In a discreet corner of the WPHH exhibition in Genthod, Backes & Strauss had enough diamonds on display to keep a modest trader in business for a year. But aside from the sheer quantity of stones that the company crams into its timepieces, it is above all their quality that sets them apart from other jewellery cheap replica watches UK.

Take the new, smaller (36mm) Royal Jester model as an example. It is covered with no less than 201 diamonds for a total weight of 15.78 carats, leaving only a modest gap for two rings on the dial to display the hours and minutes beaten out by the mechanical movement. A total of 120 of the stones are in a baguette cut, while the centrepiece is a single DIF diamond of 0.80 carat. “D” is the top of the scale on the GIA diamond colour chart, reserved for colourless stones, while its IF (internally flawless) classification on the clarity scale is just one step away from total perfection.  The new Royal Jester is a unique piece, with further unique pieces using emeralds, rubies and sapphires – all ethically sourced by Backes & Strauss’s partner Gemfields – set to follow later this year.

 

Colour is another one of the four “C”s by which the quality of a diamond is judged. It is also the overriding theme of the new Backes & Strauss Piccadilly Princess Royal Blue, whose name is at first sight misleading. The term “royal blue” is reserved for diamonds of the utmost clarity, since their purity makes them look almost blue to the naked eye, much like the thousand-year old ice of a glacier. This new model plays host to a staggering 245 white diamonds for a total weight of 37.60 carats, wrapping up the brand’s dominance in the third “C” – carats. Backes & Strauss illustrates its mastery of the fourth and final “C”, the cut of a diamond, by presenting a mosaic of ten different diamond cuts on the dial, bezel and bracelet of this stunning piece.

 

Staying with the subject of the cut, William Goldberg, the Manhattan-based diamond company, developed its own ASHOKA® cut that has been patented. It has 62 displayed facets and distinctive rounded corners on the stone. Backes & Strauss is the first company to use such stones in its Royal ASHOKA® Empress model, which was first presented last October.

 

Four remarkable new models in the Renaissance collection come in a choice of 18-carat rose or white gold cases and either a gold link bracelet or diamond-set bracelet. In the latter case, the bracelet alone is set with 737 ideal cut diamonds, with a further 124 or 144 diamonds on the case (two case sizes are available: 32 x 28mm and 28 x 33mm). These models are powered by an ultra-thin manually-wound mechanical movement that allows for a slender 6.1mm case height. A separate 40mm version is available as a unique piece set with 48 baguette cut diamonds and 4 kite diamonds on a rose-gold case with an alligator leather strap.

 

The emphasis on these clearly feminine models is above all on the quality and quantity of their precious stones. Yet Backes & Strauss also presented other new models that clearly appeal to the discerning gentlemen. We will review them soon on WorldTempus.