A dialogue with time

It’s a question that regularly resurfaces, whenever a new watch or jewelry collection is launched: does heritage drive creativity or is it a gilded cage? Combing through archives, exhuming forgotten treasures, exploring ledgers made yellow with age in search of a motif or a silhouette from a different age could, at first glance, suggest the flicker of nostalgia. But when creativity unfolds over decades, a heritage becomes a wellspring of ideas, gestures and stories for the centuries-old brands that regularly mine the past’s rich seam to nurture their present. A singular style The clean lines and contemporary volumes of the pieces unveiled in the early months of 2026 are very much “of the time” but woven into their fabric is a discreet dialogue with history, intended not so much to reproduce past wonders as to reinterpret them for today. In Chapter 3 of its En Équilibre collection, Cartier opens the door to the past but in ways that remain subtle. Already, in the early twentieth century, the brand’s stylistic vocabulary revealed a distinct taste for harmonies of colors and materials which it now illustrates with earrings that juxtapose round chrysoprases and spinels with a diamond and onyx pavé: a nod to the house’s feline mascot, the panther. This same Cartier signature is evident in the Axialis ring whose taut lines recall the Art Deco movement—a period that yielded some of the jeweler’s most dazzling pieces. /public-objects/9127ec84-08d8-4c3b-b8f3-5ccf49d3a6ac-d6010f11-2c36-4eaa-b6f2-30c99eddcfb3-cartier.webp Image sélectionnée At Chaumet, a visit to the archives, a room lined with shelves laden with ledgers, brings us to the wing motif at the heart of the Envol high jewelry collection. Guided by curator Thibaud Billoir, guardian of more than two centuries of history, we encounter certain of the twentieth century’s defining figures, including Gertrude Payne Whitney. Heir to the Vanderbilt family, in 1910 she commissioned Chaumet for diamond wings finessed with blue plique-à-jour enamel which she wore in her hair, as an aigrette or a tiara. This particular piece became the inspiration for the Envol collection, with decorations superbly executed in a dégradé of blue enamel. /public-objects/f3ab0521-f784-44e5-9f00-a4cd8ef498c8-3518e9ba-9e93-497a-95a9-bfde3287712b-chaumet.webp Image sélectionnée Signature techniques Bulgari excels in this tightrope walk between nods to the past and anchoring in the present with its latest interpretation of the Tubogas. Invented by the brand in the early 1940s, originally in the form of a serpent, by the 1970s the Tubogas had established itself as one of Bulgari’s signature motifs. In fact the new Tubogas Manchette looks to a 1974 archival model for its geometry of a square dial paired with a coiled cuff bracelet whose gold surface is studded with colored stones and diamonds totaling almost 12 carats. In creating this familiar allure, Bulgari has employed a new technique whereby each ring is molded and polished, then assembled on a titanium blade. /public-objects/92e2ca88-f49f-4cb7-b914-ac9d15a785a3-8f2550fd-e132-4631-bc96-7bc885c32232-bulgari.webp Image sélectionnée Meanwhile, Piaget revives the glamour and exuberance of the 1970s—and demonstrates its expertise in hand-engraving gold—on a new Limelight Gala watch set with cognac diamonds that extends into a rose gold bracelet finished with the famous Decor Palace. Invented by Piaget in 1961, it is now a hallmark of the brand. /public-objects/63d3ac96-066d-46e4-b776-ad0fcda5dc8a-5e2410f8-1634-4f39-8304-5038bbfe13e7-piaget.webp Image sélectionnée Bringing the imaginary to life Alongside the signature techniques and seminal pieces that compose their respective heritages, watchmakers and jewelers possess a particularly rich immaterial legacy. In these spring months, love is once again in the air at Van Cleef & Arpels—a sentiment embedded in the brand’s narrative ever since it was founded in 1906 by Esther Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef. Romance blossoms beneath the stars on the Lady Rencontre Céleste watch. Framed by the dial, a couple rendered in white gold and diamonds clasp hands against a backdrop of clouds in pailleté enamel, plique-à-jour enamel and diamonds set in enamel, while champlevé and grisaille enamel form the base of the dial. /public-objects/79be1c89-1cb3-492a-9d2a-e6bb42c13075-3417f1e9-c19a-452a-8f89-d105d6f270f2-VCA-%20Lady%20Rencontre%20C%C3%83%C2%A9leste%20-%20Face%20%C3%82%C2%A9Van%20Cleef%20%26%20Arpels%20-%20Cl%C3%83%C2%A9ment%20Rousset.tif.webp Image sélectionnée At Dior Joaillerie, Christian Dior’s love of gardens, and his fascination with the divinatory arts, have inspired Victoire de Castellane for the 57 pieces that make up the Belle Dior collection. Among them, the spectacular Soleil Céleste bib necklace extends in jeweled rays. Alternating motifs of yellow diamond suns, shimmering stars, and moons cast as opal doublets mounted on turquoise conjure the couturier’s spirit through abstraction. Chanel, too, harnesses the aura of its founder, Gabrielle Chanel, in new timepieces. The bow and the camellia, her favorite flower, reappear in the design of the Manchette Noeud de Camélia Brodée watch, on a strap embroidered with beads by Lesage, and the Manchette Noeud de Camélia watch, in which rows of pavé diamonds are finished with a black lacquer trim. Figures from the past come back to life in a never-ending story. In a similar manner, Tiffany & Co. continues to honor Jean Schlumberger’s creative legacy with three iterations of the Enamel watch, inspired by the designer’s enamel bangle bracelet from 1962 which revived the almost forgotten art of paillonné enamel in high jewelry. And so to answer the question: heritage is a creative force, a living legacy with the power to maintain a dialogue across the ages.