Watches & Jewellery - 2021

A LIFE IN BALANCE

AUTUMN WINTER 2021

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“ ONCE I DREAME D TO BECOME THE FASTEST DRIVE R .

TODAY, I AM A DRIVE R OF CHANGE .

I AM A BIG PILOT.” LE WI S HA M I LTO N , 7 TI M E FO R M U L A 1 TM WO R LD CH AM P I O N

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THE BIG PILOT.

B I G P I LOT ’ S WATC H 4 3 Bold, iconic and genuine: The Big Pilot’s Watch is the timepiece of choice for individuals driven by passion, purpose and a desire to create.

For the first time, IWC’s most essential aviator’s watch is available in a 43-millimetre case, combining the purity of the original cockpit instrument design with superior ergonomics and pronounced versatility.

I W C B O U T I Q U E · 1 3 8 N E W B O N D S T R E E T, W 1 S 2 TJ · L O N D O N

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Contents

WATCHES & JEWELLERY AUTUMN/WINTER 2021

NEWS 19 24

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SHINE ON Jewellery news and trends ON THE CLOCK The latest from the world of watches BETTER TOGETHER Annoushka Ducas and Alice Temperley are a match made in heaven

SHOPPING 30

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ALL WHITE ON THE NIGHT Diamonds and pearls LISTEN UP Curate your perfect ear WILD THING Show your animal side SWINGING SIXTIES The lasting legacy of jeweller Andrew Grima THE NEW MOOD Blue and green watches to wear now COLOUR ME HAPPY Watches go bright and bold

ON THE COVER Theo (left) wears: Chopard Ice Cube bangles in FairMined white and yellow gold, Ice Cube rings in FairMined white, rose and yellow gold. Vest by Tom Ford @ Mr Porter.

Paulina (right) wears: Chopard Happy Sport 33mm watch, Ice Cube Pure bangle in 18 ct FairMined yellow gold, Ice Cube rings in FairMined white, rose and yellow gold. Bra

by Galvan London @ Matchesfashion

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TEAM Fashion director: Nicole Smallwood.

Photographer: Rachell Smith. Make-up: Barrie Griffith using CHANEL Fall-Winter 2021 Collection Tone-On-Tone and CHANEL Sublimage Le Baume. Hair: Davide Barbieri @ Caren using Leonor Greyl. Manicure: Edyta Betka using the Dior Manicure Collection and Miss Dior Hand Cream. Models: Theo @ Established; Paulina @ The Hive

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WATCHES & JEWELLERY AUTUMN/WINTER 2021

FEATURES 42

GO WITH THE FLOW Jewellery for everyone, everywhere

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IN SEARCH OF THE EXTRAORDINARY Tracey Llewellyn hunts down this year’s most jaw-dropping watches

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OUR TIME HAS COME A new era for British watchmaking. By Timothy Barber

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A REAL MINEFIELD Avril Groom examines the watch and jewellery industries’ steps towards sustainability

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BOLD IS BEAUTIFUL The colourful stones making waves.

By Carol Woolton

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TRACK & TRACE Traceability is cleaning up the world of coloured gems, says Avril Groom

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CHASE THE RAINBOW Eight shades of jewellery

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BRIGHT YOUNG THNGS The young women jewellers shaking up the industry.

By Jessica Diamond

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DELICATE TOUCH Tips for happiness from Poppy Delevingne

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JEWELS ET JIM The next chapter in men’s jewellery,

by Nicholas Foulkes

REGULARS

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EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS STOCKISTS

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pass on an item, we want to also help ensure the planet can support our descendants. So sustainability is a priority and we look at the strides the industry has taken so far (p58). A big leap has been using high-tech methods in the traceability of coloured stones, now more (figuratively) transparent (p62).

Another change, perhaps originating in the isolation bestowed upon us by the pandemic, has been the rising confidence in individuality, both for brands with faith in their design ethos and consumers prepared to follow their own style and identity. A host of lauded writers help us explore these issues. Doyen of style commentators, Nicholas Foulkes, investigates the welcome rise of men’s jewellery in its present and historical context (p77), while our cover shoot, beautifully photographed by Rachell Smith (p42), shows how the traditional divide between men’s and women’s jewels and watches has broken down.

Carol Woolton also looks at unusual and individual new gemstones – some quite Marmite – currently in focus (p61). Find similar content on her informative and entertaining new podcast, If Jewels Could Talk. To satisfy your colour craving, see Matthew Shave and Ursula Lake’s masterly shoot of a deconstructed rainbow in high jewellery form (p64). Jessica Diamond seeks out the young women designers setting up their own brands, with style they love and believe in (p72), while Timothy Barber investigates the other rugged individualists – British watch brands (p54). Finally, read Tracey Llewellyn’s piece on the creativity of watch innovation over the past two years, with pieces to make you gasp in wonder (p51).

In addition, all our usual features – the latest news, helpful shopping guides and a sumptuous Jewellery By Numbers (p80) – are here. We hope it shows you an industry in good heart, and with its heart in the right place.

Editor’s LETTER This is a time of change, for the world and our industry.

People’s biggest worry a year ago was Covid. Now, thanks to brilliant scientists, we have ways to live with it and life has regained a new, careful normality with reasons to enjoy wearing our best baubles, or even buy new ones.

Now, with chilling footage of floods and fires, and COP26 imminent, our pre-occupation is climate change. Our industry makes you think. Jewellery includes stones sometimes billions of years old and is crafted, like watches, to last centuries. If we

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What to do with C&TH Watches & Jewellery when you’ve finished reading it

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CON T R I BU TOR S

The rise of coloured gems, p61

Men’s jewellery enters a bold new era, p77

Nine young designers to wear now, p72

The latest innovations shaking up the watch industry, p51

Carol Woolton

Nicholas Foulkes

Jessica Diamond

Tracey Llewellyn

The watch you’d buy today?

Bulgari Serpenti Spiga in winter white with a smattering of icy diamonds, because I’ve always loved this design and things haven’t changed since the legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland said: ‘Don’t forget the serpent… it should be on every finger and all wrists…’

New name to know? LA-based Maggi Simpkins because she focuses on rings – which I always wear – and I love everything that her recent collection was about; a sense of colour, floral references, and preciousness, each is one-of-a-kind and created to become an heirloom.

Go-to piece? I wear my petite steel stirrup Ralph Lauren watch every day – no one I’ve met has one, it’s always admired, and with its chain links it’s more of a bracelet than a watch.

Trend you love? There’s a vintage revival happening; anything from Art Deco to Eighties, which mixes brilliantly with everyday modern pieces.

The watch you’d buy today?

A Patek Philippe 5020. I fell in love with this watch when it was launched in the mid 1990s, however it was not a great success at that time and was discontinued. There are, therefore, very few in circulation which makes them a challenge to find and even greater challenge to afford.

New name to know? I am not really the man to ask for recommendations about the latest up-and-coming designers, but I do admire the work being done by Francesca Grima to continue her father’s legacy as a truly innovative British jeweller.

Go-to piece? I enjoy wearing rings, and the one I have had longest is a cameo of Socrates given to me by a dear friend about 20 years ago.

Trend you love? I am not a man to know much about exciting new trends (see above) but I am getting into the idea of men wearing brooches.

The watch you’d buy today? A Van Cleef Cadenas – because I love the utilitarian design based on a padlock; a Vacheron Constantin Patrimony with diamonds that are set into the edge of the bezel (such a discreet sparkle); and a 1970s Rolex Datejust in yellow gold with a malachite dial.

New name to know? I love Dangleterre Paris for its reimagining of the Art Deco aesthetic, Van Robot for its brilliant, cute robot pendants and Shakti Ellenwood for her talismanic pieces.

Go-to piece? I wear my Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a yellow dial every day – it’s a new purchase and I love the sunshine vibes it gives off. And my engagement ring, of course, which we had made at the Garrard workshops.

Trend you love? I love irreverent design – so jewellery that feels fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Jewellery should make you smile.

The watch you’d buy today?

I would buy a 1950s Bulgari Serpenti – one of the very rare ‘dragon’ versions with a body made of small balls of gold and diamonds (only two examples are known to exist).

New name to know? The Scottish watch company Paulin, formed by three sisters, is going from strength to strength. Its Neo watches with brightly coloured, anodised aluminium dials are particularly fabulous and cost less than £400.

Go-to piece? I have quite a few watches but the one I tend to wear daily is my Rolex Milgauss.

At the time they weren’t particularly desirable, but today it gets noticed by a lot of people.

Trend you love? The rise of independent watchmakers. Long waiting lists and astronomical prices in the pre-owned and vintage markets are forcing people to look for alternatives and this is enabling good, small brands to come through at all price points.

Editor Avril Groom Editorial Director Lucy Cleland Managing Editor Amy Wakeham Features Assistant & Sub Editor Sofia Tindall Sub Editor Katie Bamber Property & Marketing Associate Director Gemma Cowley Advertising Sales Director Ellie Rix Senior Account Manager Pandora Lewis Account Manager Katrina Gane Digital Manager Adam Dean Creative Direction & Production Parm Bhamra Production Designer Samuel Thomas Online Editor Rebecca Cox Junior Online Editor Ellie Smith Online Writer Charlotte Rickards Junior Social Media Editor Daniella Saunders Technical Manager Hannah Johnson Finance Controller Lauren Hartley Finance Director Jill Newey Group Publishing Director Tia Graham Managing Director Jeremy Isaac Copyright © 2021/22 Country & Town House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. While every care is taken to ensure all information is correct at the time of going to press, it is subject to change, and Country & Town House Ltd. takes no responsibility for omissions or errors. Country & Town House, Studio 2, 115 Harwood Road, London SW6 4QL, +44 (0)20 7384 9011.

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SHINE ON The latest trends and news from the world of jewellery. By Francesca Fearon

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

It’s little known that Carl Fabergé, creator of the famous jewelled eggs beloved of the Russian imperial family, opened a London shop in 1906. Royalty, aristocrats and maharajahs flocked through his doors, including Edward VII buying gifts for his mistresses.

The Russian master goldsmith is the subject of a major new V&A exhibition with exquisite pieces lent by the Hermitage Museum and the Queen.

