Simply Abu Dhabi XX

9 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I O pting for something created by one of the most universally admired and prestigious brands in the world is a good start when cogitating over what to buy the woman you love for a festive season gift. Two choices that would surely trigger delight are the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Perpetual Calendar and the Rendez-Vous Tourbillon Night & Day. Beginning with the Perpetual Calendar, this sophisticated watch achieves a seamless blend of watchmaking tradition and elegant refinery. With the romantic notion of eternal time at its heart, the watch combines a perpetual calendar with indication of the whole year in four figures, including moon phases. The watch is powered by a Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 868 automatic movement, which is presented through the sapphire crystal caseback to display its eye- catching complexity. The pure design codes are perfectly representative of the Grande Maison in this elegant 37.5mm watch, with the four sub-dials creating an immutable sense of harmony. The sub-dials display the perpetual calendar indications with the day of the week at 9 o’clock, the date at 3 o’clock and the month at 6 o’clock. The number of the year in progress appears through a window at 7 o’clock, and that perfect balance is accomplished with the moon-phase sub-dial at 12 o’clock. The silver-toned dial is delicately guilloché-worked with a sunburst motif; and if all this wasn’t irresistible enough, just to be extra-sure, the bezel is set with brilliant-cut diamonds and the crown topped off with an inverted diamond. The Rendez-Vous Tourbillon Night & Day is an equally sublime work that is the result of centuries of horological expertise. This latest iteration continues the fine heritage of previous Rendez-Vous Tourbillon models, but the new Rendez-Vous Tourbillon Night & Day has foregone the chapter ring from the standard separations between the 1930s-inspired numerals, and in doing so this places more emphasis on the complications. Again the dial is beautifully adorned with guilloche, its rippling effect a poetic vision as of a gentle breeze on a still lake. The dial is lit up by a diamond-studded bezel that befittingly frames the beguiling tourbillon 6 o’clock featuring a case with a new and lighter bridge and balanced by the night and day indication at 12 o’clock. Central powdered gilded dots add further to the refined sense of femininity of this latest version and the entire effect is mesmerising. At the heart of the piece is again a mechanical automatic movement, this time the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978C. Featuring a 22-carat gold oscillating and circular-grained, hand-drawn and decorated bridges that are embellished with a Côtes de Genève motif, this stunning movement is revealed through a 39mm- diameter sapphire crystal caseback which is also adorned with a row of diamonds around the case periphery. Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Perpe tua l Ca l enda r & Rendez-Vous Tourbi l l on Ni ght & Day