backes & Strauss COLLABORATIONS
royal appointment
The British luxury watch house, Backes & Strauss, is delighted to announce its partnership with His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent. Prince Michael has been interested to learn of the rich history of Backes & Strauss and the unique skills required to make their very high-end timepieces. This partnership reflects the HRH’s continued support of the excellence in British craftsmanship.
“I had the pleasure of meeting the Chief Executive of Backes & Strauss, Vartkess Knadjian, at an event in London, where he asked me if I would consider becoming their brand ambassador. After learning more about the history, heritage and the craftsmanship behind the brand and seeing the timepieces in person, I was more than happy to accept. My initial thoughts about Backes & Strauss were reinforced when I visited their workshops in Geneva.”
Prince Michael’ Visit to the Watchland
About HRH Prince Michael of Kent
His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO, was born on 4th July 1942 at his family home in Iver, Buckinghamshire. He was christened Michael George Charles Franklin, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt as one of his godfathers. His father, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was the fourth son of the King George V and his mother, Princess Marina, was the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and of Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia. Prince Michael is a cousin to both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and was a page at their wedding.
Prince Michael entered the Royal Military Academy in January 1961 and currently holds the following military positions: He is Honorary Vice Admiral, Royal Naval Reserve; Honorary Commodore, Maritime Reserves; Honorary Air Marshal, Royal Air Force Benson; Royal Honorary Colonel, Honourable Artillery Company; Senior Colonel, Kings Royal Hussars and Colonel-in-Chief, Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, Canada.
The Prince is fluent in Russian and French and has a working knowledge of German and Italian. He has led delegations of British businessmen to Russia, China and India. He is a patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and also serves on the Advisory Boards of a number of International funds and companies. The Prince also supports International charities, institutes, trade associations and health organisations.
ROYAL KENT COLLECTION
As part of Prince Michael’s collaboration with Backes & Strauss; Backes & Strauss are pleased to present the Royal Kent Collection. This series of timepieces is based on the iconic oval-shaped Regent collection, which is also Prince Michael’s favourite amongst our array of designs.
For the men’s collection, we took the most powerful elements from HRH’s Coat of Arms and set them in a dark blue dial. For the ladies’ collection, the mother-of-pearl dial will be set with diamonds and feature Prince Michael’s wife’s Coat of Arms. Both these collections are the result of our continued passion in craftsmanship.
Press Lunch of the Royal Kent Collection with HRH Prince Michael of Kent at the Aman in Tokyo
Collaboration with HRH Princess Michael of Kent
Backes & Strauss is delighted to announce the release of The Vitesse Collection of watches in collaboration with Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Michael of Kent. Inspired by HRH’s lifelong passion and knowledge for the plight of Cheetah’s across the African continent, these exclusive watches show Backes & Strauss at its creative best while supporting vital efforts to preserve this extraordinary species.
“Time is of the essence to protect what remains of the worldwide Cheetah population, which currently sits at around 7,000 and continues to decline, I am especially passionate about this collaboration as it will raise awareness of the situation and benefit the Endangered Species Centre in South Africa and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.”
HRH’s interest in Cheetah dates back to her childhood in Mozambique, where she raised an orphaned cheetah cub named Vitesse, whom she hand-reared and later released into the wild after teaching her to survive on her own.
These experiences were the subject of 2017 autobiographical book A Cheetah’s Tale, which also explored the incredible bonds between animals and humans. The Princess also currently serves as the Royal Patron for both the benefitting organizations.
“This collaboration with HRH is the latest extremely exciting project for Backes & Strauss, as well as giving us the opportunity to produce stunning and unique timepieces, it will also help raise urgently needed funds to support conservation projects aimed at saving these beautiful cats from extinction.”
the vitesse collection
The launch Vitesse Collection showcases several ‘Métiers d'art’ dials with hand painted cheetahs on enamel, mother-of-pearl, silk and green jade. There is also a dial with hand engraved cheetahs on a mother of pearl background. In addition there is an creative bezel set with Natural vivid yellow and black diamonds mimicking the skin pattern of the Cheetah.
THE REGENT DIAMOND JUBILEE
Masters of Diamonds since 1789, Backes & Strauss London have created the "Diamond Jubilee Watch Collection" to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee (1952-2012) of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This celebratory launch was held at the British Ambassador's residence, courtesy of HM Ambassador to Japan, Sir David Warren, during the visit to Japan of Mr Vartkess Knadian, the Backes & Strauss Group CEO.
The "Diamond Jubilee Collection", conceived and crafted to celebrate the sixty year reign of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth Il, is a Limited Edition Collection of only 60 pieces. The case of each piece is engraved "1952-2012" with a year from HM's reign as the serial number. The back of each watch is open and through the sapphire glass you will see the decorated movement, the back is engraved "Queen's Diamond Jubilee".
REGENT DIAMOND JUBILEE 4047
RE4047MAD2R.WG.DJ
Limited to 20 pcs
Size: 40x47 mm
Movement: Automatic, Platinum Rotor
Case: 18kt White Gold, 140 white diamonds, 4.40cts
Dial: Purple dial, diamond set Roman numerals, 79 diamonds, 0.25cts
Bracelet: Alligator leather strap
Buckle: 30 diamonds, 0.30cts
Crown: The Jewel in the Crown, 0.09cts
Display: Hour, Minutes & Seconds
Total carats: 250 diamonds, 5.04cts
All brilliant cut diamonds set on Backes & Strauss are Ideal Cut diamonds unless stated otherwise.
A stunning feature of this unique collection is the beautiful dial plate in royal purple with the English rose motif, the floral emblem of England. The Roman numerals LX, for 60, are placed at the 12 o'clock position to symbolise the Diamond Jubilee, and all indexes are hand set with diamonds.
The watches from this historic collection are set with the Royal Cypher (HM The Queen's monogram), the use of which was kindly given by the Lord Chamberlain's Office at Buckingham Palace. This Royal seal of approval, given to the world's oldest diamond company Backes & Strauss, is testament to the esteem in which this brand is held and has been since 1789.
