Long, swishy sautoirs have been swinging back into fashion over the past three or four years, and several luxury watch brands—mainly maisons that also create jewelry, like Cartier, Bulgari, and Piaget—have been embracing the style by adding watches to their designs. Chanel makes the trend its own with its signature iconography, which this year focuses on beauty products. Three new sautoirs include an onyx lipstick case (Kiss Me) that opens to reveal a watch dial; an amulet-style pendant with a special take on the evil eye motif that depicts the heavily made up eye of Mademoiselle herself (Protect Me); and a Talisman sautoir with rubellite cabochons and five pink tourmalines arranged in the Byzantine motif that Gabrielle Chanel loved, in shades of blush and lipstick (Give Me Luck). All three are secret watches; the first is hidden in a lipstick case on Kiss Me, while time is read on the flip side of the others. Métiers d’art include lacquering, and grand feu enamel along with diamond setting. They hang on gold chains with stations of onyx and diamonds. The movements are quartz.
From the article by Paige Reddinger, Oren Hartov, Victoria Gomelsky, Carol Besler, Justin Fenner
