LADIES’ WATCHES
The sky is not the limit Paul O’Neil
Long before Zenith’s ambassador Felix Baumgartner used a notso-simple hot air balloon, a high-tech astronaut-style suit and an inordinate amount of courage to break the speed of sound in his free-fall last year, mankind has known that the sky is not the limit. It merely marks the boundary between our earthly realm and the infinite confines of outer space, which the greatest minds (teamed up with the deepest pockets) have always been intent on exploring. But the analogy fits well with the watch industry, which never ceases to innovate at numerous levels, for the movements that power the timepieces or the materials used in the cases to house them. In this article, we take a look at just a few of the trends at BaselWorld this year in ladies’ watches, one of which is the welcome idea of launching exciting developments especially for ladies.
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Vintage inspirations It may surprise you to learn that I only noticed Bulgari’s new BaselWorld stand after several days. For those who know that Bulgari had the first stand on the left as soon as you entered Hall 1.0 and that this new stand covered no less than 1,800 square metres of space, my admission may appear all the more remarkable. But after several days of making a beeline through the main avenue of Hall 1.0 to my first appointment of the day, it was only once the crowds subsided that I was able to admire the new stand in all its glory, with its outer façade mirroring the techniques used in the brand’s jewellery. Inside, the stand offered a large
68 LADIES’ WATCHES / europa star
display area, with a welcoming lounge bar where one could wait before being dispatched to one of the meeting rooms to discover the brand’s new products, marvelling in passing at the serpentine main staircase enveloping the stand and the Murano chandeliers illuminating the central showcases. It was in these opulent surroundings that I viewed Bulgari’s 2013 collection for ladies, which incorporates an item of jewellery that has been around since long before the common era—the gold chain—into a wristwatch with the new Bulgari Catene. Its double-wrap bracelet is inspired by a sautoir necklace produced by the brand in the 1970s, which in turn was no doubt inspired by the gold chains from history that have been used for ornament and even for currency. The two versions, one with 72 diamonds set into the chain and one without, both use 170 grams of 18-carat pink gold, which at the time of writing puts the value of the gold alone in each piece at over 5,000 Swiss francs. This makes it a safe haven for your money before you even consider the classic styling of the piece, with a plain pinkgold bezel engraved with the familiar “BVLGARI BVLGARI” inscription and a simple mother-of-pearl dial set with 12 diamond hour markers. Bulgari’s Giardino Tropicale piece shows off the brand’s prowess in the artisanal crafts with a champlevé enamel dial using miniature painting techniques that require anything from three to eight coats of paint for the individual motifs on the dial. In the
II Catene and I GIARDINO TROPICALE by Bulgari
colourful tropical garden paradise of the dial, a parrot perches on the opening at 6 o’clock that reveals the tourbillon in the BVL 263 calibre in-house movement, which has a 22-carat gold oscillating weight and offers a power reserve of 64 hours. An accomplished piece for Bulgari’s first jewellery watch with a complication, which is available as a limited edition of 50 pieces.