Brief: Chaumet turns to hydrangea for inspiration
BY LESLIE JORDAN CLARY
For the past two years, Chaumet has found inspiration in the hydrangea (presented under its French name, hortensia). This year its Collection Hortensia expands on the naturalist theme with four different variations of the delicate flower. The watch’s unique complication, similar to one Chaumet invented in 2013, features a dial with three layers of diamonds and engraved mother-of-pearl. Four petals spin in the center, one set with red sapphires to show the hour and a pink mother-of-pearl hydrangea blossom to indicate the minutes. Rather than the hands following a circle, they instead trace the irregular pattern of the hydrangea blossom.
—Feb. 12, 2015