It’s not uncommon to find a luxury watch that doubles as a piece of jewelry—indeed, many of the most spectacular ladies’ timepieces are bejeweled bracelets that happen to keep time—but to find a jewelry collection that takes its aesthetic cues from the inner workings of a watch is rare to the point of being singular.
That’s the premise behind Florentine jewelry designer Carolina Bucci’s newest K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple) collection, which includes two flexible 18-karat gold bracelets and an 18-karat gold necklace, all available in yellow, pink, white, black or brown gold.
Inspired by the coiled mechanism of a watch’s balance spring—which controls the oscillation rate of the balance wheel at the heart of the escapement, thus regulating the speed at which the hands revolve around the dial—the collection is the result of Bucci’s four-year relationship with Audemars Piguet.
Carolina Bucci Kiss Collection Courtesy of Carolina Bucci
In 2016, on the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak for women, designed by Jacqueline Dimier in 1976, the watchmaker asked Bucci for her take on the horological icon. She adapted her signature frosted gold technique—which relies on diamond-tipped tools to create tiny sparkling indentations on the surface of the metal—to the watch bracelet, and a new icon was born.
Carolina Bucci Frosted Royal Oak watch Photo: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet
Two years later, the collaboration yielded the Royal Oak Frosted Gold Carolina Bucci Limited Edition, made in 300 pieces and featuring a unique mirror dial.
As of this month, the new K.I.S.S. pieces are available at the AP Houses in London, Hong Kong and Barcelona as well as the AP boutiques in Dallas and Nagoya, Japan, marking the first time another brand has been stocked at either the houses or boutiques.
Carolina Bucci Kiss Collection Courtesy of Carolina Bucci
“When she showed us her new K.I.S.S collection and told us that her inspiration came from the work of our watchmakers, it made complete sense,” Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias said in a statement. “We loved the gold threads that recall parts of our watch movements and we understand how they shape Carolina’s bracelets. The pure simplicity of her design definitely speaks to us.”
