Simply Abu Dhabi XXXIV

1 5 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I G raff has operated at the very pinnacle of the high jewellery industry for over 50 years and the company’s towering expertise lies in discovering and crafting diamonds of brilliance and rarity, transforming the hidden wonders of the earth into spectacular pieces of jewellery that move the heart and stir the soul. Graff was founded by Laurence Graff OBE in 1960 and the company remains a family business with Francois Graff as CEO and two further family members directing design, merchandising and production. The company is vertically integrated, so it manages every stage of the jewellery making process, from the sourcing of each rough stone, through to the cutting, polishing and setting of each piece. With the GyroGraff Endangered Species collection, Graff’s master craftsmen have accomplished one of the most ambitious projects in the history of Graff Watches. The series of five piece-unique watches all feature dials set with precious stones and gold, hand-finished with diamond-marquetry – a technique pioneered by Graff. The five dials depict either an elephant, a tiger, a panda, a gorilla or a rhino – all five of which are listed by the World Wildlife Fund as being under threat. The animals are created from a combination of polished metal parts and precious stones, each of which is unique in size, weight and cut. These are individually set into the dial by hand to create the form of each animal. The dials require careful, detailed planning and the process starts with artistic drawings of the dials, with openings for the GyroGraff’s signature double-axis tourbillon and spherical moon phase complications, and with space for a power reserve indicator at 1 o’clock. Skilled craftsmen and highly experienced engineers then work together to create detailed technical drawings that break the dials down into the individual components that will come together to create the final form. The number of individual dial components depends on the design – the gorilla has the most at 139, the elephant has 135, the tiger 127, and the panda 112. The dials feature between three and six larger mounts depending on the piece, each of them unique. Each gold mount then holds a number of white or black gold ‘plaquettes’, or small plates. Each plaquette carries a number that can only be seen under a microscope and that corresponds to the gold part or stone created specifically for it. It is the gem- setters’ job to match these up during assembly, where there is no room for error. The first layer applied to the dial is a background made of sparkling midnight blue aventurine. The animal form is then built up, piece-by-piece, using the mounts, the plaquettes and the decorative elements: diamonds, pieces made of polished rhodium-plated white gold or matte or micro-blasted black gold, and, only in the case of the tiger, cognac sapphires. Some of the pieces are tiny. For example, the polished gold cabochon that becomes the elephant’s eye is a mere 0.9mm in diameter. The result is five astonishing works of art, each a pure expression of métiers d’art, a gem-setting masterclass. The five watches share the same high-end, hand-wound calibre. The GyroGraff’s trio of complications is a watchmaking first, carrying a dizzying double-axis tourbillon, a spherical moon phase and a power reserve indicator. The three-dimensional white-gold moon phase complication at 10 o’clock is an artistic tour de force in its own right. It is hand engraved, creating a true-to-life map of the lunar surface’s craters. The black cover representing the shadow of the Earth advances twice a day and completes a full rotation over a period of 29.5 days, poetically relaying the phase of the moon. The watch also has a 65-hour power reserve indicated at 1 o’clock alongside Graff’s diamond-set icon at 12 o’clock. Each of the five Endangered Species models has a 48mm white-gold case. The case is decorated with invisible mosaic-set baguette-cut diamonds, and each watch comes on a black alligator strap with a diamond-set deployment clasp buckle. The Graff GyroGraff Endangered Species is a landmark Graff collection, each piece a stunning celebration of Graff’s mastery of métiers d’art and the magnificent creatures depicted.