Fabergé Lady Libertine I

Following the successful debut of Fabergé and Agenhor's watchmaking collaboration last year, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht was invited to visit the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia by Fabergé's parent company, Gemfields, the world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones. The genesis for this new high jewellery timepiece was the very landscape responsible for forming the precious gemstones that adorn it. During Jean-Marc’s visit the natural beauty of emeralds, even in their rough state, quickly became a source of inspiration.

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his team of horological experts at Agenhor exclusively developed for Fabergé the manual AGH 6911 calibre at the heart of this new collection. As no motion work is present to turn hands at the central axis, the AGH 6911 instead features a central void which allows a supporting structure to be secured into the movement itself. It can support a comparatively large mass, at least when compared to other horological components.

The 36mm timepiece features an 18 karat rose gold case with 1.84 carats of brilliant cut diamonds adorning its bezel. The gem-setting on its dial and central dome represents the Zambian terrain that is home to Gemfields’ Kagem emerald mine, the source of the emeralds used to decorate this high jewellery timepiece.

The stylised geographic relief is achieved using a mixture of snow-set polished and, unusually, rough, hand-carved emeralds with fine gold filigree outlining the banks of the region's rivers. Hours and minutes are indicated by leaf-shaped hands. Such a radical approach, unbound by traditional constraints in the pursuit of physical beauty could only be called one thing – Fabergé Lady Libertine.

This creation perfectly illustrates the marriage between Fabergé’s unparalleled artistry and craftsmanship and the beauty of Gemfields’ exquisite precious gemstones.