Precious moments

Divided into minutes and seconds. Tempus Fugit: time flies. It may be an accepted custom, but when a wrist is adorned with a fine watch, even the passing of time has a different value. Moments become precious and acquire a seductive force. Starting, perhaps, with a contrast of black and white enclosed in a milky-white ceramic casing, from which dark rubber buttons and a crown emerge, and a dial that encloses dark hands under a tinted sapphire case. With a fly-back chronograph function and time-zones driven by an automatic 13 calibre, the Girard-Perregaux ww.tc is revealed. Elegantly non-conformist, it is also traditional thanks to perlage work and “Cotes de Genève” decorated bridges and oscillating weight. Chopard, instead, refines, with silver dial and dauphine-style hands for hours and minutes, the interpretation of its renowned L.U.C. Quattro, which houses the 98.01-L hand-wound movement, the only one in the world to incorporate four barrels, stacked and coupled in series, ensuring a nine day power reserve, inside the thinned shape of the 43mm white gold case, and bearing Geneva seal of high quality, the "Poinçon de Genève". The same elegance characterises the Overseas Collection by Vacheron Constantin. The Chronograph Perpetual Calendar model reflects this, with its 18-carat pink gold dial and the meticulous finishing of absolute precision, finds expertly combined elegance and technical haute horlogerie. Instead, Franc Vila dedicates the FV8Ch Full Black Cronographe Grand Dateur Automatique to lovers of extreme sports. Heavily characterised by its ‘Espirit Unique’ elliptical steel case, it is adorned with 1003 diamonds and 2 sapphires on the bezel, with a black mother-of-pearl dial crafted with guilloche work. Greubel Forsey presents the Quadruple Tourbillon Secret, a magical mechanism of four tourbillons, articulated in pairs, visible through the sapphire crystal case, with an adjacent automatic oscillator coupled with a spherical differential and double barrels for an effective power reserve, all inside a 950 platinum or 5N rose gold case, with nickel silver plates and bridges and straight-grain and spotted finish. Combining advanced watch-making and the charm of aviation, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition Antoine de Saint Exupery in 18 carat rose gold, is limited to 500 exemplars which IWC Schaffhausen dedicates to the courageous poet and aviation hero: a tobacco wood dial with sunray pattern finish, glossy case, screw-down crown, anti-reflection and anti-decompression sapphire crystal, a mechanical chronograph movement, fly-back function, and at the heart a calibre (89361) that is extremely precise in its engineering and flexible in composition with an exclusive design. Harry Winston adds Premier Collection into the mix of incredible female beauty, which is uniquely expressed in the Ladies 36mm with its mother-of pearl dial which is characterised by a monochrome champagne rose or opal white colour in a game of iridescent accents and transparent chromatic layers in which the hands become luminescent, surrounded by twelve diamonds to indicate the hours and a crown of diamonds, in keeping with the Maison’s glorious tradition. An emotion stressed by Piaget’s Gouverneur Tourbillon in rose gold, with an 18-carat case crowned by a silver dial, guilloché sunray decorations interspersed with thin gold lines that enclose the opening of the cage of the tourbillon, and adorned with a rose gold profile and ultra thin mechanical movement with lunar phases.

Pierre Arpels of Van Cleef & Arpels, in an iconic symbol of glamorous elegance, offers a contemporary interpretation of the original model. This hand-wound mechanism (Piaget 830 P) recreates that magical, suspended atmosphere emanating from the invisible attachments which anchor the white lacquered dial, the gold crown and set diamond, or a pavé of diamonds DEF/VVS that adorn the bezel, then fade along the bevelled profile, and wrap discretely around the wrist. With Jaeger-LeCoultre the essence of the female universe is freely revealed with perfect mechanisms as if they were the blink of an eye. The case and dial in the Rendez-Vous Collection protect an automatic calibre with oscillating weight, adorned with a day/night indication and embellished with hand-crafted guilloché work and high quality finishes, visible thanks to the sapphire crystal back plate. Fleeting moments. The same captured by Patek Philippe and the respected traditions of creations characterised by excellence. The Ladies First Chronograph has made a comeback. It is now in white gold with an opalescent dial in silver or grey with painted hour markers, or dark blue with powdered hour markers, a crown of 116 diamonds, see-through sapphire crystal back, hinged on the bezel, central hand and a 30 minute counter. Watches that epitomise, with the craft of fine watch-making, that beauty that cannot be seen, only perceived. Following stylish trends, and arriving at an elegance adorned with essentiality.

In apertura. Collezione Rendez-Vous di Jaeger-LeCoultre. Sinistra. FV8Ch Full Black Cronografo Gran Data Automatico di Franc Vila. Pierre Arpels di Van Cleef & Arpels. In questa pagina da sinistra. Collezione Premier Ladies 36mm di Harry Winston. Ww.tc di Girard-Perregaux. Ladies First Chronograph di Patek Philippe.