st watches and jewellery aw11
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Sunday Telegraph Watches and Jewellery magazineTRANSCRIPT
ST waTcheS and jewellerY autumn / winter 2011
STONE AGE
NEW YORK BEVERLY HILLS LAS VEGAS DALLAS CHICAGO BAL HARBOUR LONDON PARIS CANNES
MILAN GSTAAD ST MORITZ TOKYO SHANGHAI HONG KONG MACAU SINGAPORE
RALPHLAURENWATCHES.COM
THE RALPH LAUREN AUTOMOTIVE WATCH STAINLESS STEEL 45MM MODEL. ELM BURLWOOD DIAL. SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL CASE BACK. MANUAL WINDING MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT.
156 COMPONENTS, 45-HOUR POWER RESERVE. SWISS MADE.
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contents 09
Autumn / Winter 2011
3250
On the cover: Photography Rafael Stahelin.
Fashion editor Michelle Duguid. Jumper,
£1,190, Céline. Hat, £925, Lanvin. Earrings,
£53,400, Boucheron. Necklace, price on
application, Adler. Ring, Fabergé. Bombé
ring, POA, Graff
EDITORIAL
Editor Joanne Glasbey
Senior art director Ciara Walshe
Chief copy editor Chris Madigan
Assistant editor Sarah Deeks
Picture editor Juliette Hedoin
Senior copy editor Gill Wing
Copy editors Cate Langmuir,
Ming Liu, Rupert Mellor
Creative director Ian Pendleton
Executive editor Peter Howarth
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Simon de Burton
Maria Doulton
COMMERCIAL (UK)
Executive director Dave King
Publishing director
Toby Moore 020 7931 3350
Director of fashion and luxury
Carley Ayres 020 7931 3328
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10 watch word Nick Foulkes on the new desire
for old-fashioned watches: classics not clichés
12 jewellery case Carol Woolton describes the
brooch’s latest comeback. This one might stick
14 news Bright faces and jewellery that shines
16 coveted Patek Philippe’s latest perpetual-
calendar chronograph is a watch of 456 parts
18 artefact Van Cleef & Arpels’ Zip Necklace
– one of Wallis Simpson’s beter suggestions
21 one to watch Tomasz Donocik, a young
jeweller exploring the art of darkness
23 star turn Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso – the
watch that shows its flip side – is 80 years old
25 legend Jewellery’s Tutankhamun: the Hope
Diamond has royal lineage and a juicy curse
28 high society Maria Doulton on how Coco
Chanel would have approved of the J12 watch
30 new wave Simon de Burton casts off and
plots a course to the best nautical timepieces
32 cocktail hour Bold, eye-catching rings for
eveningwear make weighted statements
34 design by numbers Justine Picardie
explores how Dior’s house codes are involved
in its couture watches
36 good as gold Precious metal is the latest
commodity to get the Fairtrade makeover,
reports Mary Sanderson
40 love me slender The world’s slimmest
watch movements are things of beauty
42 clarity & cut Strong jewellery is paired
with fashion’s current geometric shapes
48 record breakers Highest, deepest, smallest,
most accurate: Ken Kessler chooses watches
that can be rated best in their class
50 dark mater This year’s coolest watch
trend sees us back in black
56 stockists The ST style directory
58 national treasure The outsider jeweller
who made it big: Solange Azagury-Partridge
A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with Sotheby’s new
watch boss, John Reardon, who had just returned from
Hong Kong, where he had managed to sell a solar-powered
table clock decorated with an enamel scene depicting
Dixieland jazz musicians for a quarter of a million dollars.
It helps that it was made by Patek Philippe, that
most cobalt of blue-chip brands; nevertheless, Reardon
estimated that he achieved 10 times what the original
purchaser would have paid – remarkable when one considers
these clocks were a sideline to Patek Philippe’s core business
of mechanical wristwatches.
Looking through the auction catalogues for the
coming winter sales, it is hard not to feel a sense of wonder.
The buoyant vintage market is an indicator of the current
enthusiasm for traditional crafsmanship – afer a period
of experimentation with futuristic materials and designs,
the Swiss are returning to making watches that look like
watches. A typical example is Girard-Perregaux’s 1966 – a
simple, elegant, round watch named for the year that G-P
carried off the Centenary prize of the Neuchatel Observatory.
The power of the past is particularly evident at
the top of the market, where marques with heritage are
happy to flaunt it. One of the most eloquent expressions
of this is Vacheron Constantin’s Aronde 1954 – a timepiece
that revels in mid-20th-century detail in an interplay
of curved and linear planes and polished and brushed
surfaces. Vacheron has been making watches in Geneva
for over a quarter of a millennium without hiatus. It is
a watchmaker that has seen superpowers come and go.
It had already been in business for a generation when
America declared itself independent and then, as now,
the newly rich economies of the world wanted to wear
Swiss watches. The company’s archives are a goldmine
and put it in an enviable position when it comes to
benefiting from today’s tradition boom.
Meanwhile, a few hundred metres away from the
Vacheron HQ, Patek Philippe has been busy creating
a watch to delight the brand’s fanatical clients. For them,
Patek Philippe is almost a religion, and the Reference 5208,
a triple complication, is about as close as it comes to
a modern grail. Elegant in looks and exigent in manufacture,
about the only thing that isn’t understated about it is
the price: 800,000 Swiss francs.
Not all watches will set you back the cost of a
house but, with the rising price of gold and the strength
of the Swiss franc, they have seldom been more expensive.
And yet, especially when you consider the abysmal
global economy, the Swiss watch industry is remarkably
buoyant. Much of this is to do with the powerful
perception of a fine timepiece as a portable and status-
conferring store of value. And nowhere is this beter
understood than in China.
Philippe Léopold-Metzger, CEO of Piaget, told
me 60 per cent of his business is done with the Chinese,
both at home or abroad. There are brands for whom that
percentage is higher and plenty more who want to increase
their exposure in that lucrative market, which is why
we are seeing many more simple two- and three-hand
watches at the moment, as that is what sells well in Asia.
This is paying dividends with brands that have abandoned
over-scaled, baroque designs and returned to classic
watches – a good example being the relatively affordable
Zenith, which is experiencing spectacular growth.
Of course, some experts have raised the concern
that, in orienting themselves towards the tastes of a single
region, Switzerland’s watchmakers may be puting too
many of their eggs in one basket. Well, first, I don’t know
of any other baskets out there at the moment and, second,
China is an increasingly discriminating market, interested
in buying only the best. Unlike so many other industries,
which have outsourced production to more cost-effective
centres, Switzerland and its watchmakers have largely
preserved their mystique by confining the savoir faire
needed to make their tiny ticking masterpieces within the
borders of this landlocked and mountainous region in the
middle of Europe. The result is that the best Swiss
watchmakers make products up to a standard rather than
down to a price, and the market reflects that.
There are cheaper ways of telling the time, but if
I had a few hundred thousand Swiss francs to invest and
the choice between garlic-belt government bonds or fine
Swiss watchmaking, I know which I would choose.
Nick Foulkes is editor of Vanity Fair On Time
The increasingly discerning Chinese taste for classic elegance is driving a return to traditional watches – something Nick Foulkes welcomes
OLD’S COOL
swiss heritage10
Illustration
Marie Assénat
High Jewellery Collection, L’Ame du Voyage.
Every once in a while, magazines announce that brooches
are back, which is followed by one or two costume pieces
shown clasped to a cardigan in a retro-styled fashion shoot.
But spoting a majestic diamond-set beauty pinned onto
a gossamer-silk gown, as in the Fifies, the zenith of the
brooch era, remains as rare as the sight of a unicorn.
However, during London Fashion Week and the recent
Goldsmiths’ Fair, nestled among several collections,
a few stylishly modern precious examples were on show.
Enough to herald the return of the brooch? Probably
not, but what is clear is that there are designers keen
to create a contemporary new version with gemstones.
