellery.

“When I lived in London, I found some silver hoop earrings that had been run over by a couple of cars. I liked they way they looked hammered and I didn’t care that they were imperfect; it was more interesting that way. I don’t think without new wave goth and punk, I would have had that attitude. I think some of the raw edge, beaten-down things and asymmetry were liberating,” she explains.

After launching her initial location, Tash spent 10 years in Manhattan’s East Village – in what she refers to as “a very off-the-beaten-path and hence cheap-rent location” – before making the move to the more mainstream Broadway, where her rent was 10 times higher. She was still having to counter stigmas around the idea of piercing.

“When I opened my second store, on Broadway in 2004, I put a sticker in the window that said ‘luxury piercing and piercing spa’. People would come in and say: ‘What on earth is a piercing spa?’It wasn’t like we were doing aromatherapy and a massage with it, but I didn’t want to just say piercing studio, or piercing boutique; it was more than that for me. It was a new attitude, high-end, and I was trying to use language that was associated with that.”

She has since expanded to Rome, Dublin, Harrods in London and Dubai, where last month, she opened her second store in Mall of the Emirates. She has also become a firm favourite with celebrities, counting Rihanna, Zoë Kravitz, Blake Lively and Jennifer Lawrence among her high-profile fans. She even pierced Rod Stewart’s ear lobe a couple of years ago, and says that she is seeing a revival in interest in piercing among men, fuelled by popular celebrities proudly sporting theirs.

“We’ve seen recently a lot more men interested in ear work, and I think that’s got to do with stars like Maluma, Bad Bunny and Justin Bieber. And look at the K-Pop boys; if you look at South Korean culture, there’s a lot of men getting ear piercings. For men, they have to be braver to do these things; it’s still less socially acceptable. And I think it takes celebrities to normalise it.”

Tash’s initial introduction to the Middle East came via a pop-up in Kuwait five years ago, and her excitement and appreciation for her regional customers is palpable. “When I first started thinking about going there, I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you. The perception was, if you are covered, are you going to be interested in what we do? I was very intrigued.

“I was thrilled with our first pop-up in Kuwait. Even though women were wearing the hijab or the burqa, there was so much creativity and appreciation for really well-made stuff and luxury that I just didn’t know about, and that was my ignorance.

“I love the fact that we are in the Middle East. It has been integral to the business. Personally, when I am creating something and I’m not sure if it’ll work, but I personally love it, I’m like, I’m going to put it out in the Middle East. It’s the first place I think about testing something new or something bold, because the reception is so good out there. I’m very pleased by how creative the clients are, and how they push me. The world should know how wonderful and creative and appreciative the women are.”

The tastes of her Middle East clients align with her own personal preference, she notes – more angular cuts, bigger stones and things that are “edgy and unique, but of high quality”.

Next on the cards is a boutique in Kuwait’s Avenues Mall, with further regional expansion under consideration. “Why wouldn’t you want to go to an area where people appreciate what comes out of your brain,” she says. Nonetheless, it’s a trajectory that her younger, geographically insular self could not have even begun to imagine, she admits.

“I sit here in my condo in Manhattan and it’s amazing to think that while I’m asleep, people are out there buying my product across the world. It’s amazing; it blows your mind really.

“Sometimes, I think it’s really important to imagine what my 18-year-old eyes would think of where I am now. And then, using that same analogy – how much more is possible?”

An expression of happiness

Julia Roberts, the face of Chopard’s new Happy Diamonds campaign, has a few fail-safe tips for achieving happiness: “Be kind to others; surround yourself with loving, kind, compassionate people; kissing, followed by dancing as a close second.” And the one thing that makes her instantly happy? “The sunrise.”

The new campaign draws on Roberts's most famous attribute – her smile. A short film by director Xavier Dolan captures the jubilant, free-spinning diamonds that are a Chopard signature, alongside the free-spirited charm and positive energy that has made Roberts one of the world’s most-loved stars. Photographer Shayne Laverdière, meanwhile, captured the stills for the new campaign.

“Chopard just represents this timeless idea of elegance and sparkle and being ladylike,” says Roberts. “You kind of think: ‘When I grow up I want to be having a great time and wearing watches and earrings by Chopard… and now look at me, I’m all grown up!’”

The idea of the free-spirited woman lies at the heart of the campaign. For the American actress, this means: "Being comfortable in your convictions and sharing your convictions with those around you. Not all women have those liberties and I am very grateful that I have them.”

