1. Vacheron Constantin
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... Vacheron Constantin became a member of the Association for Research into non-magnetic materials. Later in 1885, the company created the first nonmagnetic timepiece which included a complete lever assortment ...

2. Ulysse Nardin
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... and Louis JeanRichard-dit-Bressel, in Switzerland. Before the advent of quartz timepieces, merchant and military ships relied on highly accurate mechanical timepieces known as marine chronometers. The ...

3. Rolex
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

...  History In 1905 Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded "Wilsdorf and Davis" in London. Their main business at the time was importing Hermann Aegler's Swiss movements to England and ...

4. Patek Philippe
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... the watch was auctioned at Sotheby's in December 1999 for USD $11,000,000, at that time the most expensive timepiece ever sold. On April 10, 2008, 2003 "Ref. 5002P Sky Moon Tourbillon" platinum Patek Philippe ...

5. Glashutte
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

Glashütte Original is a German watchmaking company founded in 1994 by the privatisation of VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. This was an East German conglomerate formed in 1951 from the watch companies based ...

6. Jaeger LeCoultre
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. The micrometer In 1844, LeCoultre measured the micron (μ) for the first time; he created the world's most precise measuring instrument, the millionometer (a ...

7. Blancpain
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

Blancpain is a Swiss watch manufacturer, founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jaques Blancpain. Blancpain was saved from near bankruptcy by Jean-Claude Biver, an executive with Omega. Blancpain is owned by the Swatch ...

8. Breguet
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

Breguet is a manufacturer of luxury watches, founded by Abraham Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775. Currently part of The Swatch Group, its timepieces are now (since 1976) produced in the Vallée de Joux in ...

9. A. Lange and Sohne
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... a wearer to time two events for up to 30 minutes. The company also developed an innovative fusee winding system used in certain models. More recently, on March 15, 2007, the company unveiled the culmination ...

10. Emeralds
(Gemstones/Colored Gemstones)

Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5 - 8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Most emeralds ...

11. Rubies
(Gemstones/Colored Gemstones)

... were found in Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. They have also been sometimes found in the states of Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Mogok Valley in ...

12. Sapphires
(Gemstones/Colored Gemstones)

... is going toward the red of rubies. Sapphires also occur in shades of orange and brown, and colorless sapphires are sometimes used as diamond substitutes in jewelry. Salmon-color padparadscha sapphires ...

13. Diamonds
(Gemstones/Diamonds)

... diamond crystal. Nitrogen is the smallest and by far the most common impurity found in gem diamonds. Nitrogen is responsible for the yellow, brown and sometimes the pink color in diamonds. Boron is responsible ...

14. Yard
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... course of twenty-five years, he had worked his way up from door-boy to head salesperson. With the encouragement of long-time client John D. Rockefeller, Yard left his position and set a shop of his own. ...

15. Harry Winston
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... a national event. One writer at the time claimed that, “no gem in the world’s history has won greater fame or done more to increase the public’s love and appreciation for diamonds.” In 1949, Winston purchased ...

16. David Webb
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... the firm supplied jewelry to upscale clients like Bergdorf Goodman and Bonwit Teller. In 1963, however, Webb opened up his own salon at 7 East 57th Street. His wholesaling days ended. Around this time, ...

17. Pierre Vever
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

... to grow. In 1889, the brothers exhibited jewels at Paris’s International Exposition for the first time, winning one of two Grand Prizes for gem-set jewellery. After this impressive result, they became ...

18. Verdura
(Manufacturers/Italian Jewelers)

... subtle references to historical sources. The cross hailed both to war-time medals and also, specifically, to an aristocratic, eleventh century Catholic fraternity, the Knights of Malta, that adopted the ...

19. George Frederick Kunz
(Gemstones/Important Gemologists)

GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ George Frederick Kunz is known as “the greatest American gemologist of all time.” He served as Tiffany and Company’s chief gemologist from 1879 until his death in 1932. Though he ...

20. Tiffany and Company
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

In 1837 Tiffany and Company opened its doors in New York City as Tiffany and Young. Its specialties at the time were fancy goods and stationary. While initially carrying only a small selection of jewelry, ...