Another record tumbles

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Another record tumbles - Editorial
1 minute read
Record-breaking diamond prices, news and views from the Dubai Watch Week, SIHH previews and a look behind the scenes at Red Bull Racing.

Just as the luxury industry was coming to terms with new records for wristwatches sold at auction, De Grisogono upset the apple cart for jewellery sales last week by setting a new record at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva last week. The world’s biggest-ever emerald cut diamond offered at auction, a 163.41-carat D Flawless stone cut from a 404 carat rough, was incorporated into a necklace designed by Fawaz Gruosi, Founder and Creative Director of De Grisogono. It fetched 33.5 million Swiss francs, beating the previous record for a D Flawless diamond by nearly five million Swiss francs.

Several brands used the Dubai Watch Week to present limited-edition models specific to the market, or offer a preview of their so-called “pre-SIHH” models, which are designed to whet your appetite for bigger things coming in January. So while Richard Mille showed off its RM 055 special edition for the Yas Marina Circuit, just ahead of this weekend’s season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Vacheron Constantin, on the other hand, revealed its appetiser for the SIHH. You can get a taste of it later this week along with the new models from Ulysse Nardin, reviewed by Michèle Brunner.
 
The end of the 2017 Formula 1 season also seemed an opportune moment to look back on my visit to the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes last month. It was a visit rich in information that showed that manufacturing processes in Formula 1 have a number of similarities with watchmaking. Find out more in my detailed report on Friday.
 

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