e listed 10 of the most incredible timepieces depicting birds. I chose one brand for each bird; although, I could have written the blog entirely on Jaquet Droz minute or Bird repeaters. Perhaps for some other time.
Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater circa 2015 Cost $520,000
The Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater has to be one of the most publicized watches unveiled at Baselworld 2015 and for $520,000 this watch is designed particularly for the avid bird fan. Who else would spend a bundle to watch a mechanical mother bird feed here chick, another stretch its wings and another hatch from an egg. To fully appreciate this watch one must view the watch in action.
Van Cleef Arpels Lady Arpels Jour Nuit Oiseaux de Paradis SIHH 2015
The 2015 edition to Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complication flock is this wonderful depiction of a Bird of Paradise. The champlevé and cloisonné enamel creates a dial brilliant in color and form . Blue hues, fiery oranges and deep purple depict the vividness of an untainted forests where Birds of paradise alight among towering trees. The Bird of Paradise upon the dial displays shimmering tail feathers set with three round diamonds. The movement powering this latest 38mm edition to Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complication collection, is a 24 hour movement which changes the scene from flower by day to a diamond moon at night. This timepiece is limited to 22 pieces.
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art L’éloge de la nature collection - Watches & Wonders 2014
Two cranes engraved upon a pink gold plate fly over a choppy sea of guilloché ripples and translucent Grand Feu enamel. Two provide the wearer or watcher with the full effect of birds in flight, Vacheron Constantin utilized a automatic in-house 237 piece Calibre 2460 G4 movement, which displays the trailing hours and minutes as well as a jumping day and date via four apertures. The case is fashioned from 18k 5N pink gold and affixes to the wrist via an alligator leather strap. The case back is fashioned from sapphire crystal where one may view the Hallmark of Geneva.
Angular Momentum - Flying Bird circa 2009
Now this watch is kind of creepy, reminds me of the last creature to
escape from hellish destruction.The creature in fact is a sparrow which
,together with its foreboding backdrop, has been crafted with a Japanese
Lacquering method known as Urushi. Urushi lacquer comes from the sap of
a Urushi tree, which creates a natural plastic like substance. It is
the Urushi Lacquer that creates the intense blackness covering the dial.
Boucheron Hiniscus Tourbillon circa 2012
Boucheron mechanical hand wound Hibiscus Tourbillon is a
delicate representation of a hummingbird in mid-flap alighting upon a
diamond encrusted bezel attracted by a bright pink hibiscus. Between
bird and flower, a flying tourbillon incorporating a Swiss escapement
lever rotates beneath fallen leaves. A flying tourbillon is only
supported on one side creating the illusion that it rotating whilst
suspended in mid air - unsupported by any means. A white - almost hazy
mother-of-pearl dial -like a sky masked with high cirrus clouds, sets a
gentle backdrop for a scene created from white gold, blue and pink
sapphires and diamonds. A dial framed by delicate plant like swirls is
placed at the 1 'o'clock position. A gentle reminder of Boucheron's
flagship boutique at number 26 place Vendôme.
"Polly wants a cracker?" The parrot fluffing its feathers atop a signature Cartier Ballon Bleu dial is so realistic one expects it to emit a shrill squawk and pluck the cracker right out the hands of the giver. Amazingly the soft visage of feathers are crafted from real flower petals. From its face of feathers, a single emerald gleams at its eye against a shimmering backdrop of diamond paving. Limited to 20 pieces.
MB&F / Boucheron HM3 JwlryMachineWatch - circa 2010
Without the additional owlish getup, MB & F's HM3 closely resembles an owl or a frog. However, beneath the bejeweled clothes of Boucheron, the mechanical mastery turns into a spectacular spectacle of owlish delight.Clear sapphire crystal enable the clear display of hour and minute upon the cylinders of each eye. The eyes themselves are top with a purple cabochon and surrounded by a ring of diamonds. The owls claws and feather toughs are crafted from 18k white gold. Price $215,000
Chopard Emerald & Diamond Owl Watch- Currently Available
The eyes of an owl truly lend themselves to the face of a watch, especially when a dual timezone is on display. Chopard ,with its love for the animal kingdom, chose to represent the great horned owl on a silver leather strap around the wrist. Graduated calibré-cut emerald surround two grey guilloché watch dial eyes within a diamond set owl face. Available at Chopard, this limited edition Owl Watch will make your friends hoot with delight.
