Earlier this month the big news from Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet was the launch of its new Code 11.59 collection at the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) show in Geneva.
But since this is a blog about style, I’ve decided to focus on some of the novelty launches, a scintillating handful of gem-laden glamazons that transform the brand’s iconic design elements into compelling statements for the wrist that combine heaps of sparkle with strength and power. What a treat.
The undeniable highlight of the novelty offering is the Haute Joaillerie timepiece Sapphire Orbe (pictured above), a sculptural masterpiece exemplifying the height of gem-setting craftsmanship and an appealingly whimsical aesthetic not usually associated with the brand’s muscular timepieces.
Named for the river that crosses Le Brassus, home to the Audemars Piguet manufacture, the Sapphire Orbe is decorated in reams of diamonds and sapphires in gradated hues of blue and orange intended to express the color of the sky as it shifts from nighttime into daylight.
It took approximately 1,050 hours to blanket every inch of the central petal-shape rings in gemstones. The domed center nestles a dark blue sapphire-set globe that, when inverted, reveals the watch’s 18k white gold dial paved with ombré orange sapphires. The spherical case houses a tiny quartz caliber, and the bracelet is made of articulated diamond-set components for maximum flexibility and comfort.
The other novelty standouts take the design vocabulary and horological chops of Audemars Piguet’s famous Royal Oak timepiece and transform them into gorgeous fantasias on rainbow sapphires and diamonds. Take a look below.
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