There are jewelled watches and there are high jewellery watches. As proud symbols of technical and creative mastery, they are especially singled out by leading jewellery houses as part of their annual high jewellery collections. Traditionally, a high jewellery watch is a ‘secret’, a rare-gem-set bracelet with a tiny hidden watch dial designed to give the wearer possession of a delightful surprise. Like a hidden door, the timekeeping element of a high jewellery watch is engineered to blend seamlessly into the jewel design. This not only hides a tiny watch dial but the volume of the quartz watch movement required to power it.
This year, Cartier, Chaumet and Chanel offered particularly graphic takes in three playfully modern designs.
Three 2024 high jewellery watches
Chaumet ‘En Scène’ Tango
Chaumet's 'Tango' secret watch in white gold, rubies and brilliant-cut diamonds
The jewellery house at 12 Place Vendôme has a strong history in watch design and, in this proud Paris Olympics year, it would have been a welcome surprise to see a resplendent return of Chaumet’s sporty Class 1 design – a jewelled divers’ watch for women created in the 1990s. Hopefully, it will be revived sometime soon. Today, high jewellery watch iterations are the key focus at Chaumet and the sheer simplicity and graphic pleasure of the performance-inspired ‘Tango’, in white gold, juicy rubies and brilliant-cut diamonds, makes it a winner. There’s no hiding it’s a watch rather than a bracelet, but the now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t ‘secret’ cover creates enough sparkle to make you itch to see what’s going on beneath. The diamond-row lugs and sheeny, black satin strap nod to Chaumet’s inherent French chic in watch design. Did I mention, how much I’d love to see a high jewellery return for the Class 1…
Cartier 'Nature Sauvage'
The Cartier 'Nature Sauvage' high jewellery watch allows the wearer to check the time with a quick twist around the wrist
The most enduring nature motif in high jewellery, the Cartier Panthère slinks into watch design with ease. In fact, Jeanne Toussaint, the woman who introduced the wild cat to Cartier in 1914, introduced it on a women’s wristwatch. This year’s 'Nature Sauvage' high jewellery Panthère watch is engaged in a gem-encrusted game of hide and seek. A tiny, bevelled watch dial is seamlessly set into the clasp of a bold, white-gold Panthère bangle, resplendent with oval Ceylan sapphires, diamonds, emeralds and black lacquer. This, of course, allows the wearer to discreetly check the time with a quick twist around the wrist.
Chanel ‘Quilted 2.55’
The Chanel ‘Quilted 2.55’ high jewellery watch is designed to be worn at the back or to the front of the wrist
The horological star in this year’s Chanel’s ‘Haute Joaillerie Sport’ collection, designed by Patrice Leguéreau, director of the Chanel Jewellery Creation Studio, is a gently humorous addition to the jewelled-watch genre. It was Richard Mille who, just over 20 years ago, steered sport-watch design towards its luxurious juxtaposition of specialist super-tech fabrics and precious materials. Introducing that contemporary mix to the hallowed world of French high jewellery design, however, is a bold move on Chanel’s part. The ‘Quilted 2.55’ bracelet watch also bends the course of tradition in its homage to the house quilted motif, now reinvented as a performance-fabric mesh design. The perfume-bottle-stopper diamond dial with its brilliant red-lacquer hands can be worn to the front, as is the norm, or slid around the wrist and ‘hidden’ at the back. The clasp, in the classic 2.55 design, is no longer a hidden technical must but a gorgeous decorative detail.
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