Celebrity Life

A wrist statement piece, the timepiece is covered in 18K rose gold and contains 155g of gold.

The post In a minute: Bell & Ross BR05 Skeleton Gold appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe demonstrate how the centuries-old art form continues to be a powerful medium for storytelling.

The post Enamel painting elevates the latest offerings of venerable watch houses appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe demonstrate how the centuries-old art form continues to be a powerful medium for storytelling.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Gucci is challenging established horology houses with the launch of its first fine watchmaking collection.

The post Luxury fashion brands are making watches worth taking seriously appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Gucci is challenging established horology houses with the launch of its first fine watchmaking collection.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

It is an undeniable fact that our choices form who we really are. Our choices are the ones that can reveal the difference. Believe it or not, we want to be distinctive, especially in our exclusive moments in order to feel special. Still, creating a dissimilarity is not quite simple as mass production is so popular in today’s world. Bosphorus…

The post Bosphorus Leather, A New Accessory Brand For Watch Lovers appeared first on The Luxe Insider.

Spearheaded by local microbrand Feynman Timekeepers, Project Coalesce will soon launch its Peranakan-inspired enamelled timepieces.

The post How five Singaporean individuals came together to create a trio of metiers d’art watches appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Spearheaded by local microbrand Feynman Timekeepers, Project Coalesce will soon launch its Peranakan-inspired enamelled timepieces.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Is the industry’s obsession with iconic models causing a lack of innovation amongst watch manufactures?

The post Of Traditional Designs and Watchmaking Innovation appeared first on LUXUO.

Sustainability is the new global trend which luxury brands in different industries are embracing. We take a look at how watchmakers, in keeping with the times, are coming up with innovations, fuelled by the demand for sustainable products.

The post How Sustainability is Driving Innovation in the Watch Industry appeared first on LUXUO.

Having earned its place alongside the heavyweights of horology, Hermès'  unique approach to watchmaking and legitimacy as a watchmaker is no longer questioned. But, as we learn from Philippe Delhotal, the man currently at the helm of its watchmaking division, the brand is bent on doing differently.

The brand’s much-coveted Birkins and luxurious silk scarves notwithstanding, Hermès timepieces have seeped into the consciousness of discerning high-end consumers and, likewise, connoisseurs. The French house has in the last four decades launched a number of commercially successful watch models, such as the Cape Cod, H-Hour, Arceau and Medor, but it was during the past 10 years and under the direction of Philippe Delhotal, creative director of its Hermès Horloger watch division, that we’ve seen the brand truly make its mark within the haute horology space. In that time, Hermès has presented not only stunningly designed watches but also technically impressive complications, which earned the maison a few awards in the process.

As other major fashion brands climbed aboard the watchmaking bandwagon, Hermès proved that it was deadly serious about its endeavour. In 2006 it bought 25 percent of movement maker Vaucher, enabling the manufacture of more complex calibres. This was followed by the purchase of a dial manufacturer in 2012, and a case maker the following year. And, of course, for those who made the annual pilgrimage to Switzerland’s watch shows, it was hard to miss Hermès’ presence with its thoughtfully designed booth, built in wood to give it a welcoming but luxurious atmosphere – a glaring contrast with the often-clinical feel of competitors’ set-ups.

“The DNA of the house is and always has been all about aesthetics, and this holds true with everything we do,” says Delhotal, “from our fashion items, home objects, down to our watches. And when we present our creations to clients, or the press for that matter, whether in one of our boutiques or at a trade show like Baselworld and SIHH, they need to live within an equally beautiful and luxurious environment.”

Having previously worked at Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Jaeger-LeCoultre, Delhotal is an industry veteran and was ripe for a challenge, thrilled at the prospect of working within “a universe of creation”. "I knew that coming to Hermès would allow me more diversity, imagination and creativity, opening up partnerships with other artists.”

And, indeed, he’s opened up Hermès’ watchmaking world to novel ideas and possibilities. The most recent was in 2019, when the brand released an entry-level dress watch called Galop d’Hermès, for which Delhotal partnered with American multi-discipline designer Ini Archibong. In the same year, he presented the Arceau l’Heure de la Lune, a whimsical take on the traditional moon phase, which also won a Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) award, an accolade that’s often referred to as the Academy Awards of watchmaking.

