In-Depth: The Baguette-Set Watch Is Having A Full Circle Moment
Ben Clymer has a thing for baguette diamonds. He told me back in April when he showed up to Watches and Wonders wearing his new Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II Diamant. Clymer used his allocation for the most exclusive modern watch in the world – and he went for one with baguette diamonds. So what pushed Clymer to go for gems?
Baguette-set watches sit at the very top of the gem-set watch totem pole. They can be tastefully opulent or outlandishly decadent. There is something undeniably refined about a sprinkling of baguette indices on a mid-century dress watch; the stones are long and slender and expensive – they are the Ingrid Bergman of diamond cuts. There is also the fully baguette-set sport watch, which is somewhere around a level 10 on the Richter scale of gem-set flamboyancy. Bold, uncompromising, perhaps even slightly acrid – it’s Mae West in 1984 walking into Mr Chow LA to a spontaneous standing ovation.
Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II Diamant with baguette indices.
The modern baguette cut was introduced by Cartier in 1912. And, in the following decades, jewelry designers of the Art Deco period employed this type of stone-cutting to emphasize clean lines and geometric shapes. Baguettes were also used to decorate ladies watches in the 1930s as well as indices/hour markers on the dials of men’s pocket watches and wristwatches.
Today, in high-watchmaking, baguettes are the preferred precious-stone cut. From Swiss giants like Patek and Rolex to independents like Jacob & Co. and MB&F, baguette-shaped gems are hot. Most prevalent on sport watches, the popularity (for those who can afford) of baguette-set timepieces is, of course, relative to their very upper-echelons-of-collecting context. Unlike jewelry, watches with baguettes are but a speck in the wider watch universe. Rarity, and economics aside, baguettes are a marvel to look at. So, I implore you, if nothing more, to pore over the images of gem-set watches in this article for a dazzling mental escape.
A Look At Technique
So how did baguettes become the gem cut of choice for storied Swiss watch brands? When compared to round stones, baguettes are favored for their larger surface areas. “The larger surface area enhances the visibility of the stone and brilliance of the color, making the stones appear more prestigious,” explains Pierre Salanitro, whose eponymous Geneva-based company specializes in stone cutting and setting.
Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce ref. 5260/1455R.
Salanitro is frequently called on for gem-setting projects by high-end watchmakers including Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. In 2022, it was announced that Patek had acquired a 40% ownership stake in the firm. Last year, Patek released a Rainbow Aquanaut Luce Minute Repeater ref.5260/1455R set with 130 baguette-cut diamonds (8.66 cts) and 779 multicolored baguette-cut sapphires (45.05 cts) on the dial, bezel, case sides and bracelet using “invisible setting.” Which begs the question: “Why?” The answer, for Patek as well as its peers, could be the same as with ultra high complication work, craftsmanship and simply to say, “we can make this.”
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5719/10G.
Before casting aspersions on gem-set watch consumerism, it’s important to understand that setting precious stones is a craft that deserves respect. “Setting baguette stones is complex and significantly different from setting round stones,” says Salanitro. “The invisible setting technique is particularly challenging as the stones are secured from beneath, with no material visible on the top.”
It makes sense, then, for a high-end manufacturer to lean into this. Craftsmanship that can’t be copied one-for-one by aftermarket gem-setters: Rolex and its Rainbow Daytona, for instance, or Patek and its Nautilus ref. 5719/10G. Is this the Swiss brands’ way of marking a categoric difference between themselves and the aftermarket?
Drake wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5719/10G. Photo: Getty Images
But, the real reason may be basic market economics: “There are very few setters in Switzerland capable of performing this technique, and the number is insufficient to meet the growing demand,” explains Salanitro. A challenge for setters of baguettes is that the process is so laborious and many brands simply do not have the resources to call on those experts. Another compounding factor in limiting supply (again, basic economics) is that the quantities of gems will always be constrained due to the difficulty in sourcing stones of the required quality. Baguettes have fewer facets than other cuts, rendering any inclusions more visible; to avoid this, you need a better quality of rough stone. Ultimately, gem-setting is just another round in what an anonymous industry insider likes to call the “savoir-faire drinking game”; add it to the list of legitimate marketing tools?
