A different kind of fascination comes with looking at jewellery and Métiers d’Art watches. Whenever I’m presented with one, I find myself scrutinising it separately for its merits as a finely made timepiece, a beautifully crafted jewel or indeed a miniature art piece. Then I stop, because really, these pieces are not meant to be dissected. Instead, they should be appreciated in their entirety and valued for the way different crafts from across disciplines all come together harmoniously.

As brands toe that fine line between watches and jewellery, the level of innovation and creativity seen is extraordinary. Here, we see how skilfully and impeccably gemstones are set on a dial, all while not encroaching on the intricate mechanism that makes it a time-telling device.

Accent on aesthetics

Some brands do this elaborately, while others side on restraint. To the latter, Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé Camélia Skeleton comes to mind. Known for its minimalist aesthetic, Chanel keeps this watch refined but at the same time ultra-luxurious with its full diamond setting on its case, bezel, dial, down to its buckle. It’s a dazzling piece to say the least, but in typical Chanel form, ever sophisticated.

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On the opposite side of the spectrum is Breguet’s unapologetically ornate L’Orangerie timepiece, which delights with a cornucopia of stones assembled to form three dimensional floral patterns. While Breguet was never one to shy away from creating grandiose jewellery watches, the L’Orangerie is among its most elaborate. A testament to the brand’s long established watchmaking expertise, it also demonstrates its mastery in jewellery craftsmanship.

Can you keep a secret?

A perfect example of this would be Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 101 Feuille. A watch that resembles a tennis bracelet, the 101 Feuille alongside the maison’s other 101 iterations is arguably one of the most exquisite and technically impressive watches in the world. Beneath the diamond-encrusted leaf reveals a miniature dial that tells the time and is powered by the 98-part movement that measures a mere 0.2 cubic centimetres.

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Another is Van Cleef & Arpels’ Ruban Secret, a bangle watch swathed in diamonds. A familiar motif embraced by the French maison since the 1920s, the jewelled ribbon keeps out of sight a small dial positioned beneath it, allowing its wearer to conceal or reveal the time as she wishes.

If ultra-feminine is not your cup of tea, there’s Chanel’s chic take on a secret watch: the Mademoiselle Privé Bouton. Inspired by the sleeve of the iconic Chanel little black jacket, the bangle watch takes on the maison’s signature tweed and quilting as a motif and adopts the jacket’s signature oversized button to fashionably conceal the dial.

The art of time

While I’m instinctively drawn to jewellery and its time-telling iterations having been happily thrust into that world for many years, I’m particularly taken by Métiers d’Art dials for the palette of artistic techniques we would see presented in these mini canvases.