Chopard’s Happy Sport watch was created in 1993 – an alliance between steel and diamonds that was at once feminine and playful. At the time, Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s co-president and artistic director, explained: “I wanted a watch that I could wear all day long – at the gym, in the office or for a dinner in town.”

For 2021, the brand is presenting two limited-edition re-releases of the first watch in the Happy Sport collection. They pay homage to the watch’s diamond and pebble-link bracelet design, with a new case in anti-allergenic Lucent Steel A223, redesigned in a 33 millimetre case inspired by the principles of the golden ratio. This sense of proportion is vital – the Happy Sport is designed to accompany women through their day and, above all, feel pleasant to wear.

The 1,993-piece Happy Sport the First limited-edition pays tribute to the year the watch was created, while a second variation, produced in a run of 788 (a lucky number for Scheufele), is also graced with a diamond-set bezel and a textured mother-of-pearl dial. Encased within is a Chopard 09.01-C movement, with automatic winding and a 42-hour power reserve.

The round case of the Happy Sport watch is adorned with an understated silver-toned dial punctuated by hour-markers in a shimmering shade of blue, echoing the five cabochon-cut sapphires set into the lugs and crown. Seven “dancing diamonds” appear between the two sapphire crystals topping the dial, in a technical feat that only a few artisans can achieve.

“Diamonds are happier when they are free,” said Scheufele’s mother when she saw the novel prototype in 1976.

Roberts agrees. “There is something about having a watch and every time you look at it seeing all these sparkling diamonds whirling around," she says. "It’s pretty awesome.”

Launch Pad: Statement earrings

Begum Khan

Ward off the evil eye with these handmade triple-charm earrings by Turkish designer Begum Khan.

Alexander MCQueen

These gold and silver earrings are a striking play on chain links and are sure to toughen up even the girliest of outfits.

Givenchy

Metallic hardware is taken to a new level with these asymmetrical padlock earrings from Givenchy, which are based on rock climbers’ carabiners.

Katerina Makriyianni

Greek designer Katerina Makriyianni looks to the world around her for inspiration and these gold-plated earrings serve up an interplanetary treat.

Gucci

Monogram keys dusted with white crystals are just the sort of lavish touch we expect from Gucci.

Dolce & Gabbana

Flouncy flowers with crystal hearts become artful accessories in the hands of Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana.

Some may dismiss pink as a frivolous shade associated with the most feminine of girls, but in the jewellery world, the colour is regarded as anything but fluffy and saccharine.

Pink diamonds are a perfect example of how scarcity is driving up demand and, subsequently, price tags. It is hard to believe that in the early days, coloured diamonds were dismissed as being of less value – today, their rarity is reflected in the astonishing prices they fetch at auction.

In 1999, De Beers mined the Pink Star diamond in South Africa. It weighed 132.5 carats rough and took two years to cut into the 59.60-carat final product. It is the largest internally flawless, fancy vivid pink-graded diamond in the world, and it set a record in 2017 when sold at auction by Sotheby's Hong Kong for $71.2m.

Last November, a flawless 14.83-carat, vivid purple-pink diamond named The Spirit of the Rose was sold at Sotheby’s Geneva for $26.6 million. The gemstone was unearthed at the Russian Alrosa diamond mine, which is one of the largest in the world.

Jewellers Graff and Harry Winston have also secured exceptional pink diamonds. Harry Winston paid $50.3m for an 18.96-carat deep-pink diamond at Christie’s two years ago, which it named the Winston Pink Legacy. It was incorporated into a ring that was unveiled this year to mark the 125th anniversary of the “king of diamonds”.

Laurence Graff, meanwhile, purchased a 13.33-carat purplish-pink rough from the Letseng mine in South Africa’s Lesotho for $8.75m, and the stone has so far yielded a gorgeous 5.63-carat pear-shaped ring. “This is the most vivid pink rough diamond I have ever seen, and is an exceptionally rare treasure,” says Graff.

Pink diamonds require deep pockets, but their popularity has also been fuelled by celebrities such as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift wearing them on the red carpet. Publicity has also grown around these scintillating gemstones because one of the world’s most reliable sources of pink diamonds closed at the end of last year. For the past 37 years, the Argyle diamond mine in Australia has been producing 90 per cent of the world’s supply. The gems are small, from one carat to 2.5 carats in size, but of unique brilliance, in saturated hues of purplish-tinged pink, violet and, rarest of all, red. They are sold in sealed-bid auctions to a select group of diamantaires and jewellers around the world, who fashion the gemstones into jewellery that bears the prestigious Argyle Pink Diamond seal.