Baguettes can be set aftermarket, but it’s a different science to the factory method. “The setting is nothing like pavé, for example. It’s a totally different construction,” says Roy Davidoff, watch dealer, GIA-certified gemologist, and fourth-generation jeweler. “You have to change the entire construction of the watch in order to set a case with baguettes.” Symmetry is almost an impossible feat to achieve if the gem setting isn’t what originally led the design.
Rainbow Royal Oak set of 10 ref. 15514BC, gem-setting done by Salanitro. 18-carat white gold Royal Oak self-winding 41mm set with 861 baguette-cut emeralds (~32 carats).
White gold Royal Oak self-winding in 41 mm, set with 861 baguette-cut orange spessartites (~47,3 carats).
41 mm Royal Oak self-winding is set with 861 baguette-cut pink tourmalines (~35.8 carats).
Likely because of aftermarket modification, gem-set watches have become a symbol of horological deviance amongst collectors and enthusiasts who consider themselves purists. Beyond their aesthetic flair and enormous price tags, gem-set watches can often conjure up an association with iced-out after-market pavé cases, and princess-cut diamond-set bezels. According to the horological cognoscenti, a deviation from anything produced in the factory can only render a watch “lesser than.” These are not politics I subscribe to, but in 2024, they are widely accepted beliefs.
For those who are high-jewelry literate, baguettes-cut stones are, and will always remain, a staple. “We love a long baguette because we know how difficult it is to cut. As the saying goes: ‘you’ve gotta break a lot of eggs to make an omelet, and you’ve gotta break a lot of diamonds to get a really long baguette,'” explained Frank Everett, Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewelry America. “The beauty of the baguette is that they can be used as a sort of tile; you’re paving a piece with a tile as opposed to just setting it with little round diamonds. Filling a space with little round brilliants means you are left filling the negative space with metal. With baguettes you fill the expanse with 100% diamond. It’s just more luxurious.”
Left: Van Cleef & Arpels “Mystery-Set” ruby and diamond clip-brooch (circa 1965), Right: Van Cleef & Arpels earrings set with tapered baguettes. Images: courtesy of Sotheby’s
I asked Everett if the use of baguettes in high-jewelry was ever trend-driven. “Baguettes are a building block,” he said. “They will never not be used because they are essential in creating motifs. You can’t just use round shapes to create designs, you’ve gotta have straight lines.”
The Rise Of Baguette-Setting In Sport Watches
Sport watches with baguette-setting feel like a world away from Van Cleef invisible-set Art Deco brooches. But, their lineage can be traced back to Art Deco design tropes which resurfaced in the ’50s and ’60s at Patek Philippe.
Patek Philippe Ref. 3428. Image: courtesy of John Nagayama
Outside of women’s cocktail watches, the evolution of the use of baguette stones in watch design is evident when looking at Patek’s catalog. “Because a baguette cut diamond is relatively light, they started to be used as indices/hour markers on the dials of men’s pocket watches and wristwatches from the 1930s, and became increasingly popular during the 1950s and 60s onwards,” explains Tania Edwards, co-founder of Collectability. And, if we are to mark a precursor to the modern baguette-set sport watch, then the Patek ref. 3428 aptly fits the bill. Successor to the ref. 2526, it’s what Davidoff describes as a “pre-1972 sport watch,” the self-winding caliber 27-460, water resistant case by Borgel, and overall hard-wearing feel of a 3428 is Patek making a sport watch before they actually made a sport watch. The ultimate 3428 features diamond indices, baguettes at three, six, and nine o’clock.
Patek Philippe ref. 3424/2 by Gilbert Albert in Platinum. Image: courtesy of Antiquorum
“It was not until the 1950s that baguette diamonds were used to decorate men’s watch cases in regular series production,” says Edwards. “When jeweler Gilbert Albert joined Patek Philippe in 1955, the use of precious stones to decorate watches became far more experimental.” Albert’s use of baguette diamonds only added to the audaciously futuristic design of the Asymmetrical collection in the 60s, such as the ref. 3424, which remained consistent with a traditional Art Deco aesthetic given the use of long and thin baguettes.
