8 High-Jewellery Watches That Will Wow You
4 min read
Some you’ll know. Some will blow your mind. All are theatre on the wrist — mechanical poetry dressed in gemstones. Now India’s love for high jewellery runs deep — it’s woven into history, culture, and identity. For centuries, the subcontinent was the world’s most coveted source of diamonds, from the legendary mines of Golconda to the dazzling stones that graced the treasuries of maharajas and empires. Our artistry in gem cutting, intricate setting, and precious metalwork became a language of status, devotion, and beauty. Today, that legacy thrives in India’s diamond cutting and polishing hubs — among the most sophisticated in the world — and a rapidly expanding lab-grown diamond industry.
It’s no surprise, then, that high-jewellery watches strike such a chord here. They speak to our enduring appreciation for craftsmanship and spectacle — a celebration of both heritage and innovation. Whether it’s a gem-encrusted creation from a storied maison or a daring, stone-set complication from an independent watchmaker, these pieces resonate with Indian collectors in a uniquely powerful way. In a country where jewellery is both art and inheritance, a watch that sparkles is never just about telling time — it’s about telling a story. Here are a few.
Chaumet — Frise Divine (La Nature de Chaumet collection)
Chaumet’s Frise Divine is jewellery theatre with a mechanical heart. Inspired by laurel — the ancient symbol of victory and Apollo — this transformable cuff watch becomes a bracelet: the central time element swaps for a brooch in an elegant metamorphosis. Shades of lavender, blue and white (chalcedony, sapphires and diamonds) flow in a botanical gradation that reads like a sculpted fresco on the wrist. The anecdote that stays with me: Chaumet’s jewellers logged 1,250 hours on a single piece — you can almost feel that labour when the cuff is lifted to the light. This is artisanal storytelling: nature, myth and jewellery craft in one.
Price: 610,000 CHF
Approx : INR 6,60,98,014
Chopard — Swan Lake (Haute Joaillerie secret watch)
Chopard’s Swan Lake is a mechanical ballerina. Concealed under a sculpted swan, a secret mother-of-pearl dial appears only when the head turns to reveal the time — and the wings then unfurl in a three-part articulated choreography. The piece is both animal theatre and micro-engineering: the feathered clasp, satin strap with feather details, and the tiny calibre inside (manual-winding Chopard movement with a 45-hour reserve) make the mechanics feel like costume engineering. The workshop story is deliciously cinematic: artisans spent more than 1,500 hours bringing this swan to life — every feather and articulation tuned until movement felt effortless, like a real bird taking flight.
Price: 730,000 CHF
Approx : INR 7,91,00,902
Dior — Grand Soir Reine des Abeilles (Queen of Bees)
Dior dresses time in couture: the Reine des Abeilles celebrates the tiny seamstresses of Monsieur Dior’s ateliers, the “bees,” with a rose-gold bee that is a riot of diamonds, rubies and lacquers. Its wings have a “trembling” mechanism that animates with the wrist, giving tiny, jewel-set wings a life of their own. Think high fashion translated into a wrist creature — a piece at once playful and painstakingly worked. On the wrist it reads like a brooch that keeps time: couture gesture, crafted mechanism.
Price: 400,000 CHF
Approx : INR 4,33,42,960
Fabergé — Summer in Provence (High Jewellery watch)
Fabergé’s Summer in Provence is colour and poetry: interlocking ribbons, grand feu enamel and a garland of gems form a floral tapestry that seems to sway in an imagined breeze. Paraíba tourmalines, emeralds and pink/blue sapphires play across mother-of-pearl petals; the central dial is framed by enamel-filled ribbons that sign the maker’s name in miniature. It’s a painterly watch — and the kind that makes collectors think of afternoons in sunlit gardens. Inside beats a Vaucher calibre, reminding you that Fabergé’s beauty is never purely decorative: the movement is part of the scene.
