de Grisogono introduced the Instrumento N° Uno two years ago and enjoyed an almost instant success. This was followed last year by the magnificent Doppio, a remarkable pivoting watch offering a chronograph and a second time-zone.

Today, de Grisogono concentrates on the demands of the ladies and introduces the Instrumentino - a watch that is 15 per cent smaller than the previous models - combining the established de Grisogono look with scintillatingly colourful bracelets in galuchat.

Galuchat, another name for Shagreen, is the leather made from the ray. Difficult to work with, but excitingly different from the normal run-of-the-mill leather found on most watches, it is particularly hard wearing. It also blends well with both the form and the styling of these imposing watches.

The watch measures 49 x 29 mm and is available in yellow, pink or white gold. The dials are either diamond-set or come in an elegant colour with guilloché and an index ring with just two numerals - 4 and 8. The bezels also vary from a simple all-metal finish to being fully or partially diamond-set. The watch is equipped with either a blackened automatic movement and rotor - a speciality of de Grisogono - which are visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, or for the first time, a quartz movement. Both are equipped with a double time zone.

As is the custom with de Grisogono, all the crowns are set with a black diamond. Depending upon the model, up to 718 gemstones - black and white diamonds and rubies - are used in the creation of one Instrumentino.

The watches are all water-resistant to 30 metres and the galuchat straps have a double deployant buckle with a new system of attachments that permits the adjustment of the strap to fit any wrist.

As de Grisogono states, 'The watches were created to satisfy men's taste, but they were especially made to please modern, elegant women.'