These diamonds have investor and heirloom appeal. The number of high-quality cut and polished pink diamonds to be tendered for auction since 1984 would barely fill two champagne flutes. As Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales and marketing for Argyle mine-owner Rio Tinto’s diamond business, points out: “People who buy one of Argyle’s top-quality pink diamonds join one of the world’s most exclusive clubs.” Needless to say, bidding can be very intense.

David Morris is another jeweller heavily invested in these gemstones, having used them in its creations since the 1960s, to the extent that they have become a distinctive signature of the brand’s designs.

“They are absolutely timeless, while possessing a playfulness that as a jewellery designer is a joy to work with, and offers a unique beauty that captivates our clients,” says Jeremy Morris, chief executive and creative director of the family business, which has its headquarters in London.

“Our clients in the Middle East have always had an eye for the rare and unusual, and in many respects the region has been a trend-leader in pink diamonds,” he says. “These gemstones are pretty and extremely collectible, but I believe their popularity among the jewellery connoisseurs of the Middle East owes more to the gemstone’s elegance as well as its individuality.”

Diamonds are not the only gemstone to be found in sweet tones of pink; there are fortunately others that don’t command such stratospheric prices. Consider the pink sapphire and padparadscha (a gorgeous salmon-pink sapphire) from Sri Lanka; tourmalines, a name derived from toramali, Sinhalese for “stone with mixed colours”; rubellite, which is a deep-pink tourmaline; spinels; kunzite and morganite, which has a very pale, delicate hue. Then there are the fabulously rare and expensive conch pearls and the very accessible pink opal. There is a pink gemstone to suit every taste, skin tone – and budget.

Fawaz Gruosi, the name behind de Grisogono until he left the brand in 2019, is particularly fond of pink sapphires and rubellites. “Pink sapphires for being soft, feminine, pastel and calming,” he says, “and rubellite for being very strong, deep, more provocative and contrasting.”

Gruosi, whose early career was spent in Saudi Arabia before establishing de Grisogono, which he sold in 2012, is launching a new jewellery business in London, where he now lives. He was famed for his black diamonds, but he actually uses a spectrum of gemstones to create bold, colour-saturated jewels that all but conceal the settings.

He has an eye for colour, playing with tones of pink, including a mix of rubellite and pink opal for a ring, or cascading earrings that use richly coloured pink sapphires and garnets. “For more defined juxtapositions, I like to put pink sapphires with blue sapphires and even add emeralds,” he says, producing uplifting combinations that appear in his high jewellery collections.

Padparadscha is the rarest of the sapphires, and the pretty name means “lotus blossom” in Sinhalese. “This highly unusual stone can be found in a spectrum of exquisite pink hues, from soft orange-pinks to warm rose-gold and the prettiest pastels,” says Morris. “Similar to pink diamonds, the incredible colour of the padparadscha really pops when paired with white diamonds and pearls, which is how I often use them in our high jewellery,” he explains. His brand's rings make wondrous use of these lovely blossom-pink gemstones.

Some designers make the most use of pink gemstones as part of a vibrant colour palette. Lucia Silvestri at Bulgari and Victoire de Castellane at Dior share an artist’s eye for divine colour combinations, either balancing tones or creating eye-catching contrasts. The recently unveiled Rose Dior high jewellery collection makes flattering use of spinels and pink sapphires, which have become particularly popular in recent years. They’ve been pavé-set across necklaces, earrings and a secret watch shaped like Christian Dior’s favourite flower.

Meanwhile, pink tourmalines and rubellites glow prettily in Bulgari’s opulent Barocko high jewellery collection. “I love pink as it offers many different shades, giving me the possibility to experiment with a lot of colour combinations, so it is definitely a key colour in the Bulgari palette,” says Silvestri, the brand’s creative director who is, uniquely for a designer, also the gem-buyer.

“In nature, there are many pink stones and each pink featured is different from the others. So I am particularly attracted by this colour as it gives me the possibility to play with all the other colours depending on its shade.”

There are rainbow combinations in the Barocko collection, with pink tourmalines and rubellites at its heart. In her studio, Silvestri spreads out the different gemstones on her table and toys with groupings. “For pink, there are many I love. For example the tone on tone, pink and violet, or pink and a green emerald,” she says.

While pink may divide opinions, there is no doubting its power in her hands. “When I want to add a touch of femininity to a jewel,” says Silvestri, “a touch of pink is always a good idea.”