Great British Brands 2019 - Haute Horlogerie and Joallerie

'Diamonds and watchmaking expertise collide to create haute horlogerie'

Discover the latest watch releases of British luxury watch brand: Piccadilly 45 King Tourbillon Watch, Berkeley 43 King Tourbillon Watch and Piccadilly Renaissance Ballerina Rainbow Watch.

“ This year Backes & Strauss is proud to celebrate two major horological feats: the evolution of its jewellery watches and its continued focus on haute horlogerie. Both bear witness to the “Meeting of Masters”, when a diamond polisher and setter sets to work with a great watchmaker to create a masterpiece, both united in their passion for mathematical precision and beauty.

Backes & Strauss’s continued quest to translate its savoir-faire of diamonds and jewellery into exquisite timepieces has led to the expansion of its Piccadilly Renaissance Ballerina collection with two new creations: the Ballerina Jonquil and Ballerina Rainbow. Both visually create a dance of time, from the white, colourless and yellow diamonds of the Ballerina Jonquil to the Ballerina Rainbow’s multicolour sapphires, which create seamless waves of colour in an intense gradient and culminate in the dial’s majestic allure.

While pushing the boundaries of jewellery watchmaking. Backes & Strauss has passed another horological milestone with its third generation of specially made tourbillon timepieces, the Piccadilly 45 and the Berkeley 43 King Tourbillons, with every tourbillon visible from the cut-away dial. In a subtle nod to Backes & Strauss diamond know-how, every tourbillon is decorated with a Backes & Strauss signature arrows motif, inspired by the hearts and arrows pattern visible on an Ideal Cut diamond through a loupe.

The open back case reveals the rotor of the automatic tourbillon movement, engraved with the London skyline, a reminder of the brand’s British legacy and heritage.
That very British essence is the fil rouge running through the brand’s DNA and Backes & Strauss’s main collection is named after three London landmarks. The smooth, oval curves of Regent Street can be found in the Regent collection, the square-shaped Berkeley collection is aptly named after Berkeley Square and the round-shaped Piccadilly collection is you guessed it.- inspired by Piccadilly Circus.

London’s architecture might have been non existent were it not for the British royal family. In the 19th century the Prince Regent, later King George the IV, commissioned huge swathes of London to be redesigned by major architects like John Nash. Backes & Strauss has continuously celebrated the British Royal family, from its famed Victoria collection to the 2012 Diamond Jubilee series, feting Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne. After all the notion of luxury - or meta-luxury today - dates back to the kings and queens of past centuries who would challenge the best craftsmen in the land to create bespoke masterpieces of the highest quality- be it a painting, a crown or even a throne.

Today Backes & Strauss is delighted to announce the recent appointment of HRH Prince Micheal of Kent, as Royal Ambassador. In addition to visiting key markets and participating in special events, Prince Micheal will help to design a limited collection of timepieces, which will be available towards the end of 2019, and help the brand to continue supporting excellence in British craftsmanship.”