Glittering trio for women
Patek Philippe, which has long been the provider of unique pieces, has recently been increasing its options for women.
Using the hugely popular ladies' Twenty-4 wristwatch as a canvas, the Geneva watchmaker has produced three unique pieces that combine the clean, classic lines of the watch with the brightness of precious stones set in precious metal.
These haute joaillerie pieces use the manual hand-wound calibre 16-250, carefully finished by hand, with cases in either 18k white or rose gold. The cases are then adorned in brilliance, with diamonds and sapphires of many shapes and sizes fully covering the surfaces.
The amount, level and diversity of the precious stones were challenging to put together.
All are internally flawless, immaculately cut and certified conflict-free, of course. However, securing them safely to the surfaces was an even tougher hurdle. All are set in line with the master jeweller's art and cannot be bonded by adhesive, must align perfectly and be the same height. The result is a combination of silky smoothness and sparkling fire.
The three pieces produced using the same Twenty-4 platform are different from each other, each with its own feel.
The Twenty-4 Braid (ref 4909/104G) uses white gold and 2,279 diamonds in a combination of braiding and arabesque to produce possibly the most eye-catching effect.
The Twenty-4 Foliage (ref 4909/101R) looks and feels warm, using 1,893 diamonds and rose gold in a motif of twigs and foliage.
A difficult technique was needed to place tiny diamond-studded appliqu?s in 18k gold on the background of invisibly set baguette diamonds.
The Twenty-4 Butterflies (ref 4909/102R) uses 18k rose gold paired with 613 blue sapphire baguettes and 1,596 diamonds. Bead-set brilliants and closed-set pear-shaped diamonds lie on a sky of blue sapphires. A display back reveals the finely finished movement when you take off the piece.