Jaeger LeCoultre Master Grand Tourbillon Crane Enamel Watch - circa 2013
Although many watch companies have taken pride in applying miniature enamel paintings to the dial, this timepiece is Jaeger-Lecoultre's first attempt at the enamel art. The result ,of course, is exceptional. Cranes, a symbol of longevity, nestle amongst bamboos beneath a silver foil moon and white gold guilloché decorated dial. A bunch of bamboo stalks are meticulously painted on the sapphire crystal creating a unique depth to the dial. An almost weightless light weight titanium alloy tourbillon cage turning at one revolution per minute. The enamel artistry is framed by a bejeweled bezel and sweeping lugs of 94 baguette cut diamonds weighing in at 8 carats. The power house of the watch is the iconic Calibre 978 visible via a sapphire crystal case back. Limited edition of 8 pieces.
Christian Audigier's Graceful Bird Watch- Currently Available
Since most these watches can run you in the thousands from some of the most prestigious watch brands, I like to post a more affordable bird watch to sway the chances of getting the title of a watch snob - Gasp! Anyway back to business. I have been monitoring Christian Audigier's watch designs for some time. The watches and movements are ok. Nothing to cry home about or set up news crawlers atop Times Square, but they definitely fill a nice affordable watch niche. The watches exude a youthful energy and pizzazz. The Graceful Bird Watch dial boasts tattoo flash inspired artwork and surrounded by Swarovski Crystal. In addition, Swarovski crystal graces each hour indice. The watch is presented on a gray rubber band featuring Christian Audiger's signature trademark. Christian Audigier is a high profile and very prolific French fashion designer residing in the US. Price $225.00
Piaget Limelight Garden Party Watch - SIHH 2011 (Ref. G0A36169)
Piaget's Limelight Garden Party Collection is a whimsical representation of a summer eve surrounded by the chatter of friends, the clink of glasses, the gentle chatter of garden birds and a gentle breeze ruffling leaves. The diamond encrusted birds, diamond encrusted leaves and berries the birds eat, revolve around the dial in effortless motion. The birds an their habitat are a meticulous composition of 99 brilliant cut diamonds set upon an 18 carat white gold case baring 52 brilliant cut diamonds. The entire scene sparkles against a backdrop of pure Piaget black. The watch is powered by a Piaget 56P quartz movement and secured to the wrist by a black satin strap and secured by a diamond encrusted 18 carat white gold ardillon buckle.If one has a great infinity for birds, take note, this watch is part of a large garden party motif collection of brooches necklaces and earrings.
Harry Winston Premier Feather Watch - Circa 2012
"Birds of a feather flock together" and Harry Winston has taken this proverb to an entirely new level by perfectly placing feathers upon a dial to create a kaledescope of design and color. Harry Winston always delivers with a flourish. With the Premier Feather
Watch, unveiled at the opening of the Shanghai Pavilion boutique, Harry
Winston preens perfection like an exotic male bird showing off its fine
plumage to the ladies. Working with feathers requires exceptional
talent and the job goes too ... Nelly Saunier who is one of the few
experts who still practice this rare skill. With an expert touch she
hand picked (not hand plucked) each feather spending 7 hours carefully and exquisitely creating the dial. In days gone by
feathers were used to decorate refineries most notably the headdress of
nobles and aristocrats. The feathers were cut and placed in the perfect position in order to make the best use of the feather's
natural nanostructructually organized tissue to interact with light and
achieve an intriguing iridescence. Each dial is intrinsically unique
and framed by 66 brilliant cut diamonds which flow onto Harry Winston
signature lugs. he Premier Feather Watch is powered by a quartz movement and water resistant to 30m.
The timepiece is bound to the wrist by a satin strap and secured with an
18k white gold or rose gold buckle set with 29 brilliant cut diamonds.
Only 8 pieces of these feathery watches will be produced making them
much coveted collectors items especially by those who have an affinity
to towards fowls.
What is it they say about Peacocks? Well depending which culture you belong to, they can bring good luck or other luck. There raucous caw can get kind of grating, but they are beautiful to see when strutting their stuff. The feathers are glorious and have been used as decoration on furniture, paintings, hair accessories and of course watches. In 1963, the peacock was designated the National Bird of India.
Below I have listed ten watches adorned in peacocks and the different dial decorating techniques used to portray the peacock theme.
Corum Heritage Artisans Feather Watch - Circa 2014
Dial Decorating Technique: Individually sorted, cut and glued peacock feathers.
