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| Héra Tourbillon |
For more than 150 years, Boucheron has held an esteemed place in the rarified world of haute joaillerie. Early this year, the Parisian jewelry house introduced its “Cabinet of Curiosities,” a jewelry and timepiece collection based on animals and presented in a wildlife setting.
At Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewelry tradeshow in Basel, Switzerland, held in March, I was able to go inside that cabinet to view watches from this collection. Among the items exhibited in the firm’s showroom were ladies watches made of colorful gemstones, diamonds and mother of pearl in elaborate, “audacious” designs made with plenty of gemstones along with mother-of-pearl that certainly attract attention.
The watches are known as the “Crazy Collection. What they share is an attention to detail, refined craftsmanship and individual styling that has earned an international following for Boucheron. As an added bonus, these timepieces, which really border on being art pieces, tell fantasized individual stories, many inspired by India, the Middle East and Greece.
The bejeweled watch bracelet combines high watch making with high jewelry. It gets its name from the Greek goddess who purportedly added the “eyes” to the peacock’s tail. It’s powered by the three gold Bridges Tourbillon designed by Girard-Perregaux. This movement is energized by Boucheron’s delicate jeweled adornments. The mechanism itself is set with two different shades of green Paribas tourmalines along with diamonds to create the body of the peacock. The plumage is made of white gold set with diamonds, sapphires and Paribas tourmalines.
Boucheron focused on its skilled craftsmanship to create a watch with texture and perspective. The timepiece pictured is in white gold set with diamonds and tsavorites with an automatic GP4000 movement. The transparent mother-of-pearl and lacquered dial is set with white and pink diamonds, and tsavorites. It comes with a pink satin watch strap.
This timepiece gets its moniker from the Hindi word for elephant and is inspired by the ceremonial elephants used by royalty in India. The watch that is pictured is made of white gold set with blue sapphires, diamonds and tsavorites with an automatic GP4000 movement. The elephant’s blanket contains the “Crazy Seconds” module, which acts like a spinning kaleidoscope of color. The dial is made of Murano aventurine glass mosaic set with diamonds, sapphires, tsavorites, amethysts and onyx. It comes with a purple-blue satin strap.
Boucheron created a watch with a rich and energetic dial that is teaming with sea life, centered by a bejeweled seahorse. The low relief allows light to roll across the colorful gems, which enhances the feeling of movement. The watch pictured is rose gold set with multicolored sapphires and diamonds with an automatic GP4000 movement. The dial is made of white mother-of-pearl and petrified palm tree marquetry set with multicolored sapphires, diamonds, garnets and onyx. It comes with a white brushed satin strap.
Inspired by the novel, “One Thousand and One Nights,” this watch draws the eye into its colorful and spinning world of bejeweled light and texture. This model comes in white gold and diamonds with an automatic GP4000 movement and the “Crazy Seconds” module, which acts like a spinning kaleidoscope of color within an off-centered aperture. The dial is made of lapis lazuli mosaic set with multicolored sapphires, amethysts, aquamarines and diamonds. It is available with a purple-blue satin strap.
This Indian-inspired watch in rose gold and diamond has a light pink dial made of mother-of-pearl mosaic set with diamonds and pink sapphires. It is available with a pink sapphire strap.