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Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Aman Kyoto: Where the Forest Keeps a Secret
There is a moment, about thirty minutes after you leave Kyoto Station, when the city simply lets go of you. The streets thin, the roofs lower, the hills lean in, and somewhere past a bend you could easily miss, a gate opens onto a garden that has been quietly minding its own business for four hundred years. This is Aman Kyoto, and it does not announce itself. It waits, like the best people do.
I should confess something. I lived in Tokyo for a year, so I consider myself fluent in Japanese quiet: the polite, pressed, impeccably folded kind. This hillside hideaway speaks a different dialect altogether. This is the quiet of a place that has been left alone, and it hit me somewhere between the gate and the first moss-covered step. I arrived with a to-do list. It lasted until the moss.
A Garden That Became a Hotel
The story begins long before the hotel. The land was once the garden of a textile museum, part of the same northern hills where an artistic community gave rise to the Rinpa school of painting centuries ago. When the brand came to build, the late Kerry Hill, the architect behind Aman Tokyo and Amanemu, did something very few architects have the humility to do: he mostly stepped out of the way. The retreat, which opened in November 2019, was among his last projects.
His black timber pavilions, topped with zinc roofs, sit lightly on the garden’s old terraced platforms, so the architecture feels discovered rather than built. Paths of stone blanketed in moss thread between them. A small stream murmurs along the edge. At the heart of it all lies a formal lawn, named the Kerry Hill Garden in his honor, where sculptural boulders rest as if placed there by a patient giant with excellent taste.
Inside, there is no ornament shouting for attention. The palette is muted, the lines are low and calm, and the furniture is custom-made and quietly extraordinary. The 26 rooms take their cue from the old Japanese inn, with glass that lets the forest walk right in. Pajamas are folded on the bed. Moss-green umbrellas wait by the door, so you can wander out into the rain looking like part of the landscape. (They are, I should note, the most photogenic things I have ever been lent and expected to return.)
Spring to Autumn, and Everything in Between
The garden is a clock, and it tells the time in color. In spring the green is so new it looks wet. By summer it deepens into something dense and humming, the forest turned all the way up. And in autumn, the maples do what Kyoto’s maples have always done: they go crimson, slowly and then all at once, until the moss glows against a wall of red.
I came in late September, at the hinge of the year, when the green is still holding on but you can feel it thinking about crimson. A single leaf at the edge of the path had already made up its mind. It felt like being let in on a secret.
Water, Warmth, and the Sound of Rain
Beneath the grounds flows natural spring water, and the resort’s spa has made the most of it with traditional onsen bathing, indoors and out. I lowered myself into the water as the afternoon light went soft, steam lifting into the trees, and felt a year of airports leave my shoulders. Treatments draw on local ingredients, from Kyoto green tea to camellia oil, and the pace is deliciously unhurried.
Then came the rain. At night it arrived on the roof and the leaves, a steady, tender percussion that no playlist on earth has managed to replicate. I lay in the dark with the garden breathing outside the glass and, for the first time in weeks, did absolutely nothing. At sunset, the lanterns come on along the paths, and the whole estate turns amber and hushed, as if the day has been gently put to bed.
Tea, Properly
There is tea, and then there is tea in the forest. Tucked into the garden is a small tea house called Senkutsu, and a private ceremony there is, to my mind, non-negotiable. Dressed in a kimono, I knelt while the green tea was whisked and presented with a calm that made my own pulse slow to match. Every gesture was precise and unhurried. Nothing was for show. It is the closest I have come to understanding that in Japan, tea is less a drink than a way of paying attention.
The ritual returned after dinner at Taka-an, the Japanese restaurant, named in homage to the artist Honami Koetsu. I sat at the counter for an omakase sushi dinner, watching the chefs work with the focus of surgeons and the grace of dancers, each piece handed over at the exact moment it should be eaten. Tea afterward felt like a full stop to a perfectly written sentence.
And then, because I am a person with weaknesses, there was the muskmelon shaved ice. I will say it plainly: I came for the architecture and stayed for the shaved ice. Fragrant, cold, and absurdly delicate, it dissolved on the tongue like a summer you didn’t want to end.
Breakfast, Which Deserves Its Own Paragraph
I have eaten breakfast at some of Tokyo’s best hotels. I say this with authority and a mild sense of betrayal: the Japanese breakfast here was my absolute favorite of my entire Japan trip. Perhaps it was the setting, the garden washed in early light, the small bowls arriving one by one. Perhaps it was that I had slept like a stone. Either way, I would fly back for it.
