News: Christophe Claret Margot Velours

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Christophe Claret Margot Velours: “He loves me… He loves me not.” Which woman in love has never taken the time to pluck the petals of a daisy and symbolically ascertain the feelings of the one she cares for? The first feminine complication from Christophe Claret, designed and developed within the Manufacture, magnificently reproduces the random unpredictability of nature and appears in a delightfully gentle new version.

Christophe Claret devotes particular attention to women, offering them a full-fledged collection composed of complications exclusively crafted with them in mind. Building on the success achieved by the Margot watch in the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, Christophe Claret has dreamed up various precious and poetic combinations composing a whole new definition of refinement.

After naturally blue or pink-tinged mother-of-pearl gracing the dial and baguette-cut diamonds or snow-set brilliant-cut diamonds sparkling on the bezel and lugs, Margot now reveals a dark blue mother-of-pearl dial framed by grain setting on its bezel and lugs. This particular technique uses stones of an intermediate size compared with the two settings on the previous versions. Three pear-shaped diamonds indicating 3, 6 and 9 o’clock add infuse the scene with a sense of poetry. The 12 petals in titanium and satin-brushed white lacquer embrace a natural red ruby pistil, swept over by a pair of blue-tipped stainless steel hands delicately rounded by hand. The twin-layered corolla intensifies the depth effect of this eminently dainty dial.

The Christophe Claret Margot’s strap now appears clothed in velvet-touch blue alligator leather that feels like a second skin. Soft, noble, silky and timeless, velvet is synonymous with luxury, chic and good taste. This totally on-trend material is equally suited to contemporary and classical styles, adding a pleasing touch of sophistication and glamour. The elements linking it to the case have been elongated so as to gently embrace even the slimmest wrist.

Entirely in tune with the movement, the unmistakably feminine case made of gold and slate blue PVD-treated grade 5 titanium adopts a curvaceous profile. To soften its silhouette still further, the winding crown is cleverly concealed on the back of the top lugs, while the center of the inter-horn space is adorned with three rows of four diamonds.

In terms of its complications, Margot Velours features an ingenious mechanism that reproduces the unpredictability of nature. A simple press of the pusher at 2 o’clock brings the watch to life. With each press, a petal – sometimes a pair of petals, it is impossible to foresee – subtly disappears under the dial in a smooth action, perfectly depicting the delicate undressing of the flower. The eagerly-awaited answer appears at random in calligraphic letters (in French) on the dial at 4 o’clock: Un peu (a little) – beaucoup (a lot) – passionnément (passionately) – à la folie (madly) – pas du tout (not at all)?

At each press of the pusher, a distinct, crystalline chime resonates, audibly signaling the pace of the game. The striking mechanism is one of Manufacture Claret’s signature complications, blending technical mastery with sublime esthetics, and here its hammer is adorned with a prong-set ruby. A caseband window at 8 o’clock allows clear views of it vertically striking the cathedral gong above.

Finally, the reset pusher at 4 o’clock instantly makes all petals reappear around the pistil and turns the ‘sentiment’ display at 4 o’clock to an ellipsis (…). The petal display and its mechanism have been awarded a patent.

The display back reveals the automatic winding rotor, a delicately carved, flower-shaped carrousel of colors symbolizing sentiments of love, with a central cabochon concealing the rotor’s ball bearings. Each one of the eight resplendent triangular precious stones denotes a feeling – hope, passion, tenderness… Which one will line up with the red-lacquered heart when the flower halts its waltz?

Margot Velours blossoms in a 20-piece limited edition.

Christophe Claret Margot Technical Specification

Movement:

Calibre:

EMT17, automatic-winding

Dimensions:

Diameter: 38.40 mm
Height: 9.76 mm

Number of components:

Number of jewels:

Power reserve:

72 hours
Two barrels

Escapement:

Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)
Swiss lever

Functions:

Hours and minutes
“He loves me… he loves me not” (“Effeuiller la marguerite” in French)
Symbolic ‘colour-feeling’ on the winding rotor

Features:

12 “He loves me…he loves me not” petals to ‘pick off’
‘Sentiment’ displayed in window at 4 o’clock: un peu (a little), beaucoup (a lot), passionnément (passionately), à la folie (madly) and pas du tout (not at all)
Pusher at 2 o’clock ’picks off’ one or two petals while advancing the ‘Sentiment’ indicator by one sentiment
Striking chime at each action of the 2 o’clock pusher with a visible hammer at 8 o’clock
“He loves me… loves me not” reset pusher at 4 o’clock: all the petals instantly reappear around a pistil, while the ‘Sentiment’ displayed in the window at 4 o’clock turns to an ellipsis (…)

Case:

Dimensions: