One of the many glorious outcomes of the current renaissance in ladies’ timepieces is the unique beauty resulting from the application of elements from the world of couture to craft of luxury watchmaking. Like haute horology, high fashion couture is all about hand craftsmanship using centuries old skills – sewing beads onto dresses, hand tatting lace for the skirt of a gown, embroidering silk threads into hand-woven fabrics, always executing everything to the highest standards of workmanship. Couture watch brands, along with houses such as Cartier that have always attended to the outward finish of timepieces, have been raising the bar in women’s luxury watches by bringing in new materials and techniques – we have seen wood and straw marquetry, engraved mother of pearl, sculpted mineral dials and now, feather marquetry by two brands famous for adoring women: Harry Winston and Dior.

Just as there is a master craftsman for every skill involved in the couture or haute horlogerie finishing process, this work is done by none other than a plumassière, or feather artist. In the case of Harry Winston, this person is Nelly Saunier, who runs one of the most sought-after couture ateliers in Paris and collaborates with top fashion brands – the parakeet bolero she made for Jean Paul Gaultier is the stuff of fashion legend. In addition to extreme dexterity, feather marquetry requires excellent perception of volumes and above all of colors. Each of the brand’s three Premier feather marquetry pieces is set with the feathers of a different species: peacock, pheasant and guinea fowl. The birds are specifically bred for this purpose. Each case is set with 66 diamonds. The buckles are set with 29 diamonds.

Dior’s Dior VIII Grand Bal Plumes collection of watches takes the concept one step further by setting feathers into the rotor, which is positioned on the dial rather than the caseback, where it sways like the skirt of a Dior couture ball gown. A spectacle that certainly gives the dance of the tourbillon a run for its money.

Round 1 has officially closed, and the timepieces with the most votes are moving on to Round 2 of Timepiece Madness 2013! Haute Time’s voter-driven contest is pitting the top timepieces in haute horlogerie against each other to determine the hautest watch of 2013. Some matchups were close, while others were a landslide, indicating early leaders. Round 2 kicks off at midnight tonight, and the watches you choose will move on to Round 3 (May 25-28), the Quarter Finals (May 30-June 3), the Semi Finals (June 6-10) and the Finals (June 13-17)!

To vote for your favorite watch and to follow the fierce competition during Round 2 visit Timepiece Madness 2013. Here are the timepieces that will be competing during Round 2:

Richard Mille Tourbillon RM 27-01 VS
Chopard L.U.C Engine One H

Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater VS
Ernst Benz John Varvatos Chronoscope

Blancpain Tourbillon Carrousel VS
Carl F. Bucherer CFB Tourbillon

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle Caliber 2253 New York Boutique Edition VS
Tag Heuer Carrera MikroPendulumS

Hublot La Ferrari VS
Speake-Marin Triad

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor VS
IWC Ingenieur Constant-Force Tourbillon

Girard Perregaux Constant Escapement VS
Glashutte Original The Senator Tourbillon

Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Exo-Tourbillon Chronographe VS
Ulysse Nardin Skeleton Tourbillon

Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Squelette VS
Hermes Arceau Pocket Volutes

Corum TI-Bridge Automatic Dual Winder VS
HYT H2

F.P. Journe Chronomètre Optimum VS
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black Titanium

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 Jubilee VS
Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon

Harry Winston Opus XIII VS
Omega Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon”

Rotonde de Cartier Double Mystery Tourbillon VS
Panerai Tourbillon GMT Ceramic Pocket Watch

Breguet Classique Grandes Complications 5377BR VS
Zenith Pilot Montre d’Aeronef Type 20 Tourbillon

Urwerk UR 110 PTH VS
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Titanium Grande Complication

Since the Cannes Film Festival celebrated its debut in 1946, the event has attracted the biggest movie stars and the best style. This year we’re zeroing in on Montblanc, a staple of Cannes red carpet-style. The manufacture has not only showed up on the arms of actors and directors, they’ve also taken up residence in Cannes.

Montblanc is offering private appointments from its residence at the Martinez Hotel. There the stars and lucky guests will have the chance to experience the brand’s collections, from timepieces to jewelry and cufflinks. Montblanc’s Collection Princesse Grace de Monaco, an homage to the Hollywood movie star who won the heart of a prince and touched the lives of millions. At the end of the festival, Montblanc will host a private Only Lovers Left Alive party on May 25 at The Mouton Cadet Terrace at Palais de Festival.