It must be said that it wasn’t Hermès’ first GPHG; that honour came in 2011 for the Arceau le Temps Suspendu, the Slim d’Hermès QP in 2015, and the Arceau Robe du Soir in 2018. “Part of my job is to be able to bring a new object into the Hermès universe – something that’s novel, never before-seen but that also fits well with the other existing objects. And this is how I always challenge myself: to create pieces that will always astonish people. This is how I find my motivation,” he says.

Delhotal’s most recent masterpiece is the Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh!, which joins the Slim d’Hermès GRRRRR! (2017) and the Hermès Arceau Awooooo (2019) in the whimsical bestiary universe imagined by English artist Alice Shirley. Drawn by Shirley’s work and approach of choosing fierce animals and transforming them into friendly and charming creatures was precisely what Delhotal was looking for his timepieces.

“The Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh! is a bit different from the other two, as we added a complication: a minute repeater,” Delhotal explains. “While overall the piece had to be consistent with the previous ones, we also wanted it to be a surprise. It was very important that I created a piece that was different from what you can find from other brands – and I do that by introducing more fun and humour, while presenting a high complication, like a minute repeater.

“Technically, it was not only being able to perfect the sound that proved difficult, but also finding a new sound – that which is different from what already exists. And this part of the research took the longest, all of two-and-a-half years, during which time we worked with sound experts and specialists, and a watchmaker who specialises in minute repeaters.”

We do high complication watches because, no question, we can, but we will do so on our own terms.

Philippe Delhotal

While indeed there’s genuine earnestness in creating high-complication timepieces, Delhotal insists that, at least at Hermès, it’s not supposed to be taken too seriously. “We wanted to break the seriousness of high watchmaking, introduce lightness and fantasy and, really, we just want to make people smile. And I feel now, more than ever, we need this. The fact is, when people look at our pieces and let out a wide smile, if not a laugh, it’s very rewarding, an I feel that a big part of the mission has been achieved.

“Again, it’s about finding another way of doing things from how other more serious watchmakers operate – watchmaking with a twist! To be honest, some would ask us: ‘Why are we doing a minute repeater? It’s too serious for Hermès!’ My answer is simple. We do high complication watches because, no question, we can, but we will do so on our own terms.”

The post A Look at Hermès’ Unique Approach to Watchmaking appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Van Cleef & Arpels is and always has been unapologetically romantic – an approach that seeps even into the oft-bravado world of high watchmaking. We rediscover the house’s enduring dance with complications and poetry through its new Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales timepieces

The drapes part and ballerinas enter to fluid arabesques, grand jetés and elegant pirouettes, dancing to the music of Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stranvinsky and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, then the drapes close. Such is the enchanting 20-second sequence you can play whenever and wherever you fancy, and it sits right on your wrist. Just like many of Van Cleef & Arpels’ timepieces, the Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales is not meant merely to be worn but, rather, experienced and inevitably connect with.

[caption id="attachment_212784" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Rubis[/caption]

The Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales is Van Cleef & Arpels’ newest addition to its suite of Poetic Complications, which is inspired by one of the Arpels’ other loves: ballet. Louis Arpels was known to often walk to the Opéra Garner, a short distance from his Place Vendôme boutique, to see a ballet with his nephew Claude. Such was their love for the artform that in the early 1940s, by which time the family had moved to New York, Van Cleef & Arpels created its first ballerina clips, which today is one of the house’s most distinguishable designs.

Inspiration

This affinity with ballet only profoundly deepened as Claude met choreographer and co-founder of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, with whom he shared a passion not only for ballet but also for gems. This led to Balanchine producing a ballet called “Jewels”, which made its debut in 1967 in New York, with each of its three acts linked to a particular gemstone and composer – Emeralds set to the music of Fauré, Rubies to Stravinsky, and Diamonds for Tchaikovsky.

[caption id="attachment_212785" align="aligncenter" width="1707"] Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Diamant[/caption]

More than 50 years later, Van Cleef & Arpels revisits this ballet with magnificent timepieces that connoisseurs will find well worth perusing and, among those with a predilection for the finer things in life, owning. Each piece alludes to the three movements of Jewels: Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Émeraude with its green tones, Rubis in red, and finally Diamant comes in a combination of white, blue and golden hues. And on the upper crown of each creation, the stone it’s referenced to.