Patek Philippe ref. 3540 and ref. 3625.
Throughout the 1970s Patek (amongst others) made design-driven baguette-set watches such as the ref. 3540 and ref. 3625. These designs were executed long before the sophisticated setting practices that are commonplace today. “The setting on the ref. 3625 is how you would set a cocktail ring with the one prong holding the stone in,” explained Davidoff over a WhatsApp reply to a slew of images I sent him. “And those tiny emerald cuts on the 3540, well… no two stones on the bezel are properly set. But this is what was acceptable back then, which just shows you how insanely well done the Rolex ref. 6270 was for its time. It’s crazy.” Thanks for the transition, Roy.
Rolex Daytona ref. 6270.
The genesis of gem-set sport watches starts with the Rolex GMT-Master “SARU” ref. 16758 (1980). Technically, this early gem-set Rolex reference uses trapeze cut stones… but these belong in the same family as baguettes. If we are speaking strictly baguettes, then we must look to ref. 6270 (1984) as the true starting point. But, Trapezoid shaped stones go on to be used by Rolex as the cut of choice for the majority of gem-set sport models from the early 2000s. So we’ll keep it in, for argument’s sake. The ’80s saw the rise of a flashy gem-laden aesthetic including gem-set Day-Dates with similar baguette bezel configurations including various Oysterquartz “Octopussy” variants with baguette bezels and center-links.
Rolex GMT-Master “SARU” ref. 16758 (1980). Image: courtesy of The Keystone.
Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date “Meccano” ref. 19168 (1985). Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s
Then, in the 1990s, after the introduction of the automatic Daytona, Rolex took the bejeweled 6270 formula and began a journey that set the standard for the fusion between sport watches and jewelry watches. This coincided and culminated with a larger Rolex brand effort to become a luxury brand as opposed to a “professional” tool watch provider. The Rolex ref. 16568 and following models featured bars at the hour indexes with two baguette stones in between.
“The bars on the bezel were probably used out of necessity, not because they looked good,” explains Eric Ku, the Bay Area-based horological expert and cofounder of online auction platform Loupe This. “If we want to get technical about it, it’s likely due to the fact they had to fit the stones around the circle of a dial. When you do that without the bars it’s hard to set all of them perfectly. There will always be micro variances in the carat weight of each stone as well as slightly different dimensions. I feel like you will easily detect flaws that way. This is a way of masking that, you know?”
Rolex Daytona ref. 16568. Image: courtesy of Amsterdam Vintage Watches
In 2004, Rolex launched the Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116598 SACO, known in collector parlance as the “Leopard.” Likely the most eccentric Rolex watch ever made, it functioned as a colorful precursor to the production series Daytona Rainbows that followed in 2012 and then again in 2018 (itself predated by a pièce-unique Daytona made in 1997 that Ku had previously sold).
Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 4700/6. Image: courtesy of Christie’s
For Patek Philippe, the earliest introduction of baguette diamonds appears to be on the ladies Nautilus sport watch ref. 4700/6 (1984), which would have been made in very limited quantities. While Patek did decorate men’s Nautilus watches with baguettes during the 1980s and early 1990s by special order, the earliest men’s Nautilus decorated with baguette diamonds in regular production does not appear until 1997 on the ref. 3800/130 in either 18K white gold or platinum. Which, again, would have been produced in very low quantities, for obvious cost/demand reasons.
Today, Patek Philippe uses the Aquanaut Luce as a canvas for many of its wilder baguette-set models. While the grenade dial lends itself well to this type of setting, one could argue that it becomes an entirely superficial endeavor by disregarding its principal raison d’être – water-resistance – in favor of showcasing intricate gem-setting.
Possibly unique Patek Philippe Aquanaut Ref. 5063g (1997). Image: courtesy of Christie’s
Audemars Piguet started to use baguettes on the royal oak as early as 1982. One of the first fully iced-out Royal Oak models, ref. 25688, was created as a pièce-unique in 1989. The 39mm platinum Haute Joaillerie model is entirely paved with baguette-cut diamonds and features a mother-of-pearl dial, with day and date display, as well as moon phase indicator.