‘Brooches fell out of favour because women didn’t
know how to wear them,’ says jewellery designer Cora
Sheibani, who launched her ‘Clouds with a Silver Lining’
collection in September. ‘That’s why I decided to show
mine worn, rather than inside a display case, to make
it easier for clients to imagine themselves wearing one
themselves.’ For her London Fashion Week show, she
pinned her silver and rhodium cloud brooches onto a
collection of silk dresses by ex-McQueen designer Edeline
Lee. ‘Clouds come in all sorts of abstract shapes and
can be bright and shiny or dark and atmospheric, just
like silver,’ explains Sheibani. One set of brooches
comprises three different-sized clouds, five diamond pins
and a gold lightning bolt, so that, charmingly, you can
choose the weather when you get dressed in the morning.
‘It’s important to highlight the versatility of the brooch,’
designer Jacqueline Cullen, who specialises in Whitby jet,
told me at the Goldsmiths’ Fair. She makes gold-beaded
chains with toggles so that her circular jet brooches,
edged with gold granulations or black diamonds, can
also be worn as pendants. ‘People are reassured, for
investment purposes, by the presence of the diamonds,’
says Cullen, ‘but I make sure they work for the jet, rather
than just with it, and bring something to my aesthetic’.
As a girl, watching her mother pin brooches onto her beret,
she learnt that they can be worn in unexpected places,
and that, ‘unlike earrings or rings, which are purely
decorative, they can be practical, too.’ Like punks using
safety pins to atach two parts of a garment together,
brooches perform the same function with greater panache.
Across the aisle at the fair, designer Sonia Cheadle
was selling her elegant diamond halo and bar brooches to
women ‘looking for a couple of pieces to make them stand
out’. Inspired by the glamour of the Fifies, she is keen
to update the brooch to give it a fresh, contemporary spin.
The halos contain a hefy two carats of diamonds, but,
thanks to a fine steel pin at the back, will remain secure
and balanced, even on a sheer silk blouse.
A brooch is the only piece of jewellery that does
not sit directly on the body. This lends the likes of
award-winning designer Shaun Leane greater freedom.
‘I’m not confined by weight, as I am when I’m creating
a pair of earrings, so I can be a bit more extravagant,’
he explains. His approach is to create an ‘art jewel’,
using the brooch as a frame within the outer frame of
the wearer’s clothing. He has created one-off objets
d’art for a number of high-profile clients, including a
brooch in the shape of a thistle, featuring Tahitian pearls
and black spinels, that was commissioned by actress
Sarah Jessica Parker. ‘My brooches convert into hairpieces,’
adds Leane. ‘I picked up that quirk during the time when
I was restoring Victorian jewellery.’
Louisa Guinness creates jewellery collections
in collaboration with artists who, like Leane, confound
the usual boundaries of fit and comfort when creating
precious pieces, allowing them to be more expressive.
She is a champion of the brooch. When it comes to
pulling one off with aplomb, she offers some sage advice.
‘Positioning is all. It’s too granny-ish to wear them on a
collar or breast pocket. They look much more edgy worn
high up on the shoulder.’
Greek-born sculptor Sophia Vari recently had a
show of her generously curved, geometric ebony and gold
brooches at Guinness’s gallery, as did American architect
turned jewellery designer William Ehrlich, who fashions
bold modernist tulips and thistles (clearly, a topical
motif) from green and blue sapphires and grey diamonds.
Parisian Muriel Grateau, meanwhile, designs brocade
brooches in vivid enamel and glitered lacquer studded
with diamonds and sapphires. Her avant-garde pins –
litle jewels on clips – can equally well accessorise bags
and hats as well as pullovers. ‘Brooches disappeared for
a long time,’ she says, ‘but they are completely right
for current fashion and the return of the smoking jacket.’
Dare I say it… perhaps the brooch really is back.
Carol Woolton is jewellery editor of Vogue and author of Drawing
Jewels for Fashion (£25); she blogs at blog.carolwoolton.com
Illustration
Cecilia Carlstedt
The brooch has been repositioned, says Carol Woolton. Studded with precious gems, it adorns not just cardigans and collars but bags, hats and even shoulders
PInPOInT
jewellery case12
destination shopping
Harrods excels in curating the best brands
and bringing them together under one roof.
Now it’s the turn of the fine watches and
jewellery department. The rooms have
been revamped, doubling in size to create
Europe’s biggest selling area for innovative
and classic timepieces and haute joaillerie,
such as the Cog necklace from Wilfredo
Rosado, above. The Fine Watch Room
features all the top names plus unique
brands and stand-alone boutiques, for
a total of 35 brands. The Fine Jewellery
Room has also expanded, making this the
one-stop destination for the best timepieces
and jewellery around. harrods.com
star player
Looking for a watch that Professor Brian
Cox might covet? IWC’s new Portuguese
Sidérale Scafusia (above) functions as both
a tourbillon and an astronomical instrument
with its two time displays - the main dial
showing ‘conventional’ time and a small,
24-hour dial showing ‘sidereal’ time, ie the
time measured according to the position of
the earth in relation to the stars rather than
the sun. A sunrise and sunset indicator, leap
year calendar and a rotating planisphere
that displays around 500 stars makes this
the most complex wristwatch IWC has ever
made. £550,000; iwc.com
seeing red
This beautifully intricate necklace (right)
is brand new to the Tiffany & Co collection.
Originally designed by Jean Schlumberger,
who transformed nature’s wonders into
colourful creations, the unique piece
features red spinels and diamonds set in
18ct gold and platinum. POA; tiffany.com
time to honour
To celebrate writers and artists across
the globe who share a commitment to
challenging readers’ perspectives, Zenith
is a supporter of the Norman Mailer Center,
founded to encourage literary figures
imbued with the same passions as the
late American writer, and also sponsors
the institute’s annual gala. Marking this
partnership, it donated one of its iconic
chronographs – El Primero Chronomaster
Open Power Reserve (above) – to each
of the four 2011 gala laureates, including
Indian novelist Arundhati Roy and Rolling
Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who was
honoured with the Distinguished Biography
prize. zenith-watches.com
Wonderfully wickedStephen Webster’s
latest collection of couture cocktails rings is
not for the faint-hearted. ‘It Started with Eve…’ takes inspiration from
history’s most deadly – and glamorous – bad girls, with Lady Macbeth, Bonnie Parker and The Girl with the Golden
Gun (above) all taking starring roles. Webster’s decadent rings are set with exotic gemstones including tanzanite, red
garnet and rubies, and come with more than
a touch of the designer’s
black humour. stephenwebster.com
ticksand
stones
ClassiC ComebaCk
When Pino Rabolini founded Pomellato in
1967, his vision was to produce fine jewellery
without the stuffiness and formality.
In 2001, the brand’s now-iconic Nudo
ring revolutionised the ethos of jewellery
making. Minimalist, yet full of character,
the ring added a touch of humour to the
solitaire, featuring coloured semi-precious
stones cut and set as if they were solitaire
diamonds, and with no visible means of
side support. Now, to celebrate a decade
of the brand’s emblematic ring, Pomellato
has released a new ‘extreme’ Nudo design.
Maintaining all the characteristics of its
predecessor, the current design features
new dimensions and comes in seven
stones, including blue London topaz, lemon
quartz and tangerine garnet, with colour
nuances that the larger sizes intensify
considerably. Wear alone or stack together
for dramatic colour combination.
Nudo rings from £2,020 each; pomellato.com
a grand tribute
Seiko has recreated its signature timepiece,
the Grand Seiko, to celebrate the company’s
130th anniversary. The limited-edition
watches come in three versions and feature
the Caliber 9S64, a newly developed
mechanical hand-winding movement that
boasts the very latest in high-technology
watchmaking, while the design remains
faithful to the original Sixties model.
