6 minute read
HAUTE TIME
2
5 1
3
6
8
9 1. Louis XIII The Classic decanter, $4,100; louisxii-cognac.com 2. Riedel Altitude Matters decanter, $525; riedel.com 3. Telmont Blanc de Blancs Vinothèque 2006, $209; champagne-telmont.com 4. Baccarat Harcourt Eve twopiece Red Kob flute set, $390; us.baccarat.com 5. Whiskies of the Galaxy Advent calendar, $250; flaviar.com 6. Zegna multicolored cashmere jacquard knit cardigan, $2,995; zegna.com 7. Glashütte Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date (metal stainless-steel bracelet), $9,900; glashuette-original.com 8. Dolce & Gabbana patent leather and grosgrain heels, $995; dolcegabbana.com 9. Fendi black midi leather Baguette chain handbag, $3,100; fendi.com 10. Rimowa Original Twist Cabin suitcase in silver and brown, $1,400; rimowa.com 4
7
10
2
5 3
4
9 8 6 7
1. 111SKIN The Diamond Edit, $2,000; 111skin.com 2. Dyson Corrale, $499; dyson.com 3. OPTE Precision skincare system, $599; opte.com 4. Parums de Marly Oud de Happiness, $385; us.initioparfums.com 5. Clé de Peau Beauté Limited Edition Holiday La Creme, $500; cledepeaubeaute.com 6. Joanna Vargas Magic Glow Wand, $285; joannavargas.com 7. Georgia Louise Hollywood EGF, $410; violetgrey.com 8. Dior Beauty Rouge Dior Minaudiere, Atelier of Dreams Limited Edition, $190; dior.com 9. Saint Laurent Rive Droite mink throw, $9,500; yslrivedroite.com 10. Dior Chez Moi slippers, $1,150; Dior boutiques nationwide 11. Maison du Chocolat 110-piece Star-Struck holiday ornament coffret, $225; lamaisonduchocolat.com
10
PHOTO COURTESY OF VACHERON CONSTANTIN WATCHESHaute
TIMELESS MASTERPIECE
BY MARTIN GREEN
JOHANNES VERMEER WAS A DUTCH PAINTER OF THE 17th century who was able to capture light as no other artist could. He had a fondness for household scenes, which he painted in an intimate, lifelike style. While only 36 paintings by his hand are known today, some of them are among the world’s most famous works of art. While many are familiar with his masterpieces View of Delft or The Milkmaid, they are both surpassed in popularity by Girl with a Pearl Earring. This painting shows elegance unlike any other. That’s why it was such a daunting task for Vacheron Constantin to recreate it on the side of its Les Cabinotiers Westminster Sonnerie at the request of a discerning connoisseur
The brand called on Anita Porchet, one of the greatest enamel masters in the world. She started the painstaking work to recreate Vermeer’s finest painting, not only in miniature but also in enamel. The old master would without a doubt have approved, as the girl seems to ready to come alive at any moment. It took Porchet two years to complete the painting — but the creation of the entire watch took an additional eight.
The dial of the watch looks classic, in off-white enamel with blue numerals and railroad track, and gives no hints of the complex movement underneath. Composed of 806 parts, caliber 3761 is fitted with a tourbillon and a grande and petite sonnerie with a Westminster chime. This means it can sound the passing of each quarter in the same way as the famed Big Ben in London. For this, the watch is equipped with no less than five hammers and gongs. It is also uniquely fitted with a modus that makes it go silent between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m., ensuring a good night’s rest for its owner. The watch is equipped with two mainspring barrels, one for the striking mechanism and the other for timekeeping, giving it a power reserve of 80 hours.
As this watch is a bespoke commission, Vacheron Constantin will make only one example of the Les Cabinotiers Westminster Sonnerie Tribute to Johannes Vermeer. But the atelier is open for connoisseurs who might like to have something similar made.
FASHION FUSION
Hublot and Berluti celebrate five years of collaboration with a bang.
BY MARTIN GREEN
HUBLOT AND BERLUTI HAVE FUSED FASHION AND watchmaking, leather and titanium, form and substance. The partnership between the famous men’s fashion house and the most disruptive of the watchmaking brands, originally announced in 2016, has unveiled a new interpretation of the Big Bang Unico.
The Big Bang Unico Aluminio leverages this shared knowhow and provides an understated, elegant monochrome piece. It is a Big Bang for true collectors and connoisseurs. As with every collaboration between Hublot and Berluti, this edition will be limited to 100 copies.
The emblematic patinated Venezia leather is at the heart of the polished titanium bezel as well as on the dial, where the indices and words “Swiss Made” are gauffered directly onto the surface. The leather is held between two pieces of sapphire glass whose cut reveals the gears of the Unico movement, a feat of technical prowess. Working with Berluti, a technique was developed to encapsulate natural leather hues and crystalize them in time; in this way, their beauty is rendered in an authentic and unchanging manner. As for the strap, it symbolizes the perfect fusion of the two worlds, and it is available in two versions: one in burnished Aluminio Venezia leather, the other in patinated Aluminio Venezia leather with the Script motif, exclusively for Japan.
Aluminio is one of Berluti’s signature patinas. It perfectly transcribes the light onto the different tones of the Venezia leather.
Hublot took responsibility for the new two-part bezel design. With the help of a sticky, rigid resin, the first piece of the bezel — in leather, about 1mm thick — is inserted onto the second piece, in gray titanium, and then screwed onto the case of the watch. This will allow the bezel to be patinated in time, just like the strap.
To bring patinated Aluminio Venezia leather into harmony with its mechanical ensemble, the Hublot manufacture chose from the vast palette of materials at its disposal: titanium for the 44-mm case and its deployant clasp, resin for the central horn, tungsten for the oscillating weight, and satin-finished rhodium for the hands. Building on more than 40 years of groundbreaking design, Hublot has mastered the full spectrum of watchmaking materials and was thus able to create a Big Bang that is perfectly tuned to the nuances of the patinated Berluti leather.
The Big Bang Berluti Aluminio also reveals part of its beating heart. The gears of the Unico movement, an authentic manufacture self-winding Flyback chronograph with three full days of power reserve, can be admired thanks to the cut of the two pieces of sapphire glass that hold the leather on the dial side. A rare and contemporary piece, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio will be delivered in a special case, with a travel pouch and a shoehorn key ring with the Berluti logo.
