High Watchmaking endeavour: a dreamlike, horological spaceflight into the Gucci universe
The House boldly enters into its next High Watchmaking endeavour: a dreamlike, horological spaceflight into the Gucci universe
Channelling the golden age of space travel and a passion for discovery, Gucci High Watchmaking now soars into the universe, unveiling exceptional timepieces that map and trace time in a way that’s uniquely Gucci. Set across five signature collections and featuring tourbillons, automatic movements and a new perpetual calendar among them, the novelties showcase Gucci’s precious heritage alongside its contemporary savoir-faire, where High Watchmaking expertise and excellence fuse with iconic codes of the House, avant-garde artistry and the most exceptional stones.
G-TIMELESS DANCING BEES (above)
The G-Timeless Dancing Bees collection celebrates the bee motif, a tribute to life and nature that conquers the space. Here, 12 golden bees tremble on the dial, hypnotically fluttering and shimmering with the slightest movement of the wrist. For 2023, two exceptional stone dials pay tribute to Mother Earth and her singular beauty as our only living planet. The first features an intense turquoise dial that instantly recalls the greenish and deep blue water of the oceans seen by the space, as in the series of famous photographs taken during the spaceflights to the moon; the second captures lush, verdant lands with a vibrant pistachio green opal dial further galvanised by Gucci’s exquisite stone marquetry savoir-faire. Here, the fragile stones are first polished to a thickness of only 0.45mm before being cut into small, individual rectangles, which are then painstakingly laid on a mother-of-pearl plate of a just 0.15mm thick. The craftsmanship parallels the extreme precision and
sophistication of the accompanying star-studded tourbillon, which rests within a diamond-set crescent at 12 o’clock.
G-TIMELESS PLANETARIUM
Four kaleidoscopic designs enter the G-Timeless Planetarium, a collection that’s literally centred around the Dancing Hours Flying Tourbillon, GGC.1976.DS. Named after the Orion Nebula NGC 1976 – one of our galaxy’s brightest nebulas and which is visible from the naked eye – the tourbillon sits front and centre on the dial, set with a diamond-studded star. A start-and-stop function on the crown activates a rotation of 12 precious stones, each one spinning on itself in 9 seconds and orbiting clockwise around the dial in 90 seconds.
In 2023, two lunar themed creations enter the space: one is set with 12 Ethiopian opals, their effervescence highlighted by a translucent blue background; the second a dreamlike, pastel melange of topaz, peridot, amethyst and Ethiopian opals. Another design travels to an otherworldly sunset of contrasting reds: rubies, fire opals, pink tourmaline and mandarin garnet. Finally, the brightest addition is a star-themed creation with four different types of stars, each punctuated with diamonds, which together encircle the central tourbillon star in a luminous explosion of light.
G-TIMELESS MOONLIGHT
In 2023, Gucci’s sophisticated moonphase calibre GGV838.MP meets personal expression in a new made-to-order G-Timeless Moonlight, where a client’s specific place, time and date of birth are uniquely depicted on the watch. Clients start with six gemstones that reflect the astral map, linked to zodiac signs and the birthday planets’ position, which are paired with six diamonds that are alternately set on a rotating rehaut. The crown at 2 o’clock allows to activate the rotating rehaut that spins randomly, along with it the planets and gemstones. Further bespoke decoration comes courtesy of an internal ring that can be etched with up to five personal letters or characters, an oscillating weight displaying the client’s personal constellation and customisable alligator strap. A sparkling, deep blue aventurine glass dial layered over a thin mother-of-pearl disc further evokes the mystery and magic of our universe.
The layered dial technique continues in two additional designs set with deep, intense tones, which further highlight the dialogue between the planets in our galaxy. A shimmering mother-of-pearl dial treated with an electric purple-blue lacquer brings forth the fire in a multicoloured opal moonphase disc. Meanwhile, a second design is more iridescent, thanks to a sliver of green aventurine glass set on a thin mother-of-pearl base, its purple-green effect contrasting the green opal moonphase disc below.
GUCCI 25H
In 2023, the iconic, ultra-thin GUCCI 25H collection goes from strength to strength. Up first is an openwork GUCCI 25H Skeleton Tourbillon that is masterfully set with baguette diamonds, including 60 diamonds on the dial’s floating bridges and 44 diamonds on the bezel. A flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock rotates every minute, and will perfectly align with the bridge once during its journey. Meanwhile, the winding stem can also be personalised with up to eight letters on each of the stem’s four sides. Sized at 40mm, the masterpiece comes in either 18kt pink or white gold, with matching gold skeleton hands and stylishly paired with either a deep cobalt or black alligator strap respectively.
Also new, the GUCCI 25H Skeleton Tourbillon with coloured bridges and matching rubber straps is a bold colour statement. The watch’s components are coolly tinted: there’s an orange platine, pink flying tourbillon cage, purple barrel bridge and green minutery bridges, while an electric blue winding stem can also be customised with eight digits on each of its four sides. The colours are inspired by the rich hues represented in the geological map of the moon, a ground-breaking scientific and geological reference that depicts a magnified blueprint of the moon.
Finally, the new GUCCI 25H with the perpetual calendar complication is powered by the GG727.25.PC calibre, which displays the time alongside days, months, years and moonphase (and which is accurate and won’t need adjusting to the year 2100). With a thickness of just 9.7mm, the watch’s architectural signature is echoed in the dial’s horizontal pattern, while the five-link bracelet or alligator strap are ergonomically designed for maximum comfort and fit. With a sporty attitude, the watch comes in three models with gold and steel finishes and propels the contemporary spirit of this iconic collection into its next chapter.
GRIP
When Grip launched in 2019, it immediately became a cult design for its pioneering spirit and sense of uniqueness, where 1970s skateboarding culture met sleek, edgy design. In Gucci High Watchmaking, the Grip’s jumping hour mechanism adds an even more off-beat touch, inviting time to be read in an unusual way – the Gucci way. First developed in the 1920s with precision at its heart, the jumping hour mechanism stores energy for 59 minutes, which then punctually powers the “jump” to the next hour at the 60th. In 2023, the Grip is fully laid with vintage-like hard stones – either brick red jasper or chrysoprase – set in 18kt pink gold with matching
brick red or mint green display discs and complementary alligator straps. Retro styled yet playful, this is Gucci’s precious and refined watch with a “grip”.
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