These three ladies watches are pushing the limits of feasibility for 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

 

Three ladies watches among the winners of 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Piaget, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Chopard are among the perennial winners of Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, one of the most coveted prizes in luxury watchmaking. The 2021 prize list of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) was unveiled on Thursday November 4 during a festive awards ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the GPHG. The ceremony honoured contemporary watchmaking excellence and creativity by handing out 19 prizes to winners announced by the 30-member jury headed by Nick Foulkes. See all the winners of the stunning 2021 GPHG edition.

Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow won Ladies’ Watch Prize at 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Re-interpretation of a vintage piece from 1973, Piaget Limelight Gala watch model (108 162 US Dollars) features an elegant round case sublimated by two asymmetrical extended lugs that are cambered in order to perfectly fit any wrist. The voluptuous nature of its silhouette is accentuated by a bezel set with dazzling brilliant-cut sapphires and tsavorite. This creation continues Piaget’s traditional expertise in gold work, epitomised here in the outstanding beauty of this delicately-crafted bracelet. With its elegant hand-engraved finish, the bracelet and its “Palace Décor” produce an almost iridescent effect, like a ribbon of raw silk wrapped exquisitely around the curve of the wrist. Inspired by Haute Couture techniques, it is on its reverse side that the bracelet reveals all its technical virtuosity. Its multitude of assembled links create an effect of extreme delicacy, in which each part is crafted to perfection to form a golden “fabric” of exceptional lightness.

 

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie Watch won Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize at 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

A new addition to Van Cleef & Arpels Féerie timepieces collection, this piece blends watchmaking skills and traditional craftsmanship within a delicately proportioned 33mm case. In a dreamlike scene, a fairy marks the passage of time with her magic wand by the gentle light of the Moon.

Like a protective muse, a fairy in a sapphire and diamond gown watches over Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetry of Time. Her face, depicted by a diamond, forms a dazzling contrast with the bluish tones of the sky, in guilloché mother-of-pearl. The same tones adorn her translucent wings, crafted from a combination of plique-à-jour and grisaille enamel. Used together by the Maison for the first time on a single motif, the techniques create an interplay of shades and effects of depth on the wings, which are also edged with intricately-set diamonds following the enameling work. Seated on a cloud of iridescent white mother-of-pearl, this feminine figure points out the minutes with her magic wand; meanwhile, the Moon harbors the passing hours in a window of mother-of-pearl, haloed by a gentle glow. On the back of the watch, the visible oscillating weight is engraved with a full Moon in a star-studded sky.

The Lady Féerie watch is fitted with a self-winding mechanical movement, with a retrograde minute display and jumping hours. Great precision was required in its design and assembly, to fit this sophisticated movement into a Lady case just 33mm in diameter. The case is embellished with a rounded sapphire glass, maximizing the light that enters and providing a gentle finishing touch to the watch’s silhouette.

Initiating one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most cherished traditions, the Maison’s first feminine figures were created in the early 1940s, in the form of precious ballerina and fairy clips. Conceived as symbols of joy and hope, the fairies rapidly won over collectors with their graceful postures and delicate wings. Seemingly ready to soar into the air, they are often endowed with a rose-cut diamond face crowned by a headdress. From 2007 and the first Lady Féerie watch, these ethereal silhouettes have accompanied the passing hours, like the guardians of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetry of Time.

Chopard Flower Power Watch (White gold, Fairmined white gold ) won 2021 Jewellery Watch Prize at 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

Among the treasures in Chopard’s emblematic Red Carpet Collection, the “Flower Power” jewellery watch testifies to the dreamy inspiration of Co-President and Artistic Director Caroline Scheufele, who has chosen to honour the Paradise theme.

The Paradise-themed Red Carpet Collection 2021 takes us into a universe dear to the luxury jewelry brand: that of unspoilt, generous and sublime nature. Among the 74 Haute Joaillerie creations composing this precious array – a number honouring the 74th Cannes Film Festival of which Chopard served as official partner – the “Flower Power” jewellery watch pays tribute to exceptional gemstones. When instilling a baroque, fanciful spirit into the Collection, Caroline Scheufele drew inspiration from the lush nature of the mythological or real places populating her fantasy repertoire. A bountiful Garden of Eden, where precious stones are picked like berries, where plants, birds and animals offer their vibrancy, their songs and their spectacular colours.

Thanks to its unique watchmaking and jewellery expertise, the artisans of the Geneva-based Maison have thus adorned this 534 379 United States Dollar timepiece with pink sapphires and pear-shaped as well as brilliant-cut diamonds, assembled into subtle flower garlands totalling around 30 carats.

The pink mother-of-pearl dial itself is meticulously set with 12 pink sapphires. In tribute to a Paradise of light and colour, the entire watch is made of ethical Fairmined-certified 18-carat white gold reflecting Chopard’s commitment to sustainable luxury.