In our 21st-century society, everything moves so quickly. Whether in technology, sustainability or fashion – industries are constantly innovating. Society evolves and adapts alongside them, and boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred. Women accessorise their outfits with ties and men are increasingly comfortable wearing rings. The watch industry is no exception: women are wearing watches with larger diameters, while men are turning to smaller formats; women are buying complicated mechanical watches, and men are looking at watches set with gemstones. And we’re not talking about a few stones here and there – we’re talking about watches liberally smothered in them, from bezel to bracelet. As we approach the middle of the year, watch manufacturers aren’t holding back. Here’s a small selection for men who want some sparkle in their lives.
The most colourful
True to the brand’s colourful personality, Hublot opened the year in Singapore at LVMH Watch Week with the Big Bang Integrated King Gold Rainbow 42mm. On this chronograph made from King Gold (a proprietary alloy that lends itself to polishing and satin finishing thanks to its platinum content) ruby, amethyst, blue topaz and tsavorite rub shoulders with pink, orange, blue and yellow sapphires, forming a rainbow.
The uncontested master of coloured gemstones since 2017, Hublot uses a huge variety of coloured stones in its creations, and not just on the bezels. The rainbow setting technique has become more popular in the industry in recent years, making it increasingly challenging to source the necessary stones. This is a particular issue for Hublot, which uses a considerable number of gems to set and even pave some of its pieces. The Big Bang Integrated King Gold Rainbow 42mm is a prime example, with its rainbow paving that achieves the perfect gradient through the painstaking selection of the desired shades and the large number of stones used: 942 in total.
The most expensive
It should come as no surprise that the title of the most expensive watch goes to Jacob & Co. This time, however, the accolade is particularly well-deserved. The Billionaire Timeless Treasure boasts an eye-popping price tag of 20 million US dollars. Introduced last March, this unique timepiece embodies the brand’s dual nature, which is expressed in a subtle mix of watchmaking and jewellery. The Billionaire Timeless Treasure is set with 425 yellow diamonds weighing a total of 216.85 carats, along with 76 tsavorites. It’s worth noting that the total weight of yellow diamonds used in the piece, before cutting, was 880 carats.
The task of collecting so many large diamonds in the same shade was particularly difficult and time-consuming, especially considering that yellow diamonds are considerably rarer than white diamonds – 10,000 times rarer, in fact: “We travelled the world for three and a half years in search of an unprecedented number of perfect gemstones,” explains Benjamin Arabov, CEO of Jacob & Co. Additionally, the use of the Asscher cut, which gives diamonds a square shape with bevelled corners and a total of 57 facets, made the exercise even more challenging. Popular in the 1920s with its Art Deco style, this cut demands larger rough diamonds than those used for brilliant-cut diamonds, adding many hours of work to complete the piece.
The most experimental
Last year, TAG Heuer honoured its famous TAG acronym (Technique d’Avant-Garde) by presenting its first watch set with lab-grown diamonds. This year, at Watches and Wonders Geneva, the manufacture once again caused a stir by using even more of them. In addition to the dial and indices (polycrystalline diamonds + 12 diamonds; 4.9 ct), the case (48 diamonds; 4.3 ct), and the crown (one diamond; 2.5 ct), the 2023 Carrera Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde Chronograph Tourbillon 44mm features synthetic diamonds on its bezel (26 diamonds; 1.9 ct) and aluminium bracelet (34 diamonds; 1.9 ct).
Although high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) technology has been available since the 1950s, lab-grown diamonds have undergone a major evolution with the development of chemical vapour deposition (CVD), which has enhanced the quality of the final product. A diamond “seed” is placed in a vacuum chamber into which gases are introduced (one containing carbon and the other hydrogen). Under the effect of powerful microwave radiation, the gases ignite and form crystals composed of carbon atoms that bond to the “seed” and grow the diamond. Thanks to their great versatility and the control that can be achieved over their shade, size, texture, and shape, synthetic diamonds are extremely useful for decorating all parts of a watch.
The most discreet
To counterbalance this trio of bold personalities, we’ve selected a timepiece with a softer character. Let’s look back at a watch released during last year’s Watches and Wonders: the Piaget Polo Skeleton. Radiating power through its exposed movement and diamond paving, this model nevertheless remains discreet thanks to its stones that blend seamlessly into the white gold. Although it’s paved with 1,746 brilliant-cut diamonds, this piece is far from ostentatious; it epitomises chic refinement and elegance.
Baguette-cut diamonds, which have 14 facets, are typically used for men’s timepieces because they don’t shine as brightly as diamonds with other cuts. For the same reason, the baguette cut emphasises the diamond’s clarity rather than its brilliance. However, Piaget took a gamble by using brilliant-cut diamonds on its Polo Skeleton, showcasing diamonds with 57 to 58 facets. The most common and dazzling facet arrangement, the brilliant cut consists of triangular and lozenge-shaped facets, strategically placed to optimise the diamond’s sparkle by playing with captured and refracted light. The gamble paid off: despite its brilliance, the Polo Skeleton is wonderfully suited to masculine wrists. Although initially sceptical, we fell in love with it the first time we touched it.
At the end of the day, whichever one you choose, you’ll need very deep pockets!
