Ebel’s Diamond Celebration Fetes 30 Years of the Le Corbusier Villa

A video posted by @ebel on May 28, 2016 at 6:00am PDT

Tucked away in La Chaux-de-Fonds—a Swiss city once reputed for being the capital of the watchmaking industry—lies the century-old Villa Turque. Now known as La Maison Ebel, the structure was designed by renowned Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965), and is notable for its protruding, curved façade and ochre brickwork. This year not only marks 100 years since the building’s conception, but 30 years since it was acquired by fine luxury watch brand Ebel. To celebrate the 30th anniversary, Ebel unveiled a limited edition collection of timepieces fittingly called “La Maison Ebel.”

The noteworthy addition to the brand’s line up of watches was celebrated with an intimate soirée at the historical location. Guests, including Style.com/Arabia’s contributor Elizabeth Whiston-Dew, were invited to an elegant affair that immersed attendees in the spirit, art, and history of the villa. Whiston-Dew reminisced, “Stepping into the La Maison Ebel for the first time and one is immersed in an open-plan space flooded with light; the late architect Le Corbusier’s work of art truly charms. Here, we were reminded of the core values of the Ebel brand: the fusion of beauty and function.” Guests were later treated to a live art demonstration by artist Robert Faure, who is known for his East Asian ink wash paintings.

Evocative of the brand’s design process, the villa’s oval windows served as a starting point for the La Maison Ebel watch collection. The line includes three mother-of-pearl dial iterations that feature a sunray guilloche moon phase. Set with brilliant-cut diamonds around the face and featuring a discreet inscription of the Villa Turque logo on the back, the La Maison Ebel watches come in a variety of finishes, including 18-karat gold, white gold, and rose gold, and are all presented with a matching bracelet or a glossy alligator strap.

Husband and wife watchmakers Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy founded Ebel in 1911, and named their joint venture by fusing their initials, Eugene Blum et Lévy, together. An industrialist by profession, Blum focused on functionality while his wife had a sharp eye for beauty. This in itself conceived the founding philosophy of the brand that marries elegance and technical expertise. In the gallery below, see the La Maison Ebel collection by Ebel watches and Style.com/Arabia’s snaps from the Swiss getaway.