I wrote about these watches individually on Luxist.com but wanted to discuss the Boucheron Bestiary Ronde Seconds Folle collection as a whole here. I had a distinct thought when I first saw this collection. It took me back to being a child at Disney Land here in California. Disney had (and I don’t know if they do anymore) the ability to create a distinct type of fantasy character often via anthropomorphic with the ability to create a fond sense of some type of ambiguous nostalgia. In a nutshell, that means classic Disney cartoon characters have a way of making you feel good and friendly, and you are not always sure why. I see a bit of of this sentiment in these cartoon-like animal character in the Boucheron Bestiary collection (really they could have used a better term that bestiary – seriously not friendly enough a term, plus we are talking about only three animals).
This is especially evident in the frog and the owl. Is there not something a bit Disney-esque about them? Then there is what you cannot see in the images, the “crazy seconds” eye of the latter two models or the flying…fly of the Chameleon model. If you aren’t familiar with the watches, here is what that is. Inside the watches is an exclusive Girard Perregaux GP 4000 automatic movement that has a small disc for the subsidiary seconds as opposed to a hand. This disc is used as the left eye on the frog or the owl (and the fly) which means that the pupil will be seen to spin around – like a googly eye. I get a reminder of the animatronic characters on Disney Land rides that had such simple movements I recall enjoying being able to spot as a child while in a boat surrounded by water and theme music.
Maybe you agree with me, have no idea what I am talking about, or just don’t see it. Regardless you have to enjoy the bright friendly colors used and the different application of luxury in these women’s watches. Though at 42mm wide, a daring man could sport any of the Bestiary Ronde Seconde Folle collection watches withouth it looking petite on his wrist. There will be the girly colors to deal with though. With cases made of 18k gray gold, and use of a universe of precious stones including many diamonds, there are serious luxury jewelry watches. Still, there is such a tender and simple tone that is easy to appreciate about the watches.
I see the choice of having two styles for each model interesting. It is as though Boucheron watches a crazy seconds watch, and a crazier seconds watch. The choice seems simple. The designers originally had a serious vision with a whole scene for the dial. Someone decided that the “scene” approach was too much, so there was a more sober model crafted for a more practical daily wear. The models with the dial design flowing onto the bezel captures the character and the environment. You can consider it one of those metaphors about being “outside of the box,” but it is really a way of imbuing the most amount of character into the watch collection – the passion of the designer showing through. All made possible by the land of luxury where these things can be done because price is much less of an issue.
What type of woman would wear these watches? Certainly not ever type of woman. I am not here to predict who would wear it, but I think it is clear that these watches are not for everyone, and that is likely how Boucheron likes it. Me too, because the richness of the watch world has room for models that some lust for and others loathe. Aside from the gray gold cases and many types of jewels the watches have either satin, galuchat (sting ray) straps. Overall, I appreciate this Boucheron ladies’ watch collection because it is able to be humorous about luxury. This is not the first time that Boucheron has had a Bestiary collection, or that they have does animals mixed with jewelry. But the humor is there and so is the fantasy. So I like these watch. Check out the invidiual articles for more information about each model via my Luxist articles here:
–Boucheron Chameleon Ronde Seconde Folle Watch
-Boucheron Frog Ronde Seconde Folle Watch
-Boucheron Owl Ronde Seconde Folle Watch
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