Rapaport Magazine
Style & Design

Watch for it


As the world emerges from quarantine, bejeweled timepieces will be all the rage.

By Rachael Taylor


Do you know who needs a jewelry watch right now? Absolutely nobody. With red-carpet events, gala dinners and even office get-togethers seemingly still out of reach, timepieces bedecked with diamonds seem irrelevant. So why have watchmaking maisons continued to produce a flurry of designs luxe enough to make you feel the need to slip on a pair of white gloves just to look at them through a screen?

The answer is that luxury houses are thinking ahead. Though it’s difficult to imagine right now (as you read this in sweatpants), there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when we emerge from our Netflix-and-chill cocoons. And when we do, we are going to want to party — hard.

Some trend analysts are referring to this gleeful post-pandemic premonition as the Roaring ’20s. Just as flappers and speakeasies exploded from the rubble of World War I, we will shear the slippers from our feet a century later in celebration of rediscovered freedom, digging out all our best jewels — and timepieces — for those first bacchanalian fits of revelry. Or at least dinner with friends.

Along with the likely rise in the sale of high heels, tuxedos, tiny bags and anything with the hint of a sequin, we will feel the desire grip us to splurge on bejeweled watches. The glare of the diamonds in the sunlight will leave zero doubt that we have left the house, and that it most certainly is not for groceries.


Parmigiani FleurierTonda 1950 Moonbow tourbillon in 18-karat rose gold with aventurine dial and multicolored sapphires, rubies, tsavorites and amethysts. parmigiani.com


CartierRonde Louis Cartier Enamel Filigree mechanical watch with diamonds and enamel in 18-karat white gold. cartier.com


Van Cleef & ArpelsLady Arpels Soleil Féerique watch in 18-karat white gold with diamonds, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl, onyx and sapphires. vancleefarpels.com


ChanelPremière Extrait de Camélia quartz watch in 18-karat yellow gold with a diamond dial and a gold and diamond charm. chanel.com


DiorGrand Bal Jardin Fleuri automatic watch with diamonds, pink sapphires, rubies and red mother-of-pearl in 18-karat rose gold. dior.com


Vacheron ConstantinTraditionnelle automatic tourbillon with full diamond pavé in 18-karat white gold. vacheron-constantin.com

BulgariDiva’s Dream Peacock automatic watch in 18-karat rose gold with diamonds, sapphires and peacock feather marquetry. bulgari.com

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - March 2021. To subscribe click here.

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