How To Style Your Watch Like A Fashion Editor
Chic, petite and dressed in diamonds, Cartier’s little black watch makes the perfect partner to this season’s revival of Le Smoking
Yves Saint Laurent said that for a woman, ‘Le Smoking’ is an “indispensable garment with which she finds herself continually in fashion, because it is about style, not fashion. Fashions come and go, but style is forever.” Never has an adage about clothes spoken so directly to the world of horology—fine watches are designed to last a lifetime, and then some.
The iconic French designer launched Le Smoking on the world stage in 1966, part of his Pop Art collection, and it soon became the cool girl’s emblem for after-dark dressing—Bianca Jagger, Lauren Bacall and Lou Lou de la Falaise were some of its greatest champions. A black tuxedo with a sleek collar and nipped-in waist became the edgier alter-ego of an evening gown, and it has remained ever thus—the AW24 runways were awash with contemporary takes on this legendary silhouette.
Its spirit animal, in more ways than one, is Cartier’s Animal Jewellery Watch. This timepiece is a poster girl for the concept we like to call the LBW—the little black watch—which ticks the same stylistic boxes as the tuxedo; monochrome colour palette, understatedly-luxe, and endlessly chic. The perfect companion to Tom Ford’s velvet dinner jacket, or Loewe’s black tail-coat, this is a timepiece that feels glamorous, but not overtly feminine, and like Le Smoking, just a little bit rebellious.
Rebellion comes in the form of hand-crafted black lacquer stripes and spiked spinels, whipped into an endless coil of mane and tail. The watch hints at the many beasts that reside within the maison’s motif menagerie, a signature theme of the house ever since a panther first pounced upon a Cartier watch in 1914. Is it a crocodile? A zebra? A tiger? Who knows. Who cares? Unashamedly opulent, the watch flaunts almost 1.5 carats of diamonds, which whirl around its inky, lozenge shape dial—another nod to the subversive.
It isn’t, however, just its needle-sharp spikes that echo the sleek silhouette of Le Smoking; viewed from the side, multiple levels add shape and volume, cinching in and unfurling out. The devil is in the detail, and this is how you should approach your entire ensemble. The choice of two straps—jet black calfskin or crocodile—will let you complement the textures in your tuxedo look; choose the crocodile to speak to Chanel’s mini briefcase, while the calfskin will match the mirrored gleam of Givenchy’s Show patent pumps.
Turn to labels that focus on cut, architecture, and form—we’re looking at you, Alaia—as these are the brands that reflect the precision and polish of a fine jewellery timepiece.
Keep other jewellery to a bare minimum to make maximum impact—consider adding a twinkle to fingers with Van Cleef & Arpel’s onyx Perlée Couleurs ring, or illuminate the visage with Bottega Veneta’s fluid gold earrings.
Above all else, ensure each piece feels classic yet still boasts a little pizazz. For all-out maximalists, the watch comes in two other iterations that showcase a stream of zingy green tsavorites or a slew of hot pink rubies—perfect for those who simply can’t resist a little extra razzle dazzle.
Images Supplied
From Harper’s Bazaar October 2024 issue
