Attention: if you just take a casual glance at Fabergé’s Lady Levity you will probably miss it.
You will be so busy taking in all of the details of this incredibly interesting watch dial that you will overlook something right in front of your nose as your eye caresses the 18-karat pink gold case, the shimmering mother-of-pearl on most of the dial, and the unusual sun and moon shapes of the gold hands peeking out from behind the large circle in the center of the dial.
It is only when you step back and look carefully that the full artistic complexity of the dial is revealed: the just barely discernible man-in-the-moon motif at the center of Lady Levity’s dial.
Fabergé Lady Levity
The platinum man in the moon
This man in the moon is a lot more than you think it is. It is the result of a technique that has never before been used this way in the world of watchmaking: the technician “prints” platinum onto a domed sapphire crystal that is topped off by white mother-of-pearl to get that vaguely cloudy imagery.
Fabergé Lady Levity
As you can see, the intended effect is that you don’t see the face right off. And even more surprising: the way this unique technique is created means that the client can specify his or her own design for this space, provided it fits the dimensions of the corundum “canvas.”
And this means that while some people may love the reticent man in the moon, those that may prefer another motif can actually have it. Yes, this watch is customizable according to its wearer’s taste.
Fabergé Lady Levity: sometimes you see the reticent man in the moon, sometimes you don’t
This design is also worth mentioning as it was inspired by a silver-plated enamel and rock crystal desk clock created by Fabergé workmaster Henrik Wigström in Saint Petersburg around 1910. Fabergé’s head of watches, Aurélie Picaud, is always sifting through archives looking for inspiration for her playful timepieces among the old clocks and objets d’art of this company’s long and illustrious history.
Fabergé Lady Levity
And with a large rock crystal man-in-the-moon taking up the center of attention even back then, Fabergé found it impossible to utilize traditional, centrally mounted hands on the wristwatch it inspired. The original clock also utilized indicators around its periphery instead of conventional hands – an element that has been recreated here by modern Fabergé workmaster Jean-Marc Wiederrecht of Agenhor.
Fabergé Lady Levity
This is the same movement and technique, by the way, that is found in the Fabergé Lady Libertine I (see Fabergé & Gemfields’s Vertical Integration Results In Colorfully Synergistic Lady Libertine I).
Unique mechanics
A magical dial and elegantly sculptured hands deserve much more than an off-the-rack movement; Wiederrecht has in fact developed a completely new movement allowing for the central element, which might be artistic, technical, architectural, or a blend of all three.
An exclusive and specially developed Caliber AGH 6911 movement powers the Fabergé Lady Levity
The playful elements have been transposed to the 36 mm pink gold Lady Levity by Wiederrecht, whose Caliber AGH 6911 accommodates the stylized indicators in the form of a crescent moon (hours) and a rising sun (minutes). These revolve around an otherwise quite classic mother-of-pearl dial.
A view through the display back of the Fabergé Lady Levity reveals the beautifully finished Caliber AGH 6911 movement within
Like the man in the moon, which is only visible to the observer from certain angles, the new caliber will only please and surprise aficionados of mechanical watchmaking. But everyone else will be captivated by this beautiful watch no matter the reason for the attracting and, of course, overjoyed that it keeps such lovely and accurate time.
Fabergé Lady Levity
For more information please see www.faberge.com/products/1688_faberge-lady-levity.
Quick Facts
Case: 36 x 12.07 mm, pink gold
Movement: manually winding Agenhor Caliber AGH 6911 with 50-hour power reserve
Dial: white mother-of-pearl with printed platinum and sapphire crystal centerpiece
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: 21,000 Swiss francs
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
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[…] & Heure d’Ailleurs, the award-winning Fabergé Lady Compliquée, Visionnaire DTZ, and Lady Levity, the award-winning Hermès Slim d’Hermès QP and Temps Suspendu, and most recently the Hermès […]
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[…] Wiederrecht’s Caliber AGH 6911 accommodates stylized minute and hour indicators in the form of waves, which revolve around a raised element from the. You might recognize these features from 2016’s exquisite Lady Levity (see Fabergé’s Lady Levity Combines Original Mechanics With Unique Design). […]
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Amazing. Love the dial, love the movement. Faberge, and Agenhor, have been hitting the nail on the head of late, as they say!