Baselworld 2015: 7 women's jewelry watches
Baselworld has wrapped up in Switzerland, which means it's time to survey the watch trends on the horizon for 2015. In the women's jewelry watch market, artisanal techniques, eccentric details and of course gemstones are among the key features of the 2015 crop.
Objets d'art
Produced in very limited editions, or sometimes even made to order, these timepieces are truly museum-worthy works of art. Chanel represents this category with its Mademoiselle Privé collection, which emphasizes artisanal details such as embroidery and Grand Feu enamel. At Baselworld 2015, the luxury brand expanded the line with new watches featuring sculpted gold, glyptics and even mother-of-pearl marquetry. One of the key themes of this year's Mademoiselle Privé editions are motifs inspired by Chinese Coromandel folding screens.
Chanel isn't the only French couture house looking to Asia for the inspiration behind its latest jewelry watches. Hermès came to Basel with the Slim Koma Kurabé, a timepiece referencing the traditional Japanese horse race held annually in Kyoto. Produced in a limited edition of 12 watches, the model features a French porcelain dial that is hand-painted by Buzan Fukushima, a master of the ancient Japanese art of Aka-é painting. Each watch is painted with a different scene with unique details.
Folli Follie also chose to emphasize artisanal techniques through its Santorini Flower Collection, a line of watches with floral motifs in mother-of-pearl relief on the dials. The line includes three different case sizes and a wide array of bracelets in pure ceramic, ceramic and chain, or leather (black, red, purple, white or brown).
Eccentricity and elegance
Who said jewelry watches had to be serious? A number of watchmakers are livening up their most elegant timepieces with fun and funky details. Fendi, for example, provides a removable tuft of fur with its My Way watches, allowing the wearer to transform the discreet timepiece into a fuzzy cuff bracelet.
Similarly eccentric, the four watches in the Royal Squirrel collection from Sicis come with a fur cuff adorned with a squirrel motif. The creature was made using a unique micro-mosaic technique for an effect that is both chic and original.
Gemstones and pearls
Finally, what would jewelry watches be without beads and baubles? Precious gemstones and kitschy rhinestones alike were a key feature of the timepieces on display in Basel this year. Balmain Watches introduced a version of its Balmazing II with 164 diamonds on the dial, while Charriol revealed 12 bracelets and 13 clips to allow wearers to customize its now famous Saint Tropez watch with gold and pearls.
