Mechanical watch movements inform new jewellery from Carolina Bucci and Audemars Piguet

Carolina Bucci and Audemars Piguet have joined forces once more, this time for the launch of jewellery collection K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple). The selection of bracelets and a matching necklace are directly inspired by the coils of a mechanical watch’s balance spring, their undulating whorls becoming textured corkscrews of gold.

The inspiration at the heart of the pieces had a sentimental edge for Carolina Bucci. ‘I kept in mind this image of a watchmaker working in his spare time on a special piece for a loved one,’ she says. ‘I didn’t want too much superfluous detail and nothing obvious in terms of reference. But when you put these bracelets on I want the wearer to feel the built-in sense of movement – just like a balance spring in a watch. It carries an internal energy.’

It is not the first collaboration for Bucci and Audemars Piguet, who in the past have blurred the lines between horology and high jewellery with the Royal Oak Frosted Gold. Inspired by an ancient Florentine gold hammering technique, it brilliantly rethought gold’s potential. Now, the collaboration has again sparked striking design elements, with the largest piece in the collection a riff on colour. Here, it becomes a clashing coil sitting within the spirals, a specific reference to the double balance wheel escapement Audemars Piguet introduced in 2016.

When the intricate coils of a movement are translated to the neck or the wrist, they encapsulate the beauty of a watch movement, regardless of its technical functionality. The movement’s capacity for beauty was an unexpected delight for Bucci: ‘You have to surprise yourself, otherwise you are not trying hard enough in terms of design. It can never feel too comfortable. When it does, it is normally just good taste and not real design.’

INFORMATION

The pieces will be available from the Audemars Piguet London House from 13 November (despite the House being currently closed, clients can still order over the phone) and the collection will be available online from the same date

audemarspiguet.com
carolinabucci.com