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Vacheron Constantin Heure Romantique Jewelry Watch With Diamonds

With more than 200 years of watchmaking expertise, Vacheron Constantin – the oldest, continually operating Swiss watch brand has a lot of archives to turn to for inspiration.

That is exactly what it did when the brand opted to release a new timepiece to its Heures Creatives collection.

Today, Vacheron Constantin unveils the highly sophisticated and somewhat dramatic new Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch.

With this new diamond-set 18 karat gold ultra feminine timepiece, Vacheron Constantin not only showcases its ability to embrace the past and translate it to today with ease, but also deftly demonstrates its watchmaking and gem-setting expertise.

Vacheron Constantin 2020 Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch — The Vacheron Constantin Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch was inspired by an archival … [+] © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The new flower-shaped watch with great curves recalls the Art Nouveau era in its shape and its setting.

The watch boasts a striking black mother of pearl dial with beautiful striations and highly stylized Roman numerals within the arabesques.

It is meticulously set with diamond brilliants on the case, case sides, and leaf like lugs using a prong setting that was prevalent in the early 1920’s and ‘30’s and that is still relevant today.

In fact, the 18 karat white gold watch boasts a total of 104 diamonds set on two levels of the case for stunning appeal.

Even the white gold folding clasp and the crown are set with diamonds – for a total of 123 stones weighing 2.6 carats.

As if the diamonds and the meticulous setting which takes an artisan hundreds of hours to complete Vacheron Constantin also adds finely engraved small gold beads to the entire circumference of the case, with another row of beads outlining the diamonds on the case.

This incredible detailing takes dozens of hours of work and is barely noticeable from a distance. However, Vacheron Constantin would have it no other way. The brand is a stickler for details.

Vacheron Constantin ladies watches 2020 — The Heure Romantique ladies’ watch features diamonds set on two levels, as well as the leaf-shaped VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The Heures Creatives Heure Romantique watch, which was inspired by a 1916 archival piece that was created with an all diamond bracelet, joins Vacheron Constantin’s Heures Creatives collection.

The series was started five years ago in 2015, with the first watches released being a trilogy of watches inspired by the Belle Epoque era and forward through the 1970’s.

Looking at this elegant watch, one would guess it to be fitted with a quartz movement. However, Vacheron Constantin prides itself on its watchmaking as well as its artistic craftsmanship.

This watch is more than just a beautiful statement piece, it also boasts a top notch in-house-made mechanical movement.

Powered by the extremely thin manual winding Caliber 1055, with 115 individual components and 21 jewels, the petite watch boasts 40 hours of power reserve.

It is finished with a black satin strap perfect for any black-tie soiree. The watch retails for $54,500.

Vacheron Constantin watches 2020 — Vacheron Constantin has been creating romantic watches for women for centuries. © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

Source: forbes

Four Hublot’s That Shine Bright Like A Diamond

Diamonds have the power to transform the look of a watch completely. It can give sportive watches a touch of elegance, where it makes quite a difference if the understated baguette-cut is selected, or the more vibrant brilliant cut, while a mixture of both has an appeal of its own as well. For Hublot, diamonds are part of the ‘Art of Fusion,’ as they seamlessly integrate them in the following four stunning watches;

Spirit of Big Bang High Jewelry
As can be expected from a brand like Hublot, does it not settle for just an ordinary setting when decorating one of their watches with diamonds. This Spirit of Big Bang is the perfect example of this. Hublot took different shapes and sizes of diamonds and set them in the case, dividing each with a white gold rim that holds the gemstone. Such a setting is extremely difficult to accomplish, especially on the already complex case shape of the Spirit of Big Bang. The result is breathtaking, as it looks like cracked ice with an ice-hole at the bottom through which we don’t see water, but a tourbillon.

Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph High Jewelry
It is improbable that James Bond will ever sport a diamond-set watch on the big screen, but when he does, this Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph High Jewelry might be perfect. It is another watch in which Hublot utilizes a very complex setting, creating an effect very much like the gun barrel sequence at the start of each James Bond movie. It gives the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph a very dynamic look, not commonly associated with a diamond-set watch. Hublot went even as far as setting the skeletonized dial with diamonds, another feature not easy to accomplish. It is offered in white gold, but also in King gold, where it shows a different side of its character.

Big Bang MP-11 High Jewellery
The Big Bang MP-11 imposes with its seven series-coupled mainspring barrels, which give the watch a power reserve of 14-days. As they are horizontally aligned at the bottom of the movement, the sapphire crystal has a slight dome to accommodate them underneath. The case has this dome also, and while already stunning in the regular edition, the High Jewellery version is even more breathtaking. Here Hublot opted for a very close setting of baguette-cut diamonds, which make it look like most of the watch is made out of a solid gemstone.

Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Power Reserve 5 Days High Jewellery
Sometimes you want it all, with both the watch and the bracelet completely set with diamonds. The Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Power Reserve 5 Days High Jewellery offers just that, combined with a generous five-day power reserve and a tourbillon. The watch is set in such an exquisite way that hardly any part of the white gold case and bracelet shows. To achieve this, Hublot used 1.574 diamonds, with a total carat weight of 84.90. The fun part of this watch is that it also comes with Hublot’s patented ‘One-click system,’ which enables you to switch between the diamond set bracelet and a rubber or alligator strap in a matter of seconds.

Source: hautetime

More Brides Buying Their Own Engagement Rings

US women increasingly buy engagement rings for themselves, and spend more on them than their partners do, De Beers said Monday in its annual Diamond Insight Report.

The proportion of engagement rings financed solely by brides rose to 14% in 2017 from 11% in 2015 and 7% in 2013, according to the report. The trend reflects growth in female purchasing power, one of several social changes impacting the segment De Beers refers to as “commitment jewelry.”

During the four years ending 2017, grooms’ average outlay on engagement rings dropped 13%, while brides’ spending rose 19%, De Beers noted. In 2017, brides who reported buying the ring themselves shelled out an average of $4,400, while grooms spent $3,300, the company said.

“This emphasizes that growing purchasing power among women is a factor to be reckoned with in the commitment space, and not only when it comes to self-purchasing of diamond jewelry,” the company noted.

The 2019 Insight Report focuses on how consumers view love and diamonds amid changing attitudes to relationships. While marriages rates have declined in the US and engaged couples are waiting longer to tie the knot, “love remains a constant,” and consumers are buying diamonds in a wider variety of ways to symbolize it, De Beers explained.

Commitment jewelry — diamond engagement rings, and diamond wedding bands or rings for women — has retained its important place in the market, with just over 70% of US brides acquiring a diamond engagement ring.

However, the global value of men’s gifts of diamond jewelry to women before or after a wedding now exceeds the value of the engagement- and wedding-ring market. Women in the US who cohabit with their partners now account for 10% of the female diamond-jewelry market. Meanwhile, more than 70% of people in same-sex relationships view diamonds as important for celebrating life’s special events, the report continued.

Those four trends — commitment jewelry, “love gifting,” cohabitation and same-sex couples — are the focus of this year’s edition of the De Beers research. Consumers are still attracted to diamonds as an emblem of love, but are approaching the product in new ways that mirror those contemporary modes of living, the company argued.

“While diamonds are still seen as the ultimate symbols of love, the diamond industry must focus on continuing to offer jewelry, brands and retail experiences that meet the modern consumer’s desire for individual products and experiences that reflect their own unique love story,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.

Source: Diamonds.net