Fabergé: Romance to Revolution, 20 Nov to 8 May 2022. vam.ac.uk

ABOVE & BELOW : Rings from Garrard’s Jewelled Vault collection, £POA

Basket of Flowers Egg by Fabergé

PHOTOS: © HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II; BBC/TWENTY TWENTY PRODUCTIONS LTD

THE MOSS EFFECT

The runaway success of last year’s debut Kate Moss collaboration with Messika has led to an even bolder and more adventurous second collection. The hippie-chic diamond headpieces, strings of diamonds draped sexily around the ear (Kate’s favourite design), and malachite and diamonds balanced on hoop earrings are just sensational – the supermodel’s famous fashion eye adding a soupçon of her cool eclectic spirit. messika.com

Fawaz Gruosi Amber, amethyst and jade bangle, £POA Messika by Kate Moss, Opus 2 18ct yellow gold, malachite and diamond Colour Play earring, £POA

ETERNAL AMBER

Fawaz Gruosi loves turning neglected materials into covetable jewellery, making black diamonds desirable in the early 1990s with De Grisogono. Under his new eponymous venture he is doing the same with amber. From Lithuania comes the best Baltic amber, known as ‘gold of the north’, which is fossilised tree resin formed 44 million years ago and transformed into sensuous jewellery. At his new Mayfair boutique. fawazgruosi.com

ROYAL CONNECTIONS

As a royal warrant holder, Garrard is understandably inspired by royal history.

Its latest muse, for the sumptuous Jewelled Vault collection, is the Duchess of Edinburgh, Maria Alexandrovna, who travelled from Russia to marry Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, in 1874. She had the imperial family’s extravagant tastes, commissioning new pieces from Garrard to add to her collection - kept in a heavily guarded walk-in vault at Clarence House. garrard.com

RISING STARS

Hugo Johnson, winner of All That Glitters

Roxanne Rajcoomar-Hadden, founder of the RRH Diamond Academy

While a second series of BBC2’s All That Glitters (bbc.co.uk/iplayer) is in the works, this year’s winner Hugo Johnson from RTFJ jewellers (rtfj.co.uk) is reaping the benefits of an order book bursting with commissions, after the programme shed light on the challenges, craftsmanship and dedication of jewellery making. Meanwhile, the new RRH Diamond Academy mentorship programme helps ten young designers from diverse backgrounds (selected by a panel) to break into the fine jewellery industry. The initiative is a collaboration between the Natural Diamond Council and jeweller Roxanne Rajcoomar-Hadden, who struggled to fit in the industry while still honouring her black heritage (naturaldiamonds. com; rrhjewellery.com). And the Bright Young Gems mentoring scheme offers bursaries and support to five young designers, including Capucine Huguet, whose broken snowflake rings symbolise climate change.

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | News Gucci’s new Link to Love collection of rings and bracelets is gender neutral

BLUE MOOD

GO WITH THE FLOW

Gender neutral is the new unisex and it’s rapidly evolving. Fope’s signature Flex’it collection of stretchy gold rings and bracelets (fope.com), and the double-wrap twists of gold in the new Tiffany Knot collection are all now available in larger sizes (tiffany.co.uk). Gucci’s eighties-style Link to Love embraces all with its stackable bracelets and rings (gucci.com), while Fernando Jorge’s first foray into genderless jewellery, featuring citrines, lapis lazuli and iolite, is exclusive to Mr Porter (mrporter.com).

Vashi’s new Convent Garden boutique puts the craftspeople on the shop floor; Vashi purple sapphire octagonal cut ring £13,900

BUILD YOUR OWN

The secretive craft of jewellery making is revealed at Bridal Jewellery Retailer of the Year-awarded Vashi, which has its workshops located inside its stores. The latest is in Covent Garden, with artisans at their workbenches on the ground floor. Inside, customers can cocreate a bespoke diamond engagement ring, be guided through the physical stages of making and pop back to see progress. Alternatively, order from the new collection of coloured gemstone rings. vashi.com

Author, gemologist and TV jewellery expert Joanna Hardy completes her decade-in-the-making book trilogy on the ‘Big Three’ coloured gemstones with Sapphire (Thames & Hudson, £85, in collaboration with Gemfields).

Like the equally intensively researched and beautifully presented Emerald and Ruby, Sapphire charts the history, allure and devotees (from Jacques Cartier and Hollywood sirens to the British royal family) of this stone prized for many hues, especially blue.

To mark the occasion, Gemfields has released a celebratory gold pendant alongside Jewel of Africa, set with each gem. £795, thealkemistry.com

FEEL THE BUZZ

In warm honey-gold and blue tones, Chaumet’s refurbished flagship in New Bond Street has reopened with an interior that calls on crafts from marquetry and gold leaf work to frescoes.

Don’t miss the tiara displays – Chaumet has made more than 2,000 since it was founded in 1780 – but make a beeline for the latest Bee My Love collection based on the famous honeycomb pattern.

Diamond-set gold pendants, stacking rings, bracelets and a splendid necklace will set you buzzing. chaumet.com

Bracelets and rings from Chaumet’s Bee My Love collection

JEWELS ON FILM

Chopard Happy Hearts - Golden Hearts ethical rose gold and diamond earrings, £11,600

Diamonds and coloured gemstones will sparkle on screen this autumn as Chopard and Bulgari tie up with two hotly anticipated releases. Lady Gaga wore sumptuous pieces from Bulgari’s high jewellery and heritage collection for her role in The House of Gucci as Patrizia Reggiani, who was accused and convicted of orchestrating the murder of her husband Maurizio Gucci in 1995. Meanwhile Chopard loaned spectacular diamonds from its Green Carpet collection to the new James Bond film No Time to Die, worn by actress Ana De Armas as a glamorous CIA agent. To tie in, the brand has just launched a Bond-inspired fine jewellery collection Happy Hearts – Golden Hearts – a name which neatly links to the title of several Bond movies, like Goldfinger. n

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Collaboration

BETTER TOGETHER

ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Annoushka Ducas (left) and Alice Temperley; Bluebell necklace, £4,900; Lovebird ring, £11,500; BELOW, FROM TOP: Dove Chandelier earrings, £8,200; Dove pendant, £2,900; Bluebell bracelet, £2,900

very refreshing and very important to be honest in a collaboration.’

The capsule collection is based on items of Victorian jewellery that Alice has collected over the years. Annoushka loved their ‘delicacy, sense of movement and versatility – we wanted them to Annoushka’s new collaboration with Alice Temperley go far beyond your wedding, to wear every day’. is a perfectly matched meeting of minds, finds Avril Groom In turn, Alice loved the way Annoushka made the motifs ‘modern and more sophisticated, a here are some artistic collaborations so obvious bit rock’n’roll but very feminine’. Unusually for that, with hindsight, it seems crazy that bridal jewellery, most of the collection is in yellow gold – these two rarely take the conventional route. they didn’t happen before. Take the new bridal capsule collection by jewellery Annoushka says she ‘would not have used the polished designer Annoushka Ducas and high gold that Alice wanted, but its glint gives a lovely sense fashion creator Alice Temperley, both of movement’. Alice says she wanted ‘a little bit of bling, like the subtle gold sequins I always use on forthright British women with well-known independent dresses that glimmer as you walk’. businesses, both with a decorative, detailed, very personal approach to design, both with a love of vintage This glimmer lights up delicate, long, asymmetric influences alongside modern versatility, and both earrings with a tiny gold, diamond-trimmed bird, based on an earring that Alice wears daily, and on with an interest in the bridal market.

Alice is known for her ethereally beautiful chandelier earrings where the bird’s tail appears as a wedding dresses, exquisitely embroidered and stylised motif, each with a tiny, trembling pearl droplet. beaded, while Annoushka’s jewellery is equally The motif also appears on a necklace that Alice has had delicate and intricate. Over Zoom, they tell me how since she was 14, which was the inspiration for a pendant that is designed to go with the deep V-neck of many bridal the project came about. Alice says they ‘knew each dresses. A cluster ‘disco ball’ ring with a bird motif shank is other’s work and had mutual contacts but had never met’. set with diamonds and cabochon aquamarines (something ‘And I have a lot of Alice’s [non-bridal] dresses,’ chips in Annoushka, who only recently started designing bridal blue), is based on a ring that Alice says she ‘found in Paris jewellery, whereas Alice has had years of experience crafting but was much less sophisticated’, and there is a simpler aquamarine version featured in the collection, too. both bespoke and ready-to-wear wedding dresses.

The introduction was made by Annoushka’s marketing Alice says they can visualise future versions with director, who used to work with Alice and saw the different stones, before thinking about extra designs. potential for collaboration. Both designers Given that many women, brides or not, will want have a clear vision and their collaborative these beautiful, versatile pieces, that time could process must have been fascinating to come very soon. watch. ‘I went a bit off-piste at first,’ admits Annoushka x Temperley Bridal launches on Annoushka, ‘but Alice brought me back and 11 October. annoushka.com; temperleylondon.com n she was right. As two upfront creatives it was

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ON THE CLOCK The watch world never stops turning, says Timothy Barber

OVERSEAS, OVER MOUNTAINS

You probably wouldn’t have a Vacheron Constantin watch on your kit list for a yomp through the Himalayas, or even the Cotswolds. However, Geneva’s venerable maker has new versions of its Overseas line going in a newly robust direction.

Trialled on Everest by the adventurer Cory Richards, the Overseas Everest editions are chronograph and dual-time models, limited to 150 of each, with titanium and steel cases, heavily textured grey dials with orange indications, and Cordura or rubber straps. Dual time, £26,600; chronograph, £31,400. vacheron-constantin.com

CHOPARD X BAMFORD

Following Bamford Watch Department’s collaborations with TAG Heuer, Zenith and even Casio, it’s the turn of Chopard, and its petrolhead special the Mille Miglia chronograph to receive a George Bamford makeover. The BWD studio has recast this normally retro model as a full-blooded contemporary sports watch with buckets of va va voom, with a case coated in matte grey DLC, a dark-toned dial lit up by orange accents and a rugged strap. Limited to 33 editions. £7,020, chopard.com

LUCE DREAMING

The popularity of Patek Philippe sports watches now extends to women, with a hoard of new versions of the Aquanaut Luce, mixing sportiness and diamond-set glamour. With a larger case and a composite material strap integrated to the case’s contours, the new styles include the first dual-time Aquanaut Luce, in rose gold on a white strap. From £15,490, patek.com

REVERSO ON SHOW

Jaeger-LeCoultre is marking the 90th birthday of its most famous design, the Reverso, with a sumptuous Parisian exhibition taking in the Reverso’s history in high watchmaking and decorative craft, hands-on workshops, a 3D art installation and an Art Decoinspired grand café. Oh, and there’s a spectacular new watch: the skeletonised and wholly mesmerising Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater, made in just ten iterations (£POA). 21 October to 24 December, 15 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, exposition-reverso.com

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A TRUE ORIGINAL RETURNS

Zenith has been firing new versions of its famous El Primero chronograph in all directions, from sporty to high-tech. The newest is arguably the purest: a pitch-perfect recreation of the 1969 model that launched the all-conquering movement, the world’s first automatic chronograph. The Chronomaster Original, a retro beauty with the famous tri-colour subdials, is an online exclusive. £7,100, zenith-watches.com

AROUND THE WORLD

In a first for Michel Herbelin, the French watch company has just introduced a new version of its Seventies-inspired Cap Camarat Automatic watch, this time updated with a GMT function coupled with a clever manual worldtimer.

