The Eternal Dance of Light: How Gems Transform Time into Art

Colour, when mastered, becomes its own language in high jewellery watchmaking – and few express it as beautifully as Bvlgari. In its latest Polychroma high-end watch collection, the Roman jeweller turns hue and form into an exuberant dialogue between gem and gold.

It begins with the Nuvole Preziose Pendant Watch, an ethereal creation that took more than 1,500 hours to complete. At its heart glows a 6.88-carat cushion-cut yellow sapphire, encircled by a constellation of diamonds, sapphires, and tourmalines – a golden sun amid a bejewelled sky. From there, the narrative shifts to the Notte Stellata Diva Watch, where a dome dial depicts a miniature cosmos. Diamond moons and yellow diamond fireflies dance among blue sapphire stars, each stone meticulously chosen to capture the romance of a night under Mediterranean skies.

Adding to this spectacle is the Gioco di Forme e Colori Secret Watch, whose detachable brooch conceals its dial beneath a 12.34-carat cushion-cut tanzanite. Golden rays radiate from its centre, giving way to a joyful cascade of emeralds, sapphires, rubies, garnets, tsavorites, amethysts, aquamarines, rubellites, spessartites and more – all cut in a variety of shapes to create an ever-changing play of light. Crafted in white and rose gold and powered by Bvlgari’s miniature Piccolissimo mechanical movement, it is as much a feat of watchmaking as it is a triumph of jewellery design. Matching stones by cut, colour and size, while ensuring structural integrity, is a challenge only few workshops like Bvlgari can master – one that elevates these creations to the highest tier of gem-setting artistry.

The technical mastery needed to cut and set precious stones in watches is one of high horology’s most demanding disciplines. H. Moser & Cie.’s Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Rainbow achieves this with 60 baguette-cut sapphires arranged in a double gradation – first by colour to create a seamless rainbow, then by size to mirror the Streamliner case’s signature cushion profile. Each sapphire is invisibly set, allowing the colours to flow in a seamless gradient as fluid as light itself. Meanwhile, Chopard’s novel crown-setting technique, applied to its L’Heure du Diamant timepieces, maximises brilliance through V-shaped prongs designed by Karl Scheufele. This method supports diamonds like invisible lacework that allows for maximum light reflection.

Let’s not forget Franck Muller, which boasts its own patented Curvex Cut gemstone – a unique elongated, gently arched silhouette that mirrors the independent Swiss watchmaker’s signature tonneau-shaped case. Introduced in 2003, this cut exemplifies how innovation can enhance tradition. With 73 precisely polished facets – 37 on the crown and 36 on the pavilion – the Curvex Cut is engineered to maximise light reflection far beyond that of conventional brilliant or step cuts. The result is a gemstone that appears to glow from within, its curvature capturing and refracting light in a continuous ribbon of brilliance. In its newly launched Vanguard Curvex Cut Flower timepiece, these gems, including rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, form vivid petals that bloom across the skeletonised dial.

Some gem-set watches do more than dazzle; they choreograph a dance between movement, light, and the passage of time. Cartier‘s stunning Tressage line demonstrates how geometric precision can create organic beauty. Two twists of gold and diamonds flank a rectangular dial, alternating smooth yellow gold with pavé diamonds in a visual play of volume, texture, and light.

Franck Muller‘s Round Triple Mystery carries this idea into a celestial realm, using diamonds to mark the path of three rotating discs that display hours, minutes, and seconds. Each disc turns independently, creating a hypnotic dance where time itself appears to shimmer and shift.