Gilding the Lily

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 is one of the watch world’s most sought-after models. Discontinued in 2021, the classic design fetches six-figure sums on the secondary market. So if you’re lucky enough to own one, why mess with it? Why have it completely encrusted — the dial, the bezel, the bracelet band — with 21 carats of green sapphires? “I’ve got everything I want. Now I want something no one else has,” is how Alys McMahon, commercial director of watch customizer Private Label London, describes the company’s wealthy clients’ impulses. In addition to creating the gorgeous, glistening-green specimen that is the aforementioned Patek, Private Label has reimagined timepieces by Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Rolex, and a host of other brands for the .001 percent. Tweaks can range from the relatively simple, like changing the color of the dial or bezel, to much more grandiose gestures. Private Label has matched the color of a client’s Rolex Datejust to their car and helicopter; created a diamond dial for a Patek Philippe Nautilus 7011 in the exact constellation pattern for the day a client’s child was born; added a custom colored ceramic coating to another client’s Patek Philippe (both a decorative statement and a protective treatment); and completely encrusted watches in diamonds, including the movements. These are, McMahon concedes, “full investments,” but they result in a timepiece that nobody else in the world can claim to have. There are no limits to what Private Label can do — “it’s as wild as you want to make it,” says McMahon — but there are sometimes practical considerations (the company won’t work on counterfeits; emeralds are too soft for certain applications). Pieces take anywhere from two to eight weeks to customize. Need immediate gratification? You can find a selection of Private Label’s timepieces at Dover Street Market locations in London and online.

Rima Suqi is Further’s Style & Design Correspondent and the co-author of Kelly Wearstler: Evocative Style.