The Golden Neighbor
Just over half a mile from the gates stands Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, glittering on its pond like a rumor of wealth. It is breathtaking, and it is also, let us say, popular. The beauty of staying so close is that you can visit the gold and then retreat to the green, which is quite a lot more restful.
Leaving
Departure comes too soon, and gently, which somehow makes it worse. The car pulls away, the moss recedes, and the city rushes back in with its noise and its neon. But a little of the forest stays with you. Aman Kyoto is not a hotel you stay in so much as a feeling you carry out: the sound of rain, the weight of a tea bowl, a quiet that has finally learned your name.
Images courtesy of Aman.
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The Extraordinary Gemstones Driving High Jewellery Forward
Exceptional gemstones are driving fresh creative ambition in high jewellery, with leading maisons transforming rare natural materials into increasingly expressive designs. In 2026, exceptional sapphires and emeralds have inspired creations that combine advanced craftsmanship, distinctive colour and historic design codes. Their significance extends beyond carat weight: the stories, origins and creative decisions surrounding these stones increasingly shape their appeal.
The Gemological Institute of America’s reporting from the 2026 Tucson gem shows identified interest in selected fancy-colour sapphires and precision cutting, while documenting differences in supply and demand across the trade. This specialist snapshot offers useful context, rather than evidence of a universal boom in gemstone prices.
Five creations demonstrate different forms of momentum. Graff foregrounds an exceptional Sri Lankan sapphire, Bvlgari explores unusual colour, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels reinterpret historic jewellery traditions, and Tiffany & Co. shows how a celebrated diamond can remain culturally relevant across generations.
Graff: An Exceptional Sapphire Takes Centre Stage
Graff’s September 2026 Art of Colour campaign highlighted a necklace featuring a 118-carat cushion-cut, unheated Sri Lankan sapphire. Its saturated blue colour anchors a composition of more than 54 carats of diamonds, demonstrating the British jeweller’s approach to designing around the natural character of a principal stone.
A three-carat pear-shaped diamond sits above a sunray arrangement of baguette diamonds, creating contrasts of light and scale without competing with the sapphire. The setting calls attention to the rarity of a gemstone of such size and quality that has not undergone heat treatment.
Rather than treating the stone as an interchangeable centrepiece, Graff allows its colour, proportions and presence to guide the design. This approach illustrates how exceptional natural material can create an opportunity for artistic and technical refinement. The necklace featured in the September campaign, although its precise first unveiling date has not been established; it should therefore be regarded as a 2026 campaign highlight rather than a confirmed new launch.
Bvlgari: The Creative Possibilities of Rare Colour
Bvlgari’s Eclettica collection, unveiled in March 2026, connects high jewellery with painting, architecture and sculpture. The Secret Garden necklace centres on a 26.65-carat Sri Lankan Padparadscha sapphire, prized for the delicate interplay of pink and orange that distinguishes this rare sapphire variety.
Inspired by Rome’s hidden courtyards at sunset, the design surrounds the central stone with emeralds, purple sapphires, diamonds and onyx. Contrasting colours provide depth and movement, while the composition captures the Roman house’s unmistakably expressive approach to gemstone combinations.
Bvlgari’s Secret Garden necklace centres on a rare 26.65-carat Padparadscha sapphire, surrounded by emeralds, sapphires, onyx and diamonds.
Under jewellery creative director Lucia Silvestri, the stone becomes more than a demonstration of rarity. Its nuanced colour informs the necklace’s artistic language, allowing the maison to build a complete design around a distinctive natural characteristic. The piece belongs to a collection of more than 160 jewellery and watch creations, reflecting Bvlgari’s continuing exploration of colour and unconventional materials.
For collectors, the appeal lies in the meeting of gemological rarity with a recognisable design identity. The result provides a contemporary counterpoint to historic pieces whose significance developed over decades.
Cartier: A Historic Design Language Evolves
Cartier’s 2026 Le Chœur des Pierres collection explores the expressive possibilities of gemstones through more than 125 unique creations. Among them, the Tutti Kanya necklace features a 30.33-carat engraved Zambian emerald alongside carved rubies, sapphires and emeralds.
Its intricate composition draws on the maison’s Tutti Frutti design language, which emerged in the early twentieth century through colourful carved stones influenced by Indian jewellery traditions. The new creation revisits that vocabulary through contemporary workmanship rather than simply reproducing an archival design.