“Into The Wild” Collection by Le Vian- Circa 2011
Dial Decorating Technique: Paved and Raised Gem-Setting.
Harry Winston Premier Feather Watch - Peacock Feathers - circa 2012
Dial Decorating Technique: Individually sorted, cut and glued peacock feathers.
Corum Peacock Feather Watch - Circa 1970's
Dial Decorating Technique: Cutting and Glueing peacock feather.
Chopard's Peacock Watch - Circa 2011
Dial Decorating Technique: Japanese "maki-e technique" lacquering technique. Artist: Kiichiro Masumura. Urushi technique - multiple layers of Urushi tree sap is applied to the dial and then sprayed with gold.
DeLaneau XRD Peacock- Circa 2012
Dial Decorating Technique: Enameling
Boucheron Héra Tourbillon - Circa 2011
Dial Decorating Technique: Girard Perregaux Three Gold Bridges in White Gold surrounded by paraiba tourmalines, sapphire and diamond paving. Peacock is in white gold set with paraiba tourmalines, sapphire and diamond paving.
Dial Decorating Technique: Hand-painted on mother-of-pearl.
Boucheron Watch Crazy Jungle Peacock - Circa 2010
Dial Decorating Technique: White Gold - Champlevé Grand Feu Enamel Dial
Piaget Altiplano Double Jeu - The Mythical Journey Collection - Circa 2014
Dial Decorating Technique: Two Cases - Upper Case Dial - Gold engraved peacock set with diamonds. Lower case dial (not depicted) - Piaget signature dazzling white dial with gold hands.
In case you were confused by the word "Luxury" this watch will re clarify the concept. Chopard (Founded in 1860) sells a Super Ice Cube Luxury Watch. Retail $1,130,620. Take your Tourbillons - give me diamonds - lots and lots. 66.16 carats of diamonds including 1,897 brilliants, 288 trapeze-cuts, and a center case glimmering with 16 squares. The watch is subtly pretentious and overtly glamorous. Chopard offers over fifty variations on the "Ice Cube" from black diamonds to pastel sapphires to rubies. Chopard is renowned for its incredible "gem sense" in that every hand picked gem is placed on the watch in perfect harmony and balance. This next watch is a Blancpain 1735 - Blancpain was founded in 1735 and this watch was named for the year. At first glance this Luxury Watch worth about One Million Dollars seems quite humble; however this watch has 6 individual complications. Two more than necessary to qualify as a "Grand Complication". The 6 Complications are compacted in an ultra slim 42 mm case which in itself can almost be deemed a complication. The Blancpain 1735 is equipped with:
a) A Perpetual Calander making allowances for different lengths of month as well as leap years till the year 2100.
b) Split-second chronograph or "rattrapante" which has two second hands, one of which can be blocked with a special dial train lever to indicate an intermediate time while the other continues to run. When released, the split-seconds hand jumps ahead to the position of the other second hand.
c)Minute repeater which has a striking mechanism with hammers and gongs for sounding the hours or quarter hours at the will of the wearer. The wearer pushes a slide which winds the spring. Most Repeaters use two different gongs to signal hours (low tone), quarters hours (high and low tones in succession), and minutes (high tone).
d) Tourbillon - said to compensate for the interference of gravity on the watch thus improving the watches accuracy, From the French word "whirlwind", in the Tourbillon the entire escapement escapement is mounted on a epicyclic train in a cage and rotated completely on its axis over a regular period of time, usually once a minute. A tourbillon is valued more for its superb horological craftsmanship than its actual functional abilities.
e) Moon-phase minder which displays the phases of the moon.
The streamlined case encapsulates 740 components that takes eight to ten months to build. This timepiece collection is limited to 30 watches. Crocodile Strap and 80 hour power reserve, what more could you ask for.
Hublot does everything big. The materials under the diamonds are invisible giving a perfect shimmer to the watch. The "Big Bang Chronograph" with a heart throbbing tourbillon is worth One Million Dollars.
The following three watches have yet to be priced, but my guess is it is going to be quite high and they add quite nicely to my treasure trove of watches blog.