If you can’t make it to Cannes this year, don’t fret. We’ve got your look at Montblanc’s star appearances on the steps of the croisette at the Cannes Film Festival. From Annabelle Belmondo to Virginie Ledoyen and Jimmy Jean Louis, here are the elegant Montblanc timepieces that caught our eye.

Photos courtesy Montblanc.

Last week luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet teamed up with Sotheby’s to auction off a rare timepiece in support of charity. The Platinum Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi N°10, bearing the famous footballer and Audemars Piguet ambassador’s number 10, was auctioned off as part of Sotheby’s Important Watches Auction on May 11 in Geneva. The entire proceeds of the sale will benefit the Leo Messi Foundation, which provides for unprivilledged children around the world.

More than 20 buyers from around the world competed for the Platinum Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi N°10 watch, resulting in an intense five minute bidding session. A private collector based in the U.S. placed the winning bid of CHF$81,250 (approximately US$83,737).

Commenting after the sale Leo Messi said: “I am sincerely grateful to Audemars Piguet, Sotheby’s and the anonymous buyer of the No.10 Royal Oak watch bearing my name. Their generosity will help Leo Messi Foundation to renovate “La Sala I” at the Children Public Hospital in my home city of Rosario, creating better conditions for all unprivileged children being hospitalized. It is a wonderful cause and one I am proud to share and support with everyone who believes in it.”

Last year Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Leo Messi in honor of their ambassador, who has dominated the world of football in recent years, racking up records and scoring 91 goals in 69 matches during 2012. The limited series was produced in 100-piece editions of steel, pink gold, and platinum. Now watch collectors and fans of the footballer will be able to bid on the 10th platinum model, which corresponds to Messi’s jersey number.

The Platinum Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi is immediately recognizable as a collectible thanks to its deep blue shade and white gold hour-markers, replacing the standard Royal Oak “tapisserie” motif. Set on a rubber strap, the caseback of this 41mm-diameter platinum also features the engraved inscriptions “ROYAL OAK LIMITED EDITION” and “LEO MESSI”, numbered 10/100. The lot was accompanied by an autographed T-shirt as well as the original sketch of the watch, signed by Messi and Audemars Piguet’s chief artistic officer, Octavio Garcia.

And the cherry on top? The winning bidder will now get to meet the legendary footballer in person while catching an FC Barcelona game.

Photos courtesy Audemars Piguet and Sotheby’s.

Today’s Haute Time Watch of the Day is a special piece created by Patek Philippe, its the ref. 5004T Split-Seconds Perpetual Calendar in Titanium. Patek Philippe has released this one of a kind piece in Titanium for the Only Watch 2013 Charity Auction in Monaco this coming September. All the proceeds raised from the Auction will go to research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The ref. 5004T Spilt-Seconds Perpetual in Titanium is one of only four pieces created in titanium by Patek Philippe and features a Caliber CHR 27-70 Q manual-winding split-seconds chronograph movement with a 30-minute counter, perpetual calendar with day and month indicators, date with leap year hands, a moon phase, small seconds and a 24-hour display.

The case is 36.7 mm, created in titanium with a solid gold, black dial with guilloche carbon pattern and gold numerals. This special piece is shown on a black calf’s leather strap with carbon pattern and red stitching with a titanium buckle.

This week luxury conglomerate Richemont posted their year-end financial results showing that the group’s watchmaking division is stronger than ever. The specialist watchmakers’ division posted an 18% increase in sales, reflecting growing worldwide interest in haute horlogerie.

The Compagnie Financière Richemont SA owns several luxury watch manufactures, including Vacheron Constantin, Baume & Mercier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lange & Söhne, Cartier, Officine Panerai, IWC, Piaget, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc and Roger Dubuis. Overall, the brands brought in €2,752,000 (US$3,527,513) in the year ending March 31, 2013. That number is up from €2,323,000 ($2,977,621) the year before. Sales in the Asia Pacific region were the strongest overall, with Hong Kong and mainland China comprising the two largest markets.

Johann Rupert, the Chairman of Richemont, told us; “The Jewellery Maisons and the Specialist Watchmakers have reported remarkable growth in sales and profits, despite the continuing strength of the Swiss franc and historically high cost of precious metals and stones.”

Pictured above is the IWC headquarters, viewed from the Rhine. Photo credit: PHOTOPRESS/Jonas Kuhn/IWC.

Here’s some eye candy for your Friday afternoon: the Graff watches I saw at BaselWorld 2013.

Photos by Seth Semilof.