Chopard sets 'Imperiale Joaillerie' watch with 581 sapphires for Baselworld 2016

The Swiss watchmaker and jewelry house has unveiled a new "Imperiale Joaillerie" watch at the Baselworld watch and jewelry fair in Basel, Switzerland. This new exceptional timepiece shimmers in all the colors of the rainbow thanks to no less than 581 sapphires, totaling 47.98 karats.

In an exceptional new creation that matches watchmaking expertise with high-end jewelry design, Chopard has formed an extraordinary rainbow effect using different colored sapphires, with shades fading from purple -- the iconic color of the "Imperiale" collection -- through blue, red and yellow to lime green. It's a real burst of color that makes an eye-catching design.

This exceptional timepiece is made with 581 sapphires, totaling 47.98 karats, and over 1,000 hours' work -- 1,012 to be precise -- went into selecting cutting, sorting and setting the stones.

A couture watch

Drawing on jewelry design, couture and watchmaking, this colorful new "Imperiale Joaillerie" model is made from 18-karat rose gold, and sees its case, crown, dial and strap covered entirely with baguette-cut sapphires arranged in colors that fade subtly from one to the next. The crown and the lug-covers are set with amethysts.

This masterpiece of jewelry design also comes loaded with a Chopard caliber, a self-winding mechanical movement with hours and minutes functions and a 60-hour power reserve. The movement can be admired through the exhibition case-back.