Give us the Night: The Solstice collection
The Solstice collection, which was inspired by the year’s most remarkable night, is a celebration of joyous community, extravagance, and unadulterated beauty.
Following a previous chapter that drew inspiration from voluminous, fluid Haute Couture gowns, the Solstice collection expands on this priceless blend of playfulness and skill: The second chapter of Solstice is all about joking and having lengthy chats under the glistening moon. Finally, night has fallen outside. The lights shine an infinite number of sparkles on the happy audience within, which is lighted by the stars in the sky and the beautiful moon above.
The radiance of their grins, the cosiness of their laughter, the echo of their glasses as they applaud... The cocktails that are poured into the glasses and the vibrant colours of the one-of-a-kind timepieces and pieces of jewellery they inspire are the party’s energetic heartbeat.
Cocktail rings got their term because they were commonly worn by women in America in the 1920s. In 2009, Piaget decided to take the concept literally and created a whole jewellery line that was inspired by the endlessly inventive world of mixology. The result was fun, colourful, and unique pieces that evoked the most inventive cocktails, staying true to its playfulness and love of technical challenges.
The cocktail rings in the Solstice collection are each intricate, brilliant, and expertly created, showcasing Piaget’s specialised knowledge of gemmology and goldsmithing.
The Piaget ateliers and its devoted craftsmen laboured for months, pushing the boundaries of their skill to manufacture one-of-a-kind pieces, to faithfully replicate the volume, colours, and textures of the ingredients of the cocktails.
Gemologists searched for the ideal stones all over the world, ones that could substitute for grenadine (pink sapphires), mint leaves (emeralds), sprinkled sugar (diamonds paved mounting), ice cubes (rough diamonds), or slices of lime (sculpted peridot). Piaget’s High Jewellery savoir-faire then came into play, allowing these gems to be put together with extreme precision and playfulness. For the diamonds and metal slice covering the fruit to fit properly, glyptic experts had to hand-sculpt the fruit slices with the utmost precision. The intricate ornamentation on the rings can be opened to reveal the centre gem, which can then be worn as a solitaire, further demonstrating Piaget’s mastery of invention and adaptability.
The Audacious Savor necklace, inspired by the warm and rich colours of a dark-brown liquor, blends excellent natural brown diamonds with sugarloaf spessartites and brilliant-cut diamonds. It embodies the perfect playfulness and quiet elegance of an iconic drink. The square-shaped gold structures encrusted with diamonds are reminiscent of ice cubes in a tumbler because the Piaget Society prefers to sip their drinks on the rocks.
Craftsmanship and perfection are hallmarks of Piaget in the worlds of jewellery and watches. The Piaget ateliers create rings, earrings, necklaces, and watches that look like pieces of art in conjunction with the top artists and Maîtres d’Art. Imaginative trend-setters, brave and audacious artists, and adventurers in beauty... The Maîtres d’Art are the ideal representation of the principles upheld by the Piaget Society.
The Joyful Sharing watch exemplifies the level of competence attained via working with these distinctive artists and craftsmen with its detailed dial that evokes the interior of a cocktail glass. Anita Porchet, the top enameller in the world, and Dutch Master engraver Dick Steenman worked together to create it. Dick Steenman etched the stones to produce glistening and amusing lime slices and mint leaves on a bed of sculpted mother-of-pearl. Anita Porchet then applied mint leaves and ice cubes made from a selection of translucent enamels on the previously etched parts to give them a realistic appearance. Each enamel or glyptic piece had to be individually changed to be positioned on the proper height in order to satisfy the dial’s thickness restriction. The outcome is a magnificent work of art, the product of an exceptional partnership between Piaget’s in-house watchmaking expertise and the renowned Métiers d’Art.
The Festive Sharing watch’s dial, another innovative wristwatch, displays Anita Porchet’s extraordinary skill. This creation displays a variety of priceless methods, including champlevé enamel, paillonné enamel, and some microscopic details. Anita is a great expert in her field and has worked with Piaget since 2006! She also enjoys challenges. Since there are no actual lime slices, she made the paillons motifs for this work herself. She gave an existing paillon the ideal shape and colour after discovering one that would resemble a lemon slice. She added a few touches of Miniature to make them look more realistic, bringing them to the pinnacle of perfection.
Rose Saneuil’s expert craftsmanship gives the Gleaming Savor watch its remarkable crystal glass beauty since creativity is unrestricted (and teamwork is a passion). Saneuil is a French marquetry expert who has a studio in Montrouge, close to Paris, and uses a variety of materials. For this one-of-a-kind piece of watchmaking, she created a startling association of straw, sycamore wood, and elytron using the “element by element” method. Despite the dial being flat, she was able to add volume by utilising the light reflection that each of her materials produced. There are 177 different materials used to create this small marquetry masterpiece. The baguette-cut diamonds are positioned upside-down on the bezel, adding another daring detail to the design. This elevates the Gleaming Savor Watch to the status of a genuine work of art, something to awe over on a spectacular Solstice night.
May this night, spent with a drink in hand and the wonder of the night sky overhead, never cease!