The handsome, clean face embodies
Seiko’s values of accuracy, durability and
sophistication. But you’ll need to move fast
as there are only 130 anniversary editions
available in the exclusive gold and platinum
executions. grand-seiko.com
news14
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coveted16
the time lord
Itwaswaybackin1925when
PatekPhilippefirstmanagedtoscaledownthe
mind-bogglingperpetual-calendarmechanismto
wristwatchsize,meaningthewell-heelednolonger
hadtosuffertheinconvenienceofneedingtoadjust
theirtimepiecetotakeaccountofshortmonthsand
leapyears.But the movement’s technical complexity
meant it was 1944 before the legendary watch house put
it into regular production. Three years earlier, Patek had
achieved another first by combining the complications of
a perpetual calendar and a chronograph in its Reference
1518. Last year, one fetched more than $615,000 at Christie’s
and a variation of the model, a super-rare Reference 1527,
realised a staggering $5.7m, making it the most expensive
yellow gold watch ever sold at auction. Such heady sums
put the £118,940 price tag of Patek’s recently launched,
456-part Reference 5270G perpetual-calendar chronograph
in perspective – not least because the brand’s watches
featuring this particular array of complicatons have
historically proved to be remarkably good investments.
I’d choose one over stocks and shares any day.
Patek Philippe white gold Reference 5270G on an alligator
strap, available at Watches of Switzerland, 0800 111 4116;
watches-of-switzerland.co.uk
PhotographyThomas Brown
WordsSimon de Burton
StylingCiara Walshe
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artefact18
zipcode ItwastheDuchessofWindsorwho
firstsuggestedtheideaofanecklacebasedonthehumble
ziptoRenéePuissant,thenartisticdirectorofherparents’
distinguishedParisianjewelleryhouse,VanCleef&Arpels.
Subverting the zip fastener was a stroke of genius. Developed
for use in sailors’ uniforms and other pedestrian but practical
applications, it was first taken up by the fashion world in the
Thirties – an era when women discarded conventionality and
claimed their independence. An invention whose function is
simply to open and close and to conceal what is beneath, the
zip was completely reinterpreted by the house. Recast in precious
metal and gemstones, it metamorphosed into a piece of jewellery
that proudly displayed its delicacy and refinement to the world.
Worn open as a necklace or zipped up into a bracelet, Van Cleef
& Arpels Zip consists of two white gold ribbons bordered with
tiny hooks that mesh into one another. The extreme precision
of the gem-setting and articulation technique gives the piece
flexibility, allowing the mechanism to function like a real zip.
The sapphire tassel, in the shape of a knotted ribbon, moves
the slider up and down, allowing it to be worn in those varying
lengths. It’s a shape-shifter that changes mood and has teeth
– not unlike, some might say, the estimable Wallis Simpson.
Zip Necklace from the Couture Collection in white gold with sapphires
and round and princess-cut diamonds, price on application, Van Cleef
& Arpels; 020 7493 0400; vancleef-arpels.com
PhotographyThomas Brown
WordsJoanne Glasbey
StylingCiara Walshe
one to watch 21
With the launch of his women’s collection, the
dark creations of Tomasz Donocik
are on course to be the next
big thing in fine jewellery
Within the venerable surroundings of Garrard, London’s
grande dame of jewellery houses, is a new exhibition space
dedicated, until the end of November, to hot new jewellery
designer Tomasz Donocik.
The Polish-born Austrian is probably more at
home in the edgier environs of Dalston and Shoreditch
than Mayfair, but a foray into the upper echelons of haute
joaillerie is something with which he is completely at ease.
Hailed as the most promising of his generation afer his
graduate exhibition at the Royal College of Art in 2006,
Donocik was described by Sotheby’s director of jewellery,
Joanna Hardy, as having the potential to be the next big
thing. Since then, he has established a relationship with
Garrard and its creative director Stephen Webster, who
has mentored him and supported his work.
You might think such early adulation would have
gone to his head, but there is no sign of a huge ego in this
rising star, who combines Byronic good looks with an
intense, earnest personality. As he talks about his work, it
becomes evident he is more preoccupied with crafsmanship
and artistry than gaining plaudits or commercial gain.
Donocik’s dark glamour and dandyish signature
style has been heavily influenced by his European heritage.
WordsSarah Carpin
PhotographyPhilip Sinden
gothic arrival
‘I chose to study jewellery in the context of fine art,’ he
says. ‘And I see myself first and foremost as a designer
rather than a jeweller, which is why I like to experiment
with non-precious materials such as leather and fabric
as well as silver and gold.’
His first designs, which were predominantly for
men, but ofen worn by women, combined sculptural-
looking leather, inlaid with gold and silver. He called it the
Chesterfield collection, paying homage to the traditional
styles of the gentleman’s club. In contrast, the popular
leather wrap bracelets in his current range are set with
silver Soviet stars. It’s a romantic, urban look, blurring
masculinity and femininity to achieve an edgy and
slightly sinister look without reverting to the ubiquitous
skull. ‘I stay away from them – they’ve been used by so
many other designers and it’s more interesting to explore
the darker side in other ways,’ he explains.
All of Donocik’s designs have a strong supporting
story and, in the pieces being shown at Garrard, which is
his first fine-jewellery collection for women, his narrative
is about the ‘garden of good and evil’. ‘I used the idea of an
overgrown, forgoten garden that is beautiful but neglected.
I wanted the collection to have a fairytale quality to it –
magical but, at the same time, slightly menacing. My first
thoughts were to twist a children’s story – I imagined evil
dwarves collecting precious gems for a greedy Snow White
– but, in the end, decided that I really ought to make my
first fine-jewellery range a bit more grown-up.’
The dwarves are likely to make a future appearance
in silver, but the collection took a more botanical direction,
celebrating the sinister alongside the sublime. ‘The dark
side, in the shape of Venus flytraps, is counterbalanced by
the innocence of snowbells, and there are pieces with
tsavorites and rubies set on the tips to represent poison
dripping out of the flowers.’ It also gives a nod to current
trends in fashion, such as multiple chains, stacking and
interlocking rings and movement.
The connection between jewellery and fashion is
something the designer has also been exploring, and his
Garrard collection includes a set of jewelled silk scarves
that are both a fashion accessory and a piece of jewellery.
The range will expand next year to include jewelled gloves,
created in collaboration with a Parisian glovemaker.
Donocik is breaking the boundaries of jewellery
design, and doing it with the highest degree of crafsmanship.
And, while you may yet need to be convinced to don a pair
of evil-dwarf earrings, he is most definitely one to watch.
Sarah Carpin is a jewellery and watches consultant and writer
Information: Bell & Ross UK +44 207 096 08 78 . [email protected] . e-Boutique: www.bellross.com
Pocket Watch PW1 49 mm
Wristwatch WW1 45 mm - Alligator strap
Having withstood the test of time – not to mention
the polo field – for 80 years, the Jaeger-LeCoultre
Reverso has been given a new spin for the modern
age. To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, the Swiss house has
created new versions of this enduring classic of
the watch pantheon. The Grande Reverso Ultra
Thin, Grande Reverso Duo and Reverso Répétition
Minutes à Rideau prove there’s plenty of life in
the old design yet.
Like other pieces of design whose unique
quirks became their unmistakable identities – the
Vespa, Volkswagen Beetle and Anglepoise lamp,
for example – the Reverso was born out of necessity
(if polo-playing can be considered as such). Proof
of its longevity is that, three-quarters of a century
afer the first was sold, the watch is still a bestseller
across the world, even if its original purpose is but
a distant memory in the heat and dust of times past.
The story goes that, in the early Thirties,
during the later days of British colonial rule in
India, and before the invention of cases made from
resilient crystal, officers were complaining that
their watch glasses were being shatered by errant
balls during particularly rambunctious chukkas.
The pressing problem of the polo player’s
watch came to the atention of Swiss businessman
César de Trey who, having made his fortune in
dental products, turned his talents to promoting
fine watchmaking.
Returning from a trip to India with tales
of elephants and maharajas, he had in his pocket
a smashed watch handed to him afer a polo match
by a crestfallen player who complained that this
kept on happening. Rather than suggest the perhaps
obvious solution of leaving one’s watch in a locker,
de Trey sensed he might be on to a winner. The
entrepreneur worked with his business partner,
Jacques-David LeCoultre, and the Jaeger workshop
in Paris to develop a timepiece capable of
withstanding great impacts.
Ever inventive, LeCoultre looked beyond
the remote Vallée du Joux in the Jura mountains
– the heartland of watchmaking – for a more
ingenious solution than just a watch with a cover.
The French capital, where Art Deco was in full
swing, was where he found engineer René-Alfred
Chauvot, whom he commissioned to find an
elegant technical solution.
And so, the Reverso, perhaps the world’s
first purpose-built sports watch, was born – as
was the firm we now know as Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The solution was brilliant in its simplicity: the
rectangular face slid on ball bearings along a track,
swivelled 180° and snapped upside down into its
case. With the metal back outwards, the timepiece
could be safely worn while playing polo, then simply
clicked back into place in time for G&Ts.
The success of this newfangled timepiece
was probably as much to do with its practicality
and built-in fiddle appeal as its streamlined
Art Deco beauty. The Reverso is symbolic of an
age in which reason and logic triumphed over the
purely decorative and, in its own small way, was
a wrist-worn revolution.
Bold but nonetheless pure in appearance,
it was underpinned by technical prowess and
brilliant litle twists of engineering – a manifestation
of the breakneck speed of progress that, in the
preceding decades, had issued forth the automobile,
the first transatlantic flight and the Eiffel Tower.
Yet delicious details, such as the blued-steel
hands and horizontal grooves along the top and
botom of the case, remind us of the traditional
crafsmanship invested in each of these watches.
Even though the arrival of unbreakable
glass a few years later rendered the Reverso’s
original use redundant, such was its popularity
beyond the polo crowd that it went on to become
an icon. To commemorate its birthday, ultra-slim
versions faithful to the original design have been
created, as well as a dual-time zone model and
another that has a minute repeater with a shuter
that glides across the dial. A similarly slender
women’s anniversary edition transforms from an
elegant daytime watch into a bejewelled gold face
shimmering with diamonds for the evening. When
you’re 80, you need no excuse to celebrate in style.
jaeger-lecoultre.com
Maria Doulton is a writer specialising in jewellery and watches
and is the editor of thejewelleryeditor.com
star turnJaeger-LeCoultre celebrates a watch that has stood the test of time (and polo field) for 80 years: the ReversoWords Maria Doulton
icon 23
Clockwise from left:
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Reverso Répétition
Minutes à Rideau;
King Edward VIII
plays polo in Long
Island, New York,
in the Thirties;
vintage ad for the
Reverso Patrimony;
Grande Reverso Duo
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continuous flow of time. spring drive.
While it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the tall
tale of the Hope Diamond, its status as the world’s most
important gemstone has never been in debate. Since it was
first unearthed around 500 years ago in India, it has had
a starring role in the French crown jewels, been stolen and
smuggled, falling into the hands of an English king, been
loved to distraction by an eccentric American socialite,
and, along the way, acquired a reputation for being cursed.
The role this single steely-blue stone has played
in the turbulent affairs of men began with Jean-Baptiste
Tavernier, a merchant who acquired the 112ct triangular-
cut diamond in India. Legend has it he stole it from the
eye of a temple idol, although historians have dismissed
that as fantasy. What is proven is that he sold it to Louis
XIV of France in 1668. A few years later, it was recut
and almost halved to 67 carats and, in the royal inventories,
became known as the French Blue. It was set in gold and
sparkled on the neck ribbon worn by the king for the most
lavish of ceremonial occasions.
Some eight decades later, Louis XV had the stone
reset into a piece for the crown jewels. And there in the
French court it might have remained had it not, like its
owner, become one of the victims of the revolution. In 1792,
afer an atempt by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinete to
flee the country, the royal treasuries were looted and the
French Blue was stolen.
What became of the stone for the following few
tumultuous years remains a mystery. It is likely it was
smuggled out of France and clandestinely sold and resold.
It resurfaced in 1812 with a new identity – a blue diamond
is recorded in the catalogues of London merchant Daniel
Eliason, although it was cut differently and had been reduced
to 44 carats – perhaps in the hope of hiding its origin.
Eliason sold the stone to the one person in the
country unconcerned about its background: King George
IV. The fact that His Majesty purchased it at all was quite
an achievement for the gem dealer – most of his ostentatious
coronation jewels were hired. Despite George IV’s habit
of living beyond his means, he managed to hold on to the
diamond until his death in 1830, when it was sold to a
mystery buyer to pay off the king’s vast debts.
The stone’s next recorded owner, nine years later,
was Henry Philip Hope – the man from whom it takes its
name. Almost as soon as he acquired it, Hope died and,
afer much litigation, it passed to his nephew and then his
grandson, Lord Francis Hope, who, caring more for gambling
than diamonds, surrendered it on becoming bankrupt.
In the early part of the 20th century, the Hope
Diamond changed hands several times, crossing the Atlantic
from London to New York, then back to Paris, where it was
briefly owned by Pierre Cartier. It was he who showed it
to the socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean. A feisty, flamboyant
woman, the daughter of an Irish-American immigrant who
had made his fortune in the Californian gold rush, she
eloped in 1908 with the handsome heir to the Washington
Post fortune. With $200,000 in spending money, the
newlyweds sailed off on an extravagant three-month
honeymoon to Europe; at the end of the trip, they arrived
in Paris without even the funds to pay their hotel bill.
Coveted by spendthrifts and stolen by cutpurses, the reputedly cursed Hope Diamond has many facets
thebigblue
legend 25
WordsSarah Carpin
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‘So I cabled my father and he sent me fresh credit
and his love,’ said Walsh McLean in her memoirs.
‘Then I went to Cartier. I always get into trouble
when I have money in my hands.’
She loved the diamond but not the seting.
Undeterred, Pierre Cartier had it reset and flew
with it to Washington, where he lef it with her
for a weekend. His gamble paid off and the sale
was concluded in 1912, the stone mounted in a
tiara. Sometime later, Walsh McLean had it reset
again, when it became the pendant as it appears
today. She owned and wore it almost daily until her
death in 1947. In fact, according to one story, it took
a lot of persuading to get her to take it off even when
she was admited to hospital for a goitre operation.
And what of the stone’s famous curse?
Susanne Patch, in her book on the Hope Diamond,
wonders if Cartier himself started the legend.
It is said Walsh McLean enjoyed a good yarn and
believed objects that boded ill to others brought
her good luck. According to Patch’s research,
the first mention of the curse in print was in the
early 1900s. Perhaps an embellished tale of a
blue diamond snatched from the eye of an Indian
temple idol was simply part of Cartier’s sales
pater. We will never truly know.
What is curious, however, is that, while
Walsh McLean viewed the stone as a talisman,
others claimed she was a victim of its curse.
Her eldest son died in a car crash when he was
nine, her daughter commited suicide at the
age of 25 and her husband was declared insane.
Although she had bequeathed the diamond to her
grandchildren, all her jewels were sold two years
afer her death to setle her debts.
The purchaser was diamond specialist
Harry Winston. He dismissed speculation about
the curse. ‘It’s silly to imagine diamonds exert any
good or evil influence. It’s not the diamonds but the
people who handle them that cause the misfortune,’
he said. ‘In fact, since we’ve had the Hope Diamond,
our business has multiplied four times.’
Over the next decade, Winston used the
diamond as a means for good, raising money for
worthy causes by exhibiting it and allowing it to be
worn at charitable events. He understood that its
inherent value extended well beyond its monetary
worth: ‘We’ve owned it for 10 years. I could have
sold it many times for a profit,’ he said. ‘Instead,
we raised more than a million dollars for charity.’
In 1958, he donated it to the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington to help establish the United States’
national gem and mineral collection, believing
that a stone of such gemmological and historic
significance deserved to be shared, rather than
hidden away in a private home.
The Hope Diamond has remained in the museum
ever since, but its story does not end there. Equally
as fascinating as its colourful history is its ability
to change colour – under ultraviolet light, it was
discovered, the blue stone gives off a fiery orange
glow. ‘It looks like a coal on a barbecue,’ explains
gemmologist and national gem collection curator
Dr Jeff Post. While this is not a mystical
phenomenon unique to the Hope stone –
phosphorescence is common to all natural blue
diamonds – Post discovered that each has its own
particular type by which scientists can identify it.
