Sunday March 8, 2009
Dazzlers to watch out for
Stories by DZIREENA MAHADZIR
In this first of a two-part series on new collections unveiled at the recent Salon Internationale Haute Horlogerie, StarMag looks at the highlights of the Girard-Perregaux, JeanRichard and Baume & Mercier collections for 2009.
AT the Salon Internationale Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) held earlier this year, Girard-Perregaux – well known for its highly technical watches – showcased an amazing high jewellery watch liberally encrusted with diamonds.
This beautiful timepiece is from its popular Cat’s Eye range, and is called the Cat’s Eye Haute Joaillerie.
Stefano Macaluso, Vice-President of Girard-Perregaux says the project to create this stunner started two years ago.
“We’ve always had diamonds on watches, even for pocket watches. But we’ve concentrated on mainly mechanical watches for years. With the development of the Cat’s Eye collection and the introduction of this piece, 30% of watches have the potential (to be jewellery watches),’’ he says.
The Cat’s Eye Haute Joaillerie is certainly the cream of the the Cat’s Eye range, and Macaluso says: “There was good response from the Asian region (to the Cat’s Eye range), so we kept to the mechanical movement and as the design was successful, we decided to introduce the jewellery version. The challenge was to keep the design but reconstruct the case and adapt it for the diamonds. For one and a half years, we tried different solutions.’’
The result is a stunning timepiece set with 394 baguette diamonds weighing in at 52 carats. There are 87 baguette diamonds adorning the case and the bezel, 98 on the dial, 204 on the bracelet, and the star shaped crown is set with five baguette diamonds.
Girard-Perregaux’s Cat’s Eye Haute Joillerie is set with 394 baguette diamonds. Of course, Girard-Perregaux’s SIHH showcase wasn’t about this dazzler alone. It has other key pieces, including the ww.tc Shadow and the 1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time.
Sporty-looking and striking, the ww.tc Shadow has a 43mm black ceramic case – the result of a long and meticulous manufacturing process. The Girard-Perregaux movement features the original combination of a fly-back chronograph with the world times display.
Surprisingly, the Shadow is light and wearable (ceramic is actually lighter than steel and barely heavier than titanium).
The 1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time is a new face in the Girard-Perregaux 1966 collection. This model features a round case with an annual calendar and equation of time indication.
With an original mechanism carrying the calibre GP033M0, the annual calendar automatically notes how many days each month has, so that only one correction a year is required (every February 28, except for leap years).
The hand at 4.30 indicates the difference between real solar time and mean time or civil time; in fact, the duration of a solar day varies due to the elliptical shape of the Earth’s orbit. This astronomical complication is based on an ingenious mechanism, which includes a disc with an elliptical cam which reproduces the movement of the Earth around the Sun.
Girard-Perregaux has also come out with a lady’s watch called the 1966 Lady, and this carries essential features of the 1966 range.
Other interesting novelties this year include the Vintage 1945 Tourbillon. This is a limited edition range, and boasts three gold bridges and a curved profile.
The Cat’s Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendars range presents lovely timepieces with mother-of-pearl, gold and diamonds, and pays tribute to time with a movement that unites civil time, the lunar cycle and the zodiac cycle.
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