Audemars Piguet has introduced a new Haute Joaillerie timepiece, the exquisite Sapphire Orbe.

A secret timepiece easily transformed from a bracelet to a watch, Sapphire Orbe is a unique creation that pushes gem-setting craftsmanship to new heights and underlines the manufacture’s creativity and savoir-faire.

High jewellery, horology and design cues from nature have united in Audemars Piguet’s Haute Joaillerie collection since 2013, as showcased by the celebrated Diamond Trilogy (Diamond Punk, Diamond Fury and Diamond Outrage).

Inspired by the wintery and rugged landscape of the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura Mountains, this trilogy combines traditional gem-setting techniques with unconventional design for a distinctive effect of elegance, strength and power.

Named after the river that crosses Le Brassus, home of Audemars Piguet in the Vallée de Joux, Sapphire Orbe follows suit with ties to nature. The timepiece embodies a glittering river of diamonds and sapphires in graded hues of blue and orange, as night merges into day.

Sapphire Orbe features more than 12,000 stones, each rigorously selected, individually cut and set by hand.

The central petal-shaped rings are entirely snow-set with diamonds and sapphires in six graded shades of blue and orange, each in 20 different diameters ranging from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm in size.