Y ves Piaget's favourite flower is by no doubt the fragrant rose. In the mid-1970s, the fourth-generation watchmaker became a jury member of the Geneva International Competition of New Roses, whose champion would be given a gold rose crafted by Piaget.
In appreciation of his continuous support, the 1982 winner created by French rose breeder Meilland was named the Yves Piaget Meivildo rose.
The 40th anniversary of the exceptional bloom with 80 serrated deep-pink petals is marked by three sets of jewellery and the Altiplano Tourbillon Rose wristwatch matched with a bracelet made from rose petals.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Piaget Rose fine jewellery, characterised by sculpted, openwork and lacework floral motifs, embellished with precious stones.
The new bejewelled bouquet stars a rose gold chain necklace with a detachable brooch. Piaget's gemmologists hand-picked paraiba and pink tourmalines as well as a yellow beryl, orange spessartites and diamonds to illuminate this unique piece.
The Piaget Rose ensemble also include an original ear cuff porté and a ring centred by a cabochon-cut orange spessartite.
Inspired the changing colours of Yves Piaget's garden, the ring and ear cuff porté are reintrepreted in the other two white gold jewellery sets adorned with different gemstones.
The Swiss brand became a jeweller in 1959, and the collections now include Possession, Piaget Sunlight and the Piaget Rose, crafted at the ateliers in Plan-Les-Ouates, on the outskirts of Geneva.
Its watchmaking began much earlier in 1874, when Georges-Edouard Piaget opened a workshop in La Côte-aux-Fées in Neuchâtel. Since the late 1950s, the maison's development of ultra-thin movements has become the cornerstone of the Altiplano collection.
A slim hand-wound calibre powers the Altiplano Tourbillon Rose housed in a 38mm white gold case with a diamond-set bezel.
Pink sapphires shimmer on the crown and hour markers of the sub dial between 7 and 9 o'clock, opposed by the flying tourbillon.
The engraved mother-of-pearl dial features a motif of roses punctuated by diamonds.
Piaget further celebrates the beauty of the Queen of Flowers, by using real petals of the Yves Piaget rose as a delicate material for the pink bracelet, which took two years in the making.
A white alligator strap also accompanies the limited edition of 28 pieces.