Floral motifs formed from carved gemstones give the necklace texture and movement. A detachable ruby tassel and a central motif that can also be worn as a brooch introduce versatility, making transformability an integral part of the design. These details place technical construction alongside aesthetic ambition.
The collection reportedly required approximately 85,000 hours of work across Cartier’s designers and artisans. Tutti Kanya shows how the momentum of high jewellery can come from revisiting an established aesthetic and discovering new ways to interpret it, with important coloured stones guiding the process.
Van Cleef & Arpels: Emeralds Reimagine the Past
Van Cleef & Arpels looked to ancient Egyptian culture for its Fascinating Egypt high jewellery collection, unveiled in June 2026. The Princesse du Nil necklace, one of its central creations, takes inspiration from a historic emerald-and-diamond collaret associated with Princess Faiza of Egypt.
The contemporary interpretation features ten Colombian emerald drops totalling 107.37 carats, complemented by seven natural white pearls weighing approximately 85.13 carats. White gold, platinum and yellow gold bring the stones together in a composition that reflects the maison’s long engagement with history and ornament.
Developed as part of a collection of 180 creations over four years, the necklace transforms an archival reference into a present-day expression of high jewellery. Its importance lies in the relationship between research, gemstone selection and the decisions required to reinterpret a historic silhouette.
Unlike a simple recreation, the piece draws on an earlier design while allowing extraordinary emeralds and pearls to shape its current form. It demonstrates how jewellery heritage can remain a source of contemporary creative momentum, connecting cultural memory with the skill of present-day artisans.
Tiffany & Co.: The Continuing Life of a Historic Diamond
Contemporary launches offer one perspective on innovation; the Tiffany Yellow Diamond shows how an existing gemstone can acquire new cultural meaning. Discovered in South Africa in 1877 and acquired by Charles Lewis Tiffany the following year, the 287.42-carat rough was cut into a 128.54-carat cushion-shaped brilliant.
The diamond’s appearances have contributed to its enduring recognition. Audrey Hepburn wore it for Breakfast at Tiffany’s promotional photographs, Lady Gaga at the 2019 Academy Awards and Beyoncé in the maison’s 2021 About Love campaign.
In 2023, Tiffany unveiled a Bird on a Rock-inspired setting to mark the reopening of its Fifth Avenue flagship, The Landmark. Requiring nearly 2,000 hours of craftsmanship, it allows the diamond to be worn as a pendant or brooch.
The gemstone is not a 2026 launch, but its inclusion provides historical perspective. Successive settings and appearances have kept a nineteenth-century discovery connected to contemporary culture, illustrating a different form of momentum: the renewal of an established legacy.
The Momentum Behind Exceptional Gemstones
These five creations reveal that high jewellery’s progress takes several forms. Rare stones can inspire entirely new designs, while historic motifs and celebrated treasures gain fresh significance through technical ingenuity and reinterpretation.
For collectors, provenance, craftsmanship and cultural context can be as compelling as colour and carat weight. Their importance also demands discernment: each gemstone’s quality and history must be assessed on its own merits, beyond the prominence of the maison presenting it.
High jewellery’s momentum ultimately rests on more than the discovery of remarkable stones. It lies in the ability to transform them into creations whose stories continue to evolve long after their unveiling.Exceptional gemstones are attracting renewed attention within the world of high jewellery, as collectors place growing importance on rarity, provenance and historical significance. According to Christie’s – one of the world’s leading auction houses founded in London, demand for coloured gemstones surged in 2026, particularly for emeralds, rubies and sapphires, with Asia and the Middle East expected to drive further interest in 2026. Alongside this growing demand, historic creations and exceptional stones with distinguished provenance continue to command attention among collectors.
For the world’s most prestigious jewellery houses, this growing interest reinforces the significance of gemstones that have shaped their identities across generations. Their remarkable characteristics, craftsmanship and distinguished provenance have established milestones that continue to influence each maison’s legacy. Through cultural reinterpretations, historic acquisitions and renewed collector attention, these creations continue to acquire further significance.
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Inside TAG Heuer’s Next Chapter with Maria Laffont
It is hard to overstate just how seismic an impact the Monaco Evergraph created at its launch during Watches and Wonders Geneva this year. Housed in the well-loved and instantly recognisable square Monaco case, the watch might have passed for another nice new Monaco, but its movement is anything but conventional. One could think of it as retaining a classic car’s chassis, though after making some improvements and modifications, while entirely replacing the internal combustion engine with a hydrogen fuel cell – a wholly different method of energy transformation and power generation that is far more fuel-efficient and responsive, free of emissions and pollutants, and almost silent.
