Back from BaselWorld and the women's watches that caught our eye
The biggest watch and jewellery show in the world, it has to be
said that this year's BaselWorld didn't fail to match the output
and sparkle of previous years, with a vast selection of timepieces,
precious stones and ingenious craftsmanship on display all around.
With so much to catch our eye, here's a selection of women's
watches that really did dazzle.
Chanel's Camélia Flying Tourbillion is one of
the more classical selections this year. Easy on the eye and
perfectly realised, it celebrates Chanel's 25
years of making timepieces and comes with a very familiar shape
indeed, taken from their renowned Chanel No.
5 bottle and the Place Vendome itself. A collaboration with Renaud
and Papai, it has a scintillating black ceramic dial encased in
eighteen rubies, as well as 18ct white gold with 15 diamonds on the
hands alone, not to mention 101 5.2ct of baguette-cut diamonds on
display elsewhere. Only twenty of these have been made, and what
lucky people those will be to get their hands on it.
Chopard's Happy 8 watches made many feel just
that, delighting onlookers with this timepiece form their Happy
Diamonds collection. Taking it's cue from the cultural significance
of the number 8, which in parts of the world like China carries a
great measure of luck; the arcs of this chosen digit are prevalent
throughout the design, with playful curves and circles to be seen.
The watch case is made of 18ct white gold set with diamonds with
one mobile diamond; a Quartz movement, it is available with asleek
satin or more adventurous fully-set diamond strap.
It's impossible to ignore the striking presence of the Bulgari
Serpernti. Here shown in 18ct pink gold with brilliant cut diamonds
and white eggshell enamelling, the double wrap-around coils are
what Bulgari
is all about with this notable design. Available in slightly
differing colour finishes, here we see a white mother of pearl face
set with brilliant cut diamonds, and each one contains a Swiss
quartz movement personalized for Bulgari.
It's playtime once again with Boucheron's
delicious Ajourée Grenouille. At 6.8mm thick and a 38mm case, it is
no surprise to see the trademark Boucheron
craftsmanship, with colourfully complicated settings: the frog is
made of rubies and pink sapphires, as is the flower, both sporting
green travorites. The watch required a total of 311 gems, with 3
tsavorites, 30 rubies, 151 pink sapphires and 127 diamonds. A
quartz movement finished off with an understated white matte satin
strap, this little chap was sure to shine at this year's
BaselWorld. Keeping up the animal magic was the Armadillo from Mattia
Cielo, part of their 'Iguana' collection; a timepiece with a
uniquely textured charm, this is the first Swiss-made Mattia
Cielo jewel-watch.
Now comes a watch collection with a piece for every season, as
DeLaneau's
supremely talented enamel workers have created the Four Seasons
Cerisier. Each watch has been handcrafted and signed by the
in-house artisan, and each of the four seasons has been captured in
Champleve enamel. These watches marked the return of DeLaneau to
Baselworld after an absence of almost a decade, and it was quite a
way to make their re-entrance.