Last October fashionistas and watch lovers had their dreams come true when it was announced that Diane Von Furstenberg and Roberto Stern of H. Stern would definitely be collaborating on time pieces.  The talks were over and the watch making had begun.

The birth of the “Sutra Watch Collection” represented a line of timepieces created by H. Stern, but inspired by Diane von Furstenberg.  The line was created for the “modern woman on the go” and included sexy options like a pendant watch, the diamond watch, and the Sutra sport watch.

The first picture is the Sutra Watch in black and it has  black leather strap and case, black face with diamond hour markers weighing .05 in total carats, and a jeweled detailing.   Below is the  sexy Sutra watch pendant which creates a “Love Knot” detail, Swiss quartz movement, sapphire crystal case, and .02 ct. of diamonds.

Via: National Jeweler, Neiman Marcus

Sometimes at the Watch Digest, we just love to admire luxury watches; we are talking about over the top luxury watches.  Luxury watches that even a celebrity may hesitate before buying.  So what brand embodies the ultimate in luxurious excess and over the top luxury?  Why Dior of course!

As a tribute to all things excessive and over the top, here are three of our favorite Dior luxury watches.  Just like Dior, we torture ourselves and our readers with over the top diamonds and glitz in the middle of a recession… but just because you look, doesn’t mean you have to buy.

First up is a watch form Dior’s  “La D de Dior” collection;  a stainless steel watch with a mother of pearl dial, bezel, and 38 mm case.  Doesn’t sound too extravagant?  How about 61 diamonds on the dial in a spiral design, 60 diamonds on the bezel and a pearl grey crocodile strap?  This watch is also available in a number of designs including my favorite, a leopard print dial with 135 diamond dial, black crocodile strap, and 60 diamond bezel.

This watch is from the very popular Dior Christal collection and is entitled the Dior Christal Black 28 mm for obvious reasons including its 28 mm case diameter, bracelet with 1 row of black sapphire crystals, black lacquered dial, 16 diamonds, and 50 meter water resistance.

How expensive can a man’s watch get? You’d be surprised.  This is the Dior Homme Chiffre Rouge A05 Black Time Automatic Chronograph and its technical specification will tell its story. This Dior watch comes with a Swiss made movement, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 42 minimum hours of power reserve, stainless steel coating, stainless steel crown with Guilloche pattern, automatic chronograph, 41 mm case diameter, black sun brushed dials, silver snailed counters, tachymeter scale, convex sapphire crystal face, luminous indexes, polished silver hands, enlarged hour and minute markers, read push button dater, 50 m of water resistance, and a 2 year warranty.

So don’t let the recession get you too down… remind yourself that timepieces are pieces of art, so its okay to admire them from afar until you start your own collection

MICHELE luxury watches are known for glamour and that extra special “something”.  Each watch is made to allow the wearer to feel as if they are of celebrity status or strutting down the runway wearing the latest trend in watchmaking.  MICHELE watch designs are reminiscent of art deco and design styles and usually feature diamonds, mother of pearl dials, and luxury.

MICHELE newest arrival includes the Deco Baguette Watch which reflects on the brands Deco collection in a new way. Above is the Deco Baguette Diamond Stainless Steel Bracelet retailed at $1,245 and features eight brilliant diamonds that surround a mother-of-pearl dial.  The deco and MICHELLE brand logos are featured at the 12 o’clock marker and the signature crow adorns the side of the sleek and beautiful watch.  The bracelet is stainless steel and the straps are interchangeable depending on the customer’s choosing.

This elegant imported watch defines luxury with .38 carat diamonds, crystal sapphire, and 5 ATM water resistance; a beautiful design twist to MICHELE renowned Deco Collection.

Gucci is known for being luxuries and the epitome of the rich and famous, and their watch collections are no different.  Here is an exploration of three Gucci watch collections that give luxury an artistic twist.

The Gucci Signoria Watch Collection

The Gucci Signora Collection features 3 different watches all resembling bracelet watches but with unique twist and turns.  The bracelet, in a variety of materials link together seemingly in space in using intricate patterns. The case is a perfect square and has the Gucci logo at the 12 o’clock marker.  Each watch resembles an abstract art pieces suspending in the air.

The Gucci Chiodo Watch Collection

Similar to the Signora Collection is the Gucci Chiodo Watch Collection. Each watch is chained together with masculine yet feminine large bold locks in half moon shapes. The dial of the watches are in mother-of-pearl with a cotton candy tint to it called flinque.