Developed by TAG Heuer Lab, in collaboration with Vaucher, the Calibre TH80-00 automatic movement is that groundbreaking engine swap. Instead of incrementally refining existing chronograph designs, the team took the audacious decision to build a new chronograph from the ground up. The watchmakers overhauled the conventional concept of chronograph construction by foregoing levers and springs in favour of two flexible bistable components, to improve functionality and the tactility of actuating start, stop and reset with fast, crisp transitions and no wear or deviation in performance over time and after repeated use.
The Calibre TH80-00 is not the only upgrade in the Monaco collection this year. Unveiled concurrently, the new Calibre TH20- 11 automatic in-house movement is derived from the Calibre TH20- 00 automatic chronograph movement after years of development to rework the winding stem and crown to the left, and named in tribute to the Calibre 11 of 1969, with the mechanical throughline being the left-handed winding. However, that progenitor was a composition of a Buren base movement with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module, whereas the Calibre TH20-11 features a fully integrated construction, with a column-wheel-based mechanism. In a visual callback to the edition of the Monaco made famous by Steve McQueen, the Calibre TH20-11 is housed in a refined titanium Monaco case featuring the same navy, white and red colourway, and also available in variations with a green sunray brushed dial or a black opaline dial.
Firmly in the driver’s seat for these momentous releases is TAG Heuer’s Chief Product Officer Maria Laffont, whose tenure at the La Chaux-de-Fonds brand has seen consecutive wins since she joined in March 2021 as Vice President Design & Product: the Carrera Chronograph “Glassbox” 39mm unveiled for the collection’s 60th anniversary in 2023, the Carrera Date Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde of 2024 and its coloured lab-grown diamonds, the 2025 introduction of the TH-Carbonspring oscillator (in the Monaco Flyback Chronograph TH-Carbonspring and the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport TH-Carbonspring limited editions), plus collaborative editions with Porsche and with Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department.
We spoke to Laffont during Watches and Wonders this year about the latest Monaco chronograph innovations, as well as setting the course for the seamless fusion of technical and material innovation, adherence to brand heritage, thoughtful functionality, and impeccable aesthetics.
How does focusing on chronographs this year fit into TAG Heuer’s history with this complication, and how does this direction impact TAG Heuer’s future development?
This is a very good start, for sure. The chronograph is our defining complication, because TAG Heuer is about performance, sports and athletes. It is the timekeeper of high-stakes moments, these unique moments when a driver will break his record, these special and almost suspended moments when each and every second counts. That’s why timekeeping is absolutely crucial for us, and timekeeping is synonymous with chronographs. Today, we have different options for chronographs, starting from quartz chronographs, which we will continue to develop, and the automatic chronograph, and now the new Evergraph. And then we have the king of the chronograph, the split-second. We already have these in our range, and we are already working on other stories, because this is our identity.
Specifically for the Monaco Evergraph and the Monaco chronograph launched this year, what do they say about the Monaco collection and the larger TAG Heuer brand?
It’s a defining moment, because this Evergraph is the reinvention of the chronograph mechanism itself, and this is for us a huge milestone, not only for the Monaco collection, but for the brand, and I dare to say, for the industry. We all know the traditional mechanism with the vertical (and horizontal) clutches, and today we have a totally new way to build a chronograph. We’re doing that because we are driven by innovation, and what we wanted to achieve is to improve the chronograph in terms of performance, durability and reliability. For that, we are very lucky because we have a TAG Heuer Lab in our manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and in this TH-Lab, we have great engineers who are in constant dialogue with the creative teams and the designers. This brings to life crazy concepts such as this (bistable compliant) mechanism. We invented this flexible component, which replaces many components that are stiff, so it allows the mechanism to have less friction and be durable. Chronographs are so important to us, but in the past the technologies to produce this kind of very special component didn’t exist. That’s why it’s important to innovate.
In developing the Evergraph and its movement, would you say it’s more of a demonstration of TAG Heuer’s ability, or because the team fundamentally believed that there were flaws in the conventional chronograph movement that you wanted to challenge?
