A holiday is an occasion to celebrate and, of course, to show that special someone that you care. February brings us St Valentine’s Day, with all its clichés and symbols. Three watchmakers have decided to produce a special Valentine’s watch.
While they all stuck with feminine shades and diamonds, each of them focused on different elements, according to their own interpretations of the holiday. Which one will be your heart’s desire?
Blancpain - Villeret Saint-Valentin 2018
This steel 29.20 mm watch created by Blancpain is an ode to love and femininity, showcasing the traditional symbols of Valentine’s Day. The second hand is a cupid’s arrow, its point piercing a red heart. This motif is repeated on the rhodium-plated yellow gold oscillating weight, which is decorated with a heart pierced by sun rays and a cupid’s arrow. The lucky owner of this watch can enjoy the scene through the sapphire back.
In addition to the symbols, the watchmaker has also chosen the colour of love. This limited 99-piece edition comes with a red alligator strap, echoing the hue of the rubies that decorate the dial at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. These four rubies are joined by 19 brilliant-cut diamonds scattered over the mother-of-pearl dial, each in its own star setting, a technique in which the gem is held in a metal piece. These jewelled accents continue onto the bezel and lugs, which are decorated with 48 and 20 diamonds, respectively. There’s even a diamond in the crown.
The watch features a moon phase display as well as the hours, minutes and seconds indicated by openworked sage leaf hands. Blancpain has updated the complication, placing it at an unusual angle in the 6 o’clock position. The moon has a woman’s face, complete with enigmatic smile and beauty spot. Is there a secret message?
Bovet 1822 - Château de Môtiers 40 « Bouquet de Fleurs »
Flowers are a traditional Valentine’s Day gift. Why not do something a little different this year, and offer flowers in a different form? Unlike a real bouquet, the advantage of the flowers in this miniature painting on white mother-of-pearl is that they will never fade.
Bovet 1822 has used the successful floral motif to decorate the dial of its exclusive Valentine’s watch. The latest watch in the Château de Môtiers 40 collection uses an innovative technique in which luminescent material is added to the paint, making it visible both day and night. The work is demanding – the painter has to work skilfully to ensure that the picture is exactly the same, in the light and in the dark. So, while the image remains identical, the colours differ. In this model, brighter colours such as yellow grow darker in the absence of light.
The floral dial is set in an imposing 40 mm red gold case, framed by a diamond-set bezel. A purple alligator strap completes this two-handed watch, driven by a self-winding mechanical movement with a 42-hour power reserve.
Breguet - Classique Phase de Lune Dame 9085
In honour of Valentine’s Day, Breguet has chosen to present an updated version of the Classique Phase de Lune Dame, limited to 14 pieces in reference to the date. This classically feminine timepiece features a fascinating gem-set bezel, which combines graduated soft pink sapphires and sparkling diamonds. The shades are mirrored on the pin buckle that closes the satin-finished alligator strap in graduated shades of pink. The lugs are deliberately asymmetrical, set with sapphires at 6 o’clock and diamonds at 12.
Inside the 30 mm white gold case sits the self-winding calibre 537L with 45-hour power reserve, which can be admired through the sapphire case back. The iconic “hollow apple” Breguet hands in blued steel point to Roman numerals, and rotate around the white mother-of-pearl dial, whose natural variations are reminiscent of clouds. The moon phase complication at 6 o’clock gives the timepiece a final romantic touch. The smiling moon surrounded by stars appears and disappears behind a pink mother-of-pearl heart as the satellite waxes and wanes, while the small seconds hand twirls at the centre of a pink lacquered disc.
