come for the rehashed ideas, stick around for the gemvomit
kinda embarrassed that I linked the GPHG twice tbh I'll say this: "the butterfly" is archetypal Van Cleef & Arpels, whom I dearly love for a number of reasons: - They started out as a husband-wife team - They have a history of doing some seriously bonkers shit that's also really cool - They have done some real innovation in the past and keep leaning into it - They have created a line of iconic jewelry for nouveau riche and old money alike that they can fabricate for not a whole lot - They brought back automata for the sole purpose of draining the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund. I called 'em up once and said "so are these things like on tour or something because I would like to see them" and they came back with "so sorry, sir, but they were all sold before we created them" which means MBS has some cool shit on his boat I only mention this because during Zoom they started doing classes on gem and jewelry history? And they're free and their enthusiasm is infectious. You are now aware that all that old jewelry that's got white, gold and purple on it? It's a symbol in support of suffrage same as the rainbow flag was gay rights.
Bernhard Lederer 3 Times Certified Observatory Chronometer is beautiful.