Elite Traveler September-October 2017

INSPIRE TOP 50 WATCHES

High-Jeweled Beauties Perhaps no other timepiece in the world makes such a glimmering statement as a high- jeweled watch. These masterpieces are true objects of art that offer breathtaking beauty and value for generations to come. It should be noted that these high-jeweled watches are not easy to create. In some instances, watch brands have developed special stone settings that enable the diamonds and gemstones to shimmer in new and different ways. Additionally, it can take hundreds of hours for a master artisan to prepare the watch — gently working the metal into the proper shapes — for gem setting. It then takes a master gem setter a few hundred more hours to individually set each stone with such precision that when the finger runs across the jewel, there is no gap, no uneven edge, only smoothness. Often, the most elaborately set pieces take months to complete.

AUDEMARS PIGUET HAUTE JOAILLERIE DIAMOND OUTRAGE

The Haute Joaillerie Diamond Outrage is an audacious statement of diamond setting and gold working. The final piece in the ultra-contemporary trilogy of high-diamond watches from Audemars Piguet, the white gold cuff watch features a complex rendition of more than 40 spikes of varying heights, all meticulously set with brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds. The icicles that form during the winter in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland inspired the shape. The watch dial is a secret hidden beneath diamond-set spikes. In total, there are 9,923 brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 50.06 carats and 354 baguette-cut diamonds weighing 15.85 carats. Price on request Where to buy Audemars Piguet in New York, contact Susan Wallace, boutique manager, +1 212 688 6644, audemarspiguet.com

GRAFF MASTERGRAFF FLORAL TOURBILLON

Once again the master artisans Graff Diamonds marry comple watchmaking with elaborate d setting and enamel work in this beautiful MasterGraff Floral To The 36mm 18K white gold wat features a dial adorned with en painted flowers that rotate on themselves via a complex series of gears and wheels. The enamel process for the unique blooms is time consuming, and a single dial can take up to 50 hours to complete. The movement displays a tourbillon with floral motif at 5 o’clock, and offers hours, minutes and animated flowers at 8 o’clock, 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock. It is offered in a Tahitian blue dial or an orange/pink mother-of-pearl version. $195,000 Where to buy Graff Diamonds in New York, +1 212 355 9292, graffdiamonds.com at x iamond urbillon. ch amel-