- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
- Bangladesh revolution sparks new hopes among Rohingya
Jeweller's eye-popping watch is love letter to Albania
Albanian jeweller Pirro Ruco laboured day and night for five years to capture the essence of his country in a spectacular luxury watch.
Now the timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November.
Set under a sapphire dome, the hours are marked by 12 golden folk dancers -- each in different regional dress -- set on Murano glass, the minute and hour hands adorned with eagle talons in homage to Albania's national symbol.
Ruco's rollercoaster rise mirrors that of Albania, from poverty and isolation as the most closed communist regime in Europe, to rollicking capitalism.
Along the way the jeweller overcame jealousy, the secret police and being sent into internal exile to rise to the pinnacle of his profession.
It all began for Pirro -- as he is known in his homeland -- in 1985 when he was asked to make a medal in red and gold bearing the head of Enver Hoxha, the paranoid dictator who ruled the small Balkan nation with an iron fist for more than four decades.
"That saved me," he told AFP from his workshop tucked away in an alley in the capital Tirana.
The medals were awarded to the regime's most loyal supporters and later caught the eye of Hoxha's wife.
The turn of fortune saw thousands more produced and worn by communist cadres across Albania.
"All the congressional delegates had to wear it. I made a name for myself with it," he said. It also saved him from the textile mills where he had been sent because his family had been deemed "rebellious".
- 'Priceless' -
All this, however, was nearly derailed by an anonymous letter sent to authorities accused Pirro of working with foreign agents.
He was questioned by intelligence agents and his workshop raided.
Down but not out, he was able to bounce back after crafting a ring bearing the image of the late husband of a member of the communist politburo and in July 1990 won a prize for a piece featuring Albania's 15th-century national hero Skanderberg.
But the very next day history intervened. The regime began to crumnble and the collapse of Albania's communist rule in 1991 was followed by years of violent tumult as the country transitioned to a free-market economy.
Amid the ups and downs, Pirro stayed busy designing pieces for officials and celebrities.
During a trip to Basel in Switzerland in 2016, something new caught his eye.
"I wanted to make a watch. It was my new dream," he told AFP.
For the next five years, Pirro said he focused on "doing something special, Albanian, and at the same time completely new and never before seen in the watch industry."
The new timepiece which he calls Primordial Passion was designed in collaboration with the Swiss watchmaker Agenhor.
"I never wanted to make jewellery, but art," the jeweller said.
"Sculptures, images of the country, pieces of culture... This watch is the culmination of all that, of this love for Albania," he added.
"It is more than just a watch. It combines the rich heritage of ancient Albanian culture with the notion of chronometry."
Pirro refuses to divulge the methods used to craft the watch, but remains hopeful the painstaking details will be recognised by the judges at the Grand Prix in Geneva.
Several collectors have already contacted him about buying the timepiece, he said, though it would be difficult to part with his creation.
"I set a price because I had to. But for me, it is priceless."
P.Schmidt--CPN