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The watch is hand-finished to showcase Audemars Piguet’s renowned skill in polished and satin-brushed chamfering. Aside from making the piece catch every glint of light, this process also serves to meld the rounded and angular surfaces of the watch’s two materials in flawless alignment. It is powered by an in-house movement, Calibre 4401, and decorated with refined finishes, such as Côtes de Genève, which can be admired through the sapphire caseback. Even the strap feels like a synthesis of old and new, with black rubber layered over a calfskin leather lining.

The result is a display of both technical mastery and Audemars Piguet’s happy refusal to play things safe. It’s an audacity fuelled by conviction and know-how, the kind of confidence that comes from being the world’s oldest Swiss watchmaker still in the hands of the founding families. As the company’s slogan emphasises, this is a true heritage brand: “Born in Le Brassus, raised around the world.”

When Patek Philippe launched the ladies’ Twenty~4 in 1999, the brand declared that this was what women wanted in a watch – the perfect blend of form and function.

The release was the result of five years of research and as many as forty prototypes and was a marked departure from Patek Philippe’s standard women’s watches. First crafted in enduring steel, it was inspired by the men’s Gondolo watch of 1993 and offered a feminine alternative. It was the brand’s first true women’s watch collection, rather than a feminised afterthought of a men’s collection, and its name was an acknowledgement of the multi-faceted, 24-hour life of the modern woman.

Patek Philippe has had a long history of making watches for women. Queen Victoria was famously impressed by the company’s innovative timepieces with a keyless winding system at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851; she chose a powder-blue, diamond-set pocket watch for herself. In 1868, Patek Philippe created the first Swiss wristwatch for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary and in 1916, the company produced the first complicated ladies’ wristwatch with a five-minute repeater.

Still, the release of the Twenty~4 collection was a milestone for the company. The Art Deco-inspired rectangular shape of the watch and the manchette cuff spoke to the tastes of the time and the design of the piece allowed it to be worn for every occasion from morning to night. The case was set with 36 diamonds framing the sides of the dial and the winding crown was set with an onyx. The dial, too, had 10 diamond hour markers, accompanied by VI and XII Roman numerals. With an easy-to-maintain quartz movement, it gave credence to the modern woman’s busy life. It was restrained, yet abundant in fine detail; elegant and feminine, yet practical and powerful – much like the women who wear it.

Now, in the most recent addition to the collection, Patek Philippe has revised the original art-deco model with two new steel versions and a rose gold version. In the new design, the Roman numerals have given way to the numbers 12 and 6 applied in white gold, and the diamond hour markers have been replaced by white gold trapeze-shaped markers. The dial comes in sunburst blue or a grey-to-black gradation for the steel and a chocolate brown for the rose gold, and the hour markers and the hands have a luminous coating – a nod to the day-to-night functionality of the watch. Like the original, the left and right sides of the case are set with 36 diamonds, totalling just under a half carat.

This most recent re-interpretation of the Twenty~4 confidently walks the line between classically feminine details and contemporary functionality – another important milestone in the brand’s journey of creating timeless watches for women.

The Hour Glass is the ultimate destination for luxury timepieces, renowned for its customer service and carefully curated stable of watches, with Patek Philippe available in boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Not only is the French high-jewellery house known for meticulous attention to detail, Cartier is also credited for revolutionising the way both jewellery and watches are constructed, worn and loved.

When jeweller Louis-François Cartier founded the company in 1847, no-one could foresee it would become one of the most sought-after brands of the 20^th and 21^st century. Cartier took over the workshop of his jewellery master against the dramatic backdrop of the tumultuous French Revolution; a time when beautiful jewellery wasn’t on the top of the shopping lists for French aristocrats.

However, as with most good business decisions, timing is everything, and Cartier’s timing was impeccable. Just as the dawn of the so-called ‘Spectacular Second Empire’ appeared a few years later, an indulgent period of living began in Paris. The grand boulevards were created, opulent parties were held, ball gowns were handmade and jewellery took centerstage.

In the decades that followed this belle epoch, Cartier’s sons and grandsons took the burgeoning brand to new elevated heights in Paris, before expanding to London and New York, slowly becoming the global powerhouse of style that it is today.

Along the way, Louis-François’s grandson, Louis, showed an impressive gift for precision and preempting future trends. Louis also introduced using platinum to set jewellery (challenging to work he created special hard platinum that was easier to use and both lighter and stronger than gold and silver). He also created the first wristwatch.

At the time, in the early 1900s, the pocket watch was standard, however, inspired by early air travel, Louis created the first watch for pilots, dubbed the Santos de Cartier. For ease of access, it was secured around the wrist and sported a streamlined square face.

Since then, Cartier has continued to create truly iconic pieces of cult jewellery and watchmaking designs, coveted by royalty, celebrities, sporting stars and lovers of style alike.

Their latest campaign, The Culture of Design, honors that legacy by highlighting seven instantly recognisable collections; Tank, Trinity, Juste un Clou, Santos, Love, Panthère and Ballon Bleu. These seven iconic pieces focus on Cartier’s four famous principles of creation: the purity of the line, the accuracy of the shape, the precision of proportions, and the precious details.

Two signature designs highlighted are the famous Tank watch and the iconic Love bracelet.

With a watch face design resembling an aerial view of a tank, Louis Cartier drew his vision from the Renault tanks used on the Western Front during the First World War. The balance between the lines and shape of this watch allows for the watch face to morph from the square of the Santos de Cartier to a rectangle shape with Roman numerals, allowing for a sleek design with a clean silhouette. Since its debut in 1917, the tank watch collection – with its fine details and revolutionary design – has adorned the wrists of style icons, such as Rudolph Valentino, Cary Grant, President John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana, and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Created by designer Aldo Cipullo in 1969 at a time when jewellery was chosen to accompany an outfit, the Love bracelet was designed to be worn at all times; even while naked. Controversially modelled on medieval chastity belts, the Love bracelet became a way for the wearer to show the world they were ‘taken’. Adorned with small screws, similar to those from the bezel of the Santos de Cartier watch, the bracelet can only be removed with a matching, equally beautifully designed screwdriver.

Cartier famously gifted bracelets to some of the most well-known couples of their time, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen and The Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Since then the Love bracelet has grown in popularity with loyalists stacking several on their wrists at once, collecting the design in yellow, rose and white gold, and even in variations studded with diamonds.