FAMOUS PEOPLE OFTEN CHOSEN THE PRECIOUS CHRONOMETER AS A SIGNIFICANT GIFT FOR ITS HALF. It is interesting that many of these hours, having survived the change of epochs and styles, have survived to our days in a practically unchanged way.
Breguet for Carolina Murat
Carolina was the younger sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and was considered an ugly girl since childhood. All the more reason she had to feel like the heroine of a fairy tale when, in 1810, having married one of the most successful generals of her brother, Joachim Murat, two years later she became Queen of Naples. In honor of the coronation, the husband decided to give Carolina a luxurious gift - order from the most famous watchmaker of France Avraam-Louis Breguet (who served the notorious Marie-Antoinette) precious watches for an astronomical amount: 4800 francs. It is known that, in accordance with the Queen’s wishes, this watch had an elongated case and was equipped with a thermometer and repeater, and 17 craftsmen worked on their creation, which required 34 operations. Unfortunately, the original watch was lost in 1849. But in 2002, Breguet masters managed to almost exactly restore their appearance from detailed records from the archive.
Panthere for the Duchess of Windsor
One of the most romantic love stories of the twentieth century - between the British prince Edward and the American Wallis Simpson - led to the fact that the young king on the 326th day of his reign refused the right to the throne, preferring to marry his beloved woman. The couple received the title of Duke and Duchess of Windsor and modestly lived in France, and Edward, in love, continued to affirm his feelings with expensive gifts until the end of his life. If you count how much time they were together and how many jewelry was included in her collection, it turns out that Edward gave Wallis jewelry every three weeks. The duchess was especially fond of Cartier products, in particular, watches and jewelry from the Panthere collection. By the way, in November 2014 Christie "s auctioned a large collection of" panthers "owned by the Duchess (which at one time bought Andrew Lloyd Webber to give his wife Sarah Brightman).
Ballon Bleu for the Duchess of Cambridge
Addiction to products at home Cartier experienced many representatives of the British ruling dynasty, including the latest generation. This spring, on the third wedding anniversary, the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) received a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch from her husband, Prince William. True, the gift turned out to be in the spirit of a young couple, known for her democratic habits - this is the simplest, laconic model of the collection, in a steel case and on a steel bracelet, without diamonds, worth about $ 5,000. Her only piece of jewelry - the blue sapphire cabochon on the crown - fits perfectly with the huge sapphire in the Diana's engagement ring, which William gave Kate for the engagement. The Ballon Bleu de Cartier collection was launched in 2007 and was named after the original blue ball shaped crown.
Oyster for John F. Kennedy
One of the most intriguing models in the rich history of Rolex was the Oyster Day-Date in a gold case and a gold dial, which in 1962 Marilyn Monroe presented for her beloved John F. Kennedy's birthday. It is known that the actress adorned the watch back with a touching engraving "Jack, as always with love, from Marilyn. May 29, 1962", and put a romantic poem under the cover. But the outward appearances always worried Kennedy more than feelings, so he, having received the watch and read the scandalous engraving, asked his assistant Kenneth O Donnel to quickly remove them from sight "and never wore them. In 2004, at the auction of Alexander Autographs in Washington, these watches were sold for 120 thousand dollars, four times higher than the estimate.
Jaeger-LeCoultre for Elizabeth II
The first time a watch of the Swiss brand Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Joaillerie, Queen Elizabeth II presented herself - in 1953 before the coronation. Therefore, in 2013, when the UK celebrated the diamond anniversary of the coronation, and Jaeger-LeCoultre was chosen as the official brand of the event, the manufactory made an official, limited edition of Diamond Jubilee Reverso watches. In addition, the Swiss company created a unique jewelry copy of the classic Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 watches, exactly the same as were on Her Majesty on the day of the coronation.
The movement of this watch - Caliber 101- consists of 98 tiny parts with a total weight of less than 1 gram. It was created in 1929 specifically for miniature women's watches. Until now, this amazing mechanism remains the smallest in the world, but let it not be misleading - the watches equipped with it adorn the hands of the most powerful and influential women in the world.
Vacheron Constantin for Lady Dee
The name of the owner of the most expensive watch in the world - Kallista (in Greek - "the most beautiful"), worth $ 9 million - is still unknown since they left Vacheron Constantin in 1979 and were rumored to be side of the Arabian Peninsula. But this unique masterpiece of jewelry art has given rise to several equally beautiful “daughters” named Kalla. All of them bore aristocratic titles, for example, Queen Kalla, Regent Kalla or Earl Kalla. A unique copy of Lady Kalla, worth half a million dollars, was made at the manufactory in 1981 as a wedding gift from Lady Diana, the future princess of Wales, from a certain sheikh who wished to remain anonymous. The watch was adorned with 108 fitted diamonds, totaling a carat weight. How the groom reacted to such a gift remains unknown.
Daytona for Paul Newman
The real popularity of Cosmograph Daytona chronographs began after Paul Newman began to appear with this watch in his hand. Moreover, due to the characteristic pattern of the first-generation Daytona dial - the second dial is painted the same color as the three counters - it soon became known as the "Paul Newman dial." But Rolex never entered into an advertising contract with the actor! In fact, Paul’s wife, actress Joan Woodward, knew about her husband’s passion for auto racing and bought this watch for him in 1972. She liked that they bore the name of the famous race track. Needless to say, soon Daytona was swept off the shelves.
Girard-Perregaux for Nicolas Sarkozy
Perhaps former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and singer model Carla Bruni, who married in the Champs Elysees in 2008, quickly found a common language, because
That both of them are passionate fans and watchmaking experts. So, as a gift to her husband for the 55th anniversary in 2010, Ms. Sarkozy chose the perfect model: a complex, but at the same time strict, well-known brand, but not too replicated, with a manufactory caliber, but not too expensive, about 23 thousand dollars). In addition, a novelty of that year, equipped with a rather rare set of complications - a full calendar (day of the week, month, date), the phase of the moon and the equation of time. Moreover, the annual calendar from Girard-Perregaux with minimalistic windows is considered one of the most beautiful, and the round 1966 case with a universal size of 40 mm is also suitable for medium-sized men. Dear Carla!
Patek Philippe for Angelina
Two years ago, one of the wedding gifts of the Hollywood actor Brad Pitt to his future wife Angelina Jolie was a watch - but not a chic diamond accessory, but a minute repeater from the independent Geneva-based Patek Philippe manufactory. Pitt said that in addition to the high cost of this instance (about 400 thousand dollars), precious materials and handmade, he was attracted by the fact that mechanical watches are a complex work of art, the value of which is not obvious to everyone. The actor chose the repeater, because he liked the idea of having a "Big Ben that fits on his hand." The family-run company Patek Philippe is one of the few that offers a complete collection of complications for the fair sex. The model, equipped with a minute repeater, was presented by the manufactory at an exhibition in Basel in 2011.
Hublot Big Bang for Jay Z
Two years ago, at an exhibition in Basel, the Hublot brand set a world record for the cost of modern watches - the Big Bang model worth $ 5 million. The then head of the company, Jean-Claude Beaver, said that he doubted that the record would ever be broken - simply because the case and dial space was limited, and Hublot used it to the maximum. The watch is inlaid with 1200 diamonds weighing more than 140 carats, and at least 6 stones weighing more than 3 carats were used. 17 additional specialists were hired for this project, and work on the clock took them 14 months. As it turned out, the “5 millionth watch” (such is its official name) quickly found a buyer. Already at the exhibition, they were ordered prepaid by Singapore's Hour Glass boutique, and in December of that year, singer Beyoncé bought them as a gift to her husband and producer Jay Z for his 43rd birthday.