‘Diamonds that have been treated artificially to
turn them blue so they can be passed off as more
valuable natural-coloured stones do not glow in the
same way – their fingerprint is completely different.
Now, fakes are much easier to detect,’ he says.
While its heady days of passing from one
spectacularly rich and spendthrif owner to another
are long gone, the legacy of the Hope Diamond
continues. Frédéric de Narp, president and CEO of
Harry Winston Inc, says the same principles that
led to its donation to the Smithsonian back in the
Fifies are still upheld by the company: ‘Harry Winston
is about rarity, beauty, quality and crafsmanship,’
he says. ‘It’s about creating unique fine jewellery
and timepieces without compromise.
‘One of the things that has always impressed
me was the incredible vision Mr Winston displayed
in giving his rarest treasure to the Smithsonian to
help educate the world about amazing gemstones.
For me, that really represents the essence of what
made him who he was and the company what it
became and still is today. It is not only about a
passion for the most famous jewels in the world,
but a sense of compassion in wanting to share
these gifs with others.’
Harry Winston used to say his designs
were dictated by the individual beauty of the
gemstones. With this in mind, he challenged his
designers and crafsman to create new, pioneering
techniques for jewellery design, and setings that
allowed the gem, rather than the metal, to be the
focal point of each creation. This love of and
appreciation for the magic of diamonds is something
he shared with Evalyn Walsh McLean and the
many other colourful owners of the Hope Diamond
– the most enchanting stone in the world.
harrywinston.com
Was the tale of a diamond snatched from the eye of an Indian temple idol simply part of Pierre Cartier’s sales patter? We will never know
Previous page:
The Hope
Diamond in 2010
in a temporary
setting: a platinum
necklace by Harry
Winston Inc.
Right from top:
George IV; Louis
XIV; the gem in its
traditional setting;
Evalyn Walsh
McLean wearing
the Hope Diamond
legend26
The Rolex Submariner, the Cartier Tank and the Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak are widely recognised as classic watches, all designed
by long-established watchmaking companies. But how did Chanel,
a fashion house, come to create an iconic watch – in other words,
identifiable from across the road, an enduring design and on its way
to becoming a classic? And what would Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel
herself have done if she had designed a watch?
Looking at a grainy Thirties black-and-white photograph of
Chanel in Paris, leaning against the railings on the terrace of her suite
in the Hôtel Ritz, cigarete in hand, draped in jewellery, wearing a chic
tweed skirt, the clue is in the fabric. Fashionable women didn’t wear tweed
until Chanel, inspired by visits to Scotland, took this robust material and
turned it into something new and highly desirable. Continually flouting
convention with moves like this, Chanel changed forever the way women
dress by offering them the elegant, clean lines of men’s clothing.
Chanel’s designs were different to anything else, and so was
she: she showed her ankles in trousers, wore open-necked shirts and
preferred streamlined design to the corsetry and ruffles of the day.
Jersey – cheap and previously used mainly for men’s underwear – was
adopted by Chanel to make seductive dresses when times were tight.
It became her signature fabric. She would continually sidestep snobbery,
and didn’t stop at clothes – for example, mixing paste with gems to create
a new category of jewellery that was wearable throughout the day.
While the world of Chanel may seem many miles removed from
that of master watchmakers hunched over workbenches in the Swiss
valleys, or material scientists forging high-tech materials into watches,
they all come together most elegantly in the ceramic J12, Chanel’s most
instantly recognisable wristwatch to date.
And what makes the J12 stand out is the high-technology ceramic
used to create the case and bracelet. Found in products as diverse as false
teeth and space shutles, this glossy, scratch-resistant material, in the
hands of the fashion house, becomes as alluring as a new alloy of gold.
Chanel was not the first to use it in a watch, but the house did it with
such panache, as Coco herself would have done, that it set the J12 on the
road to fame. High-tech ceramic, the people at Chanel explain, ‘is used in
industrial technology – in particular, aeronautics and aerospace – and
formed from blending two metal powders: zirconium dioxide and ytrium.
Moulded under high pressure and at a temperature of 1450°C, these soon
bond, become dense and acquire ceramic’s characteristic black colour.
Its natural glow is then enhanced with a diamond-powder polish.’
And true to the founder’s heritage, the quality of Chanel
J12 watches is unimpeachable. One of the first fashion houses to go
the whole way and set up an atelier in Switzerland, Chanel has since
ventured into the realms of high horology with complications such
as tourbillons. Many of the models have mechanical movements and
are as lovely under the dial as they are on the outside.
Launched in 2000, the J12 was designed by the late Jacques
Helleu, artistic director at Chanel, and was named for his favourite
class of racing yacht. As with Coco Chanel’s creations, the new arrival
elegantly defied convention in terms of what a sports watch should
look like, with its stylish use of high-tech ceramic.
With the first J12, Helleu’s aim was to create a practical,
minimalist watch to glide from scuba dive to dinner at Cap d’Antibes
without missing a beat, yet be robust enough to look afer itself with
a reliable automatic movement. Although he created the first J12
for himself, it atracted the atention of women eager to be wearing the
most fashionable watch – a timepiece that oozed Chanel style but with
a chunky swagger to it. Originally available only in natural lustrous
inky black, the J12 was soon recreated in stunning snow white and,
this year, a tantalising grey-sky hue named ‘Chromatic’ (pictured).
With the success of the Chanel J12, it is easy to forget that,
not much more than 10 years ago, the combination of high-tech
ceramic with a sprinkling of rubies, diamonds or sapphires would
have been unthinkable. Coco Chanel herself would surely have
delighted in the technical innovation, as well as in the way the house
that bears her name has yet again created an iconic style statement
from such a practical material.
chanel.com
style28
high societyChanel’s J12 is that rarity – a fashion watch that can hold its own in the company of the horological aristocracyWords Maria Doulton Photography Thomas Brown
Available at Goldsmiths, Selfridges, Liberty of London and selected Jewellers g-shock.co.uk Photography by Willem Jaspert
Matt Murphy and Kirk BeattieFounders of b Store
Matt Murphy and Kirk Beattie are designers of the b Store fashion brand. Through determination and imagination they have carved out a welcome niche with their purist approach to fashion. G-Shock’s ethos of “Never, Never Give Up” is something both Matt and Kirk promote through an eternally positive approach. Their ideas and collaborations help continually grow and build their business. The G-Shock Premium watch is a perfect accessory to their demanding lifestyles and helps keep their busy schedules in check.
Matt and Kirk select the G-Shock Premium series
MTG-1500B-1A1JF
‘Just sit on there and hang on to the two red ropes,’
said renowned yacht racer Loïck Peyron, pointing
to what can best be described as an up-turned horn
protruding from the back of his AC45 catamaran
– a high-tech, carbon-fibre racing boat with a solid
‘wingsail’. I wondered if he was joking as I obediently
straddled the thing, despite knowing that an AC45
is essentially the yacht world’s equivalent of an F1
car, running on two hulls instead of four wheels.
And when the pace picks up, one hull is invariably
hovering several feet above the surface of the water.
Nothing, however, would have held me back
from the rare opportunity to travel on the Energy
Team boat on that foggy September day in Plymouth
Sound – and the ride was every bit as thrilling as I
had expected. I was taking part in the first America’s
Cup race held in British waters for 160 years, thanks
to French luxury goods house Louis Vuiton, the
official sponsor and timekeeper of the 34th America’s
Cup, due to take place in San Francisco Bay in 2013.
The AC45s and, later, their bigger, faster
sisters the AC72s, will be used in a World Series of
a dozen regatas leading to the Louis Vuiton Cup in
the summer of 2013, the winner of which will go on
to challenge the America’s Cup holder, Oracle.
The first Louis Vuiton Cup was held in 1983
at Newport, Rhode Island, establishing one of the
longest-running sponsorships in sports history – and,
since LV added watchmaking to its manifest in 2002,
the sailing association has provided a good excuse
to create an impressive range of specialised
timepieces, Tambour Regata, with countdown
functions designed to prevent false starts.
