Haute Complication: Graff MasterGraff China
One thing that Graff excels in is uniting the best of various crafts into a single watch. The MasterGraff China is a perfect example of this, as it is not only technically a tantalizing watch, but also impresses with its diamond setting and intricate dial.
That dial alone is a piece of art. To get an almost real-life image of the Chinese wall, with a lot of depth in it, Graff worked with several layers. The base of the dial is formed by aventurine. This glass-like material is dark blue and has specks in them that give it the look of a night sky dotted with stars. It creates a magical backdrop for the Great Wall of China, which is sculpted from a single piece of gold by hand. Its details are engraved, and a specific patina was applied to enhance the feeling of depth of the scene. Gold was also used as a background for the foliage, which comes to life by the added color.
Graff is one of the undisputed kings of diamonds. Therefore it cannot come as a surprise that the MasterGraff China not only features some of the most beautiful stones but also in a setting that is rarely seen in watchmaking. With a diameter of 48m is it a substantially sized watch, that gives Graff plenty of room to set the bezel with generously sized stones. They use a special invisible setting that makes it look like the bezel is crafted from a single diamond instead of separate stones. Technically equally advanced is the setting on the dial itself. Graff used a modified baguette-cut to make up the walkway of the Great Wall of China, for which they also utilize an invisible setting.
With all this splendor, one would almost forget that the movement itself is also a horological masterpiece. It contains two tempting complications, which are rarely seen combined. The first is a double-axis tourbillon, and the other a three-dimensional moon. Here Graff also shows again its eye for detail, as the surface of the moon is sculpted just like the real thing. All combined does it result in a watch that is truly worthy of being called an Haute Complication.