This sleek bracelet is more bracelet than watch but since it is a Jaeger-LeCoultre creation the tiny watch nestled between the gleaming squares is a mechanical masterpiece of fine watch craftmanship. No price quoted as of yet for this Joaillerie 101 Manchette stunning timepiece. This watch is the Tag Heuer Fantasy where for the first time the diamonds tell the time. There is no one other than Tag Heuer themselves to explain how this marvelous space age watch operates:
This luxury watch set with 879 Top Wesselton (5.8 carats) VS/SI (1.1 mm), full-cut, diamonds hides a surprising innovation: the digital display through the diamonds. 54 of the 879 diamonds have been cut in a revolutionary way to provide a very high-definition concentration of the light emitted by 54 LEDs (light emitting diodes) that display the time in glowing red. The red is echoed in the satin strap that gives a warm and silky look contrasting with the brilliance of the multiple diamonds.
There you have it and the price is inestimable as only three of these watches have been crafted. Quite mind-boggling that a creation like this has been limited to but three. Diamond Rotolog Watch. Crafted by Watch Manufacturer Nixon. Interesting no doubt. I kind of cannot wrap my mind around it. This watch is studded with 1,851 diamonds - 764 full cut white diamonds while the remaining ones are full cut black diamonds, bringing the total number of carats to 9.25 carats.By this time I expect you to be salivating at the sight of all these luxurious items. I was going to sign off but Corum's Classical Billionaire Tourbillon kept on surfacing above my subconscious. Retailing at around a Million Dollars - Okay $998,000. A spectacular time-piece with a white gold case set with baguette diamond bezel, transparent dial and a stunningly blue alligator strap. The watch is a manual winding tourbillon with sapphire bridges. A 90 day power reserve with a 2007 limited production of 10 pieces.
A watch like this comes up for sale only once in a lifetime like a fleeting comet. The Girard-Perregaux Opera One. This luxury timepiece has no dial hiding the craftsmanship. The watch has three bridges, a tourbillon and a minute repeater sounding a Westminster Chime.
Imagine wearing one of these beauties on your wrist.
One of Chopard's most popular collections is the Mille Miglia. The collection encompasses a large array of different styles. The watches are Automatic with a precision Chronograph and a Tachymeter. A Tachymeter is a scale on the bezel which gives the speed of a moving object, in conjunction with the second hand. A Tachymeter takes a value determined in less than a minute and converts it into miles per hour. Perfect if you needed to know your speed on a lengthy race like the Mille Miglia. The Mille Miglia Collection is named after the Mille Miglia race or One Thousand Miles, originally an open-road endurance race which sped through some of Italy's most scenic landscapes, twenty four times from 1927 to 1957. The race was abruptly brought to an end when Alfonso de Portago blew a tire at high speed ,in a Ferrari, near Mantova. After the dust cleared Alfonso was killed and so were his navigator and 11 spectators. In 1982 the Mille Miglia endurance race was reinvented as a road rally rather than speeding cars on open roads. Now perfect timing is the essence, and competitors from around the world race their vintage cars dating from 1927 to 1957. It has become a meeting place for the rich and famous and passion driven individuals who wait all year to battle over 1,600 miles of exquisite Italian Roads. The Mille Miglia is widely known as "the most beautiful car race in the world" and Chopard , luxury watch brand, is the official timekeeper and one of the main sponsors.
In 1988 Chopard started its partnership with Mille Miglia and became the official time keeper. Chopard merged the world of car racing and timepieces with its powerful collection of sports watches, aptly labeled Mille Miglia. These precision sports watches are a representation of the world of car racing. The watches impart a integral sense of the road with its dials fashioned like the gauges of a race car. The black and red boldly stitched band, resemble the seats of the race cars.
The Watch Collections and the Name of Italy's One Thousand Mile race are perfectly synchronized in time.
Ingenious really. Chopard's Happy Sport Chrono Mark II has gone "all black". It is a new watch for a changing world. Women are increasingly taking on the big guys, making their mark in a competitive world. Women's watches are catching up and creating an empowering look that portrays a strength. Sara Palin, John McCains pick for Vice president is a testament to the presence of a woman. Not all women are cut out for thin delicate watches with pale pinks and sunny golds. Chopard in creating this blacker than black sports chronograph watch provides the driven woman with a watch that speaks her mind. A stark contrast to the black bezel, band and dial is blinding white floating diamonds, which are sandwiched between two layers of thin clear crystal, a fixture on Happy Watches . Diamonds usually give a watch a sense of jewelery; however, with this watch the diamonds create a determined sporty edginess to the watch.
The Happy Sport Chrono Mark II is part of the exceptionally Happy Sports Collection, Chopard introduced in 1993. The Happy Sport Collection is a spin off from Chopard's Happy Collection, first introduced in 1976 which contains riveting designs and colors.
