Beauregard continues to redefine women's watchmaking, crafting pieces that transcend trends and elevate jewelry art. This time, the finest branches of red coral adorn this ‘Lili Bouton’ creation, showcasing a legacy of artisanal excellence.
Red coral from the Mediterranean... steeped in legends, rich in significance and symbolism since Neolithic times, celebrated since antiquity, sculpted and polished for centuries. By the time of the Renaissance, numerous objets d'art were made from the red coral harvested in the sea between Sardinia and Sicily, for the various royal courts of Europe. To this day, the fishing village of Torre del Greco, near Pompeii on the Bay of Naples, is renowned as the capital of ‘red gold’ – scientifically known as Corallium rubrum – and not least for the beautiful jewelry its artisans crafted from this particular coral.
Greek mythology has it that when Perseus decapitated Medusa – Athena had cursed Medusa, turning her hair into squirming venomous snakes, and her face became so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone – her blood, gushing from the wound, fell into the sea and the seaweed it touched instantly solidified into flaming red coral.
While some say it brings good luck, red coral has historically been associated with passionate love. Aesthetes extol the mysteries of its hue, somewhere between orange and red. Art historians like to recall that it is a splendor worked by the finest goldsmiths since the 15th century, from Tibet to Egypt, far beyond the borders of the Mediterranean basin.
Today, red coral from Italy is rare and precious. Its harvesting is not only difficult, sometimes at depths of over 100 meters, but also strictly regulated, limited to only 4 months of the year. Indeed, red coral only grows by 1 cm every ten years. It must be carefully nurtured and its rarity thus also makes it so valuable.
Each petal of red coral for the blossom of Lili Bouton has been crafted in-house by Beauregard’s ‘miracle hands.’ Unlike other leading Maisons, Beauregard has complete in-house control of every stage in the manufacture of the dial before it covers the Swiss-made movement.
Alexandre Beauregard's workshop in Montreal is a magical place where exotic and exclusive materials come to life, transformed by his skilled hands. In his relentless pursuit of artistic expression, he creates his own tools and machines. It is here that he finds total freedom.
And so the magic happens for ‘Lili Bouton Red Coral’, as each element that makes up its blossom is cut, shaped, polished, assembled, checked, and checked again… The choice of material, dial, composed of 36 petals, is truly unique thanks to this material – a treasure of nature, evoking emotions in the same way a Haute Couture dress gives life to fabric. It is the same approach, the same quest for absolute aesthetic perfection. It becomes a rare work of art, the likes of which simply no longer exist.
