A watch worn around the neck, in a choker version with a rock’n’roll vibe or with the casual grace of a sautoir; a watch embracing the ankle or riveted to a garment like a brooch, flirting with the heart, festooning it with a flash of brilliance… Is this about irreverence? Provocation? Yes, the watch is a piece of jewelry, yet its functionality sets it apart and women are clearly intent on having fun with it through creative detours inspired by movers and shakers.
In recent times, we’ve seen a few high-profile appearances by stars who seem to have decided to bend the rules of watchmaking conventions – at least on the red carpet. Last year, on the front row of the Louis Vuitton Men’s show at Paris Fashion Week, Rihanna made headlines by wearing a Jacob & Co. “Choker Watch” around her neck, before changing tack a few weeks later at the F1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas by choosing to sport a Jacob & Co. watch around her ankle. At a social event, American yachtswoman Emma Chamberlain wore a Baignoire de Cartier watch choker-style on a leather strap. In the watchmaking microcosm, influencer and watch expert Brynn Wallner – founder of the Dimepiece website – also tried her hand at the exercise, posting a selfie on her Insta with a Jacob & Co. choker watch. As for Taylor Swift, the undisputed queen of pop, she walked the red carpet at this year’s 66th Grammy Awards with a black diamond-set Art Deco-style watch necklace by Lorraine Schwartz.
Rock around the clock
Not everyone is Rihanna or Taylor Swift and what they choose to wear isn’t necessarily transposable to ordinary mortals. But their flashes of brilliance, their stylistic antics and their repeated buzz end up infusing our culture and shaping our perception of fashion or the way we give a twist to our watches and jewelry. Lines are shifting, with fluidity and transformation being the order of the day as genres intermingle. It’s up to us to decide whether to stay put or jump on the bandwagon. Certain watchmakers are leading the way. In line with its disruptive strategy, Jaquet Droz dares to use a visual communication approach featuring an ankle-worn presentation of its new Rolling Stones Automaton watch featuring the cover of the band’s 1978 cult album, Some Girls. It’s enough to shake up the way we look at watches and remind us that – long before wristwatches became commonplace – women once wore these mechanical jewels around the neck, on the finger, as brooches or to emphasize the waist, suspended from a chatelaine chain generally set with precious stones, finely chased, engraved or enameled.
The thrill of transformation
There’s often a fine line between a watch and a piece of jewelry – and this year a number of brands with expertise in both fields unveiled magnificent timepieces literally swinging around the neck. Piaget’s Extraleganza Haute Joaillerie collection, unveiled to celebrate the Maison’s 150th anniversary, includes a ring that tells the time and two transformable sautoir watches that can be worn in three different ways. Thanks to a clever system, the gold case rimmed by diamonds, yellow sapphires, turquoise and malachite pearls can be worn on the wrist or on a green satin strap; or around the neck, suspended from a colorful array of gems and ornamental stones. To forget the hours and minutes for a while, simply detach the watch case and wear the creation as a necklace.
The art of transformation is one of Bovet’s specialties and the Miss Audrey watch can be transformed at will by means of its 36mm Amadeo case. Thanks to an ingenious mechanism, the wristwatch converts into a pretty table clock or a jewel-like pendant, with its diamond-set bezel and green-lacquered finely guilloché dial.
A history of trends
Amid all these wearability options, one sometimes sees a spectacular nod to history. Vacheron Constantin’s Grand Lady Kalla draws its inspiration from the rich heritage of the Maison that has been distinguishing itself for over two centuries in the field of jewelry watches. While the oldest gemset timepiece in Vacheron Constantin’s private collection dates back to 1812, this luminous creation essentially refers to the aesthetics of the iconic 1980 Kalla watch. No less than 46 carats of emerald-shaped diamonds and Akoya pearls, paired with onyx counterparts, compose this treasure that can be worn in four different ways, as a wristwatch or a sautoir.
Since the trend for watches worn as fashion accessories seems to be gaining momentum, who better than Chanel to continue setting the example? This versatility can be seen on several pendant watches presented in the Chanel Couture O’Clock capsule collection and in the Le Temps du Lion line, which features a fantastic Lion Assis sautoir watch in yel- low gold, diamonds and onyx. The Première Sound watch can be worn around the neck, with a remov- able audio device, while the Première Sautoir-Cein- ture watch can adorn the neckline or emphasize the waist. Such creative detours highlight the infinite range of possibilities offered by the marriage of watchmaking and jewelry. Is a watch a jewel like any other?
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