Much like the astonishing Aventicum model presented by Christophe Claret earlier this year, the new Marguerite model brings the brand’s playful timekeeping exploits within reach of a wider audience. The Margot watch demanded to be heard as the first Christophe Claret timepiece dedicated to ladies: its mechanical interpretation of the lovers’ game “he loves me, he loves me not”, removing daisy petals at random – accompanied each time with a signature Christophe Claret chime – determined the answer to this burning question.
The new Marguerite models (four versions are available, each limited to 30 pieces) answers the same question with a simpler mechanical complication: pressing the button at 2 o’clock on the case reveals the answer beneath the dial. And the answer is always the same, “il m’aime passionément” (he loves me passionately), which is only to be expected if, for example, the lucky lady had the watch bought for her by her husband, boyfriend or lover.
Based on the “wow” magic trick, the illusion relies on the use of two superimposed discs, the upper of which is in metallised transparent sapphire disc with a mosaic of transparent squares. The lower disc in mother-of-pearl is overlaid with the text and numerals in blue lacquer. Pressing the button at 2 o’clock rotates the upper disc just 1.5 degrees to create the optical illusion – the first time such a mechanism has been incorporated into a watch.
Never one to do things by halves, Christophe Claret has also incorporated two new types of stone setting into the Marguerite models. The “flake” setting on the bezel and lugs is a variety of snow setting that makes the diamonds look like flakes sprinkled over the watch; the “champagne” setting is a similar technique but with a gradient to the setting that concentrates the stones around the bottom of the bezel and thins them out towards the top, creating an effect of effervescence. Both settings, which each use a total of 100 diamonds, are available on either a red or white-gold case with a blue sapphire or ruby at the centre of the daisy on the dial and an alligator leather strap in the same colour.
The Marguerite models dispense with hands in the familiar sense, preferring instead the poeticism of butterflies. For the hours, a butterfly perched on one of the daisy petals revolves about the centre of the dial every twelve hours. For the minutes, a lighter-coloured butterfly (indicating the male of the species) floats on the end of a pistil that is connected to the central stone at the heart of the daisy and completes one revolution every 60 minutes. The butterflies are coated with coloured SuperLuminova to ensure excellent legibility in all light conditions. The Christophe Claret MT115 self-winding calibre powers the watch, its twin barrels offering a power reserve of 72 hours when the watch is fully wound.
No Christophe Claret watch would be complete without a game. In the case of the Marguerite it is found on the case back, as the theme of “He loves me, he loves me not” continues. The watch’s skeletonized oscillating mass, visible through a transparent sapphire crystal case back, has a ruby set at regular intervals aligned with “yes” or “no” answers to that burning question. A gentle movement is sufficient to set the rotor in motion; when it comes to a halt, the ruby aligned with the heart on the caseback provides the answer.
