de GRISOGONO watches: ghoulish fun with the new Crazy Skull high jewellery watch

Anything that issues from Fawaz Gruosi's flamboyant imagination is destined to make an impact, and the latest high jewellery de GRISOGONO watch pushes the wow factor one step further while poking fun at our mortality, inviting us to enjoy life to the hilt, while we can.

Fawaz Gruosi is a night owl and the red carpet is his natural habitat, so what better way to launch the Crazy Skull watch than with a host of the brand's high-profile friends. Singers, actors, photographers and models Karlie Kloss and Barbara Palvin were all on hand for the Crazy Skull party, held at de GRISOGONO's newly inaugurated Parisian showroom, a 350m² flat transformed into a luxurious personal salon on Rue Boétie.

Skulls have been used in jewellery and watches for decades, but this is the first time I have seen a high jewellery skull watch poke out its tongue. Light years from being a morbid representation of our anatomy - like Damien Hirst's skull sculpture - de GRISOGONO's Crazy Skull watch actually smiles at the world with a beautiful set of teeth fashioned from 7.70 carats of sparkling white baguette-cut diamonds. The skull is snow-set with 890 white or black diamonds - or rubies, depending on your taste - and the nose is represented by a heart-cut white diamond weighing 1.50 carats.

The cavernous eye wells, set with a hypnotic spiral of black and white diamonds, draw the eye to the two separate dials - a clever way to display the dual time zones, which are powered by a Swiss quartz movement for carefree maintenance.

The fun really begins when the mechanism to open the jaw is activated and the Crazy Skull watch mischievously sticks out its pretty pink sapphire or ruby tongue - a mechanism that took nine months to perfect. No detail has been left unattended, including the delightful clasp made from crossbones snow-set with diamonds or rubies on a hallmark de GRISOGONO galuchat strap.

Smothered in 45.00 carats of stones, this audacious yet wonderfully engaging high jewellery de GROSOGONO watch is a reminder to carpe diem and party well into the night.

The new de GRISOGONO Crazy Skull watch features a snow-set skull with 890 black diamonds and 7.70ct of baguette-cut teeth, which smile to reveal either a ruby or pink sapphire encrusted tongue.
Fawaz Gruosi, CEO of de GRISOGONO, launched the Crazy Skull watch collection with a host of the brand’s high-profile friends, including Victoria's Secret model Barbara Palvin.
Models Barbara Palvin and Karlie Kloss try on the de GRISOGONO Crazy Skull high jewellery watch during the Crazy Skull party, held at the brand's newly inaugurated Parisian showroom.
The de GRISOGONO Crazy Skull watch features a snow-set skull with 890 white or black diamonds or rubies, while the nose is represented by a heart-cut white diamond.
The cavernous eye wells of de GRISOGONO's new Crazy Skull high jewellery watch are set with a hypnotic spiral of black and white diamonds, which draw the eye to the two separate dials - a clever way to display the dual time zones.