Inside the sparkling appeal of high jewellery cocktail watches: from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 101 Reine worn by Queen Elizabeth and Anya Taylor-Joy, to Kaia Gerber’s elegant Omega De Ville Prestige Dewdrop
- What happens when you marry high jewellery with fine watches? You get these gorgeous cocktail watches for women; like when Anya Taylor-Joy and Amanda Seyfried wore their Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Reines
- Queen Elizabeth wore the same 101 Reine timepiece for her 1953 coronation, while Kaia Gerber donned a memorable Omega timepiece with her Oscar de la Renta dress at the 2021 Met Gala
Dressed in an electric blue Alexander McQueen latex corset with matching elbow-length gloves, Anya Taylor-Joy was always going to make quite the entrance at the London premiere of The Menu.
However, it was her choice of accessory – the Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Reine timepiece in white gold and diamonds, worn over the gloves – that really made an impact.
Taylor-Joy, who became an ambassador for the brand in 2022, follows the late Queen Elizabeth (who wore the 101 for her 1953 coronation), in wearing the spectacular piece. In addition to all its diamonds, the watch is powered by the Calibre 101, which remains the world’s smallest mechanical movement – hiding its face amid the rows of glistening diamonds.
Leigh Zagoory, head of important watch auctions at Sotheby’s New York, says while the trend for cocktail watches has always waxed and waned, renewed vigour for dressing up is impacting their popularity right now.
“Cocktail watches tend to come and go with trends. I think there has been a recent resurgence post-pandemic now that people have started to attend events again and are no longer confined to their living room and loungewear attire, and are excited to get out and dress up again,” she says.