Designed for managing time differences with precision and ease, the stylish brushed stainless steel watch has been issued in a limited edition of 500 numbered pieces. Get yourself on the list. €1,490, michel-herbelin.com

BREITLING OPENS THE THROTTLE

MOSAIC MAGIC AT BULGARI

Few brands mix high jewellery and creative horology with more verve than Bulgari; its latest masterpiece, the Divina Mosaica Minute Repeater, contains one of the slenderest chiming movements – a work of watchmaking art – and boasts all-over diamond mosaic with the fan motif (inspired by Roman floor mosaics) of the Divas’ Dream collection. Versions in ombré pink sapphires or tsavorites feature a mechanical self winding movement (instead of the minute repeater) and mesmerising jewels. £POA, bulgari.com

CIVILISED READING

If you need a stocking-filler for the horolophile in your life, look no further than David Rooney’s beautifully written new book, About Time. It traces the course of civilisation through the evolution of timekeeping, and twelve key clocks, from Roman sundials to satellite GPS systems. Ambitious, enthralling and highly readable. About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks by David Rooney (Penguin Books, £16.99)

Breitling has classic motoring fans in mind with its three chromatically bold Top Time Classic Cars Squad chronographs, each inspired by a sports car of the mid-1960s: the Shelby Cobra (blue), the 1964 Ford Mustang (green), and the Chevrolet Corvette C2 (red). Rippling with retro style and bravura, they summon up the free-spirited original Top Time models, made ‘for young and active professionals’ in the same era. £4,360 each, breitling.com

DEEP TIME

In its latest collaboration with international creatives, Rado has partnered with Indian studio Thukral and Tagra for a watch heavy on contemporary aesthetics and philosophical wonder. The True Square Over the Abyss watch superimposes the local time within a fireworks burst of 37 rotating hands, representing the world’s time zones spinning by in graduated colours – the idea is a watch that ‘presses on our temporality as individuals and highlights the importance of our connection with others’. It does so in some style. £2,460, rado.com Autumn/Winter 2021 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 25

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A GLOWING REPORT

The recent trend for ‘lume’ – glow-in-the-dark dial substances – was preceded by TAG Heuer’s 1980s dive watches with phosphorescent dials and black markings, reversing the norm. An oddball favourite, the Nightdiver has now returned, amid the overhaul of TAG Heuer’s Aquaracer range.

The glowing dial has an all-black setting of DLC-coated case, ceramic bezel and black rubber strap, with an automatic movement inside – unlike the quartz original. £2,750, tagheuer.com

SUPER-WATCHES IN SHAKESPEARE COUNTRY

OFFSHORE ASSETS

Audemars Piguet’s perennially hip Royal Oak Offshore, the burly, sportier brother of the iconic Royal Oak, has had its biggest upgrade in a decade, with the first Offshores powered by the brand’s new fly-back chronograph movement, a high-spec engine launched last year. New variants include three 42mm versions recalling the original 1993 Offshore style, with either a lightweight titanium or stainless steel case and an ergonomic redesign of the 43mm Offshore, including a new strap-secure system and self-change bracelet. From £29,900, audemarspiguet.com

Greubel Forsey’s inventive super-watches cost more than your average Ferrari and are among the pinnacles of modern horology – but for some time, they’ve been unavailable in the UK. Now, to find one head to Warwickshire. Pragnell, the Stratford-upon-Avon jeweller and eminent watch dealer, has added Greubel Forsey to its lists. It’s also the only UK stockist of another independent powerhouse, FP Journe. 5,7 Wood Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, pragnell.co.uk

PERPETUAL JOY

It shouldn’t work, but boy does it. H Moser & Cie’s wonderful minimalist Perpetual Calendar, invented in 2006, put the brand among the top independent watchmakers; now it’s been incorporated into the brilliant, slinky Streamliner sports watch unveiled last year. With leap year indication on the back, and the hour markers doubling as month indicators via a tiny central hand, it has the romance of a grand complication, but the playfulness and ergonomic style demanded by the modern traveller. A true one-off. £39,400, h-moser.com

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain, £POA

Burlington Arcade has gone Bond-mad with Omega’s new 007-inspired experience. With a pop-up shop, an Omega private members bar and an exhibition of on-set snaps by photographer Greg Williams, it also features key props and watches from the James Bond films. A fascinating look behind the scenes. Until December, omegawatches.com n

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

ALL WHITE ON THE NIGHT 1 Giovanni Raspini Anemone earrings, sterling silver, natural pearls, £220 2 Sydney Evan pearl and moonstone necklace, £1,235 3 Pragnell Edwardian plaque ring, white gold, diamonds, £4,500 4 Kiki McDonough pearl and diamond drop earrings, £1,900 5 Pomellato Catene bracelet, white gold, diamonds, £56,300 6 Harry Winston Fifth Avenue ring, platinum and diamonds, £POA 7 Hancocks vintage cut round rose cut diamond and platinum necklace, £28,500 8 Sorellina La Luna earrings, 18ct gold, mother of pearl, pearls, sapphires, £8,538 9 Melanie Georgacopoulos Square embedded earrings, 18ct white gold, white mother of pearl, diamonds and white hippopus pearls, £12,000 10 Matilde Leonis bangle, 14ct recycled white gold and lab-grown diamonds, £1,750 11 Sophie Bille Brahe Petite Splash Nuit single pearl earring, £425 12 Tiffany Olive Leaf three-row pearl bracelet, sterling silver and freshwater pearls, £1,725

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

Diamonds and pearls are a match made in jewellery heaven

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

LISTEN UP 1 Buccellati Blossoms pendant earrings, gold-plated and silver, pink opals, 80 brown diamonds, £3,100 2 So-Le Swan earrings, upcycled leather, ruthenium-coated brass, £130 3 De Beers Reflections of Nature Ellesmere Treasure climber earrings, 18ct white gold, white diamonds, £POA 4 David Morris Berry stud earrings, 18ct rose gold, turquoise, white diamonds, pink sapphires, £3,300 5 Tasaki Atelier Surge earrings, 18ct yellow gold, £5,340 6 Boodles Lock earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds, enamel, £5,900 7 Boochier hoops, neon green enamel, diamonds, £1,760 8 Dior Joaillerie Oui earring, yellow gold, diamond, £760 9 Maria Tash Pearl Coronet ring with diamond briolette in yellow gold, £1,270 10 Alemdara Hamra earring, 18ct yellow gold, diamonds, £445 11 Garrard Albemarle jacket earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds, £17,000 12 Robinson Pelham Bat Ear Wish, black diamonds in 14ct yellow gold, £385

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

Curate your perfect ear with a constellation of gems

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MESSIKA.COM

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

WILD THING 1 Bibi Van Der Velden Monkey on a Banana Necklace, 18ct gold. brown diamonds, lemon quartz, £5,857 2 Cartier Panthère bracelet, 18ct yellow gold, onyx, tsavorite garnets, £6,750 3 Elizabeth Gage hand-carved earrings, 18ct yellow gold, hand-carved peridot, coral beak, painted rock crystal eyes, £12,120 4 Graff Gecko brooch, white gold, diamonds, £POA 5 Annoushka bird charm, gold, blue topaz, sapphire, black diamond, £3,500 6 Boucheron Nara the Doe ring, 18ct yellow gold, diamonds, black sapphires, £10,350 7 Loquet Diamond Elephant Happiness charm, £260 (locket sold separately) 8 Tessa Packard Forest Fawn earrings, 18ct yellow gold, onyx, rutilated quartz, enamel, porcelain, £7,500 9 Sophie Theakston Sacred Cow amulet, gold, diamonds, £3,000 10 Roxanne Rajcoomar-Hadden Crab pendant, 9ct Fairtrade yellow gold, on a gold-plated chain, £1,200 11 Chaumet Ant earrings, yellow gold, lapis lazuli, sapphires, red spinels, £POA 12 Theo Fennell Hoopoe bird brooch,18ct rose gold, black, white and cognac diamonds, £21,250 13 Goossens x Harumi snake bracelet, 24ct gold plate, £445

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

Show your inner animal

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MESSIKA.COM

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

SWINGING SIXTIES 1 Cleopatra’s Bling Alice earrings set in 18ct gold plate and blue enamel, £120 2 Liv Luttrell 18ct recycled yellow gold ring, £5,300 3 Omnēque Andrew Grima original pendant, 18ct yellow gold, opal, diamond, £13,750 4 Ruth Tomlinson Sweeping Cluster ring, 14ct yellow gold, pink sapphire, champagne and white diamonds, £8,800 5 Stephen Webster Shard hoop earrings, 18ct yellow gold, diamond, fire opals, £9,800 6 Brooke Gregson Super Nova pendant, boulder opal, enamel, £13,600 7 Daou Spark cluster earrings, 18ct yellow gold, £4,200 8 Grima brooch, yellow gold, cabochon pink tourmalines, diamonds, £9,500 9 Jessica McCormack On The Rocks drop earrings, diamonds, chalcedony, £23,000 10 Xupes Andrew Grima original pendant, 18ct gold, diamond, £39,999 11 Kimberly McDonald earrings, 18ct blackened white gold, diamonds, pearls, £14,430 12 Jessie Thomas Starburst ring, 18ct yellow gold, diamonds, £2,800

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

In his centenary year, the design influence of the father of modern jewellery, Andrew Grima, is writ large

36 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | Autumn/Winter 2021

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52 & 53 Burlington Arcade London W1J 0HH T: (44) 20 7493 8904

www.hancockslondon.com

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

THE NEW MOOD

1 Patek Philippe Grand Complication 5236P-001, £POA 2 Bulgari Divas’ Dream watch, £16,000 3 Breitling Superocean Heritage '57 Pastel Paradise, £3,600 4 Hermès Arceau Soleil, £7,770 5 Carl F Bucherer Patravi Scubatec Maldives, £4,500 6 TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300, £2,500 7 IWC Pilot’s Watch Chrono 41, £6,500 8 Rado Great Gardens of the World Chapter 1, £2,190 9 Cartier Tank Must, £2,410

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

Blue and green are the only shades to be seen in, says Amy Wakeham

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Shopping

COLOUR ME HAPPY

1 Rolex Day-Date 36 with white gold, diamonds and coloured gem indexes, £POA 2 Dior Watches Gem Dior in yellow gold, diamonds, and decorative stones, £POA 3 Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Tribute, £21,100 4 Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Co-Axial Master Chronometer in 18ct Sedna gold and red rubies, £24,650 5 Hublot Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Rainbow, £POA 6 Harry Winston Ocean Biretrograde Automatic 36, £POA 7 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph, £74,700 8 Piaget Limelight Gala Precious Rainbow in 18ct rose gold set with 37 sapphires and 5 tsavorites, £POA 9 Richard Mille 07-01 Coloured Ceramics, £113,000

FOR STOCKISTS PLEASE SEE PAGE 76

Go bold, go bright, go beautiful, says Amy Wakeham

40 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | Autumn/Winter 2021

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Discover the Antares collection with its iconic interchangeable straps, crafted with precision in France at our workshops in Charquemont.

