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Catch Me… if You Love Me – High-Jewelry Automatic Attrape-Moi Watch Collection by Chaumet
Written by Boris Ivkovic on March 7, 2013 in SIHH 2013, The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie - No comments
The French luxury jeweler Chaumet has introduced seven new ladies' watches to its Attrape-moi collection. The flagship model of the series uses a playful motif of a bee that evades the attacks of a spider on its dial. Apart from the timekeeper with the newly developed caliber which utilizes the dance of a bee and a spider to show the time, there are six other high-jewelry newcomers with insect motifs. Each of these models features a more traditional dial layout with central hour and minute hands.
The name of the new collection by Chaumet, Attrape-moi… si tu m'aimes (which is French for "Catch me… if you love me"), is inspired by the never-ending pursuit which symbolizes seduction. This theme has been previously explored in the brand's jewelry collection of the same name. As far as the new watches are concerned, they feature butterflies, dragonflies, jaybirds, caterpillars and snails on their dials. Needless to say, each of the timekeepers includes a host of precious stones which can be seen on the dials, bezels and lugs of the watches. The high-jewelry motifs on the outsides of the newcomers are complemented with a technical excellence embodied by the presence of automatic mechanical movements. Furthermore, each of the newcomers is made with a 18 K rhodium plated white gold case with the diameter of 35 mm, befitting to a woman's wrist.
The most significant of the novelties from the Attrape-moi collection is obviously the spider and bee timekeeper which manages to tell the tame in an unusual manner. At the background of the depicted scene is a mother-of-pearl dial with 43 segments covered with a web made from diamonds. In the central segment of the dial lurks a gold spider which moves around and shows the hours. The spider's intended prey –a bee made from diamonds and gold – perpetually evades the attacks and at the same time indicates the minutes. Thanks to the clever design of the cobweb dial and the watch's movement, the bee zigzags as it dodges the predator which makes the timekeeper look way cooler then it would have been the case if it had moved in circles.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Spider and Bee Watch
The technical base of the timekeeper is self-winding caliber CP12V-XII which was developed exclusively for Chaumet. The automatic movement which stands behind the little seductive dance depicted on the dial was designed and manufactured for the French brand by an undisclosed Swiss watchmaker. Chaumet Attrape-moi Spider and Bee watch is paired with a white alligator strap.
Six other novelties from the Attrape-moi series feature a more traditional appearance. However, they are all still quite impressive timekeepers with amazing looking dials with multitude of diamonds and other precious stones, as well as miniature painting, enameling and engraving decorations. More importantly, each of them is equipped with automatic ETA 2000-1 caliber with 20 jewels which has a power reserve of 40 hours and operates at the frequency of 4 Hz.
At the start, let us present three butterfly-themed newcomers. The first one oft them is the model W16189-38D which features blue insects and has a rhodium-plated dial with guilloche rays at the background. The wings of butterflies are made from polished agate and tinted mother-of-pearl and encircled with a thin silver border. This watch has 58 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel and lugs (2.52 carats) and 164 gemstones of the same kind on the dial (0.21 carats). Other precious stones can be seen on the pin buckle of the blue satin strap and the timekeeper's crown. Apart from the satin strap, the timekeeper likewise comes with an additional black semi matte alligator strap.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Butterflies Watch W16189-38D
The next piece has the designation W16188-38 and depicts a swarm of symmetrically placed butterflies. They are drawn with black China ink and accented with 4 large cabochon-cut oval sapphires which serve as heads of the depicted insects of the order of Lepidoptera. As far as other decorations are concerned, the watch likewise features two rows of brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel (152 stones weighing 0.89 carats) and 63 more gemstones on the pin buckle. This model also comes with two types of attachments: a navy blue satin strap and a black semi-matt alligator wristlet.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Butterflies Watch W16188-38
The third and final butterfly-themed watch from the new Attrape-moi collection is the model W16188-38C which features a black-mother-of-pearl dial with laced openwork wings filled with segments from cornelian, agate and quartz. This model likewise has 152 diamonds in two rows on its bezel (0.89 carats) and 63 more on the pin buckle. Two available wristlets that can be paired with the timekeeper are a black satin strap and an alligator leather bracelet in the same color.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Butterflies Watch W16188-38C
Unlike the previous timekeeper, the W16188-38A depicts a swarm of miniature painted dragonflies set against the ivory colored sapphire glass. It is paired with a white satin bracelet and decorated with gemstones the same way as the previous watch.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Dragonflies Watch W16188-38A
The next novel timekeeper displays a mayfly on a cherry tree branch with delicate pink mother-of-pearl blossoms surrounded with scattered diamonds. This model has a single row of larger gemstones on the bezel and lugs (58 diamonds with total weight of 2.52 carats. It is available with a mauve satin strap or a black alligator leather wristlet.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Mayfly Cherry Watch
At the end of the list of the Attrape-moi newcomers is the W16189-38E with a blue lapis lazuli dial studded with stars made of pierrite stone. The dial with miniature paintings of grass and flowers includes a night scene with figures of a dragonfly, a snail and a caterpillar cut out of freshwater mother-of-pearl. This watch features 122 diamonds with the total weight of 2.82 and has a blue satin strap.
Chaumet Attrape-Moi Dragonfly, Snail and Catepillar Watch