Summer Piaget have launched a new summer line in the 'Miss Protocole' collection. Using the shimmering colours of grand feu enamelling and taking images of the sea and its fabulous shells, Piaget have created beautiful ladies diamond watches. Each of the models is crafted in a limited edition of four, making them an authentic collector's delight.
Each with its own summer-time design, each authentic work of art works seamlessly across the dial, case and integrated clasp. An impressive achievement made possible by the combined talents of the engraving, enamelling and gem-setting artists, who thereby lend a touch of graceful femininity that dramatically enhances the original lines of the Miss Protocole case.
Composed of glass and metallic oxides that give the matter the required colour and nuances, grand feu enamel melts at a temperature of over 800°. There are two basic techniques: that of transparent enamels that allow light to filter through and mean the base is visible after firing, like the Miss Protocole models with the starfish and coral motifs; and that of opaque enamels entirely covering the base such as those used for the Miss Protocole seashell-motif models.
Crafted in grand feu enamels according to the champlevé technique, the motifs are first delicately engraved in solid gold. The engraving artist hollows out the areas while protecting the outlines, carefully fashioning the breadth and depth of the grooves and recesses according to the required effects. The opaque or transparent enamels, ground to a powder and mixed with a little water, are applied in fine successive layers with a brush. Once this operation is complete, the piece is dried and then placed in an oven heated to over 800°C - an extremely delicate phase, with each passage in the kiln lasting from 40 to 60 seconds. Generally at least six such firings are required to achieve the desired effect, while being careful to avoid the motif cracking, which is not unusual in light of the complexity of the task. At this stage, the enamel spills over the partitions, and the surface must therefore be smoothed with a pumice stone, which creates an overall matt effect. Hence the need for a final and decisive firing - the glazing phase - to restore its brilliance.
The Miss Protocole models are then entrusted to the expert hands of the gem-setters in the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Piaget. Each of the models is entirely set by hand - with anything from 144 to 193 diamonds, depending on the motif - in the course of a meticulous and delicate operation during which the craftsman will scrupulously avoid touching or scratching the enamel painting. Whether made in 18-carat white gold for the "White Seashell" and "Starfish" models, or in 18-carat yellow gold for the "Pink Seashell" and "Coral" motifs, Miss Protocole enamel watches beat to the tune of the Piaget Calibre 57 quartz movement 57P. In keeping with one of the signature features of the Miss Protocole collection, the satin strap is easily interchangeable.
With these additions to 'Miss Protocole', Piaget once again reflects itself as a master of haute horlogerie and innovation.
Click here to see the new Miss Protocole XL enamel collection.
Wow! These watches are amazing!! I'm a pisces, love the summer and all it does is rain in the UK - so I want one!
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