Just as in all its other creations, Van Cleef & Arpels always starts with the idea of a story it hopes to tell, from which the team endeavours to find the means to bring this tale to life. For this, it was a collaborative effort between expert watchmakers, musicians, enamellers, engravers and jewellers, whose fresh perspectives brought the idea to fruition.

Sight to behold

Aesthetically, the pieces are striking. At once you’re drawn to its baroque stylings. Upon closer inspection, you admire it for its beautiful intricacies, and from arm’s length, its imposing heft. These timepieces have been conceived as three-dimensional tableaux of an actual theatre stage, hence the multitude of details infused into them. For instance, the upper-dial, fully paved with diamonds, represents a grandiose chandelier and curtains, while the rotating disc features sculpted, engraved and hand-painted draperies revealing five ballerinas in miniature paintings, dancing to the music. And then there’s the combination of various crafts whose impeccable execution results in quite an enchanting scene. The beauty of it all is that the animation is on-demand.

[caption id="attachment_212786" align="aligncenter" width="1707"] An artisan handprints the ballerinas unto the dial[/caption]

To give birth to these timepieces, Van Cleef & Arpels worked with several watchmakers and craftsmen from different disciplines, including lapidaries, stone-setters, miniature painters and engravers. For the sound, they collaborated with concert musician, Michel Tirabosco, who brilliantly adapted and simplified the three composers’ music to just two instruments: the carillon and the music box, chosen to produce good quality sound – a real musicality, if you will, and a perfect pitch for the melodies.

Achieving musicality

Having these two instruments work together posed a tremendous challenge as they had to be carefully tuned, according to one of the experts involved in the project. An important consideration was that these musical pieces had to be complementary, producing a unique sound – and, indeed, the carillon provides sustained and rather low tones, while the music box plays the short and high tones.

[caption id="attachment_212787" align="aligncenter" width="1707"] The case demonstrates the house' high-jewellery setting techniques but was also designed so that the sound comes out beautifully[/caption]

It was also important that they were able to create a specific watch architecture that integrated high-jewellery setting techniques in such a way that the sound comes out beautifully, while also protecting the mechanism. The case of the watch was constructed such that the melody offered by the carillon and music box is amplified, transmitting it through a diamond-paved surface. To heighten the listening experience, each watch comes with a birchwood and walnut marquetry case that was developed alongside luthiers and acoustics experts and enriched with an electronic amplifier.

No stone left unturned

The technical complexity of these watches cannot be overstated: the project required seven years of research and development to resolve the issues surrounding a manual-winding mechanical movement and the on demand animation alone. And yes, the piece does tell the time, a function which – though fundamental to any watch – almost feels like a secondary requirement for this fascinating piece. In fact, it tells the time magnificently, through a retrograde function at the top of the dial, indicated by a star – in homage to the Paris Opera’s danseuses étoiles – demonstrating the passage of time on a graduated 12-hour scale.

[caption id="attachment_212788" align="aligncenter" width="1707"] Engraved bas-relief illustration at the back of the watch[/caption]

Turn the timepieces over and the storytelling continues with an engraved bas-relief illustration that portrays a ballerina dancing in front of the Van Cleef & Arpels’ Fifth Avenue boutique where Claude hosted Balanchine in 1966 for a private viewing of the maison’s creations. And there, Van Cleef & Arpels manages to demonstrate its prowess in jewellery and watchmaking, all while narrating a special love story between its founders and the world of ballet.

And as I immerse myself deeper into the world of this profoundly beautiful brand, I’m increasingly made aware that it exists in a field separate from those of other legacy houses. Van Cleef & Arpels embraces innovation without stripping its pieces of the romance and wonderment that only traditional savoir-faire and good old storytelling can bring. The maison manages to meld hopelessly romantic and sentimental tales into their pieces – unapologetically – but that never come across as contrived. And with its creations, there’s always a sense of novelty – and unpredictability – that can bring even the most cynical consumers to their knees. Now isn’t that truly precious?

The post The Poetry Behind the New Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales Timepieces appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.