butterfly

Artya Farfalla Watch Has Real Butterfly Wings In It

Like all Artya watches, this new Farfalla collection aims to be different, and each piece is one-of-a-kind. "Farfalla" means butterfly in Italian, and that is exactly what this watch is all about. Look at the dial a second time and you'll realize that it is made up of different butterfly wings. Maybe they will offer a do-it-yourself model of aspiring lepidopterists? The clever part of the design is that at first glance you aren't sure what you are looking at. Artya does a good job of applying decor between the wings so that it all blends together as though it were a single motif.

I don't believe any animals were harmed in the making of the watch (beforehand, I don't really know). In addition to the butterfly dials, the straps as seen here are toad skin. Artya applied various 'torture devices" to make its steel watch cases look more organic. One case here is struck with high levels of electricity, while another is all cut up. Inside the watches are Swiss automatic mechanical movements. Look for these soon - or Artya can make you one with your own personal collection of discarded insect parts.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Tags: artya, butterfly, farfalla, papillon, watch

The Lugano Diamonds Butterfly Ring

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

New from the house of Lugano Diamonds is this butterfly ring, designed to echo the beauty of nature and of summer year round. The ring consists of 2.53 carats of sliced rough diamonds, 1.44 carats of brilliant diamonds, and 18k gold in three colors. Sitting on a branch of black gold, the butterfly's wings are sliced rough diamonds framed in rose gold and brilliant diamonds, while the articulated antennae feature 0.57 carats of briolette-cut diamonds and can move a little. A truly beautiful statement ring to showcase your love of all things nature. $8,600

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Tags: butterfly, diamond ring, jewelry, lugano, lugano diamonds, LuganoDiamonds, ring, rough diamond, rough diamonds

Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Last month in Geneva, luxury watch brand and jewelry maker Van Cleef & Arpels was nice enough to invite me into their world and spend some time telling me about their brand and unique perspective on watch making. I had the opportunity to see an artistic side of the haute horology watch world that I didn't know existed. High-end art watches are particularly interesting to me because they are functional art ( they tell the time in addition to looking good).

I previously discussed the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly watches here. After praising them, I thought it would be a good idea to follow up after checking them out myself. Note that these are of course women's watches, sized at 38mm wide in 18k white gold, and liberally decorated with fine, large diamonds. Each of the watch dials is totally hand done, and each of the five watches comes in a limited edition of just 8 pieces. After seeing the watches, this makes sense. To capture the high level of quality you just can't mass produce these things. The dial colors really jump out at you - thanks to the special type of enameling that is done like stained glass. Note the metallic framework, with the enamel applied between the lines (literally). In the pictured watch, you can really get a good visualization of the stained glass look in the brown and yellow butterfly as well as the adjacent flower. For any woman with means, and an appreciation for talent and details, this is an impressive collection.

As a play on the collection being like a set of actual pinned butterfly specimens, the box the watches come in has a sliding magnifier that gives you a closer look at the watches, just as an enthusiast would look over his or her butterfly specimen collection. Each of the watches is top quality in feel and construction, which should be expected with their high price points. Inside the watches are mechanical Swiss movements. In all, a really impressive line if luxury items should you ever be interested in high-end watch watches with a artistic and jewelry feel to them. The rest of us can simply enjoy their beauty. Price for the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Buttery watch collection is an extraordinary $495,000. I look forward to experiencing more and more visually pleasing luxuries from this brand .

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

Tags: 2010, butterfly, enamel, extraordinary, limited edition, LimitedEdition, sihh, van cleef arpels, VanCleefArpels

Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Staying on track has been the name of the game for Van Cleef & Arpels as they introduce some of their new for 2010 watches. Each of them is more artistic in nature than horological. So far no new movements or mechanically complex pieces for 2010 that I know of. Instead their new limited edition pieces are all complex in their dial creations. One series is the limited edition of 8 pieces per each of the 5 watches Ladies Extraordinary Butterfly watch series. The dials each represent the shape of butterflies does in a technique that is just like stained glass. Really amazing on a watch dial! These two images don't likely do the actual pieces justice that will be somewhat three dimensional in nature just like larger stained glass windows. Instead of glass, the watches use a special enamelling technique.

The women's watch are each on the same 38mm wide 18k white gold cases with diamond studded bezels and lugs. There are more diamonds on the strap buckle. Inside the watches are Caliber 830P automatic mechanical movements. Names of the specific Lady Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Series watches are Parvana, Vanessa, Euthalie, Kimama and Caligo. While I am not sure of the origin of the names, I could see a lepidopterist giving the names freely to individual specimens.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: butterflies, butterfly, SIHH 2010, Sihh2010, Van Cleef Arpels, VanCleefArpels, watch

From Street To Sky On A Budget, The Super Sky Cycle

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

Okay so the Skycar is probably not in your budget but for the price of a car you could own the Super Sky Cycle. Larry Neal's company The Butterfly has gone into production with their first 30 Super Sky Cycle Kits. The cycle is a tricycle-geared gyroplane with a folding rotor. Assemble it yourself and then it is registered for the air as an experimental amateur-built aircraft and on the ground as a homebuilt motorcycle. It is powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax 912 ULS engine and can hit a top speed of 100 MPH and a maximum highway speed of 55 MPH. The Super Sky Cycle kit lists for $37,195 including the engine, and is recommended for pilots under 280 pounds.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: aircraft, butterfly, flight, motorcycle, sport flight, super sky cycle, SuperSkyCycle

American Express Butterfly Card

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

American Express has recently introduced Butterfly, for Gold Card holders. The Butterfly card is a foldable credit card that comes in a tiny case. It is completely free and linked back to the main Gold Card account of the Amex holder. The "signature accessory" is intended to give some cache to carrying a Gold Card, but it is also a way to minimize what you carry. American Express points out that it can be used as an accessory or key ring, as a chain or loop can be easily attached to it. It looks much more stylish than just about all other keychain credit cards.

[via Cool Hunting]

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Tags: accessory, american express, AmericanExpress, butterfly, credit card, gold card, money, shopping