The Gucci Twirl Watch Collection

Lastly, is a collection of watches by Gucci entitled the Twirl Watch where the dial is created in a rotating case.  The strap is made of either stainless steel or gold and each have the Gucci logo motifed at every angle.

And for a limited time this holiday many Gucci watches are  10% off…

Happy Holidays

The idea that a certain timepiece should be described as “jewelry wristwatches”, instead of just a wristwatch or an accessory, could come to past this fall.  Perrelet is set the release the new Diamond Flower Collection (.pdf) before the end of this year.  The Diamond Flower Collection of watches incorporates well-designed handiwork with complicated details all working together to create a spectacular piece of jewelry and a superior timepiece.

The most exhilarating feature of the Perrelet Diamond Flower Collection is the many secrets it holds, as do most striking creations in nature. However, Watch Digest dug deep to uncover most of them…so what are the secrets of the Perrelet Diamond Flower Watch?

1. The Diamond Flower is not all beauty and no brains; the dazzling flower piece is actually a part of the mechanical movement! Think of a regular watch as a SUV and the Diamond Flower watch as a Prius; the flower’s secret is that the power source for the automatic movement comes from the wearer’s motion.  Hence the tag line “jewelry put in motion”.

2. The Diamond Flower Watch was also a massive hit at Montres Passion 2008 by winning the Public Prize.  However did you know that the Public Prize had been an ongoing that allowed the public to vote for three models in order of preference, via the internet?

3. Another hidden secret of the watch is that Perrelet’s new Diamond Flower Collection was designed by a female, which is uncommon in the watch industry.  Carmen Voegeli, a Perrelet designer, was given the mission and basically locked herself away for months.  However when Carmen came out of isolation with 27 models in a choice of steel, steel and rose gold, and rose gold.

4. The last secret is for a few special consumers. A limited edition of the Perrelet Diamond Flower Collection called the Rare Prestige Edition.  The Rare Prestige Edition will present the latest high quality styles with mind-blowing extravagance including extraordinary emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. However, only seven pieces will be offered.

Van Cleef & Arpels Charms Timepiece is a watch jam-packed with character, history, exquisiteness and loads of diamonds.

Named appropriately after the English verb “to charm”, the Charms Timepiece was made to seduce luxury lovers into the ultimate attraction…the beauty of time.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Charms watch has four distinguishing qualities.  The first is the face of the watch which is made with a silver or gold guilloche dial and decorated with a repeating Alhambra motif.  The Alhambra motif is a renowned quatrefoil Van Cleef & Arpels design made popular in the 1970s, it’s suppose to offer the wearer luck and happiness.  The face also includes four large Roman Numeral hour markers at 12, 3, 6, 9 o’clock.

The second distinctive quality of the Van Cleef & Arpels Charms watch is the pink gold or white gold watch case set with two or three sizes of diamonds.  The larger diamonds surround the face of the Charms timepiece and the smaller diamonds surround the edge of the pink gold case. Some models of the Charms watch come with three rows of diamonds with the larger diamonds in the middle.

The third attribute of this spectacular watch is the interchangeable straps as seen below.

The fourth dazzling feature is the Alhambra pink gold or white gold charm that hangs from the case of the watch. Not only is the charm studded with diamonds but it also rotates 360 degrees.  Finishing off the watch is the Van Cleef & Arpels engraved signature on the side of the case.

Someone stumbling across this blog may ask themselves the question: ‘who buys such expensive watches?’ The answer is simple, everyone. It isn’t just celebrities and politicians, although you can find them in the news easier than you can your next-door neighbor, but chances are you know people who believe in high-quality wrist wear even if you don’t know it. If you are one of the millions of everyday people who already own one, or several, beautifully crafted watches you know exactly why people spend their money on what some may consider a luxury.

Quality never goes out of style.

Trends and fads come and go, but the real test of an item’s worth is the precision and craftsmanship with which it is made. Watches like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovex are crafted with such elegance and functionality that they are highly prized and sought after by those who know true value.

Even as luxury items go, watches rank highly amongst those who know where to invest their dollars. Globally watches rank just below # 1 -private jets, luxury cars, yachts and  # 2- fine art. Jewelry and watches ranked #3rd  with a 13.5% of total market share. That’s a lot of people on a global scale who feel that watches are a tremendous investment. Even travel came in 4rth. Think about that, most people wouldn’t think twice about why someone would spend money to travel, so why would it seem unusual that someone would invest in an item that will last far, far longer than a trip?

True luxury is in the quality and style of something that will last a lifetime. Beautiful watches will never go out of style