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Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 4 – Gold Thread Embroidery
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 4 – Gold Thread Embroidery
Please refer to articles from the Piaget Techniques & Aesthetic series listed at the bottom of this page.
The Yves Piaget rose
Roses have always been part of Yves Piaget’s life as well as that of his family company. Like true muses, these delicate blooms have accompanied and inspired the brand’s creations. As Yves Piaget loves to recall in his book of memories: “For me, roses speak of childhood and I well remember my first thrill of love for the wild flowers known as sweet briar or Eglantine roses, growing in complete freedom at an altitude of 1,100 metres”.
From the 1960s onwards, his cherished rose motif enriched the Piaget watch and jewellery collections with its diamond-set gold petals. His taste for roses was further affirmed in 1976 when he became a member of the jury for the Geneva International Competition of New Roses, and presented the winner with a gold rose crafted in the Piaget workshops.
His passion for these astonishing flowers was rewarded in 1982 when the winner of the competition was christened the “Yves Piaget rose”. A legend was born!
Like the company’s timepieces, the Yves Piaget rose is truly exceptional and is dear to the heart of Piaget, which has made the bloom its talisman. It was created by the Meilland company, a French rose breeder and grower, in honour of Mr Yves Piaget.The appeal of this rose lies in the irresistible charm of its delicate whorl of petals, its “rose Pink” colour, and its entrancing scent with lemon notes.
As a flower with character and emotion, it provides an ideal field of expression for the handcrafts. To celebrate its beauty, Piaget called on some master artisans who are not very familiar in watchmaking circles, such as a gold thread embroideress.
Thimble, stiletto (punch), bobbin of laminate couching thread and palladium-plated white-gold cannetille.
Precious thread embroidery and watchmaking – a first by Piaget
Since 1874, Piaget has cultivated a highly developed attention to detail, watchmaking and jewellery expertise along with true creativity. Artistic crafts such as enamelling, engraving, guillochage, gem-setting, and micro mosaic art all provide the finest artisans with an opportunity to demonstrate their talent and dexterity. Thus beautified like truly timeless works of art, these timepieces carry on the skills that the company wishes to preserve.
One example is this new interpretation of the famous Yves Piaget rose embroidered on the dial of an Altiplano.....the PIAGET ALTIPLANO CADRAN BRODERIE.
This Altiplano model has a 38-mm diameter white gold case set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (about 0.7 carat). It contains a Piaget 430P ultra-thin mechanical hand-wound movement and is offered with a black satin strap and white gold pin buckle.
Embroidery throughout history
The company wants to use its background of expert technical and artistic skills to distinguish itself in original ways that are always exceptional and extraordinary. For this new timepiece, which is meant to be precious and delicate, it chose the art of gold thread embroidery.
From the primitive arts to the most modern explorations, the history of embroidery is closely tied to that of civilisations. Though the needle and thread date back to prehistoric times, a number of writings, such as Homer’s Iliad, as well as ancient bas-reliefs from Egypt, Babylon, and Rome, contain evidence of the richness and beauty of fabric decorated with precious sewn threads of different colours and textures. According to tradition, it is to Asia that we owe the technique of beating gold or silver into gold or silver leaf and cutting the sheets into small ribbons that were then mixed with coloured threads.
Embroidery played an important role at the time in cultural exchanges through the fabric-laden caravans that travelled the Silk Road. It attained unequalled heights of sophistication in Byzantium.
During the Crusades, Europeans discovered the beauty of Middle Eastern embroidery and brought them back to their home countries, while developing them by means of their own techniques. Embroidery thus became a ceremonial art and artisans devoted the full force of their talent to adorning religious and royal garments.
Today, gold thread embroidery is quite out of the ordinary. It is used in heraldic art for embroidering city or family coats-of-arms; in liturgical art to restore or create banners and chasubles; and also for uniforms and costumes – such as for bullfighters’ attire or academic gowns – as well as in haute couture, and for special orders from artists and theatre set decorators or interior designers.
In keeping with its tradition of innovation, Piaget has chosen the gold thread embroidery technique to decorate the dial of an Altiplano made in a limited edition of eight. The Manufacture thereby lives up to its tradition of innovative and creative audacity by combining its watchmaking excellence with a rare and precious art never previously used on the dial of a timepiece.
This is an encounter between two different worlds that have everything in common: a passion for the extraordinary, the quest for absolute precision, patience, and meticulous care in the interest of excellence.
The process begins with silk, which is stretched and attached to a support and upon which the artist traces the lines of the design with chalk. The first faint outlines of the Yves Piaget rose thus begin to appear on the fabric.
1. The tracing of the Yves Piaget rose design is pricked using a pricker.
2. Applying the pounce. A white powder is forced through the stencil’s holes using a felt pouncing tool, transferring the pattern to the silk.
3. A pencil is used to re-trace the Yves Piaget rose design.
4.. The gold work wire (jaseron) is placed and secured with couching; the Yves Piaget rose begins to appear.
The master embroiderer then embroiders the precious thread using his needle. To give a sense of fullness and depth to the work, the Manufacture Piaget has chosen a specific thread known as “jaseron”, composed of a precious, thin and delicate silver thread twisted around itself and embroidered onto the silk, millimetre by millimetre.
5. The wire is placed and secured with couching.
6. A second row of wire is placed with the help of a stiletto (punch).
Close cooperation between the embroidery artist and Piaget ensures that the design will be correctly proportioned and will respect the size limitations imposed by the dial, the height of the hands, and the thinness of the Altiplano’s case.
7. Finished embroidered Yves Piaget rose done entirely in a double row of wire.
Gradually, the embroideress’ fingers bring the design to life. Luminous and sophisticated, the Yves Piaget rose blooms. It calls for six hours of work by the artist who, throughout the creative process, displays a blend of meticulous care and precision, impressive dexterity as well as considerable patience.
PIAGET ALTIPLANO CADRAN BRODERIE
Reference: G0A38080
Dial: Black silk ornamented with handmade embroidery in white gold representing an aesthetic interpretation of the Yves Piaget rose
Movement: Manufacture Piaget 430P ultra-thin mechanical hand-wound movement.
Strap: Black alligator leather with white gold pin buckle
Case: 38mm in diameter, 18K white gold case set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 0.7 cts)
Series: 8-piece limited edition
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic series:
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 1 – Design: CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 2 – Enamel: CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 3 – Gem-setting (Watch Making): CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 4 – Gold Thread Embroidery: CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 5 – Hard Stone Dials: CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 6 - Engineering: CLICK the following link
piaget.watchprosite.com
Dr M Teillol-Foo, PuristSPro
This message has been edited by MTF on 2013-10-09 21:10:18
Piaget Technique & Aesthetic: Part 4 – Gold Thread Embroidery
PIAGET ROSE DAY 13 June 2013: VIDEO inside
Thanks a lot Melvyn for this post!
Most people will just look but not see
