G by Glenn Spiro unveils first timepiece: the Reveal secret watch
Glenn Spiro is feeling uncharacteristically nervous. Anyone who has visited his salon in Mayfair and watched him talk potential clients through his extraordinary offering of jewellery will know him only as hugely confident in his fantastical and highly imaginative gems.
But a decision to branch out into the world of horology sees a more reflective side. “Of course it’s exciting,” he says when discussing his first watch, the Reveal, “but we’re a bit nervous. It’s a whole other parallel business and we’re the new kid on the block.”
As it turns out Spiro has nothing to worry about. Loyal customers (of which there are many) will undoubtedly recognise Reveal as a progression from the similarly entitled ring that Spiro’s brand, G, launched six years ago, composed of a closed flower bud that on twisting opens to reveal an inner gemstone.
And now that same mechanism has been utilised to create a secret watch; on twisting the outer eight petals of a lotus flower, the inner eight petals ingeniously part to reveal a dial inside.
Five different versions will be made, two in rose and white gold with diamonds, the other three in a signature material for Spiro – titanium.
Known for its lightness and strength (perfect qualities for jewellery), Spiro is also known for colouring titanium so that the metal’s palette becomes an integral design component to the creation.
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Here red, green and blue titanium are accompanied by pavé-set rubies, emeralds and white diamonds respectively, the edges of the metal petals or segments as crisp and exact as an origami bloom.
A staggering number of gemstones are used to cover each petal both inside and out, including the dial and the bezel: 2,170 in the blue titanium and white diamond version, so it’s no surprise that each watch takes around three months to complete. And it’s partly for these reasons that production will be limited.
“Everything is crafted entirely in-house,” says Spiro (not including the ETA quartz movement), “so we don’t have the capability to make so many. But I’m very excited to see them worn.” And is this just the start of more watches from G?
“Let’s see how it goes,” he laughs, “as with everything we do it takes clients with the courage of their convictions to buy from us. Mind you,” he adds, “having said that I’ve got a couple of other designs up my sleeve already.” Watch this space.
Reveal, limited to 25 of each edition, will launch exclusively at Harrods in March 2018