A few weeks ago, Tiffany & Co. launched the 2017 issue of its famous Blue Book, resplendent with sumptuous jewellery on the theme “The Art of the Wild”, inspired by luscious tropical settings burgeoning with trees, flowers, waterfalls, insects and birds. In parallel, the New York jeweller presented its watch version of the Blue Book, with sixteen jewellery watches on the same theme.
To reflect the immense variety of shapes and colours, Tiffany & Co. has opted to use marquetry in three round 34 mm timepieces in white gold with gem-set bezel and crown. The first features a mother-of-pearl dial with a hand-painted floral motif on the upper part of the dial, while the bottom is occupied by miniature-painted waves, which are echoed in the links of the fully-set gold bracelet. A quartz movement drives the hour and minute hands. The next two watches feature lifelike flowers worked in chalcedony marquetry against a snow-set background, with leaves made of opal and mother-of-pearl, and a small seconds dial at 6 o’clock. Both these watches are driven by the self-winding mechanical movement TCO.6270 decorated with sunray polishing, snailing and circular graining.
The same case and movement were chosen for a 100% diamond-set watch, whose dial sparkles with 318 snow-set round diamonds. Three smaller quartz watches with a case diameter of 28 mm feature snow-set dials in three different colours, using all diamonds, white and yellow diamonds on a yellow alligator strap, and diamonds and Paraiba tourmalines in shades of yellow and blue-green that give the dial an iridescent glow.
The 2017 Blue Book also showcases the jewellery skills of Tiffany & Co.’s craftsmen and women through eight unique Cocktail watches – four different models, each of which comes with a matching jewellery version, complete with diamond-paved dial and diamond-set gold bracelet. Their white gold oval cases measuring 26.5 x 42 mm frame meticulously worked dials representing birds, dragonflies and butterflies. The butterflies set against a pink background are brought to life by the techniques of grand feu enamelling, mille grains gemsetting and fil couteau edging, which make the most of the diamonds, opals and pink sapphires.
Tiffany & Co. chose to frame the dragonfly against a sky-blue background, with a grand feu enamel and hand-guilloché mother-of-pearl dial set with diamonds and powder-blue sapphires. On another version, a peacock gracefully parades across a hand-guilloché mother-of-pearl dial, its body and impressive tail richly snow-set with 79 round blue sapphires, 28 tsavorites, and white and yellow diamonds. Finally, the parrot reveals his splendour in a symphony of yellows. The bird’s body, worked in mother-of-pearl marquetry and yellow gold set with yellow and white diamonds, sits vertically on the right of the dial, against a graduated grand feu enamel background. The left of the dial is embellished with three rows of delicate round diamonds. All eight watches are fitted with quartz movements.
