Three Terrific Floral Watches Unveiled in Geneva
This year is bound to hold some wonderful promise when it comes to ultra-luxurious women’s watches, if what we saw in Geneva last month is any indication. While we know there will be a lot more floral inspired delights coming at BaselWorld in March, we want to take a close up look at three fantastic floral watches that made their debut either at SIHH 2017 last month, or in salons around Geneva. Rest assured that each of these beauties holds a retail price point of upwards of $100,000. 
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Papillion Automate
More than three years in the making, this absolutely stunning new watch from Van Cleef & Arpels is an automaton butterfly in a shimmering garden of beauty. Indicative of the brand’s philosophy to make jewelry that tells a story, the new Lady Arpels Papillion Automate is aflutter with enchantment. The gold and translucent enamel painted butterfly actually flutters its wings in a remarkable display several times each hour and with as many as 19 flutters each time. In a single given hour, depending on the power reserve of the watch, those wings will open and close as many as 100 or more times.
Additionally, the wearer can activate the wings on demand by a press of the crown. The complex movement alone was more than three years in the making and was developed exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels. The movement holds four patents. Additionally, the highly detailed dial – along with the butterfly and moving wings — took time to conceptualize and bring to fruition. It is created using a grand mix of champlevé enamel, paillonne enamel, plique-a-jour (translucent) painting, gem setting and more. The dial is set with round and pear-shaped diamonds and colored sapphires. Bulgari Diva’s Dream Tourbillon Skeleton
Bulgari Diva’s Dream Tourbillon Skeleton
An amazing work designed to offer a romantic view of time, the newest complicated watch from Bulgari is a poetic interpretation of gardens, flowers and beloved birds. Part of the Bulgari Gardens line, the Diva’s Dream Tourbillon Skeleton is set with 76 brilliant-cut diamonds (weighing 1.76 carats) on the 37mm case. Offered in two versions, white gold or pink gold, each watch features an exotic garden with lush foliage and colorful bird – all created by hand using micro painting and enameling. In fact, more than a dozen different colors are used on the open-worked and chased dial to create the depth and beauty of the dial.
Inside, the skeletonized hand-wound BVL Caliber 208, with each part meticulously hand finished, is equipped with the coveted tourbillon complication – a mesmerizing feature that compensates for the effects of gravity on precision when the watch is in certain positions. Developed and assembled n the Bulgari workshops in Switzerland, the movement offers 64 hours of power reserve. The movement is created using pink or white gold, depending on the version of the watch. Just 50 pieces of each will be made.
Piaget Altiplano Double Jeu Lacework on Gold
This stunning 38mm watch is the pinnacle of artistic craftsmanship and technical prowess. The 18-karat gold case is meticulously set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds weighing just about 2.3 carats. While the dazzling diamonds may turn heads from afar, it is the exceptional gold filigree lacework on the dial that is the true breath stealer. The open-worked lace-like structure is an upper module that sits above the gold watch dial. It is set with 12 marquise-shaped diamonds (1.6 carats) that emulate floral or leaf petals. The watch is powered by the 2.1mm thin caliber 430P, a mechanical hand-wound movement. It is finished with an elegant white alligator strap. Just eight pieces will be made, each a Piaget boutique exclusive selling for $123,000.