Available at exclusive retailers around the country

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GO WITH

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PAULINA From top: Tiffany & Co. T1 narrow ring in 18ct yellow gold, City Hardwear link necklace in 18ct yellow gold, T1 narrow hinged bangle in 18ct yellow gold, HardWear link bracelet in 18ct yellow gold, T square bangle in 18ct yellow gold; Jumpsuit, Skiim Paris THEO From top: Tiffany & Co. Paloma’s Groove wide ring in 18ct yellow gold, City Hardwear link necklace in 18ct gold, City HardWear link bracelet in 18ct yellow gold, Victoria diamond bracelet, T square bangle in 18ct yellow gold. Vest, Sunspel

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From left: FOPE Eka Flex’it bracelet in 18ct white gold with white diamonds, Essentials Flex’it rings in 18ct white gold, and Prima Flex’it ring in 18ct white gold with diamond rondel; Giovanni Raspini Bold bracelet; Gucci 25H watch; FOPE Panorama Flex’it bracelet in 18ct white gold with gold rondels and Vendome Flex’it bracelet in 18ct white gold with sapphire and diamonds.

Shirt, Saint Laurent @ Matches Fashion

THE FLOW

Any time, any place, anyone jewellery has gone all-inclusive FASHION DIRECTOR NICOLE SMALLWOOD PHOTOGRAPHER RACHELL SMITH

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From left: Theo Fennell 18ct yellow gold engraved lion signet ring, 18ct white gold carved amethyst fleur de lys ring, 18ct yellow gold bi-colour tsavorite winter to spring ring, 18ct rose gold engraved snake signet ring, 18ct yellow gold engraved skull signet ring, 18ct yellow gold and diamond accented snake head palmier chain.

Top, Homme Plissé @ Matches Fashion

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THEO Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36mm with a yellow dial; Cartier Clash de Cartier 18ct rose gold earring.

Waistcoat, Comme des Garçons @ Matches Fashion PAULINA Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41mm with a silver dial; Cartier Clash de Cartier ring and Juste un Clou earrings. Shirt, Dior

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From left: CHANEL Watches J12 Electro Calibre 12.1 38mm watch and J12 Electro 33mm watch; Gilet, Petar Petrov @ Matches Fashion

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THEO From top: Pomellato Nudo Gelé earrings in rose gold, white gold, sky blue topaz gelé, mother of pearl and turquoise; Hannah Martin giant punk pin stone necklace and Rebel Bolt yellow gold ring; Messika Move Natural titanium and diamond ring;.

Shirt, Nanushka @ Mr Porter PAULINA From top: Pomellato Nudo Gelé earrings in rose gold, white gold, sky blue topaz gelé, mother of pearl and turquoise and Nudo Gelé ring in rose gold, white gold, white quartz gelé and mother of pearl ring; Hannah Martin Rebellious oversized bangle in yellow and rose gold with a carved malachite bolt screw closure.

Dress, Alberta Ferretti

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PAULINA Mikimoto x Comme des Garçons @ Dover Street Market Akoya pearl and safety pin necklace; Sophie Bille Brahe @ Dover Street Market Venus earrings.

Top and skirt, CHANEL THEO Mikimoto x Comme des Garçons @ Dover Street Market Akoya pearl and stud necklace; Sophie Bille Brahe @ Dover Street Market Venus earrings. Shirt, 73 @ Matches Fashion

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From top: Dior Joaillerie Gem Dior ring in yellow gold and diamonds; Tasaki yellow gold and freshwater pearl ring; Dior Watches Gem Dior watch in steel and black mother-of-pearl; Tasaki Arlequin yellow gold and freshwater pearl bracelet.

Leather jumpsuit, Temperley London TEAM Make-up: Barrie Griffith using CHANEL Fall-Winter 2021 Collection Tone-On-Tone and CHANEL Sublimage Le Baume Hair: Davide Barbieri at Caren for Leonor Greyl Manicure: Edyta Betka using the Dior Manicure Collection and Miss Dior Hand Cream Models: Theo at Established Paulina at The Hive Fashion assistant: Daisy Bryson Photographer’s assistant: Cam Smith STOCKISTS: PAGE 76

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Watch Innovations | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

IN

OF THE

Extraordinary

TRACEY LLEWELLYN details the technical triumphs and horological innovations of the year so far Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur Flying Tourbillon Glow Me Up features grooved diamonds filled with Super-LumiNova that, under UV, create a light show on the wrist

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A

ccurate timekeeping has been a human obsession for millennia, stretching back to the ancient Egyptian shadow clocks of 1,500 BCE that were more precise than other sundials of the time. Subsequently, everything in trade, travel and warfare, by sea, sky or land, has relied on mastering time, and the competition for advances in horology is just as strong today. Despite an 18-month period of global uncertainty, 2021 has seen a surfeit of innovation, in technical and material development, and in sheer aesthetic brio.

Some of the most breathtaking launches wow simply by their mind-boggling audacity. To mark 90 years of production, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a world-first four-dialled watch to its celebrated flip-case Reverso collection, achievable thanks to a double-faced case and cradle. Six years in the making, the Reverso Hybris Mechanica incorporates 12 separate complications including a flying tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater and several astronomical displays.

Vacheron Constantin is also reaching for the stars with the unique Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon perpetual calendar – Planetaria.

For the first time, a watch combines retrograde calendar indications, a precision moonphase and 3Dm, real-time orbs of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres that act as day/night indications. Within the 46mm, pink-gold case is a 745-component movement with double-axis tourbillon (visible on the dial and case side) that took four years to develop.

The brand’s director of style and heritage, Christian Selmoni, emphasises the difficulties of packing so much complexity into something so small, saying,

FROM TOP: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica, £POA; Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon perpetual calendar - Planetaria, £POA; Patek Philippe Grand Complications 5236P-001, £POA; Zenith DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone, £16,000; IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL, £POA

‘our engineers and watchmakers had to deal with a restricted space on the watch face because of the three-dimensional construction of the tourbillon. The biggest challenge was to incorporate a legible perpetual calendar, and the retrograde indications provide an elegant and sophisticated technical solution.’

For Patek Philippe’s deceptively simple Grand Complications 5236P-001, the inspiration was altogether more personal. The in-line perpetual calendar is a collaboration between CEO Thierry Stern and his father Philippe, who oversaw development of linear calendar pocket watches. The technology for a wristwatch version was not available then, but the supremely elegant 41.3mm model has achieved the impossible by presenting day, date and month plus moonphase, small seconds, leap year and day/night indications in probably the most legible format ever.

And it seems that Stern may not be quite finished, saying after the launch: ‘When you have such a movement, you do not plan to use it in only one case. We will go further, and we will certainly design new pieces with this type of movement.

I would love to make it even smaller, to create a beautiful ladies’ watch. This will take some time but 20 years ago the current calibre was impossible, so maybe in five years I will be able to reduce it by another 20 per cent.’

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Watch Innovations | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

Bulgari continues its reign as the master of ultra-thin with its seventh recordbreaking ‘world’s thinnest’ watch. The 408-component, self-winding (via a microrotor) Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar is an unbelievable 5.8mm thick with a dial that is extremely legible thanks to the mix of retrograde indicators and sub-dials, adjusted via three correctors on the caseband.

As any mechanical watch owner knows, one of the biggest dangers to it is impact and copious research has been devoted to developing shock absorbing systems and materials. After eight years of research, IWC’s revolutionary solution is the SPRIN-g PROTECT system in the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL. The movement is suspended by a cantilever spring made from strong, flexible bulk metallic glass, which cushions the calibre so it keeps moving independently of the case before bringing it to a gentle stop – it can withstand shocks of 30,000G. In a year when colour rules, several brands have found ways to introduce rainbow hues into cases and movements.

In collaboration with artist Felipe Pantone, Zenith has unveiled the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone, using the skeletonised movement of the highest frequency chronograph in industrial production (1/100th of a second) as a canvas for a PVD slick representing every hue.

Montblanc, meanwhile, showcases a process of laser engraving and oxidisation that creates colour without applying any pigment, debuted on the caseback of the 1858 Geosphere Desert Limited Edition, which depicts a stylised image of the Gobi Desert’s Flaming Cliffs.

FROM TOP: Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 with a solid silver case, £3,230; Swatch Bioceramic C-Blue, £108; Cartier Tank Must (small), £2,190; Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 18 in Lime Gold, £POA; Panerai Submersible eLAB-ID, £54,000

Super-LumiNova (SLN), once a practical coating to help read a watch dial in the dark, has become an art material, finding its way into cases, bezels and straps, and appearing in a whole spectrum of colours. The jazziest execution yet is the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Flying Tourbillon Glow Me Up model, featuring grooved diamonds filled with SLN that, under UV lights, create a disco ball for the wrist. While the diamonds take centre stage, the coated sapphire-crystal bridges and tourbillon carriage provide full back-up lighting.

Watchmakers became alchemists during lockdown with new gold alloys joining the existing Honey (A. Lange & Söhne), Beige (Chanel) and Everose (Rolex). Montblanc introduced Lime Gold (a mix of gold, silver and iron) in the 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 18, the case complementing the green dial accents, while Omega added to its range of proprietary metals with a new Bronze Gold.

A composition of copper, gold, silver, palladium and gallium, this is a rich red that patinates slowly and in a more controlled manner than standard bronze alloys.

The prize for material experimentation, however, goes to Tudor. Usually associated with stainless-steel tool watches, between April and July the brand successively introduced watches in gold, bronze and ceramic (a piece that also contained an in-house movement with Master Chronometer certification from METAS). But its unexpected hit is the Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 with a solid silver case. Once a staple of watchmaking, silver is rarely used today due to its softness (something Tudor has overcome through a secret pressing process) and its tendency to tarnish, so the rarity value – especially in a sports watch – has caused an ever-growing waiting list of keen collectors.

