Wondering what to give your loved ones this Valentine’s Day or Year of Ox? Give the gift of time.
Harry Winston
After what the world has been through, Harry Winston has dedicated 2021 as the Year of Love by launching the romantic Midnight Valentine’s Dance white gold timepiece. Each comes alive with an ensemble of dancing hearts on the dial — an ode to the emotions of romantic love and passion; from the euphoria and head-spinning dizziness of first love to the steady rhythm of a committed relationship.
To represent this, a series of cabochon mother-of-pearl hearts accompanied by a sprinkling of precious gemstones are used. The background of the solid gold dial is covered in a dainty layer of white mother-of-pearl with four concentric white gold circles emanating from the heart of the small seconds counter at six o’clock. The epicentre of the spellbinding dance is the mother-of-pearl heart applied inside the small seconds counter. Accompanying the hearts in their dance around the dial are a further 56 diamonds, 24 pink sapphires, seven luscious red rubies and diminutive white gold cabochons.
Chopard
The Happy Sport watch is a feminine timepiece that features two lucky charms found in Chinese culture — the auspicious red colour and the lucky number eight. It all begins with the colour red that clothes the 33mm diameter, ethically-sourced 18-carat rose gold case that runs on the Chopard 09.01-C in-house movement. The watch is a perfect match for the lady who is equally comfortable in a pair of jeans or little black dress. Inside the watch, eight dancing diamonds whirl and twirl, symbolising good luck and guaranteeing success.
Blancpain
Only 50 pieces of the Traditional Chinese Calendar by Blancpain will be made available exclusively. You will want to get your hands on this timepiece that pays homage to Chinese culture. The tribute starts with the Grand Feu enamel dial that highlights the intricate display that combines Chinese calendar in- dications with those of the Gregorian calendar and moon phases.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar that is based on the solar day, the traditional Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle as well as exact astronomical observations of the sun’s longitude. Blancpain has found a way to marry the two complications that offer the main indications of the traditional Chinese calendar: double hours, days, months and leap months, zodiac signs, five elements and ten heavenly stems.
The latter, combined with the 12 earthly branches — symbolised by the animals of the zodiac — produce 60 different pairs forming the sexagesimal cy- cle of the Chinese time measurement system. Blancpain’s Traditional Chinese Calendar is also available in red gold with a finely guilloché oscillating weight.
Piaget
The ultra-thin Altiplano timepiece celebrates the Year of the Ox with a dial featuring an ox, crafted by the celebrated artist Anita Porchet. To honour this strong and dependable zodiac animal, Piaget has immortalised the ox on the dial of one of its most iconic timepieces using grand-feu cloisonné enamel. This 4,000-year-old decorative art starts with a transfer of the design onto the surface of the dial using gold ribbons to create miniature partitions, or cloisons, in which the different enamel pigments are placed. This ultra-thin 38mm timepiece comes in an 18-karat white gold case adorned with 78 brilliant-cut 0.71-carat diamonds and is powered by the brand’s 430P hand-wound movement that measures just 2.1mm thick. It is paired with an elegant black leather strap that is fitted with an 18-carat white gold pin buckle.
Omega
The classic Omega’s De Ville Prestige has attracted a fan following because of its elegant blend of first-class materials and no-frills design. It features a beautifully restrained dial with a “railway” minute track, date window at six o’clock, Omega logo, and alternating Roman numerals and cabochons.
In this year’s new collection, Omega has added five colours with refined new dial finishes that combine vertical and sun brushing in one to its 39.5 mm watches. There are two stainless steel and 18K red gold models, with silvery or PVD linen colour dial; two stainless steel and 18K yellow gold models, with PVD Moonshine Gold or PVD green dial; as well as one stainless steel “power reserve” model, with PVD blue dial, power reserve indicator at six o’clock and small-seconds sub-dial. All the new watches, with matching bracelets or leather straps depending on the case material, come with Omega’s five-year warranty.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Profess your love with flowers – the Van Cleef & Arpels’ Frivole Secrète watch which won the prestigious Jewelry Watch Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2020. The Frivole jewelry collection features a secret watch on a polished yellow gold bangle while sun-drenched floral motifs unveil a precious dial.
The jewellers’ intricate art is notably expressed in superimposed heart-shaped petals, creating a three-dimensional composition. Mirror polishing accentuates the gleam of the precious metal, magnifying the brilliance of gold petals that unfurl around a diamond. Beneath a delicately-pivoting, luminous bouquet hides a dial paved with diamonds. Time is revealed surrounded by a precious blossom.
To illuminate the Frivole Secrète watch, Van Cleef & Arpels uses the mirror-polishing technique which is emblematic of the collection. On each petal, this hand-polishing highlights the gleam of gold, creating intense reflections.
Vacheron Constantin
The Qilin, a fabled creature in Chinese mythology, is the centre of attention in the Traditionnelle Tourbillon watch. The two Qilin engraved on the dial of the Traditionnelle Tourbillon appear on a bed of lucky clouds, a traditional motif adorning ancient Asian artefacts. As a final detail, the two Qilin respectively stand one of their hooves on one traditional Chinese item. The Qi (male) on the globe, a symbol of authority and prosperity; and Lin (female) on an ingot, a harbinger of good fortune.
The dial is hand-guilloché in gold is finished with a black galvanic treatment while two gold appliques represent the fabled Qilin figure with extraordinary finesse. These sculptures are created by using the ramolayé-pounced ornament technique which consists of pushing back the material by cutting into, scraping or softening it in order to give volume to a two-dimensional drawing. To achieve this, artisans use their own individual methods and self-made tools — small stones, brushes, paper or files. This irreversible work is a delicate, skilful blend of softness and strength, revealing an infinite world of details on a gold surface no more than 0.4mm thick.
