Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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TIME HONORED Tondo by Night, de Grisogono ($9,400– $17,500). Crystals, CityCenter, 702-8346600; degrisogono.com TIME ROLLS ON Louis Vuitton and Fendi offer Las Vegans an innovative (and dazzling) way to mark the hours. time with a twist DE GRISOGONO'S BOLD NEW WOMEN'S WATCH COLLECTION FEELS TAILOR-MADE FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO COMPETE WITH THE LIGHTS OF THE STRIP. BY ROBERTA NAAS A s the glamour-loving women of Las Vegas know, not every timepiece is serious and conservative. Some are downright whimsical, such as the hit Tondo by Night watches from de Grisogono. Unveiled last year, the collection has just begun to make its way into luxury jewelry stores in the last few months. In addition to being mechanical works of art, these timepieces possess an unusual quality in the luxury watch world that begs them to be worn amidst the neon lights of the Strip: They glow in the dark. Designed by Fawaz Gruosi, the founder and president of de Grisogono, the Tondo by Night is intended to be a capricious, playful timepiece that stores light during the day and then frees it after —FAWAZ GRUOSI the sun goes down. The case is created from a pearly photoluminescent fiberglass composite—with pieces of mother-of-pearl blended into the fiberglass for extra shimmer—then further bedecked with color-coordinated gemstones. "It has such wide appeal because it is fashionable, hefty, and different from everything "I dedicate this watch to happy summer days and glamorous nightlife." else on the market," Gruosi says. "Still, I never dreamed Tondo by Night would be such an amazing success. The demand is much higher than what I produced, which was extremely unexpected." Each Tondo by Night watch is equipped with an exclusive in-house mechanical movement, specially developed to display the gem-set oscillating weight on the front side. Built in collaboration with an outside lab, the Tondo by Night timepieces are offered in an array of colors, each with a row of 48 gemstones on the bezel, plus another 60 on the dial (and a black diamond on the crown). The colors include white with white diamonds, yellow with yellow sapphires, pink with pink sapphires, green with tsavorites, purple with amethysts, and orange with orange sapphires. And three new shades were unveiled at the Baselworld show in April: a vivid green case with a tourmaline bezel, a blue case with a blue sapphire bezel, and a coral case with a spinel bezel. The most expensive watch in the collection is currently the white (diamond) version, which retails for $17,500. "I dedicate this watch to happy summer days and glamorous nightlife," Gruosi says. "It's not only a luxury timepiece but also can be worn as a magnificent jewelry piece, with a twist." V It's difficult not to do a double take when first checking out the Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time watches: They lack an hour hand. Instead, these watches indicate time by means of a rotating cylinder at each of the 12 hour positions, with the minutes indicated via a traditional hand. The mechanism was first used in the brand's men's watches, before being taken to dazzling new heights in the women's contemporary Joaillerie, made in 18k white gold. When the hour changes, the diamond marker displaying that hour rotates, using the brand's patented LeVel Up system. The cylinders are set with white diamonds on one side and black diamonds on the other side; the black diamonds mark the hour on the white diamond upper portion of the dial, and vice versa. Fendi's Crazy Carats collection offers similar rotating hour markers, but they have a different purpose. The watches feature a rolling mechanical system that enables the wearer, with the push of a button, to change the color of the gemstone markers. Each watch is set with three different colored gemstones per hour marker (except 12, where there is a stationary diamond) on a rolling satellite, so the wearer can select the gem colors to match her mood. Tambour Spin Time Joaillerie, Louis Vuitton ($68,500). Wynn Las Vegas, 702770-3492; vuitton.com 112 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 112_V_SS_TimeHonored_MAY/JUNE_13.indd 112 4/19/13 11:50 AM