hen Tiffany & Co. began retailing watches in 1847, Charles Lewis Tiffany quickly recognized a strong demand for finely made, high-precision timepieces and began selling a large assortment of watches, including those made by Swiss watchmakers. The growing demand led to the debut in 1866 of the Tiffany & Co. Timing Watch - a pocket watch designed for use in science as well as for sporting events, recognized today as Tiffany’s first stopwatch.

Two years later, it was renamed the “Tiffany & Co. Timer,” coinciding with Tiffany & Co. opening its watch assembly workshop in Switzerland. In 1874, Tiffany & Co. inaugurated a full watchmaking manufacture in the heart of Geneva producing timepieces with various complications, including chronographs and calendar watches, and receiving patents for advances in watch movements and hand settings, among other innovations.

Split-second mechanical movement manufactured at the Tiffany & Co. Geneva facilities. 1874

During LVMH Watch Week, three 19th-century Tiffany & Co chronographs were displayed along with the new Tiffany Timer, including two split-seconds chronographs with ‘Geneva’ on the dial. These historic pieces were complemented by rarely seen materials from The Tiffany Archives, including a late 19th-century Catalogue of Timing Watches and Blue Book 1893.

The 40 mm polished platinum case of the Tiffany Timer is an elegant composition of sinuous lines and rounded surfaces, with the chronograph pushers curved to follow the profile of the case and serving as crown protectors. The faceted crown recreates the form of the six-pronged Tiffany^® Setting made famous by the House’s diamond solitaire rings. The cool luster of the polished platinum is complemented by a dial in Tiffany Blue^® lacquer.

The hours are marked by baguette-cut diamonds - a nod to the House’s gemstone-setting expertise and deep legacy in precious stones. Maintaining the tonal harmony, the hour, minute and sub-dial hands are crafted in white gold.

The making of the dial is a complex and lengthy process requiring over 50 hours of high-precision work. First, using a tiny, hand-operated tool, the surface of the dial base is spray-painted with a layer of matte varnish in Tiffany Blue^® - an operation repeated eight times to achieve the desired depth of color. The dial is then kiln-dried for two hours at a precisely controlled temperature.

Next, an artisan applies 15 layers of transparent lacquer, with each layer needing to be completely air-dried under carefully controlled conditions of humidity and temperature. Over 12 hours of baking in a kiln completes the process, bringing the total time required for the first stage of the process to 40 hours. Then, once the artisan applies the transfer-printed details, the gem-setter sets the baguette-diamond indexes on the dial.

Turning the watch over, the sapphire crystal case-back reveals an unexpected detail that perfectly encapsulates Tiffany & Co.’s whimsical sense of joy: a recreation of the bird motif from the House’s iconic Bird on a Rock brooch, perched on the open-worked winding rotor. Faithful in every detail to Schlumberger’s original design, the tiny bird, measuring just 1.4 cm in width is sculpted by hand from a solid piece of 18k yellow gold. It is then polished by hand in the traditional way, using various tools including diamond abrasives and sticks of gentian wood to create different degrees of shine that bring out the contours, before taking its perch on the oscillating weight. The case-back is engraved with “Limited edition of 60”.

Five decades ago, the El Primero marked a major technical breakthrough, and today it remains one of the world’s most celebrated chronograph movements. Although self-winding calibers had existed for almost two centuries, the technology had never been successfully adapted to a chronograph until Zenith launched the world’s first integrated automatic chronograph, the El Primero - meaning “the first” - in January 1969.

The three-register dial layout is a quintessential expression of the Zenith El Primero calibre - symmetrical and intuitive to read: chronograph seconds are indicated on the dial periphery, chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock, chronograph hours at 6 o’clock and running seconds at 9 o’clock. One of watchmaking’s most useful complications, a date display, is added in a window at 6 o’clock.

For enhanced legibility, all indications are transfer-printed in dark gray on the Tiffany Blue^® background. Tiffany & Co.’s signature touch is expressed through the 18k yellow gold Bird on a Rock set onto the oscillating weight, which required a recalibration of its mass to accommodate the motif.

Tiffany & Co. will offer the Tiffany Timer in a limited edition of 60 pieces.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Case materials: Platinum with crown and push buttons in white gold
• Case size: 40 mm
• Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph
• Dial: Tiffany Blue^® lacquer set with 12 baguette-cut diamond indexes
• Hands: Hour, minute and sub-dial hands in white gold
• Movement: Customized El Primero 400 integrated column wheel chronograph. Oscillating weight with custom 18k yellow gold Bird on a Rock
• Power reserve: 50 hours
• Caseback: sapphire crystal
• Water resistance: 10 ATM
• Strap: Taupe alligator
• Buckle: Triple folding clasp in 18k white gold
• Limited edition: 60 pieces
• Warranty: Five-year international limited warranty
• Swiss-made
• SKU 75450125