The 6 most spectacular artisanal watches of 2021

Watcheslas Large High Watch firms Every year launches pieces decorated by artisans dominate ancestral trades with results worth exhibiting in a museum.

By Manuel Martínez

High watchmaking is a mechanical, but also artistic show.Every year, several of the most important houses launch decorated pieces (handmade clocks) with handmade techniques known as Métiers d’Arts, which have been used in watches for centuries.The domain of these ancestral trades is a source of pride for the brands that are committed to their conservation and for artisans who, many times, come from families who have dedicated themselves to these trades for generations.In addition, it is one of the reasons why these guardians have such high prices.

The pieces you will see below were created by four of the Swiss manufactures of more tradition: Jaeger-Eleultre, Patek Philippe, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin.We also chose two examples of Hermès and Louis Vuitton, firms that are very successful in the fashion world and have done a magnificent work in watchmaking.These luxury features look some of the most complex Métiers d’Arts, all handmade for hours and sometimes work days: engraving, set of gems, enamel of various types and miniature paint.Enjoy them.

Slim d’ Hermès C’est de la Fête (Hermès)

Hermès is one of the luxury houses with the best artisanal talent, as this clock has again that has one of the most amazing spheres of the year.It is based on a handkerchief designed by Daiske Nomura, whose style emanates from cartoons, video games and manga.To give life to the riders of the rider and the horse, an engraver worked the gold with an unlikely skill.Another expert applied the miniature enamel, to draw the contours of the motive and provide it with color, and a third craftsman took care of the Pailloné enamel, to insert gold or silver lamellae between the enamel layers and create games of light, transparency and relief.The white gold box measures 39.5 millimeters and its mechanism is automatic.Edition of eight copies.Without a doubt, this is part of the blue watches that you must have this 2021.

Reverso Tribute in love Hokusai "Waterfall Kirifuri" (Jaeger-Eleultre)

Jaeger-Eleultre has taken advantage of the 90th anniversary of the reverse to show the greatness of its manufacturing, one of the most important in Swiss watchmaking.While the reverse was born as a reversible clock for polistas to use it without risk of the sphere, soon became a white canvas for enamels and recorders.In this model, the back of the box pays tribute to oriental art with a miniature painting in enamel that reproduces a xylography of the Kirifuri waterfall, made by Katsushika Hokusai in the 1830s in the 1830s.For the front, a wavy guilloché motive was chosen that evokes the movement of water.The white gold box measures 45.5 x 27.4 x 9.73 mm and its mechanism is manual.Limited edition of 10 pieces.

Tambour Carpe Diem (Louis Vuitton)

This masterpiece took two years of development and embodies a unique vision of the Jacquemarts, the automatons who hit a bell to mark the passage of hours in ancient watches.The show begins when activating the reptile -shaped button that is on one side of the 46 box.8 millimeters in pink gold.The snake's head gets up and reveals the time on the front of the skull, while the tail ranges to indicate the minutes, placed under the sand watch with the gear reserve.In one eye appears the floral monogram of Louis Vuitton and in the mouth, the words "Carpe diem" ("Take advantage of the day"), while letting go of a mocking laughter.The prestigious Swiss artisan Anita Porchet was in charge of the enamel of the snake and the sphere.

Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref.6002R-001 (Patek Philippe)

The Sky Moon Tourbillon, presented in 2001, is the second most complicated patek philippe wrist watch.It has 12 functions distributed on both sides, such as: Tourbillon, repetition of minutes, perpetual calendar, phases of moon and celestial vault that reproduces the apparent movement of the moon and the stars in the northern hemisphere.This 2021 version, with 44 millimeter box in rose gold, is an example of its absolute domain of artistic trades.The box, the handles, the crowns, the trigger of the Sonería, the hands and even the drop -down closure of the belt look arabesques and scrolls engraved by hand.The golden sphere is decorated with Grand Feu Champlevé and Cloisonné Brown.Its mechanism is manual.It only occurs on request.

Skeleton Polo (Piaget)

High watchmaking and high jewelry shake hands in this new piece of Piaget, a firm that is an expert in both categories.The Skeleton pole was launched at the beginning of the year with a skeleton mechanism and a thickness of only 6.5 millimeters.In this Full Pavé version, the 42 millimeter box in white gold has been set with 148 diamonds brilliant and 132 diamonds size baguette.The most impressive thing is that the mechanism has been set with 292 diamonds brilliant and eleven sapphires size baguette.In addition, the bracelet and the flour.The masters of the house take more than 15 days to complete their work.It has automatic mechanism and its thickness barely increases to 7.9 millimeters.

Métiers d’Art tribute to the great explorers (Emptyron Constantin)

Another of the historical suizas.The spheres with miniature enamel Grand Feu are inspired by a map of the Atlas de Miller of 1519, whose reproduction is preserved in the Museum of the Marina de Lisbon.The process to make each sphere requires a whole month, with 11 cooking in the oven at a temperature between 800 and 900ºC.The domain of fire is crucial, because a few seconds of more can ruin the work.They are limited editions of 10 pieces each that have a box of 41 millimeters in rose gold and automatic loading mechanism with indication of the decentrated hour thanks to a module of satellite hours.

Which of these artisanal watches have you impressed you the most?