Gorpcore jewellery – yay or nay?
Personally, I’m feeling the elevated carabiner-clip-as-jewellery vibe.
Back in spring, Cartier unveiled its take on the utilitarian carabiner clip – an audacious, deco-esque watch-carabiner hybrid set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds as part of its Cartier Libre Polymorph collection (above). Suitably incongruous and decadent, it’s the kind of irreverent move I love from Cartier. (more…)
Continuing the Cartier love, another major reveal at this month’s Watches & Wonders was the magnificent Reflection de Cartier bangle watch (above). In sleek yellow gold with its sculptural cuff form, it’s giving 1970s Andrew Grima for Omega (below) and I’m not complaining. Launch date and price are TBC, but let’s just say it’s likely a look-but-don’t-touch affair for most of us. (more…)
It feels like we’re officially in our ‘small watch era’. After what feels like decades – scratch that, it was decades – of ginormous, chestbeating steel watches, we’re seeing the return of dainty, Deco-era watch cases on chic leather straps.
I’m attributing part of the shift to the affluent, small-wristed Asian customer, and possibly the wave of Chinese celebs being co-opted by luxury brands hoping to entice the next generation of watch enthusiasts. Also to note: the insatiable appetite for vintage watches. (more…)
‘Secret’ watches are my thing. The Hermès Medor is my favourite, but the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso* is the gold standard.
The story goes that a 1930s businessman and watch collector was tasked with creating a watch for polo players to wear that would withstand the rough and tumble of the game. The result was the sleek JLC Reverso whose case was engineered to flip over to protect the watch face – and back again after the game. 90 years later, there’s a market for mind-bendingly intricate paintings on that smaller-than-postage-stamp caseback, with limited editions models selling for €80,000. (more…)
