Can you spot the watch? Introducing the Diamond Fury, the latest addition to the Stars & Heroes series by Audemars Piguet. A true masterpiece of Haute Joaillerie, the new timepiece demands attention and demonstrates the brand’s provocative spirit.

It is both primal and refined. Composed and rebellious. Relying on a strategy of “shock and awe”, Audemars Piguet has just unveiled the Diamond Fury at SIHH. A powerful and provocative statement piece, this Haute Joaillerie masterpiece is all about attitude.

And that is exactly what we expect from a watch that succeeds the Diamond Punk, the paved and studded cuff watch with a punk feel that was released last year. But compared to this year’s model, the Diamond Punk seems rather tame, overshadowed by the warrior-like Diamond Fury.

The new watch certainly feels like a force of nature. The Fury is like a carapace of gems with a shield of brilliant-cut diamonds, which resemble the scales of the most dangerous serpents. Yet, Audemars Piguet’s expert designers and jewellers have managed to have a tough, armour-like outer shell but also retain a more delicate underside to ensure that the watch simply slinks around the wrist.

This watch is not just more visually stunning than its older sister. It is also better engineered. In this model, the dial is revealed though a secret panel which subtly unclips to reveal the pave-encrusted dial beneath. The new mechanism is more intuitive and sleeker than the simple sliding mechanism that revealed the dial on the Diamond Punk.

This latest masterpiece by Audemars Piguet is the result of a joint effort by designers, engineers and jewellers, which took over 1,500 hours to complete. Add to that painstaking labour the 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds for the full diamond version of the watch, and we begin to make sense of the $637,800 price tag the watch is supposed to retail for.

The price alone would deter most buyers. But then again, SIHH is about demonstrating watchmaking prowess and challenging the boundaries of the industry. And in the Diamond Fury we have the embodiment of unconventional thinking and cutting-edge technology, proving that Audemars Piguet is certainly a disruptive force in the world of watchmaking.

Fast Facts

MOVEMENT

• Quartz Calibre 2601; Frequency of the quartz 32,768 Hz
• Total dimensions 12.00 x 9.70 mm; Total thickness 1.80 mm

CASE

• 18-carat white gold case, entirely set, glareproofed sapphire crystal, airtight.

DIAL

• Diamond-paved 18-carat white gold dial, blackened gold hands.

BRACELET

• 18-carat white gold bracelet, entirely set with diamonds.

GEMSETTING

• 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds; 25.60 carats (case, bracelet).
• 206 brilliant-cut diamonds; 0.54 carats (dial).

FUNCTIONS

• Hours Minutes

REFERENCE

• 79420BC.ZZ.9190BC.01