Eco-friendly horology is also flourishing.

Following on from recycled rubber, plastic and fabric, IWC, Greubel Forsey, Maurice Lacroix and Tissot are leading the charge for ‘vegan’ straps made from paper, cork and plant-based products such as corn, pineapple and apple. Cartier goes further, with non-leather straps on certain models of the new Tank Must watches, including its first solar-powered watch. The light that powers the photovoltaic cells beneath the dial enters via perforations in the Roman numerals, and Cartier claims a running time of 16 years before servicing is required.

Even the king of the disposable plastic watch, Swatch, has developed a brand-new Bioceramic made of plastic sourced from castor seeds and ceramic. The Big Bold model in it is robust, incredibly lightweight and adapts quickly to body temperature.

Finally, Panerai showcases the potential for sustainability with its Submersible eLABID, which is 98.6 per cent recycled, from the titanium in the case, dial and bridges to the Super-LumiNova, silicon, sapphire crystal and strap. Describing it as a passion project, Alessandro Ficarelli, Panerai’s product director, said, ‘[the watch is] a statement that we have to reduce our environmental impact and it represents the creation of a new standard.’

And a statement of intent that watchmaking will treat the need for sustainability as an opportunity for new adventures. n Autumn/Winter 2021 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 53

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | British Watchmaking

OUR

TIME HAS

COME T British watchmaking is going from strength to strength, says TIMOTHY BARBER

his year watch company Fears celebrates its 175th anniversary, an impressive landmark.

Though, as managing director Nicholas Bowman-Scargill points out, it’s not all been plain sailing. Fears only just survived the Great Recession – in 1940 its headquarters in Bristol was destroyed by German bombers – and last year Bowman-Scargill, great-great-greatgrandson of founder Edwin Fear, spent time stacking supermarket shelves having cut his own salary to keep paying his three employees during lockdown. The experience gave him some sharp historical perspective.

‘I was trying to steer Fears through the pandemic, as my ancestors had steered it through crises. I sense that this is my bit of the story. Fears is bigger than me and I want to ensure it will outlive me.’ For four decades Fears didn’t exist. Killed off by the rise of quartz watches in the 1970s, it was revived in 2016 by Bowman-Scargill, producing small runs of elegant watches inspired by past designs. The latest, the Archival 1930 (£3,500), brings a chic rectangular number from 1930 back to life, using new old -stock Swiss movements.

The story of Fears is that of the British watch industry. It thrived in the Victorian era, declined in the 20th century and eventually vanished. But now it has ticked back into life, through creativity and entrepreneurial zeal. For a growing number of buyers tired of Switzerland’s usual suspects, small players like Vertex, Schofield, Pinion, Farer and Alsta offer a different, distinctively British flavour: the green shoots of a modern British watch industry are becoming blooming flowers.

The biggest is in Henley-on-Thames, where a curving glass edifice known as The Wing announces the new manufacturing HQ of Bremont, Britain’s largest luxury watchmaker by far. Since the early 2000s Bremont has grown into a powerhouse that can invest £20 million in a state-ofthe-art facility designed to produce tens of thousands of watches like the MB Savanna (£4,595), its latest ultra-rugged timepiece.

The Wing houses workshops and watchmakers for the assembly, testing and servicing of Bremont watches, along with precision machining for an increasing number of components, including movement parts. The company is targeting major growth in its engineering capacity, with movement making the long-term objective, and further developments on that front are expected this month.

‘It’s a milestone, but it’s not the end goal,’ says co-founder Nick

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1 Marloe Solent Windward automatic, £349 2 Garrick S4 in steel, handmade and decorated in Garrick studios, £4,995 3 Fears Archival 1930, with vintage movement, £3,500 4 Struthers The Kingsley, handmade bespoke watch, from £16,500 5 Christopher Ward C60 #tide, using strap of recycled ocean plastic, £895 6 Bremont MB Savanna in titanium, £4,595 7 Bamford London B347 chronograph with carbon fibre case, £2,500 8 Vertex Bronze 75, £2,700

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | British Watchmaking

English. ‘We’ve upped our game, but we still aim to bring back watchmaking and the knowledge base to this country, with a brand that can compete globally.’

While Bremont has the scale, most in Britain’s vibrant industry are, like Fears, small, design-forward ventures with growth powered by the internet. Perth-based Marloe Watch Company, for instance, started life on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter; several years later, its crisp designs and affordability have established it. The latest Solent range (£349) is, as the name suggests, inspired by nautical culture, taking design cues from the wind-direction instruments and diagrams that those used to yachting around Cowes will recognise.

More urban is Bamford London, the project of George Bamford – scion of the JCB family and, via his Mayfair design business, customisation partner for some of Switzerland’s biggest watch brands. Once a side project, Bamford London has, he says, grown significantly during the pandemic, as many indie brands report. Its recently launched chronograph, the B347 (£2,500), with carbon fibre case and two-tone dial, mixes classic and contemporary influences with panache. ‘People are looking for something different, distinctive and priced realistically,’ says Bamford. ‘I’m in awe of what people like Bremont have done, and there’s such a breadth of talent in Britain.’

As evidence, turn to Glasgow’s anOrdain, which has mastered the

art of hand-making vitreous enamel dials, one of watchmaking’s most venerated decorative forms, fused with starkly modernist design. Its studio is home to watchmakers, designers and enamellers producing vibrant styles like the Model 1 Fumé (£2,100), at only a fraction of a Swiss equivalent.

Nor is Bremont the only British company releasing their own movement – you wait decades for this grail of true watchmaking, and three come along at once. Norwich-based Garrick Watchmakers has been quietly building capacity (plus a new workshop and showroom) and launches its second in-house movement this month. Beautiful watches start at £4,995 for a Swiss-powered S4 – the case, hands and dial are all made and finished by Garrick personnel. In Birmingham, married couple Rebecca and Craig Struthers use antique tools to craft highly refined, bespoke watches powered by vintage movements (from around £16,500), but the first watches using their own handmade movement known as Project 248, several years in development, reach clients this year.

They follow in the wake of Roger Smith, the Isle of Man-based horologist whose watches are sought by global collectors and are booming on the aftermarket (a watch Smith made for the jeweller Theo Fennell in 2005 was recently auctioned for an eye-watering $600,000plus). Smith is now chairing a new trade body to raise awareness of the UK watch industry, the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers.

The Alliance is also being spearheaded by Mike France, CEO of very accessible British watch company Christopher Ward, which launched the first watch brand to be sold exclusively online, and trumpets its British-designed, Swiss-made credentials – it even has its own Swiss factory. France recognises that watchmaking in the UK at real scale may never come but points out that the home-grown watch industry, as represented by this growing armada of inventive, quirky and creative players across all prices, styles and crafts, is something to shout about. ‘We have real skills here, tremendous heritage and entrepreneurial genius,’ he says. ‘It’s a small but fast-growing sector that recently didn’t exist. We’re trying to forge a path, and it’s more likely to happen together than separately.’ n

PHOTOS: ALAN SCHALLER

LEFT: A technician at work in The Wing, Bremont’s new £20 million ‘manufacturing and technology centre’ in Henley-on-Thames BELOW: AnOrdain Model 1 with fumé enamel dial, £2,100

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FROM TOP: Boodles Beach necklace with brilliant cut diamonds set in 18 carat SMO rose gold, £12,500; the Yanfolila gold mine in Mali used by Boodles and Emefa Cole; Matilde Celestial ring, £1,850; jeweller Emefa Cole; Oris Aquis Date Upcycle watches, £1,600 each; rough gemstones

A REAL MINEFIELD

Avril Groom investigates the sustainable and ethical efforts of the fine jewellery and watch industries

James Amos says, ‘2017 was a watershed moment, when Human Rights Watch approached jewellers about their supply chains and we streamlined our diamond suppliers from many to three, all RJC (Responsible Jeweller y Council) certified. I did a course in business sustainability that opened my eyes to making the company fit for the future’.

Boodles has changed the little things – the scented candles are soy and made in Putney, its hand sanitiser is made in North Berwick, the salon’s rugs are made from fishing nets in Devon.

‘We’ve banned single-use plastic, got printer paper from the Woodland Trust, recyclable cardboard packaging and canvas tote bags,’ James continues.

The company buys its gold from Betts Metal Sales, a centuries-old, family-owned Midlands company that has recently pioneered Single Mine Origin

PHOTOS: RODRIGO FRISCIONE

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ou may wonder what a work trip to Margate and scented candles have to do with the rising tide of sustainability awareness washing over the jewellery and watch industry. But read on – both show how seriously the business is now taking this issue.

Jeweller Stephen Webster first used Fairtrade gold a decade ago. He has never wavered from this commitment to ethics, and as a north Kent native upholds the factory tradition of the annual work outing – but with a difference.

‘We all go and try to be useful. We’ve been to Margate to clear rubbish off the beach, bonding over the bin bags,’ he says.

‘Our team is right behind it, believing sustainability should go right through the company.’

With help from brand consultant Positive Luxury he set up a ‘green team’ four years ago to establish best working practices. ‘It seemed a lot at the time and Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it’s become our culture,’ he says.

In Boodles’ plush Bond Street salon, Director 58 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | Autumn/Winter 2021

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Sustainability | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

[SMO] metal, working with two mines in Mali.

One of the brothers behind the project, Charlie Betts, says, ‘it’s challenging for jewellers to access responsibly sourced gold with a clear chain of custody. The experience of myself and my brother Dan gives us unique access to the whole supply chain. We are passionate about leaving a positive legacy for local communities and environments, and the idea of SMO evolved from our conversations.’

The SMO scheme is for industrial mines. ‘It promotes the great work being done by larger mines run in a responsible, professional way,’ Dan says. ‘There is also a closure plan, with training in transferable skills that last workers for life, upskilling workers in other local jobs like farming or building and rehabilitating the environment afterwards.’

Another jeweller who uses SMO gold from the Mali mine is London-based Emefa Cole, who makes beautiful, timeless, hand-crafted pieces. ‘I have always been of the opinion that every person involved in the supply/manufacturing chain matters and deserves to be celebrated,’ she says.

‘Without so many people along the chain, it would be virtually impossible for artists and makers to create. SMO gold adds to the richness of my work and most importantly, we don’t lose the human stories, which is vital.’

The diamond industry also deserves scrutiny.