Price: 290,000 CHF
Approx : INR 3,14,23,646
Girard-Perregaux — Cat’s Eye High Jewellery
If Art Deco met a crown, it would be the Cat’s Eye High Jewellery. Girard-Perregaux composes an ultra-graphic diamond panorama: baguette and brilliant cuts orbit an elliptical case, while a snow-set dial sparkles from within. The model is a technical and gemmatic feat — 599 diamonds of 190 sizes (25.60 carats total) set into case, dial and bracelet. The stones and geometry make the watch sing; the in-house automatic calibre visible through the caseback ensures it isn’t only a showpiece but a manufacture statement. The watch wears like jewellery and performs like a modern classic.
Price: 674,000 CHF
Approx : INR 7,30,32,887
Roger Dubuis Velvet Platinum
The Velvet Platinum stands as a testament to Roger Dubuis's mastery in high jewelry, featuring an extraordinary array of 813 colorless diamonds totaling over 52 carats. Each diamond has been meticulously selected by the manufacture's gemstone specialists according to the most stringent criteria, ensuring only stones of F-G color grade (Top Wesselton) and IF-VVS clarity are incorporated into this masterpiece.
The watch showcases the brand's expertise through the employment of six different diamond setting techniques, each specifically chosen to maximize the brilliance and fire of every individual stone. This technical diversity in setting methods not only demonstrates exceptional craftsmanship but also creates a mesmerizing play of light across the timepiece's surface. The case and bracelet are crafted entirely from platinum, a precious metal choice that underscores the watch's luxury positioning while providing the ideal backdrop for the diamond pavé work.
Price: INR 142,459,500 Approx
Breguet Crazy Flower Full Baguettes
The exceptional Haute Joaillerie Crazy Flower watch was acclaimed when Breguet introduced it in 2010. Thanks to its mobile settings, the timepiece reacts to the slightest movement, like the opening petals of a diamond flower. The new Breguet Crazy Flower Full Baguettes has a bracelet set with 120 baguette diamonds, extending the creation’s dazzling exclusiveness. At the heart of this sparkling flower, a dished dial consists of 206 brilliant-cut diamonds in an “inverted” setting, while the dial edge is set with another 66 brilliant-cut diamonds. The trademark Breguet hands in polished steel have been bent by hand to parallel the curve of the dial. Twenty baguette diamonds compose the chapter ring for the hours. Every movement of the wrist brings the diamond petals to life, achieved by the mobile attachment of 193 baguette diamonds to the watchcase. More than 76 carats of diamonds surround this exceptional piece in a blaze of glory, demonstrating once again the skills of Breguet jewellers.
Hublot Classic Fusion High Jewellery
The Classic Fusion High Jewellery 42mm represents more than mere embellishment; it constitutes a technical manifesto. In an industry where mixed-cut diamond applications have become standard practice for managing both cost and complexity, Hublot's decision to employ exclusively baguette-cut stones across case, bezel, dial, and even the deployant clasp demonstrates either remarkable confidence or considerable audacity. Having observed the high jewellery segment evolve over two decades, I can attest that such comprehensive baguette applications remain among the most challenging executions in contemporary watchmaking.
The technical realities are sobering. Each baguette-cut diamond demands individual fitting and precise angular alignment—a process that consumed 120 hours for the dial alone, where 241 stones required placement within the confined geometry of a 42mm timepiece. The mathematics are unforgiving: with tolerances measured in fractions of millimeters, any miscalculation in stone selection or setting angle becomes immediately apparent to even casual observation. The fact that Hublot achieved visual consistency across 431 individual baguettes speaks to manufacturing capabilities that extend well beyond typical production watch standards.
These watches aren’t daily tools; they are curated moments. In India — where jewellery is as much about emotion as adornment — they find their truest stage. Picture them at a lavish wedding worthy of the Ambanis, a high-society gala in Delhi or Mumbai, or an intimate dinner at a palace hotel. Wear them to a power-packed art opening, a couture fashion show, or even to India Watch Weekend in January — where fellow collectors will appreciate every carat and complication. Let them spark conversation rather than track punctuality. And if you can, experience one in person — the way a gemstone catches light against the skin is something no photograph can truly capture.
