Once Upon a Time

Tutti Frutti

Though de Grisogono’s Grappoli watches are meant to evoke grapes in the vineyard, founder Fawaz Gruosi didn’t limit himself to nature’s red and green. Instead, he decked them out in briolettes of blue or orange sapphires, amethysts, and emeralds—each offered in limited editions of 10. Like the fruit they celebrate, they’re beautiful by the bunch.

Though de Grisogono watches, prices upon request, degrisogono.com

Photograph by Philippe Palma.

Golden Moments

Megacarats paired with 18 karat rose gold always looks fresh, especially on Cartier’s effervescent Ballon Blanc and Piaget’s Rose Passion. The latter is lavished with neoclassical laurels inspired by the home Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais shared with Napoleon Bonaparte.

Cartier watch, price upon request, cartier.com. Piaget watch, price upon request, piaget.com.

Photograph by Stephanie Dinkel.

Casting Pearls

If Mom’s double strand isn’t your jam, this trio of time-pieces with mother-of-pearl dials adds luster without stuffy associations. Omega used a technique called ramolayage to create images of butterflies in flight; Dior Timepieces designed a radiant sundial; and Boucheron’s silvery number has a pansy, the flower the late Frédéric Boucheron used to send to his wife.

Omega watch, $12,200, Omega, New York, 212.207.3333. Dior watch, price upon request, dior.com. Boucheron watch, price upon request, neimanmarcus.com.

Photographs courtesy of the designers and Getty Images.

Seeing Signs

Those who feel an affinity with their celestial sign can now literally wear it on their sleeve, thanks to Van Cleef & Arpels’s Poetry of Time collection. The Lady Arpels Zodiac models feature delicately rendered astro-logical images like Taurus and Pisces in diamonds and enamel. Horoscopes not included.

Van Cleef & Arpels watches, prices upon request, vancleefarpels.com.

Photographs courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels and Getty Images.