Designer Matilde Mourinho’s mother was born in Angola where, she says, diamonds were involved in conflict and violence. ‘So when I started my brand I felt I should use created stones, and recycled gold was the obvious companion,’ she explains. ‘I am very aware of charges of energy overuse with created diamonds and lack of traceability on mined ones. I wanted the collection to be accessible and recycled gold is 20 per cent dearer than mined, so created stones balance the price.’ She says there is now ‘demand for conscious methods whereas a few years ago people wouldn’t have considered them.’ Webster agrees: ‘Initially my disappointment was that clients didn’t care; it’s different now.’

The watch world has been slower to change, though marine conservation is hugely grateful for

sponsorship poured into major projects and the success of associated special models from brands such as Blancpain (Ocean Commitment research projects), Omega (supporting research into protecting 30 per cent of the oceans), Certina (partner of the Sea Turtle Conservancy), Oris (climate neutral, supporting clean-up schemes worldwide), Ulysse Nardin (recycles ocean waste, supports marine conservation) Bucherer (contributes to Maldives’ Manta Trust) and Panerai (uses recycled ocean and industry waste in its designs).

More recently, an ethos of sustainability has been extended to buildings and working practices. Oris has become climate neutral, from its ocean plastic dials and packaging to its headquarters in Hölstein.

Omega’s head office, by architect Shigeru Ban, includes sustainable local timber, groundwater heating and electricity from a solar-panelled roof. In turn, Bremont’s new Henley HQ, The Wing, by local architects Spratley & Partners ticks many boxes, from green roofs and wildflower gardens to using waste heat from machines to warm interiors. ‘We’re reducing our footprint, going local with packaging rather than importing, trying vintage leather straps rather than alligator,’ says co-founder Giles English. ‘But a wind turbine might bring protests – it’s a learning curve.’

So it is for customers. Watches of Switzerland’s head of watch buying, Mark Toulson, sums it up: ‘The longevity and repairability of mechanical watches makes recycling and sustainability a natural evolution of the industry. Models that reflect initiatives like marine conservation, or an authentic story, have added value for undecided clients with sustainability in mind. It builds trust and respect from clients with a shared mindset’. And what brand today doesn’t value that? n

PHOTOS: RODRIGO FRISCIONE

‘SMO gold adds to the RICHNESS of my work and most IMPORTANTLY, we don’t lose the HUMAN STORIES, which is VITAL’

FROM ABOVE: Certina Special Edition DS Action Diver, £725; Omega Nekton Edition Seamaster Diver, £5,280; Ulysse Nardin Lemon Shark, £6,070; Bremont’s HQ in Henley; Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, £12,100; Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec Maldives, £4,500; many watch brands contribute to ocean conservation efforts; Panerai Luminor Marina ESteel Verde Smeraldo, £7,600

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Coloured Gems | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

BOLD is BEAUTIFUL Carol Woolton on the coloured stones making waves in the jewellery world

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olours provoke a conscious or subconscious reaction in us all. Who doesn’t have a favourite shade? Colour translates as life, energy and passion. Small wonder that, after months and months when life has felt limited, the major news is gemstones flashing with all shades of the spectrum. This is the moment to put on some colourful glitz.

More than beautiful gemstones, we also want something interesting; a coloured stone that comes with a surprising natural history or geology story. Have you heard of zultanite? It’s a gemstone found in Turkey that changes colour from green to a shade of muddy pink and is one of the less familiar stones intriguing jeweller Stephen Webster.

‘I do like to be awe inspired by a stone,’ he told me recently on my new podcast If Jewels Could Talk. His clients feel the same way.

To satisfy this colourful demand he’s sourcing rare unheated orange sapphires and spinels, which come in every colour imaginable, not only top - of-therange bright red. ‘I’ve b een cha mpion i ng spinels because they are really undervalued,’ he continues, ‘and they come out of the earth in extraordinary shades of grey or pink.’

Jewels have always made conversation pieces. The design makes a talking point: where you found the jewel or a more personal tale of who gave it to you. Increasingly, now the stone itself is making a point of discussion.

Newly discovered sources of stones are reaching the market with fresh takes on traditional colours and stories of unusual locations or mines. Coloured pebbles have a rich cultural history and knowing your stone’s backstory heightens an emotional connection to the jewel, and in a wider sense, to the natural world itself.

In recent times, peridot has FROM TOP: A green peridot; Theo Fennell 18ct yellow gold, been largely forgotten. Now it’s on rubellite tourmaline and diamond opening ring, £24,000; Stephen everyone’s lips again because a new Webster No Regrets Grey Matter earrings in 18ct white gold set with grey deposit of clear, grass-green peridot and light pink spinels and baguette diamonds, £17,000; Greenland rubies has been unearthed in the Fuli

NEWLY discovered sources of STONES are reaching the MARKET with fresh takes on traditional colours and STORIES of unusual locations or MINES

Gemstones mine in China. Gems do have a personality, like individuals; no two are alike which is why particular stones conjure up a sense of excitement and emotion. The way light reflects off the luscious unheated Fuli gems is unique to the Changbai Mountains in north-east China. What’s more, new mines like Fuli’s come with the assurance that gems have been extracted meeting modern requirements of traceability and chain of custody every step of the way. Similarly, Greenland rubies, formed nearly three billion years ago in the Arctic and buried under layers of ice and snow until their recent discovery, are extracted using best practices.

‘I really like odd, surprising things that come out of the ground,’ exclaims designer Theo Fennell, ‘and I like to know the individual mine and then set them into a design that suits where they originated from. Greenland ruby crystals are set into Viking-style rings with runes engraved along the side.’ Currently, he’s mixing a jewelled colour palette uniting gemstones from a variety of regions into ‘global’ rings. The brighter the colour, the better. n

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FROM TOP: The Fuli Gemstones peridot mine in China; miners at work; Julianne Moore wears a necklace from Chopard’s Green Carpet Collection featuring the first responsibly sourced Paraiba tourmaline

TRACK & TRACE

How the jewellery industry is cleaning up the murky world of coloured gems. By Avril Groom

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our years ago, Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, which has a deep commitment to sustainable and ethical production, told me that tracing the origins of coloured gems was ‘still a nightmare’.

Diamonds, mainly in the hands of big industrial firms, have cleaned up their act, but coloured gems are different. A much more fragmented industry, there are a few big players who can control conditions and distribution, such as Gemfields (on emeralds and rubies) and Fuli (on peridots) but it is still substantially dependent on an age-old system of small-scale artisan miners and dealers who know each other well, relying on handshakes and trust rather than blockchain ledgers. In some regions, politics, conflict and dubious finance still enter the equation, and the old image of the intrepid gem hunter risking life and limb still has some truth.

But clients today want reassurance not only that their gem is exactly what it says on the tin but that it has been mined and processed in sustainable, ethical conditions. Strides are being made, with high-tech tracking of individual gems from mine to maker now available. It’s currently business to business but it will shortly extend to the consumer. But can technology ever replace trust, and how long will this take?

Analysing stones for authentication goes back a century, when the Gemological Institute of America and Switzerland’s Gübelin Gem Lab started setting standards, which they still do – the latter’s Provenance Proof technology can identify the source of many stones by their ‘chemical fingerprint’, and pinpoint treatment such as heating that affects value.

But a supply chain that may include up to 30 participants needs full traceability such as blockchain, says GemCloud’s COO, Philippe Ressigeac. GemCloud is a software that records online every transaction involving the stone and rejects a sale if the owner is not registered.

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Coloured Gems | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

‘Blockchain’s advantage is that it cannot be tampered with once an entry is made by a registered person,’ says Daniel Nyfeler, managing director of Gübelin, ’and it is already used in reduced circumstances – all it needs is the internet and a smart phone.’

Meanwhile, membership of the watchdog Responsible Jewellery Council is mushrooming and although many of the movement’s initial leaders were smaller independents, the major luxury companies – which in the past, points out Philippe, guarded their coloured stone sources from competition – are now fully signed up to the concept. Some of the biggest, including Tiffany & Co., Swarovski, Richemont, LVMH, Kering and Gemfields, created the Coloured Gemstone Working Group (CGWG) in 2015, which offers help and advice on achieving sustainability and transparency to any company at any level of the industry, large or small.

These threads are drawn together in new websites Gemolith (from GemCloud) and Gembridge, which offer stones online, currently to jewellers but eventually direct to consumers, with a fully transparent history of the many hands they have passed through.

‘The mine-to-finger process matters to today’s consumer, especially if it is from an artisanal mine,’ says Daniel, who supplies Gübelin’s analyses to Gembridge. ‘They ask if their stone has a negative environmental impact, or is funded by conflict, and until recently it was hard to answer.’

He explains how sub-microscopic nano-particles containing a stone’s data can now be coated on.

It’s expensive, so best for high-value stones, but is also balanced by software like GemCloud, which, according to Philippe, is designed to be ‘very simple and affordable; it’s already being used by mining families in Sri Lanka and women’s mining co-operatives in Madagascar.’

Coloured gem prices, including varieties formerly labelled ‘semi-precious’, have risen exponentially – Philippe estimates up to 1,000 per cent in the past decade, fuelled by new demand from China. Big companies, which must submit to exacting scrutiny, have jumped in as never before, allowing tightly controlled gems like Fuli peridots or Greenland rubies to come to market and attract top designers, such as Annoushka with her peridot suite or Pomellato, which chose Greenland ruby for its Nuvola Earth Day ring in Fairmined gold.

‘This industry has to wake up to its impact on the planet’, says Fuli’s UK director Pia Tonna.

‘The company has a licence from the Chinese government, is almost vertically integrated, including using its own hydro-electric power, and is independently audited for sustainability. There are also industrial by-products – local people welcome the employment opportunities.’

Greenland rubies are heat-treated to enhance colour and durability. ‘We are proud to acknowledge the effects this achieves; it’s part of our commitment to transparency,’ says CCO Hayley Henning. ‘It’s taken decades to agree mining licences with the

Greenland government to create a modern enterprise that doesn’t just take but is part of the community.’

The high-tech process depends mainly on geologists and engineers, some trained locally, ‘because local people understand how to work in the climatic and light conditions of the high Arctic’.

Cutting and polishing take place in Thailand, where the company controls the process. It has also founded the PinkPolarBear Foundation, helping not just conservation but to preserve Inuit culture.

Despite the positives, traceability is a slow process, and the old ways still have a place. ‘Remote areas may lack power or internet so dealers have to handwrite the transaction, and some artisan miners cannot read, so there has to be trust,’ says Philippe.

