Elite Traveler Fall 2019

elite traveler FALL 2019 97

RICHARD MILLE Gemset Sapphire RM07-02

Richard Mille is always a leader in the industry when it comes to new technology and materials. This year, it wows us with its first-ever, gem-set sapphire watch. The brand has used sapphire — clear, pink and green — before, but this is the first time it sets the sapphire with diamonds. The fantastic case takes weeks to create, starting with a study of the sapphire’s composition, then moving on to the machining of each ultra-hard piece from a single block of sapphire using diamond-tipped tools. The case requires 40 days of finishing. To set the gemstones (also a long operation), a laser is required to determine the tiniest micrometer openings into which prongs of gray gold are placed. The diamonds are then set into the prongs in rows. The blue sapphire creates an intriguing color dance with the diamonds, which appear blue in certain places, especially around the mother-of-pearl center dial. The brand’s RM 07-02 self-winding movement powers the watch using a variable-geometry rotor. Price on request, Richard Mille in Beverly Hills, California, +1 310 285 9898, richardmille.com

JACOB & CO Mystery Twin Central Tourbillons

In typical Jacob & Co style, the brand masterfully brings together haute joaillerie with haute horlogerie in a mystery watch that shimmers from every angle. The new 50mmMystery Twin Central Tourbillons watch is free from traditional hands. Instead, two rubies on the inner diamond rings act as the hour and minute hands, while sapphires on the outer ring of diamonds mark the hours. The five rings of diamonds are tiered, rising higher toward the center, where a circular opening displays two linked central triple-axis tourbillons. The innermost row of diamonds features seemingly jagged cuts that hang out over the center — almost like peering over the edge into the heart of a volcano. In total, nearly 560 diamonds weighing 33.1 carats decorate the timepiece. $1.3 million in 18K white gold, Jacob & Co in New York, +1 212 719 5887, jacobandco.com

HYT H O

Diamond Red For the first time ever, HYT, the brand that uses liquid to indicate time, unveils a fully diamond-adorned version of its H 0 watch. The H 0 Diamond Red boasts a stunning snow setting that is designed to look like water droplets, a nod to its liquid time indication. Differently sized diamonds not only pave the dial and bezel, they also flow down the case sides, all ensconced in a box-like, domed sapphire crystal. In total, the watch is set with 1,200 brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 7.4 carats. In this 48.8mm version, a bright shade of red indicates the time in both the viscous liquid that shows the hours via a glass capillary, as well as the second and minute hands and the crescent-shaped power-reserve display. The dial is open so the wearer can view the bellows that work to push the liquid into the glass tube. An exclusive manual-wind movement powers the watch. $89,000 in stainless steel, Cellini Jewelers in New York, +1 212 888 0505, hytwatches.com