Fully iced-out watches like the ref. 25688 likely came into being as a result of scope creep; it starts with simple three, six, nine indices on the dial, to more a intricate setting on the bezel, which then expands onto to the case, to the center links of the bracelet, until eventually the entire watch itself is decked in baguettes. In the most extreme cases, even the movement bridges will be gem-set.
Omega De Ville Central Tourbillon 38.7mm ref. 513.98.39.21.56.001.
Davidoff points to both the Vacheron Constantin Kallista and the Piaget Aura as the predecessors to the fully-iced-out aesthetic. “The story of baguettes cannot be spoken about without the Kallista. It was the first full ‘baguette’, fully iced watch,” he says. Carved out of a one-kilo gold ingot and set with 118 diamonds totaling 130 carats, the Kallista model (Greek for “most beautiful”) took five years to cut and assemble. In total it took more than 6,000 hours of work to complete.
Vacheron Constantin Kallista. Image: “Secrets of Vacheron Constantin” by Franco Cologni
“The use of the baguette cut diamond is definitely seen with increasing frequency as we ticked into the 21st century on certain models,” explains Michael Friedman, former head of complications at Audemars Piguet and founder of the highly anticipated new brand Pattern Recognition. “The broader trends for larger jewelry pieces returned, the eternal desire for Art Deco aesthetics never left and there were abundant opportunities for this very particular setting. Larger watches and larger bezels provide that extra space which lends itself to baguette-cut diamonds.” The ref. 5071 with its unusually wide flat bezel was one of Patek’s earliest attempts at an iced-out production series “sport watch.” For a brand like Patek in the 2000s, the most desirable models in the catalog were typically classically-styled complicated watches. If procuring one in a rare metal or with a rare dial was a flex, the even bigger flex was to have the gem-set variant (see ref. 5071 and 5971). Perhaps these watches were in part created as a reaction to the aftermarket craze? A complication with factory diamonds is, certainly, the ultimate in gem-set watch status.
Patek Philippe ref. 5071G. Image: courtesy of Phillips
Today, we are inundated with images of celebrities adorned with baguettes and sumptuously decorated off-catalog Rolex models that appear on social media like shiny Pokémon ready to be consumed by curious and greedy eyes. “The growing appetite of high-end consumers is what led to the creation of off-catalog models,” explains Ku. Images of these off-catalog watches are, of course, not available to the public. Production numbers are murky, prices are murky: “it’s kind of designed that way, you only know about it if you’re qualified to buy it,” says Ku. Surely the shroud of mystery only makes it all the more appealing?
A New Gem-Set Attitude
Before the odorless, pervasive beige cashmere Loro Piana quiet luxury insurgency, gem-set watches were “all the rage.” The pandemic spurred a need to turn down the flash and marked the prelude to the inevitable return of a more sober aesthetic; an obvious consequence of the post pandemic financial downturn. Fashion usually reflects economic reality. But if we cast our minds back to the mid 2010s, and the triumphant comeback of the Dior monogram saddle bag, the teenage obsession with giant Balenciaga branded hoodies and Alesseandro Michele’s Baroque world-view at Gucci; a more-is-more mantra could be applied to watch aesthetics too. In 2019, baguette-setting reached its peak with the Everose Rainbow Daytona Ref. 116595 RBOW. Not only had Rolex perfected the rainbow gradient of the sapphires on the bezel, but they had also changed the hour markers from round brilliants to baguettes. Lest we forget to mention John Mayer, the baguette-set sport watch evangelist.
Today, the prevalence of baguette-setting on luxury sport watches extends far beyond the Rolex, AP, and Patek trifecta. There are, no doubt, a bunch of examples: various fully baguette-set Hublot models; Moser Streamliner tourbillons with rainbow or blue sapphire baguettes throughout; the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m James Bond 60th Anniversary (decked out in baguettes that correspond with the colors of the Jamaican flag to celebrate Bond); a Zenith Chronomaster Sport (weird, but okay)’ the Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XP Frozen Summit; and the list goes on. Some of these brightly jeweled modern watches may give you a headache, and all of them mark a saturation point in the loud gem-set, rainbow-adjacent aesthetic.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon.