For most jewellers, trusted sources remain as important as high-tech traceability. Boodles’ director Jody Wainwright, whose grandfather was a noted gem hunter, commemorated in the brand’s latest high jewellery ring collection, says, ‘on the one hand we are working with high-tech tools like Gembridge, while on the other we rely on personal links, such as a trusted dealer in Sri Lanka who acts for about 20 artisan sapphire-mining families. These links go back generations and are invaluable.’

Even those who help formulate traceability policies are realistic. Assheton Carter, CEO of TDi Sustainability, has spent decades on this, and says, ‘there needs to be a balance. Conditions in some areas may not seem ideal, but if we can ensure that small artisan mines are safe and clean and demonstrate that they can meet regulations and still be profitable, that’s progress’.

Caroline at Chopard agrees. ‘There is still a long way to go to improve sustainable practices but initiatives like the community platform make a big difference,’ she says.

The consumer message is optimistic: do some research and have confidence in today’s glorious-coloured gemstones. n

FROM TOP: Annoushka x Fuli Gemstones Radiance collection 18ct gold and peridot earrings, £28,000; Pomellato Nuvola Earth Day ring, £17,300; Boodles Havana ring with pear-shaped orange diamond, rock crystal and white diamonds, £POA

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Cartier rubellite and diamond necklace

Chase the...

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Rainbow Colour comes first this season ART DIRECTOR URSULA LAKE PHOTOGRAPHER MATTHEW SHAVE

Boodles Vintage ring featuring a mandarin garnet and white diamonds set in platinum

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Graff Fancy intense yellow diamond ring, set in platinum and yellow gold

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Fabio Salini cuff in green titanium and white gold with green tourmaline and white diamonds

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David Morris Paraiba tourmaline ring set with white diamonds and turquoise in 18ct white gold

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Boucheron Fenêtre Sur Ciel ring with emerald-cut tanzanite and paved with diamonds, in white gold

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Harry Winston purple sapphire and diamond necklace

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Bulgari Serpenti necklace in white gold set with pear and brilliant cut diamonds Set Design: Ursula Lake STOCKISTS: PAGE 76

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | New Designers

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

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The new designers revolutionising the jewellery industry. By Jessica Diamond f you’ve bought yourself a piece of fine jewellery in the last couple of years, something that you love and wear all the time, I’m afraid you’re complicit in a revolution.

But change in this context is good. Over the last five years a plethora of brilliant, female-led, a f for d a ble f i ne jewellery brands have burst onto the scene and quickly gained traction.

Gone are the days of simply shopping at the big householdname brands and definitely gone are the days of waiting for anyone else to buy you something.

This revolution is defined by an all-new style: minimalism is out and stacking is king. Think multiple rings, bracelets that extend up the wrist, and the #neckmess – an Instagram-led trend that sees multiple necklaces and chains curated by the wearer. Forget also any idea that fine jewellery is kept for special occasions. This new, relaxed style invites a sling-on and wear-anytime attitude. This is jewellery for all day, every day; a natural, easy extension of personal style for all ages.

Two Milan-based designers are at the forefront of this change – the eponymous brand Bea Bongiasca and Aliita, founded by Cynthia Vilchez Castiglioni. The former’s signature pieces are vine rings, with brightly coloured enamel bands that twist around the finger and tipped with a gemstone, such as topaz or amethyst. With a starting price of £395, it invites the idea of wearing multiples that appear

FROM ABOVE: A model wears Bea Bongiasca jewellery; Otiumberg ribbon hoops, £190; Nadine Ghosn; Cynthia Vilchez Castiglioni of Aliita; Nadine Ghosn burger stacking set, $13,860

to wind across the fingers.

Aliita’s pieces are similarly accessible (with prices from £105) and, importantly, fun. Dinosaurs, champagne coupes and jellyfish are turned into rings and pendants, an aesthetic that Castiglioni describes as ‘elegant with a touch of irony and fun’.

Similar in ethos but at a higher price point are jewellers Nadine Ghosn and Tatiana Van Lancker of Van Robot. Both have built businesses around highly contemporary, unexpected motifs, Ghosn with her hamburger rings (and most recently a collection inspired by Lego) and Van Lancker with bejewelled robots that she describes as ‘sci-fi meets Art Deco’. Ghosn has eschewed conventional outlets and instead relies on a network of highly connected women: ‘Many of my clients hear of me through word of mouth and this creates a positive and genuine trickledown effect.’ As a result, 80 per cent of her sales are women buying for themselves.

Otiumberg was founded by sisters Rosanna and Christie Wollenberg in 2016, largely in response to them being unable to find jewellery that they wanted to buy. Both had multiple ear piercings (another huge trend of the last five years)

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and as a result designed an initial offering of ear huggies and hoops that have proved to be bestsellers (their gold vermeil chunky hoops retail for £100).

‘Eighty-five per cent of our customer base is women,’ says Rosanna, ‘and in roughly the same age bracket as we are; in other words, we are our customer.’ Last year’s Ensemble collection in solid 9ct gold and diamonds has increased the Otiumberg price point (the most expensive is £1,755) but as their audience has grown older so their disposable income has increased exponentially.

The rise of the celebrity influencer has been key in driving this new fine jewellery wave. Bea Bongiasca’s pieces are regularly seen on singer Dua Lipa, actor Florence Pugh and model Bella Hadid. Milanese brand Eéra’s oh-so-cool padlock and key earrings, bracelets and anklets have a cult following and have been seen on January Jones and Sienna Miller. Its latest Oasis collection taps into the neon trend with pieces seemingly dip-dyed in electric shades of pink, orange and blue. Its aesthetic neatly sums up this new age of fine jewellery with utilitarian motifs reworked into covetable pieces that connect with a highly engaged, fashion-savvy audience.

Jewellery with a deeper, more esoteric meaning has also performed well in these unusual times. Almasika’s signature pieces designed by its founder Catherine Sarr have resonated with customers looking for talismanic jewels – especially the gold cowrie shell necklaces and rings. Similarly, British brand NeverNot’s eye pendants (in colourful enamels that can be customised) are the perfect intersection of lucky charm and playful, precious token.

While many retail sectors have slowed in the pandemic this new wave of designers has bucked the trend. As bricks and mortar sales tanked, online sales surged. Lucy Crowther, gemmologist and founder of bespoke and ready-to-wear coloured gemstone ring brand Minka, designs ‘cocktail rings for every day’. Since the beginning of 2020 she’s noticed many transactions coming through Instagram.

‘I think because of lockdown people had more time on their hands. And after the year we’ve had, people are treating themselves too.’

FROM ABOVE: Almasika ruby medallion, £770; Romy Blanga and Chiara Capitani, founders of Eéra; Catherine Sarr of Almasika; Tatiana Van Lancker of Van Robot; Denim Van Robot pendant, £2,750; Natia Chkhartishvili and Nina Dzhokhadze of NeverNot; Minka 18ct yellow gold, mint green tourmaline and diamond ring, £8,500

Otiumberg noticed a similar spike. As Rosanna says, ‘we realised that more than evercustomers want to invest in well-made jewellery for everyday wear and to celebrate the small moments as well as the big ones. In 2020 we grew 90 per cent on the previous year.’ Aliita reported a staggering 200 per cent increase in online sales from 2019 to 2020, proof if ever it were needed that the fine jewellery market is not just surviving, it’s thriving.

With all these designers the underlying intention remains that these are pieces to keep.

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Interview | C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY

DELICATE TOUCH Protecting the planet and tips for happiness with Poppy Delevingne and Chopard Is jewellery important to you?

PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRISTINE KREISELMAIER; STYLIST: ELIZABETH SALTZMAN; HAIR: EARL SIMMS; MAKE-UP: FLORRIE WHITE; MANICURE: KIM TREACY

Yes, incredibly so. I love pieces that go from day to night, to dress up with lipstick or down with trainers. Jewellery helps define who you are; each piece tells a story.

How would you describe Chopard’s new Precious Lace collection? Supremely feminine,

light and delicate.

What is your favourite piece?

The heart. It feels like the world needs more love in it right now, so why not?

How would you style it? I’d wear it in the bath, or doing the washing up, with a beautiful dress or just a white T-shirt and jeans, lounging on the sofa. You can wear it with anything. It’s so versatile and the diamonds make you smile.

How important is craftsmanship to you? The saying ‘buy better

and buy less’ rings true to me.

I really believe that one very special piece of jewellery, sustainably made and using beautiful craftsmanship, is much better than having several without that quality.

Chopard Nuage earrings, necklace and ring in ethical 18-carat white gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds; Alessandra Rich dress

The Precious Lace collection is made ethically with Responsible Jewellery Council-certified suppliers. Is that important to you? Yes. We

need to respect and nurture our planet; we only have one!

How has your charity work, such as with Save The Children, changed you? I’ve learnt that

children are so inspiring. They are our future and I feel honoured to work with such organisations to see their incredible work at first hand.

You are also active in projects aimed at protecting the ocean and safeguarding our planet. Why is sustainability and ethical sourcing important to you? Everyone is aware

of how important it is for our oceans to survive, to sustain them even with little things like recycling,

Chopard Cœur pendant in ethical 18-carat rose gold set with pear-shaped, heartshaped and brilliant-cut diamonds; Emilia Wickstead jumpsuit

avoiding single-use plastic, etc. Everyone can play a part and together we can achieve incredible things for our future. Working with brands that I feel a connection to makes sense and Chopard is so passionate about sustainability, our partnership feels organic and true.

What makes you instantly happy? Dancing barefoot, like nobody’s watching. Also my nieces and nephew; they really do make me laugh more than anyone else.

What are your top tips for happiness? Smiling.

Living with intent. Positive mental attitude; wherever you feel you can get that, dig for it, because it’s worth it.