We were convinced that there was a way to improve and, when we are crafting and designing timepieces, we always have athletes in mind. We’re all about the performance, it’s absolutely key, and that’s why we’re always pushing the limits by keeping this in mind. We were convinced that there is a way to improve this chronograph mechanism. So it’s not because the existing one is bad; it’s more because we’re driven by this belief that we can go even further and find a new way. It’s more of a mindset.
And then specifically for the name, Evergraph, what was the story of how you landed on this name?
It was through team brainstorming. “Graph” recalls chronographs, and it’s also our internal language – we have the Mikrograph – and a brand signature. “Ever” conveys the fact that it’s durable and reliable. But we had many different options, and as is often the case at TAG Heuer, we arrived at the solution through teamwork. In the end, it’s true that someone has to decide, and I have that great responsibility, but it’s always done through a team – team debate, teamwork, team spirit – this is the best way to succeed.
Now that TAG Heuer is redefining what a chronograph is and what it can be, what happens to the existing chronographs in the Monaco collection and in the rest of the brand, like in the Carrera collection? Will there be a split between the so-called traditional chronographs and the Evergraph style of chronograph, and will the Evergraph’s TH80-00 movement be the basis of a new line of chronographs within each collection?
For me, it’s just adding a new category, so it will not replace others, because we need others also – the quartz chronograph, the automatic chronograph, the [manual-winding] chronograph, and now you have the Evergraph; it will not change the rest of the assortment. And being a square movement, the TH80-00 needs a square case, so for the moment it stays in the Monaco collection. In the future, let’s see.
OK, I’ll circle back next year. So how will this major internal change impact the image of the Monaco collection and of TAG Heuer’s chronographs, and what are some anticipated expectations of the influence on prices?
We have a specific price for this specific chronograph, and there is no impact on others’ price positioning. But what is true is that the demonstration of this savoir-faire, this innovation, has a halo effect, because, for sure, an avant-garde demonstration shows how far we can go and how we can create and innovate. So I think it reaffirmed that we are avant-garde. This is more about our identity, I would say it reinforces our brand equity, but it has no direct impact on the price positioning.
Moving on to the trio of Monaco chronographs, why were these design choices made with these three references and how do these improve the aesthetics and wearer experience?
First, the Monaco is our icon, and we are driven by performance and the fact that it has to be very easy to wear because it’s meant for athletes. But it’s true that with a square, bold watch, we had some constraints in terms of comfort on the wrist. It was a bit heavy, so sometimes it can shift, and it was not for every wrist, because it’s quite big. We are the watchmaker of performance, so we needed to have for our icon something that is really ergonomic. Obviously, we kept the essential codes of the icon, such as the square shape; we even reinforced the square shape through the bezel, which used to be a bit rounded and now it’s square, so it follows the sapphire glass’s edges, and the top case is sloped and more integrated. And the caseback used to be flatter and not as easy to wear, but now it’s sloped and bevelled, so it’s perfect and smooth on the wrist. As for the weight, now the case is titanium, which is robust and light.
On the dial, we also kept the essential codes, because these are so recognisable, such as the sub counters and the iconic blue as worn by Steve McQueen in Le Mans, these are legendary and collectors love them. The horizontal indices now have a curve at the end, but it used to be the reverse, and now we decided to have it like a pointer closer to the [white dots on the minute track], to be more functional because it captures the light. And [those white dots are] square now, but before, they were rounder. These are all very subtle details, and if you don’t know, maybe you will not notice them.
“We are always passionate about our projects, and I have the great chance to be surrounded by passionate people”
In the design process, how do you find that equilibrium between aesthetics, functionality and emotional impact? Is there always a trade-off in reaching the final result, and how do you decide what to sacrifice?
It’s really this dialogue that we just discussed, which is good because there’s back and forth: The designer may push for something, and the technician may invent something new. It’s a winning recipe. And emotion is key because we are in watchmaking, so we are creators of emotions. It’s about intuition too. It’s something that you don’t have a recipe for. We are always passionate about our projects, and I have the great chance to be surrounded by passionate people. And if we create emotion, from the very beginning we know if it will work, because…I’m convinced by the team spirit. Watchmaking is like an orchestra, because you have all the different components, and for each one you have an expert behind it, plus the designers and more. That’s why this team is so important, because the watch is the creation of a team.
So if watch development is like an orchestra, then that makes you the conductor?
(laughs) Maybe I’m too humble to say that, but yeah, kind of, we could say that.
This story was first seen as part of the WOW #86 Autumn 2026 issue.
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The Thom Browne x Globe-Trotter Collection Drops Three Models
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