New York City-based jeweler Greg Yuna insists that we left the gaudy behind in the 2010s. “The chandeliers [aftermarket baguette-set watches] were extra chunky, you know, like who’s big, who’s bad?” he says. “Now everything is starting to scale back a little bit and everybody’s going for the Plain Janes. I’m on my 36 mm right now.”
The return to wearing “Plain Janes” is now a marker of sophistication for many in the hip-hop community. This comes as a result of a monumental shift in watch content consumption: need I say more than Instagram and TikTok. Gem-set watches have likely become over-exposed, given that manufacturers are doing it themselves on a slightly more commercial (or at least visible) level. What was once a unicorn product now seems overfamiliar. And, naturally consumer tastes then swing back as they always do in trend cycles. Tyler The Creator was amongst the first to cycle back to the pared-back aesthetic in his wearing of smaller vintage Cartier models.
Perhaps this shift can also be attributed to age? “Hip-hop is having its quiet luxury moment,” explains Vikki Tobak, author of Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History. “Watches also extend to and embody a more grown aesthetic. It’s for people who are maybe a little bit more advanced in the hip-hop world. They’re not gonna commission a diamond nameplate chain, but they will buy a watch.” It’s no longer a story of “the come-up” but a rather story of the “I am here to stay, catch me succeeding even further and watch me lead the conversations in the boardroom.”
Jay-Z in his Patek Philippe ref. 2499. Image: courtesy of Mason Poole
For a long time gem-setting in watches has looked like the reverberations of the Rolex ref. 6270, as the genesis of a wider culture of iced out and rainbow aesthetic. If we are talking full iced-out, the mind immediately wanders to individuals whose sole occupation in life is unending leisure – rr, those spiritually aligned with Liberace (read: a small and privileged subsection of watch collectors). Gem-setting has gained a steady pervasiveness (both virtually and physically), but there has been a downturn in gem-set mania. This is no doubt a reflection of an economic reality. One could also argue that the the turn from larger case diameter to small, simple dress watch echoes the same desire to “tone down the flash.”
Despite the virtue-signaling of taste veering towards a more toned-down look, the prevalence of baguette gems in watchmaking has only increased in the 21st century. There is no clear path to trace for horological gem-setting, but there seems to be a clear trend away from the more eccentric rainbow pieces. Manufacturers are reverting to the “old” way of incorporating gem setting – a tasteful sprinkle of fine stones, expertly cut and set. This very 1950s thinking will always be niche in the grand scheme of the watch world, but the rise of iced-out watches that brought us the rainbow craze has opened up a whole new era of collectors to accept the use of stones – particularly baguette diamonds on their most prized watches. Without Jacob The Jeweler and Rolex’s Rainbow Daytona, Ben Clymer does not order his Rexhep with that dial, and Simon Brette does not accept a commission for a baguette set variant of his first watch.
Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans. Image: courtesy of Doo Sik Lew, @doobooloo
Perhaps, there is room for both over-the-top and “conservative” gem-setting? I can certainly appreciate both. In the same way I can like clean tailoring and tiny spaghetti strap slip dresses from The Row (a Patek ref. 5004P-032) I can also live for a full Schiaparelli jewel-encrusted-gold-lobster couture fantasy (Rolex Rainbow Daytona). Baguettes can exist on a sliding scale of opulence.
Of course, there is a clear binary between watches and fashion. For fashion, the pace of change is always quick. In watches, it’s a slow viscous crawl. Gem-set watches make up such a small fraction of the market that take serious time and money to create, that it’s hard to analyze against other trends. But there’s a charming eccentricity to it. Under the Rolex and Patek off-catalog haze of it all, the brands are having the last laugh. In the world’s most self-serious industry, they are able to create a refreshing counteraction in a sea of sameness.
Ultimately, brands should showcase craft and take design risks in this way. There are few consequences given the small handful of examples that are actually made. The collectors that buy these gem-set pieces can say they own something almost totally exclusive. And, onlookers are then ironically privy to the most elusive watches via images circulated on sites like Hodinkee. All the while, gem-setting becomes more broadly accepted in the watch world and subtle baguette diamonds on a dial don’t appear as brash as they once did.
Hodinkee
