Richard Mille and Bvlgari dazzle with new high-jewellery watches

RICHARD MILLE The RM HJ-02 In-House Automatic Tourbillon marks the second chapter in Richard Mille’s high-jewellery saga, and celebrates 20 years of design for women. The collection comprises 12 unique watches divided into four colour families – pink, violet, blue and green – with gem-setting extending across every surface, from the case and buckle to the movement.

Each watch is set with 1,399 precious and ornamental stones, including rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds and Paraiba tourmalines, alongside malachite, chrysoprase, turquoise and mother-of-pearl. Snow, grain and bezel-setting techniques create the kaleidoscopic compositions, with nearly 700 hours devoted to the preparation, finishing and control procedures of each watch.

The design draws on Art Deco’s geometric vocabulary, but it is also given a distinctly Richard Mille treatment. The tonneau case is broken up by sharp transitions, layered planes and asymmetrical interruptions, creating a new silhouette that took more than a year to develop. The entire watch took more than three years.

At its centre is the new in-house automatic tourbillon calibre CRMT2, developed along with the case and dial so that its mechanical and jewellery elements could be integrated from the outset. Its skeletonised movement features a gem-set white-gold baseplate and bridges, while a fast-rotating barrel and variable-inertia tourbillon remain clearly visible.

Even the gold rotor is gem-set, ensuring that the watch’s luxurious character extends right into its mechanical heart.

BVLGARI Bvlgari’s Serpenti has always been good at shedding its skin. With Serpenti Aeterna, it appears to have shed any remaining restraint as well.

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Forged in rose gold and entirely pave-set, the latest incarnation of Bvlgari’s most recognisable icon as a watch is a riot of colour, with 122 gemstones selected for their rare nuances and arranged in a mix of cuts and sizes. Rubellite, amethyst, topaz, emerald, citrine, sapphire, tanzanite, pink and Paraiba tourmaline, tsavorite and peridot all make an appearance, in a composition that is deliberately free, yet carefully orchestrated.

White diamonds trace the serpent’s silhouette, providing a contrast to the explosion of colour. The entirely pave-set dial features a radically stylised reptilian head, while openworked hexagonal scales on the bracelet let light pass through the stones.

For the first time, Serpenti Aeterna is also revealed in yellow gold, giving the design a more solar expression. Here, lines of diamonds at the ends of the bangle and along the graphic head and tail define the serpent’s taut yet curving volumes, while white mother-of-pearl softens the dial with an iridescent glow.