Among the latest is the Tambour Regata
LV Cup (from £5,750; louisvuiton.com), with black,
blue or chocolate brown dials. And, as the official
America’s Cup timekeeper, the brand is puting the
finishing touches to a new model due for launch at
next year’s Baselworld watch fair that will take into
account an alteration in the pre-start countdown.
But the fact that yacht racing is appreciated
by exactly the type of people who spend thousands
rather than hundreds on their watches means that
Louis Vuiton is far from sailing in empty waters
when it comes to producing nautical timepieces.
Corum (corum.ch) sponsors Olympic gold
medallist Ben Ainslie as well as the America’s Cup
Energy Team crew, and offers numerous watches in
its long-standing Admiral’s Cup line. Among the latest
is the Seafender 46, available either as three-handed
watch or chronograph (£6,475), both waterproof to
300 metres. Hublot (hublot.com), one-time backer
of America’s Cup-winning yacht Alinghi, chose this
year’s 10th anniversary of the Monaco Classic to
unveil its 45mm, titanium Classic Fusion model
(€9,500) designed for the Monaco Yacht Club, where
it is official timekeeper.
Sponsor of well-known Alex Thomson
Racing, Hugo Boss (bosswatches.co.uk) – the new
official watch partner of Cowes Week – offers a
funky regata watch, the 1512501, with a countdown
timer and orange highlights (£485). Luxury brand
Zenith (zenith-watches.com) has recently taken on
sponsorship of the record-breaking, twin hydrofoil
catamaran l’Hydroptère whose skipper, Alain
Thébault, wears a special black Alchron version of
the El Primero Striking 10th chronograph (£7,900).
Meanwhile, IWC (iwc.com) is the official
timing partner of the gruelling, nine-month,
39,270-mile Volvo Ocean Race which started from
Alicante on 5 November and ends in Galway next
July. A special version of IWC’s Yacht Club watch
has been made for the occasion (standard models
start from £9,000). The sister brand to Girard-
Perregaux, JeanRichard (jeanrichard.com), should be
batling for glory in the same race. Franck Cammas,
skipper of Groupama, and his crew wear special-
edition Diverscope Cammas chronographs (£6,600).
Omega (omegawatches.com) backs the America’s
Cup Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by
Dean Barker. He and his crew wear the new Seamaster
Planet Ocean watches that are available in ‘time
only’ form (£3,800) or as chronographs (£5,000).
So commited to classic yacht racing is
Panerai (panerai.com) that it has even bought and
restored a classic yacht, the Thirties Bermudian
ketch Eilean. The brand also sponsors the Panerai
Classic Yachts Challenge for which it mints a watch
each year; the latest is the Luminor Submersible
1950 Regata with GMT function (£7,100).
Rolex (rolex.com), too, has long backed the
world’s great yacht races, including the Sydney to
Hobart and the Fastnet, as well as champion sailors
Paul Cayard and Robert Scheidt. The Yacht-Master II
features a programmable countdown and mechanical
‘memory’ (£7,480 in steel and platinum).
But clearly the main feature of any
nautical watch should, of course, be a capability to
reliably inform when the sun is over the yardarm...
Simon de Burton writes about watches for the Daily Telegraph
new waveThe relationship between watchmakers and the sailing world results in a flotilla of exciting new yachting timepieces each yearWords Simon de Burton
Above, from left: Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Regatta LV Cup;
BMW Oracle, the winning yacht in the 2010 America’s Cup;
Luminor Submersible 1950 Regatta
yachting watches30
An AC45 catamaran is the yacht world’s equivalent of an F1 car, running on two hulls, instead of four wheels
cOcKTAILHOURThese rings, with their high-carat large gems or clusters, make a bold statement. Pair them with a little black dress and light up the evening
PhotograPhy THOMAS BROWN StyLISt CIARA WALSHE
Opposite, above, clockwise from top left:
Bombé ring set with 21.18cts of oval rubies
and 1.70cts of diamonds, price on application,
Graff. 18ct white gold ‘Entanglement’ ring
set with a 13.45ct oval tanzanite and 2cts of
diamonds, £14,000, Garrard. Yellow gold
and lacquer ‘Coffret de Victoire’ ring set with
diamonds, coral, rubellite, black jade, spessartite
garnets, rubies and emeralds, POA, Dior
Joaillerie. Platinum cabochon ring set with
a 76.39ct sapphire, POA, Harry Winston.
White gold flower ring set with diamonds
and a cushion-cut emerald, POA, Adler
Opposite, below: White-gold ‘Limelight’
ring set with white diamonds, pink oval-cut
tourmalines and pear-cut sapphires,
£40,000, Piaget
This page, above, clockwise from top: Pink
gold ‘Parentesi’ cocktail ring set with a citrine
and diamonds, £6,450, Bulgari. Platinum
cluster ring set with 12.93cts of radiant-cut
diamonds, POA, and platinum cocktail ring
set with diamonds and a 33.33ct pink
tourmaline, £17,950, both Lucie Campbell
This page, below, clockwise from top: 18ct
white gold ring with a diamond micro-set
band, set with a 20.76ct oval Paraiba
tourmaline and Paraiba tourmaline side
stones, POA, David Morris. Sculpted white
gold camellia ring set with a moonstone,
aquamarines and diamonds, £83,050,
Chanel Fine Jewellery. Platinum solitaire
ring set with 43.5cts of yellow sapphires,
POA, Harry Winston
STOCKISTS DETAILS ON PAGE 56
Photographer’s assistant Sam Hofman
Set designer Sarah Parker
Set designer’s assistant Stephanie Kevers
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Couture34
designbynumbersThe new Dior VIII watches point to a long history of numerology at the fashion house
WordsJustine Picardie
The relationship between fashion and time is
complex, with all the inherent contradictions of
an industry revolving in a race against the clock,
celebrating the calibrated workings of the past, at
the same instant as looking to the future. Nowhere
is this more apparent than in the Paris couture
houses that have turned their atentions to
designing luxury watches – watchfulness being
another key ingredient in the art of fashion – and
Dior in particular.
Christian Dior’s first watch collection was
launched in 1975 – 18 years afer the death of the
brand’s founder in October 1957. At the time of
writing (although a change is imminent) the
house has not yet appointed a new creative
director, since the departure of John Galliano.
Time is therefore of the essence at Dior, so its
choice of a number to name its latest watch
collection – Dior VIII – is significant. According to
Laurence Nicolas, president of Dior watches and
fine jewellery, ‘it evokes Monsieur Dior’s lucky
number. He was very superstitious, opening his
house in the VIII arrondissement of Paris, on 8
October 1946, and naming his first collection, in
1947, “en huit” (in eight).’ The Dior VIII line, she
continues, ‘is a metaphor of a couture house
wardrobe composed of the timeless litle black
dresses (suggested in horological form by black
ceramic bracelets, in eight different versions),
colourful cocktail dresses (set with diamonds,
citrines, garnets and pink sapphires), and
ballgowns…’ These later are represented by the
Grand Bal watches, a range for which each design
is produced in limited editions of 88, with price
tags to match the most splendid of Dior evening
gowns (well into the tens of thousands).
All of these figures would have been highly
significant to Christian Dior himself – a man with
a profound atachment to the magical meaning
of numbers, as well as an understanding of the
importance of the economic arithmetic of couture
(both the botom line, and the transience of
fashion). ‘A historian like my friend [Pierre]
Gaxote reckons that 50 years have to elapse
before one can give a considered opinion on any
event,’ he observed in his memoir, Dior by Dior,
‘but I never have more than three months in which
to reflect on my past collection before I have to
Christian Dior himself had a profound attachment to the magical meaning of numbers... the designer often returned to the number eight in his work
heartland of horological expertise). Two years
later, Victoire de Castellane, the Dior jewellery
designer, came up with her first timepiece,
La D de Dior (‘inspired by a man’s watch from
the Seventies,’ says Nicolas, ‘and borrowed by
a woman as a constant reminder of him’). In
2005, Galliano designed the Christal range (still
a best-seller amongst luxury watches) using
sapphire crystal for the bracelet; the rainbow
palete of the collection is added to every season,
this year in violet.
