Corum Peacock Tonneau

Corum has never been shy about trying the unexpected — golden bridges, coin watches, bubble cases — and in the 1970s, they decided to pluck beauty straight from nature. The result is this Corum Peacock Tonneau, a watch that doesn’t just borrow its name from the bird but actually wears its feather proudly on the dial. Real peacock plumage, selected and laid using the age-old plumasserie technique, forms an iridescent center that shifts between blue, green, and bronze depending on the light and your angle of distraction.

Peacock feathers are not chosen at random. Each one is examined for density, symmetry, and color before being steam-cleaned and trimmed. The individual strands are then arranged with the care of a marquetry artisan, creating a dial that is as much a work of craft as it is of horology. This is the kind of detail that makes you pause mid-conversation, tilt your wrist, and forget what you were saying.

The 18k yellow gold tonneau case is compact — 24mm by 35mm — but has a presence that’s entirely out of proportion to its size, thanks to that dial and the gold crown capped with a deep blue sapphire cabochon that winks back at the feather’s own blues. Inside, a manual-wound movement keeps time the old-fashioned way, just as a watch like this deserves.

The strap is black alligator, finished with Corum’s gold-plated buckle engraved with their signature key emblem. This piece is a literal discreet peacock — striking but under the radar, beautiful without needing to preen. For collectors, it’s a reminder of when Corum was at its most experimental, pulling off ideas that would have felt outrageous on paper but in the metal (and in the feather) work with improbable grace.