The art of watchmaking may be primarily mechanical, but don’t discount for a moment the wide, wondrous world of artistic crafts. The realm of métiers d’art watches, or pieces that feature artisanal techniques, has long been one of watchmaking’s more quietly exciting domains. Innovation and creativity in the service of beauty can yield some truly stupendous designs.
At the 2026 edition of Watches and Wonders in Geneva, there was a wave of artistic designs that pushed, if gently, the boundaries of what watch brands can do when they set their mind to beauty.
Audemars Piguet, for instance, introduced a new collection named the Atelier des Établisseurs that gives it the creative room now to introduce unique timepieces outside of its well-established signature collections like the Royal Oak and Code 11.59. It debuted with a trio of concepts: a portable mini desk clock, a turquoise-and-tiger’s-eye jewel bracelet, and—perhaps the most intriguing—a sculptural peacock secret watch. Entirely surprising, and certainly liberating for a brand that likes to join its stately heritage with a restless, daring sense of creativity.
One other watchmaker that bucked tradition: Patek Philippe, which crafted one of its impressive, fully gem-set haute joaillerie timepieces not with a classical precious gem like emeralds, rubies or sapphires. Instead, Patek Philippe opted for the rare Paraíba tourmaline, one of the most highly desired gemstones of the moment. Paired with baguette diamonds, and contrast stitching matched to the colour of Paraíba tourmalines, it’s a simple change that adds an utterly fresh, au-courant feeling to the brand’s haute joaillerie collections.
The magical thing about métiers d’art watches, though, is that at times the craft itself—not any particularly rare, precious or expensive material—is the star of the show. That’s certainly the case at Chopard, which introduced a new series of straw marquetry watches. The brand has used undyed Burgundy straw, which is carefully and meticulously worked into a honeycomb pattern. The treatment of this humble material elevates into an exclusive level of preciousness all its own.
Here, a look at Vogue’s picks of the most charming artistic craft and jewellery timepieces from 2026.
1 / 7
Piaget Sixtie Cuff
Since introducing its cushion-shaped Sixtie watch last year, Piaget has really leaned into the jewel-timepiece ambiguity of its design. The brand unveiled a high jewellery cuff rendition this year, with radiating layers of pavé diamonds, hand-engraved gold textures, and a mesmerising opal dial that amps up the scale and glamour of the Sixtie.
2 / 7
Patek Philippe ref. 5374/400P-001
Gem-set haute joaillerie watches by Patek Philippe are a sight to behold. This year, the Swiss watchmaker has pushed past classical gems and adorned the new ref. 5374/400P-001 with baguette-cut Paraíba tourmalines, an electric, lagoon-like gemstone that’s rarer even than diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. Because Paraíba tourmalines are so few in the world, it’s only natural that this jewelled beauty is limited to eight pieces.
3 / 7
Myst de Cartier
Cartier looked to the sculptural flamboyance of its ’30s designs to inspire the new Myst, a chimeric blend of timepiece and jewel. Its talismanic ‘bead’ design hides a secret: this is a watch with no clasp. Instead, the bead sections, grain-set with diamonds and decorated with black lacquer, are threaded on a flexible, springy bracelet so you simply need to stretch it open to slip onto a wrist.
4 / 7
Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 - Straw Marquetry Edition
Straw marquetry is a fabulous embodiment of savoir-faire: a humble, ordinary material turned into an object of beauty. Chopard’s new L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 features a marquetry dial crafted from unbleached, uncoloured Burgundy-grown rye straw. Each straw strand is split carefully with the artisan’s fingernails, sliced with a scalpel into minuscule pieces, and spliced into a honeycomb pattern. As a finished dial, humble straw takes on such a luminous sheen you might mistake it for gold.
5 / 7
Audemars Piguet Établisseurs Peacock
Jewellers, enamellers, engravers and watchmakers—a vast range of skills and crafts that went into creating the Établisseurs Peacock by Audemars Piguet. This watch rests on the wrist as an engraved beetle, with wings that unfold and a peacock’s head emerging from a simple push. When it’s opened up, a hand-engraved enamel dial rests between the wings, with a dragging hour display that garnishes this sculptural piece with the time.
6 / 7
Van Cleef & Arpels Ludo Secret
Invented in the ’30s, the Ludo bracelet is a trompe l’oeil jewel by Van Cleef & Arpels that mimics and puts a twist on the belt. It has been a house signature since, and this year the Parisian maison revisits the idea with a new model dressed with blue sapphires. Crafted from yellow gold briquette links, it comes with two jewelled sapphire ‘buckles’ that, when squeezed together, reveal the dial. A subtle sapphire baguette at 12 o’clock indicates which way is up.
7 / 7
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One ‘Sakura’
From one valley to another, Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to nature around the world with its new La Vallée des Merveilles series of capsule collections. This year’s standout: the Reverso One ‘Sakura’ inspired by Hokkaido, with the region’s famed red-crowned crane and a scene of cherry blossoms embodied through champlevé enamel, miniature enamel painting (using absurdly delicate single-hair brushes), and snow-set blue sapphires and diamonds.
The June 2026 ‘Embody’ edition of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands.