Chopard’s Precious Lace collection is available now. chopard.com n

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Stockists 73 @matchesfashion.com

CLEOPATRA’S BLING cleopatrasbling.com

ALBERTA FERRETTI albertaferretti.com

COMME DES GARÇONS @matchesfashion.com

ALEMDARA alemdara.com ALIITA aliita.com ALMASIKA almasika.com ANNOUSHKA annoushka.com ANORDAIN anordain.com AUDEMARS PIGUET audemarspiguet.com BAMFORD LONDON bamfordlondon.com BEA BONGIASCA beabongiasca.com BIBI VAN DER VELDEN bibivandervelden.com BLANCPAIN blancpain.com BOOCHIER boochier.com BOODLES boodles.com BOUCHERON boucheron.com BREITLING breitling.com BREMONT bremont.com BROOKE GREGSON brookegregson.com BUCCELLATI buccellati.com BUCHERER bucherer.com BULGARI bulgari.com CARL F BUCHERER carl-f-bucherer.com CARTIER cartier.com CERTINA certina.com CHANEL chanel.com CHAUMET chaumet.com CHOPARD chopard.com CHRISTOPHER WARD christopherward.com

DAOU daoujewellery.com DAVID MORRIS davidmorris.com DE BEERS debeers.com DIOR dior.com ELIZABETH GAGE elizabeth-gage.com EMEFA COLE emefacole.com FABIO SALINI fabiosalini.co.uk FEARS fearswatches.com FOPE fope.com GARRARD garrard.com GIOVANNI RASPINI giovanniraspini.com GOOSSENS X HARUMI goossens-paris.com GRAFF graff.com GRIMA grimajewellery.com GUCCI gucci.com HANCOCKS hancocks-london.com HANNAH MARTIN hannahmartinlondon.com HARRY WINSTON harrywinston.com HERMÈS hermes.com HOMER homer.com HOMME PLISSÉ @matchesfashion.com HUBLOT hublot.com IWC iwc.com JAEGER-LECOULTRE jaeger-lecoultre.com JESSICA MCCORMACK jessicamccormack.com JESSIE THOMAS jessiethomasjewellery.com

KIKI MCDONOUGH kiki.co.uk

ROGER W SMITH rwsmithwatches.com

KIMBERLY MCDONALD @netaporter.com

ROLEX rolex.com

LIV LUTTRELL livluttrell.com

ROXANNE RAJCOOMARHADDEN rrhjewellery.com

LOQUET loquetlondon.com MARIA TASH mariatash.com MARLOE marloewatchcompany.com MATILDE matildejewellery.com MELANIE GEORGACOPOULOS melaniegeorgacopoulos.com MESSIKA messika.com MIKIMOTO X COMME DES GARÇONS @doverstreetmarket.com

RUTH TOMLINSON ruthtomlinson.com SAINT LAURENT @matchesfashion.com SKIIM PARIS skiim-paris.com SO-LE STUDIO so-le-studio.com SOPHIE BILLE BRAHE @doverstreetmarket.com SOPHIE THEAKSTON sophietheakston.com SORELLINA sorellinanyc.com

MINKA JEWELS minkajewels.com

STEPHEN WEBSTER stephenwebster.com

MONTBLANC montblanc.com

STRUTHERS WATCHMAKERS strutherswatchmakers.co.uk

NADINE GHOSN nadineghosn.com NANUSHKA @mrporter.com NEVERNOT nevernot.co.uk OMEGA omegawatches.com OMNEQUE omneque.com ORIS oris.ch OTIUMBERG otiumberg.com PANERAI panerai.com PATEK patek.com PATRICK MAVROS patrickmavros.com PETAR PETROV @matchesfashion.com PIAGET piaget.com POMELLATO pomellato.com PRAGNELL pragnell.co.uk RADO rado.com RICHARD MILLE richardmille.com ROBINSON PELHAM robinsonpelham.com ROGER DUBUIS rogerdubuis.com

SUNSPEL sunspel.com SWATCH swatch.com SYDNEY EVAN @netaporter.com TAG HEUER tagheuer.com TASAKI tasaki.co.uk TEMPERLEY LONDON temperleylondon.com TESSA PACKARD tessapackard.com THEO FENNELL theofennell.com TIFFANY & CO. tiffany.co.uk TUDOR tudorwatch.com ULYSSE NARDIN ulysse-nardin.com VACHERON CONSTANTIN vacheron-constantin.com VAN ROBOT vanrobot.com WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND watches-of-switzerland.co.uk XUPES xupes.com ZENITH zenith-watches.com

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JEWELS et

JIM No longer is it a woman’s world, says NICHOLAS FOULKES

Boucheron Chromatique 18ct white gold and titanium brooch set with green tourmaline, holographic ceramic and diamonds, £POA

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | Men’s Jewellery

‘W

e have always sold jewellery to men, but now we are approaching levels that are almost Jacobean’, says British society jeweller Theo Fennell of the current explosion of interest in male jewellery. There is perhaps some way to go before we reach the standards of bling that prevailed at the Court of King James I, nevertheless, historical hyperbole aside there is no denying that men’s jewellery is undergoing a renaissance.

‘For so long men have had so little to cheer themselves up and I am all for it both commercially and spiritually,’ says Fennell who, much as he loathes admitting it, believes the phenomenon of dressing for the red carpet has done a lot to change attitudes about men in diamonds.

‘Seeing men whom they thought of as role models wearing jewellery has helped. Even very rich, successful men have role models. Every banker wants to be Keith Richards and have a little rock ‘n’ roll in their life, even if Keith Richards does not want to be a banker.’

Fennell is finding that many men are now commissioning jewellery that has a strong sense of personal significance whether in design, motif, or material. ‘They are looking at unique designs and they are thinking of things more pertinent to them: initials and zodiac signs for instance. They want rings that have a meaning and have some emotional heft: in a way this is what used to be signet jewellery, things that had crests on them and pertained to the person.’

There was a time, mirabile dictu, when a crested ring was the only option. Men of my generation – let us just say I will not see 50 again – were brought up on the unimaginably puritan notion that the only acceptable items of male jewellery were a signet ring and cufflinks. Back in those days, the range of personal ornament available to men who were not either (a) mayors or (b) Olympic medallists was so limited that we were even conditioned to regard watches as ‘male jewellery’… imagine.

Nowadays, according to Giona Zen, global marketing director of Bulgari, horology can be a gateway to jewellery. ‘I have several watches and I choose which one I want to wear that day, like an accessory, and it is the same with jewellery.

It is interesting you can have a very beloved ring with particular meaning, but you can also add pieces to your outfit to underline a moment or image that you want to project, or create a different look for different seasons.

We used to think that men were buying jewellery as gifts, now we ask if it is self-purchase and what we see is that we have more and more men wearing B.zero1, Serpenti and Viper.’ Since making this discovery Bulgari stores now have counters and displays that ‘mix jewels and watches as men’s accessories’.

Certainly, the unstoppable rise of the man bangle has helped to consolidate the idea of jewellery having a place in the arsenal of male accessories and it is due to such powerful proselytisers as Patrick Mavros that it is now accepted as a totem of masculinity. Patrick is machismo writ large. Like a character in his own Wilbur Smith novel he grew up in a world of assegais and axes, and served in the elite special forces unit the Selous Scouts, before turning his powerful hands to jewellery; his adjustable silver ‘elephant hair’ bangle is a classic.

Eschewing the term ‘male jewellery’ in favour of ‘symbolic adornment’, he draws upon his native Zimbabwe, finding inspiration in his homeland whether the ‘textures and fissures on the skin of a bull elephant or the scales of a crocodile’.

Another growing trend is pendants and chains; the former is the

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; TYRONE LEBON

FROM TOP LEFT: Harry Styles at the Met Gala 2019 wearing a Gucci earring; Elton John wearing a Theo Fennell brooch at the 2020 Golden Globes; Frank Ocean with a Plus Pendant from his new jewellery brand, Homer, $435; Theo Fennell 18ct yellow gold and diamond Snake Head Palmier chain, £22,500; Patrick Mavros Elephant Hair bangle, £490

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PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; TYRONE LEBON

‘Jewellery is not a QUESTION of GENDER but is above all a question of VISION. It allows EVERYONE to express their UNIQUENESS’

cornerstone of hip hop artist Frank Ocean’s new fine jewellery brand, Homer, while the latter was popularised by Paul Mescal’s character, Connell, in 2020’s BBC Three adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, as well as frequently being worn by the likes of Lewis Hamilton and A$AP Rocky.

But jewellery for men is not just about accessories or pieces with personal significance; it is increasingly about the finest creations of the top Paris jewellery ateliers. ‘High jewellery should not only be for women, we want men to wear jewellery because we also design pieces for them,’ says Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, CEO of Boucheron. ‘Jewellery is not a question of gender but is above all a question of vision. It allows everyone to express their uniqueness.’

Gender neutrality is very topical, but Hélène believes that this is about more than just paying lip service to a passing fashion moment, rather about men reclaiming something that was historically theirs. As such, she insists that addressing the needs of the bedizened man is a duty of the great jewellery maisons.

‘Since the dawn of time, high jewellery has been a story of men. In fact, high jewellery was first made for them in the time of kings and maharajahs. It is therefore natural to keep this idea alive and create fine jewellery and high jewellery pieces for men.’

It was with this mission in mind that when Boucheron

launched its Contemplation collection it showed a man wearing high jewellery. ‘It was actually the first time we chose to show a man in our campaign,’ says Hélène. The Flèche du Temps earring, for instance, is a perfect example of a stunning single earring in the shape of an arrow set with diamonds that appears to have pierced the wearer’s lobe.

It is a fabulous piece and one that while perfectly contemporary would also have suited the jewel-loving court of King James I where George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, would appear at parties ‘trimmed with great diamond buttons’, accessorised with ‘diamond hatbands, cockades and earrings, to be yoked with great manifold knots of pearl; in short to be manacled, fettered and imprisoned in jewels.’

Who knows, maybe the time is right for gem-set fetters and manacles after all? n FROM TOP LEFT: Bulgari’s unisex B.zero1 collection; Boucheron’s Flèche du Temps earring with white gold, mother-of-pearl and diamonds, £POA; Lewis Hamilton at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week; singer Mika performing at Chopard’s Paradise Dinner, wearing brooches by the brand

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C&TH WATCHES & JEWELLERY | The Final Countdown

JEWELLERY BY NUMBERS Buccellati’s exquisitely crafted cuffs from the Giardino di Buccellati high jewellery collection show off the unique skills of the fabled Italian jeweller and silversmith

LILIUM CUFF

56 round brilliant-cut diamonds 1 faceted tourmaline 36 pink sapphires 44 round faceted sapphires 18ct white and yellow gold

AUBRETA CUFF

1 rare, deep-toned kunzite 86 brilliant-cut diamonds 136 round Paraiba tourmalines 18ct white gold

DANS DU FEU CUFF

1 rubellite 10 drop diamonds 198 round brilliant-cut diamonds 150 Paraiba tourmalines 18ct white and yellow gold

10

CRAFTSPEOPLE INVOLVED ●

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The designer and artist Andrea Buccellati The goldsmiths to create the band, surface settings and engraved rigato pattern The gemmologist to find and select gems The gem-setter, who adds the main stone after engraving The polisher, for internal surfaces and openwork A quality checker at every stage

6

MONTHS TO COMPLETE

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When the conditions are unpredictable you need a watch that isn’t.

Supermarine Chrono Black

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Patek.indd 1

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