In general, Dior emphasises the
collaborative nature of its work at the Parisian
ateliers with horology experts in Switzerland –
not only at La Chaux-de-Fonds, but also Maison
Bunter in Geneva, for stone setings, alongside
other Swiss specialists (including Soprod and
Frédéric Jouvenot) for the development of the Dior
Inversé calibre, an oscillating weight on the dial.
Nicolas, like the rest of her colleagues at Dior,
is swif to cite the words of the founder when
explaining the contemporary aesthetic of the
brand: ‘Elegance is an ensemble where the
invisible is as important as the visible’. Hence
the design, which reveals what is traditionally
concealed in watchmaking – ‘It places the
oscillating weight of the automatic movement
on top of the dial, thereby paying tribute to the
work of a couturier for who the lining must be
as beautiful as the dress itself.’
Finally – inevitably – it is Christian Dior,
again, who is quoted by Nicolas as the starting
point for the Dior VIII watches (just as he will
always be the foundation of the House of Dior):
“‘I dreamt of being an architect,’ he said. ‘As
a couturier, I have to respect the principles of
architecture.’” If God is in the detail, in fashion
as in architecture, then Dior watchmaking still
holds true to the holy creed.
dior.com
Justine Picardie is the author of Coco Chanel: The Legend
and the Life, published by Harper Collins
return to work. “Fashion dies young,” wrote
Cocteau, and it is therefore natural that its rhythms
should be more hectic than that of history.’
For all the calmness of his outward
appearance – ‘Dior is like a bland country curate
made of pink marzipan,’ remarked Cecil Beaton,
‘as modest as a sugar violet in spite of the eulogies
that have been heaped upon him’ – the couturier
was constantly beset by anxieties about the
passage of time. Whenever the deadline loomed
for a new collection, he confessed, he felt ‘tortured
by regret, caprice and curiosity all at once… I am
frightened of giving birth to premature designs
whose insufficiently developed forms will encumber
me in the future.’ Yet even while consumed by
apprehension, Dior continued, ‘I already know that
between the 1st and the 15th of the month I shall
have covered endless blocks of paper with a crowd
of tiny hieroglyphical figures, which I alone will
be able to decipher.’
He ofen returned to the number 8 – the
shape of the ‘figure eight’ line that had been the
essence of his famous New Look in 1947 – and as
time passed, his superstition increased. Dior’s
biographer, Marie-France Pochna, refers to the
arcane rituals that became essential to the
couturier: asking his chauffeur to take the same
route to his headquarters eight times over to
ensure good luck when a new collection was
launched, or on the way to consult his trusted
fortune teller, Madame Delahaye, while also
trying to avoid any evocation of the dreaded
number seven. (Why, precisely, he associated this
with ill fortune remains unclear, but according to
Pochna, ‘He never liked odd numbers, and seven…
was a number that set Dior trembling.’)
Pochna’s account of Dior’s punishing
schedule, and his death from a heart atack at the
age of 52, makes salutary reading; not least when
considering Galliano’s fall from grace: ‘Dior had
become a hostage to his own success… “The livelihood
of 900 people is riding on my collection,” he used
to say in the early years. Later, the Dior concern
employed 1,700 people around the world and its
chief executive was expected to be everywhere
at once. His presence was demanded in all four
corners of the globe, in New York and beyond,
to launch a new licence, visit a department store,
open a new branch, or make a speech or take part
in a conference…
‘So much with Dior had to do with
contradictions; his ongoing struggle was always
with himself. Sadly, the merry-go-round he now
rode was spinning too fast for him and the only
thing that kept him going was the artificial high
of overextending himself.’
Galliano arrived at Dior in October 1996,
his first couture show coinciding with the brand’s
50th anniversary the following year, and by 2001,
he was fully involved in the integration of the
company’s watches with his fashion collections.
It was at this point that Dior acquired its own
production unit in La Chaux-de-Fonds (the Swiss
Opposite, from left:
38mm Dior VIII
Grand Bal pleated
watch; Dior gown
from 1949; 38mm
Dior VIII automatic
movement with
rotating bezel set
with diamonds.
This page, from top:
Christian Dior
working with
a model; Dior VIII
Grand Bal lace
bezel; Victoire
de Castellane,
designer of the La
D de Dior watch,
shown here with
the 25mm quartz
movement, a
mother-of-pearl
dial and black
satin strap
slug here00
AS GOODAS
GOLD
words Mary SanderSon PHoToGrAPHY andy BarTer
knowing how your most prized pair of earrings or cufflinks
started its journey is crucial – a ‘fairtrade and fairmined’ stamp
proves its ethical and ecological credentials are rock solid
38
Gold – lustrous and covetable, it symbolises love, power,
wealth. luxury. Perhaps it’s a wedding ring that prompts
a rush of emotion. Or maybe a huge, weighty bit of bling
– a sign of the good times or a healthy bank balance. But
do we ever stop to think about the provenance of those
precious nuggets? If we did, we would discover the harsh
reality of their origin is a good deal less glamorous.
In today’s uncertain economic climate, and because
of its ever-increasing price – fetching US$320 per ounce
in 1999, it commands US$1,650 today – gold is an incredibly
valuable asset. But, for decades, it has been hewn by small-
scale miners, in some of the poorest parts of the world,
exploited by middlemen who bring it to market but do not
give them a fair price in return. Africa, Asia and South
America account for 90 per cent of a 15m-strong global
labour force in which men, women and children ofen
work in harsh and treacherous conditions.
However, as a result of the endeavours of a number
of non-government organisations, years of lobbying and
a growing consumer concern for ethical and fairly traded
This page: Macdesa
mining company
employees at the
Cuatro Horas mine
in Peru, which is
currently undergoing
Fairtrade certification
Opposite: A small-
scale artisan miner at
the Fairtrade-certified
Oro Verde mining
co-operative in
Colombia surveys the
results of his labours
products, the jewellery industry has finally responded.
Gemma Cartwright of the Fairtrade Foundation says:
‘First, it was coffee and bananas, then it was coton, which
took us into fashion, and it escalated from there.’ In fact,
it was over a cup of coffee at designer Katharine Hamnet’s
house that Harriet Lamb (the Fairtrade Foundation’s
executive director) and Greg Valerio (a Fairtrade campaigner
and jewellery activist) started talking about how miners
could benefit too. It was thanks to the passion and
commitment of these pioneers and groups such as Fairtrade
Labelling Organizations International and the Alliance
for Responsible Mining that, in February this year, the
Foundation was able to launch its first certified gold.
Certified Fairtrade and Fairmined gold is marked
with a dual stamp, meaning it can be traced back to its
original source. But, to the miners, the stamp means a lot
more: they receive a Fairtrade premium of 10 per cent on
top of the guaranteed minimum price, which can then be
invested back into their business and community. If the
gold is ecologically mined, they receive an extra 5 per cent
on top of the premium. To be Fairmined, strict standards
must be observed with regard to working conditions, child
labour, women’s rights, health and safety, management of
chemicals and responsibility to the environment. Whereas,
previously, miners might undertake 16-20 hour shifs in
hot, dirty and dangerous conditions, exposed to mercury
and cyanide, mines are now strictly controlled.
There are currently three certified mines in
operation: Oro Verde (Green Gold) in Colombia, Sotrami
in Peru and Cotopata in Bolivia, and another three will
have been set up by the end of 2011. This is a huge
achievement for the Fairtrade Foundation, but jewellers
are concerned that Fairtrade gold is still not readily
available. However, as Cartwright explains, ‘It takes time
to certify a mine and satisfy the huge list of regulations
that needs to be passed.’ In addition, there is also the
requirement to maintain an audited and traceable supply
chain. Keeping such a chain short and uncomplicated is
key, so, with Fairtrade gold, the miners must sell direct
to the importer rather than the middleman. It must
then be processed by a registered refiner so it doesn’t get
mixed up with ‘dirty’ gold from an untraceable source.
