Like natural surroundings

In recent years, Audemars Piguet has paid tribute to its home in Le Brassus in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux through magnificent high-jewellery timepieces inspired by the natural surroundings.

The dramatic diamond trilogy (Diamond Punk, Diamond Fury and Diamond Outrage) was inspired by the valley’s wintry rugged landscape, and combined traditional gem-setting techniques with unconventional design for a distinctive effect of elegance, strength and power.

The latest unique creation, Sapphire Orbe, is named after the river that crosses the serene village of Le Brassus. The design imagines a glittering river of diamonds and sapphires in graded hues of blue and orange, as night merges into day.

This pushed the gem-setting to new heights, in adorning the timepiece with more than 12,000 stones, each rigorously selected, individually cut and set by hand. The painstaking work took approximately 1,050 hours in order to accomplish the stunning result.

The central petal-shaped rings are entirely snow-set with diamonds and graded sapphires in six graded shades of blue and orange, each in 20 different diameters ranging from 0.51.5mm. This multifaceted piece offers a play of colour and light that changes depending on the perspective from which it is seen.

In the domed centre nestles a 2cm dark-blue sapphire-set globe which, when inverted, reveals the watch’s white-gold dial paved with graded-orange sapphires. The sparkling bracelet with articulated diamond-set components also offers flexibility and comfort in wearing the wondrous watch.