This piece won the prize in the Ladies’ Watch category of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), for which the results were announced on 30 November 2014. Personally I think it is a lovely piece and a good choice on the part of the GPHG Jury. In terms of appearance, it blends sophistication with a touch of quirky individuality, with the graceful bezel formed of gradually tapering crescents with rows of diamonds of diminishing size, the offset time indications, and the retrograde small seconds subdial at the bottom of the piece, with a hand that flicks back to zero after 30 seconds. On the back, the flower-shaped rotor is a lovely touch.
The case is in red gold, the dial is in mother-of-pearl, and there are 152 diamonds for a total of one carat. Inside, the in-house movement Calibre 2663SR is visible to a degree through the sapphire caseback, though most of this space is taken up by the oscillating weight.
Further information on this watch from www.blancpain.com
This piece, with the other prize-winning watches in the GPHG competition, will be on show at SalonQP in London from 6 to 8 November 2014. SalonQP is dedicated to fine watches, and it takes place at the Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY. Open just on Thursday evening for the opening night reception, Friday from 11am to 5pm, and Saturday from midday to 6pm. The daytime tickets cost £20. More info from http://www.salonqp.com/