The process is costly, but jewellery houses are becoming
more open to the idea because of the increasing demand.
There are currently 33 companies – including Garrard,
the royal jeweller – licensed to sell certified gold, plus
100 waiting to be approved. The Fairtrade Foundation’s
ambition is that, by 2025, Fairtrade gold will make up
5 per cent of the UK jewellery market and will be available
from high-street outlets as well as in the luxury market.
One of the biggest names to get in on the act
is maverick jeweller Stephen Webster, creative director
of Garrard. With his A-list following, he is sure to bring
vital awareness to the Fairtrade campaign. Having seen
at firsthand the appalling conditions workers are forced
to endure in a traditional mine during a visit to Peru, he
is a vocal advocate of the alternative: ‘Even though the
cost of Fairtrade gold is 10 per cent higher, I am happy
to absorb the premium. Price should not be the reason to
choose a more responsible product.’ Several years ago, he
was approached to launch a Fairtrade collection, but, at
the time, there was insufficient Fairtrade gold available.
‘There is so litle of it that you have to carefully manage
First, it was coffee and bananas, then coton, then fashion. Now Fairtade’s focus is on gold’
the amount you have by focusing it on one area,’ he explains.
The bridal range he setled on comprises a striking
combination of 18ct white, yellow and rose gold wedding
and engagement rings set with – as you might expect
– responsibly sourced Forevermark diamonds. But even
that encountered teething problems: it was due to launch
in April this year, but the delivery of the gold was delayed,
so it has been pushed back.
Another luxury jeweller puting Fairtrade gold
in the media spotlight is goldsmith Anna Loucah. She
worked in collaboration with ethical jeweller Cred to
design a set of Fairtrade jewels for fashion ambassador
Livia Firth, wife of Oscar winner Colin Firth, to wear
to this year’s Academy Awards. The magnificent pieces
were later sold at auction – the proceeds going to Oxfam
– for £25,000, making them the most expensive Fairtrade
product ever sold. Cred and Loucah have recently
collaborated again, on the Juana collection, named for the
female Bolivian gold miner who brought the first
bar of Fairtrade Fairmined gold to London for the launch
of Fairtrade Fairmined gold in February.
Less obvious perhaps, but still worthy of a
primetime audience, is the ethical jewellery brand Fifi
Bijoux, whose Fairtrade gold cufflinks are ofen seen
adorning the sleeves of newsreader George Alagiah.
The company’s founder, Vivien Johnston, pioneered the
concept of ethical jewellery and was one of the first UK
brands to receive the Fairtrade gold licence. Like Loucah,
Johnston has many celebrity fans, including the singer
Annie Lennox, who inspired her to create the Litle Acorn
necklace that raises funds for children living in mining
communities in Uganda.
Other early adopters of Fairtrade gold include
the jeweller and anthropologist Pippa Small, who is
passionate about promoting beter mining practices
worldwide. Afer making several visits to the Cotopata
mine in Bolivia, she opted to buy her gold direct from the
mining co-operative and use a local goldsmith. Her new
Bolivian Sun collection, her fourth using Fairtrade gold,
launches this month. Raw and earthy, it comprises drop
earrings, necklaces and bracelets with a solar motif.
In addition to the more established names,
there is also a host of young, up-and-coming designers
using Fairtrade gold in their collections. Two of the
most interesting are Hatie Rickards and Ute Decker.
Rickards, a Central Saint Martins graduate, worked for
jeweller Solange Azagury-Partridge in New York for five
years before starting her own label in 2010. All of her
jewellery is designed and handmade in the UK using 18ct
Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold. ‘My work has an
ethical backbone and a modern design,’ she says, keen to
demonstrate that social responsibility does not come at
the expense of first-class design. ‘I want to create pieces
for the sort of clients who need to know that the rings
on their fingers are ethically and responsibly produced.’
Despite her serious intentions, her collections are vibrant
and playful – the latest, Geo, is set with semi-precious
stones and inspired by puzzles and geometric shapes.
Ute Decker’s jewellery, in contrast, is minimalist
in style. Known for her dramatic, sculptural shapes
made of recycled silver, she launched her first collection
of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold in February this year.
Decker has aptly named her first Fairtrade collection
Pure, which not only reflects its clean lines, but also
marks the purity of the gold’s provenance.
Most of the established jewellery houses have
yet to sign up to Fairtrade and Fairmined, although
several big names, such as Tiffany and Cartier, have their
own policies that support responsible mining. And, with
the trend for ethical jewellery growing, perhaps it is just
a mater of time before we will see the big brands joining
in. Afer all, as Greg Valerio points out, ‘Five years ago
everybody was saying Fairtrade gold was impossible to
produce and now everyone is complaining that the supply
is too slow. For me, that’s progress!’
fairtrade.org.uk/gold
Mary Sanderson is a jewellery and accessories writer and editor
Previous page,
clockwise from top
left: 100%-recycled
silver ‘Hex’ stacking
bangle plated in
18ct Fairtrade yellow
gold, £90, Cred; 18ct
Fairtrade ecological
yellow gold engraved
wedding band set
with diamonds, £2,700,
Stephen Webster;
18ct Fairtrade and
Fairmined ecological
gold tube ring set
with mixed precious
stones, POA, Hattie
Rickards; 8ct Fairtrade
gold ‘Bahia’ ring
set with rutile quartz
and diamonds,
£4,000, Fifi Bijoux;
‘Hex’ bangle, as
before; 9ct Fairtrade
yellow gold ‘Starfish’
cufflinks, £440, Fifi
Bijoux; 18ct Fairtrade
and Fairmined gold
‘Pure’ bangle, £9,200,
Ute Decker.
STOCKISTS DETAILS
ON PAGE 56
Ed
ua
rd
o M
ar
tin
o/
do
cu
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nt
og
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When it comes to both the craftsmanship and cost of an ultra-slim watch, less is definitely more. Well, they do say you can never be too rich or too thin
PhotograPhy ANDY BARTER
StyLISt CIARA WALSHE
From left: White gold
2.1mm-movement
Altiplano, £10,800,
Piaget. White gold
2.10mm-movement
Slim Classique,
£11,400, Ralph Lauren
Watches. White gold
3.30mm-movement
LUC Extra Plat XPS,
£9,140, Chopard.
1.64mm-movement
Historique Ultra-fine
1955, £22,100,
Vacheron Constantin.
Stainless steel
3.55mm-movement
Villeret Ultra Slim,
£6,150, Blancpain
STOCKISTS DETAILS
ON PAGE 56
love me slender
Light relief
Left White jacket with
mesh details, £1,150;
white crepe de chine
top, £600; white
stretch canvas
trousers, £825, all
Gucci with adjuster
Burberry trousers,
STOCKISTS DETAILS
ON PAGE 81
Check the carats
18ct white gold
‘Windsor’ earrings set
with amethysts, £6,000,
and 18ct white gold
‘Camelot’ necklace set
with rubellites and
rubies, £68,000, both
Asprey. Yellow gold and
black rhodium-plate
cocktail ring set with
diamonds, amethysts,
tourmalines, fire opals
and sapphires, £49,500,
Lydia Courteille at
Browns. Prince of
Wales check wool dress,
£1,340, Yves Saint
Laurent. Hat, £410,
Jeffrey Portman
PhotograPhy rafael stahelin fashion editor michelle duguid
claritY& cutPairing contemporary haute joaillerie with this season’s directional, geometric fashion pieces gives shape to these stylish gems
Spot the diamonds
17.16ct diamond pavé
earrings, price on
application, and
platinum cuff with
50.93cts of cushion-cut
and multishaped rubies
and 49.70cts of
diamonds, POA, both
Graff. Yellow gold
‘Camelia’ ring set with
onyx, £2,825, Chanel
Fine Jewellery. Jumper,
£995, and skirt, £995,
both Marc Jacobs. Cap
with patent loop, £120,
and beaded cap, £370,
both Jeffrey Portman