Watches & Wonders 2021: 5 Exclusive Timepieces
Not all of us get the opportunity to own a truly unique timepiece. But for those of you who can, and for the rest of us who love to dream big, these one-off creations from Watches & Wonders 2021 are the only watches of their kind in the whole, wide world.
1/5 Les Cabinotiers Regulator Perpetual Calendar—Moonlight Jewellery Sapphire by Vacheron Constantin
Known in horological circles for its breathtaking Les Cabinotiers timepieces, which are crafted by guilloché experts, enamellers, engravers and jewellery setters, Vacheron Constantin's mechanical movements have long been combined with extraordinary dials. This single-piece edition, presented at Watches & Wonders 2021, boasts a delicate guilloché dial and a diamond-set bezel. Powered by the self-winding Calibre 2460 RQP, this timepiece is unusual because of its regulator-type display. The minutes are read with the central hand while the hours on the dial are positioned at 12 o’clock.
2/5 Limelight Gala High Jewellery by Piaget
Piaget made its first foray into jewellery watches in the 1960s, which was a fabulous era for the watchmaker that saw its pieces worn by icons including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. The Limelight Gala model, in particular, perfectly depicts this maison’s timeless aesthetic. The pictured one-of-a-kind high jewellery creation is no exception. Crafted from 18k white gold, this new Limelight Gala comes with an exquisite dial set with black opal from Australia.
3/5 Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh! by Hèrmes
The Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh! by Hèrmes is a one-of-a-kind pocket watch powered by the house's Manufacture H1924 minute repeater and tourbillon movement. An elegant white enamel dial is protected by a detailed cover adorned with the T-Rex from an Hèrmes silk scarf designed by English artist Alice Shirley. The domed eye of the dinosaur is made using Grand Feu enamel, which is fixed onto a head and scales made in leather mosaic.
4/5 High Jewellery watch by Chopard
Bejewelled timepieces that also boast complicated mechanical movements are always worth the wait. For Watches & Wonders 2021, Chopard has unveiled three one-of-a-kind high jewellery watches that are mounted onto matching grey, blue or pink satin straps. This ethical 18k white gold watch is fitted with marquise-cut sapphires that weigh a total of 13.65 carats. Brilliant-cut diamonds are also set onto the bezel, in addition to the five that freely move on top of the dial underneath the sapphire crystal.
5/5 Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra by Bulgari
Suitably extravagant, Bulgari’s sophisticated settings and creative designs make its extraordinary watch and jewellery collections among the world’s most desirable. Part of the brand’s Colour Treasures series, this high jewellery cuff watch is about daring colour combinations and exquisite craftsmanship. Named after Cleopatra, the Serpenti Misteriosi also pays tribute to the 1963 Cleopatra film that set in motion Elizabeth Taylor's on-again-off-again relationship with Richard Burton. Taylor wore Bulgari's Serpenti jewellery for the film and was a Bulgari collector her whole life.