Crown Jewels: These Recently Launched Ladies’ Timepieces Will Dazzle You

Two news stories have got us reflecting on the intersection between jewelry and watches. The first is soaring gold prices.

Yet, despite the rising cost of the precious metal, demand for luxury watches is at an all-time high. The theory is that consumers are turning away from fast fashion and investing in long-lasting, quality items – sometimes as an investment.

The second story that has captured our attention is the brazen theft of Napoleonic-era royal jewels from the Louvre this past Sunday. For the record, we are totally against theft of any sort, but this had us obsessively following the news coverage.

Who were the crooks? Were they Cary Grant-style smooth criminals? How did they plan this perfectly calibrated heist? How fun is it to type heist? And let’s face it, everything is more interesting when jewels are involved. Even watches! Especially watches!

The only thing that could tear us away from refreshing our newsfeeds for Louvre-related updates was reading about the newest bewitching, bejeweled timepiece launches. Here are five of our favorites.

The Tonda PF Automatic, winner of the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) for the “Ladies’ Watch Prize” in 2022, has already become a classic in the Parmigiani Fleurier collection. However the new Tonda PF Automatic Deep Ruby 36mm is even more jewelry-like because it treats its dial like a precious gem.
 

Crafted in stainless steel and 18k rose gold, this smaller, 36 mm version eliminates the date window of the 40mm version, allowing the hand-guilloché grain d’orge (barleycorn) pattern to take center stage. A deep ruby dial tone and baguette-cut diamond indices also embody low key refinement, is equally as elegant.

The automatic movement, the specially designed calibre PF770, is equally as elegant. Fitted with a central 22-karat gold skeletonized rotor, the PF770 is only 3.9mm thick and has a robust power reserve of 60 hours.
 

Available now, the new Tonda PF Automatic Deep Ruby 36mm is priced at $35,1870. Visit the Parmigiani Fleurier website for more information.

The value of the most precious jewels transcends mere materials. They encapsulate both art and craft. Such is the case of Bulgari’s new mini-collection of limited-edition watches that pay homage to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, two icons of Mexican art.

We are particularly entranced by the Tubogas Manchette Frida Kahlo Limited Edition. This time-only Tubogas is crafted from solid gold and features diamond hour markers. What makes it an exceptionally rare gem is the fact that this angular cuff has been engraved with excerpts from Frida Kahlo’s emotional letters to Diego Rivera
 

These passages wrap around the wrist, unfurling a narrative of vulnerability, strength, and artistic passion. As Bulgari’s own press kit describes it, “It’s adornment and archive, draping Frida’s soul across the wrist.”

The Bulgari Tubogas Manchette Frida Kahlo Limited Edition is a Mexico-only edition and limited to only 25 pieces.

The most famous watch theft was of the Breguet No. 160 “The Grand Complication,” more commonly known as the Marie-Antoinette or the Queen (which you can read more about HERE). That story had a happy ending, with the watch being recovered. And Breguet had connections to the Napoleonic court as well, as he made the original “Reina de Naples” for Caroline Murat, Napolean’s sister.
 

To mark the 250^th anniversary of the Manufacture Breguet, the Reine de Naples collection has been expanded with two new references – the 9935 and 8925. The former is our favorite because it features a new movement (Calibre 537L2) and more refined display (the power reserve indicator has been removed). In fact, all aesthetic aspects of this moonphase have been elevated to make this timepiece feel like a piece of jewelry.
 

There are four variations of the 9935, all with a 36.5mm long by 28.45mm wide case made from 18K Breguet gold. The dials are all composed of some combination of Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial and aventurine glass with a hand-guillochés small seconds expressed with a “Quai de l’Horloge” motif. The hour chapter ring and applied Breguet Arabic numerals and open-tipped hour hands and seconds are also made of gold.
 

Finally, to complement the oblong case, the dials of the reference 9935 are also decorated with six pear-cut diamonds (with the fourth featuring a snow-set diamond dial). All of these glittering delights are set on either a gold bracelet or a sumptuous alligator leather strap.

The Reine de Naples 9935 is available now. For more information, including pricing information, visit the Breguet website.

Also revisiting one of its core collections, Blancpain has just introduced 16 new references to the Villeret collection, specifically its Golden Hour series. Each of these editions has its own charms, but the most jewelry focused model is the 33.2mm Quantième Phases de Lune.
 

The Quantième Phases de Lune features a pointer date and moon phase and employs other subtle artistic upgrades: For example, the leaf-style hands have been slimmed down and now feature lume. Another welcome upgrade is that they are set on leather straps with quick-change functionality.

Moonphase fans know that setting and correcting a watch with this complication can be tricky, but Blancpain has addressed this issue with the Calibre 913QL.P. A secure movement designed to protect delicate mechanisms and ensure lasting precision, this watch can be adjusted at any time of day for user-friendly functionality.
 

The Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune family offers an embarrassment of riches, as it’s available in the two dial colors and two case metals. Moreover, each version offers a diamond-set variant, making for eight references in total.

So, we’re going to pare down our picks down to the most luxurious takes: The stainless steel or 18K red gold versions with off-white opaline dials, diamond indices, and unadorned bezels or the 18K red gold model with a golden-brown dial, diamond indices, and a diamond-set bezel.
 

The Villeret Quantième Phases de Lune is currently available only in Blancpain’s Singapore and New York City boutiques and are priced starting from $15,400. For information about the other new additions to the Villeret collection, check out the Blancpain website.

The most jewelry-like jewelry watch is the Grand Lady Kalla from Vacheron Constantin, Not only was the collection  conceived as a High Jewelry offering from the get go, this convertible timepiece can be worn as four different kinds of jewelry: a fully gem-set watch, a covered jewel piece, a three-row rivière-style bracelet or a tasseled sautoir necklace, thanks to an ingenious lock and release system (the only thing worse than having your baubles purloined is accidentally losing them; this system prevents that).
 

To make the Grand Lady Kalla even more expressive, Vacheron Constantin has just announced three dazzling new, colored stone interpretations of the Grand Lady Kalla.

These ultra-glamourous models are available in white diamonds paired with emeralds and set in 950 platinum, or with rubies or sapphires and set in 18K white gold. These precious stones are complemented by white Akoya pearls and beads of polished semi-precious stones such as chalcedony and chrysoprase.
 

Pricing for the Grand Lady Kalla is available on request. For more information, visit the Vacheron Constantin website.