Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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clockwise from top left: Vacheron Constantin unveils its new Fabuleux Ornements collection of timepieces. An in-house-made, ultrathin 117-part movement powers each watch in this series celebrating the decorative arts of different cultures. This version ($135,000), based on Chinese embroidery, is crafted in 18k gold and features a jade cloisonné dial with hand-engraved leaves of mother-of-pearl and pink opal surrounded by 145 round-cut diamonds. Just 20 pieces will be made. Shreve, Crump & Low, 39 Newbury St., 800-225-7088; vacheron-constantin.com The complex Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Tourbillon 1950 ($135,000) features an in-house- designed and -built 60-second tourbillon escapement and an ultrathin PF 517 movement that houses the world's lightest tourbillon cage. The gray mother-of-pearl dial has a fine cut at 7 o'clock (a nod to the time, 7:08, when the founder of the brand was born) that offers a view of the tourbillon aperture. Neiman Marcus, Copley Place, 617-536-3660; parmigiani.ch In honor of the 85th anniversary of the famed Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (with a case that turns over to offer a second dial), the brand unveils a host of new Reversos, including the One Duetto Moon ($11,500). Powered by a manually wound mechanical movement, the watch displays two faces: One side offers the moon phase via a mother-of-pearl lunar disk; the other side is a classic time indication of hours and minutes. Tourneau, Copley Place, 617-267-8463; jaeger-lecoultre. com Piaget also looks to the night sky with the new Limelight Stella ($29,700), the brand's first complication created just for women. Powered by a mechanical movement, it features a diamond-adorned moon-phase indication at 12 o'clock as well as an aperture base and case bedecked in diamonds. But the watch is driven by serious technology: The astronomical moon depiction requires a mere one-day correction after 122 years. Royal Jewelers, 58 Main St., Andover, 978-475-3330; piaget.com For the past few years, premier watch brands attending the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva have given greater face time to the fairer sex when it comes to mechanical-watch offerings (savvy women, of course, also care about what's under the hood). In response, a host of brands are giving women timepieces with substance, blending state-of-the-art technology with beautiful design to create a complete package that speaks to both form and function. In the watch industry over the past half-decade, fans, fanatics, and connoisseurs have witnessed the term métiers d'art take on a life of its own, and this year is no exception. In fact, several brands have gone above and beyond when it comes to designing watch dials as mini canvases—the results are stellar masterpieces that, in another form, could easily grace art-museum walls. FOR THE LADIES: STUN THEM WITH SUbSTaNcE bostoncommon-magazine.com 111