Only a brand like Patek Philippe can pull off making a special edition watch in steel and later offer a production model in White Gold and not diminish the value of either. Yes, we are talking about the new family of Ref. 6007G models that were launched during the Watches & Wonder Geneva show at the end of March earlier this year.
Fans of the brand will remember that back in 2020, Patek Philippe offered a 1,000-piece limited edition of the Ref. 6007A, which was created in the same dial design you see on these fantastic pieces but offered a blue dial along with a stainless-steel case, a rare occurrence within the house of Patek Philippe. This previous limited edition was created to commemorate the opening of their new PP6 production building.
The new Ref. 6007G collection, however, are production models and come in a more modern style. Firstly, the dials have been created in an ebony black colour, that offers three different finishing styles. The least obvious is on the outer ring where there is a smooth polished surface, next the hour track offers a fine circular grain. The most obvious texture on the dial, however, is the carbon fibre-like pattern that has been embossed on the centre portion of the dial. This dial pattern was also seen on Patek Philippe’s 2017 contribution to Only Watch where this pattern was guilloché-ed onto the dial of the first and only titanium version of the Ref. 5208 (it was ultimately sold for CHF 6.2 million).
Circling back to the Ref 6007G collection, the black of the dial is contrasted nicely with accents of colour, just below the hour markers, on the minutes track, and on the second’s hand as well. There are three variations, offering blue, yellow or red colour options and each of these comes paired with a black calfskin strap, also with an embossed ‘carbon’ motif and stitching of the corresponding colour. Each of these watches will be housed in a 40mm white gold case.
Unlike the Ref. 6007A, the limited edition offered in 2020, the new variant comes with a new movement, the calibre 26-330 S C which offers a 45-hour power reserve and a Spiromax balance spring. As with all Patek Philippe watches, the movement also bears the Patek Philippe seal.
Although the watch is clad in a white-gold case, this Patek Philippe Ref. 6007G represents one of the sportier watches within the Calatrava family. The carbon embossed pattern offers quite a dynamic aesthetic yet still maintains the watchmaking savoire faire associated with a brand that sits near the pinnacle of the horology industry. Also, how can we resist the chance to add some vibrant colour into what is normally a very, let’s say, monochromatic collection?
As far as dive watches go, the Captain Cook from Rado often gets neglected when enthusiasts gather to discuss references from the past. After all, the watch was only made for about six years in the 1960s before it was discontinued. And it had no significant ties with military forces, as all the most prominent dive watches at the time seemed to have. All it had however is the name of the intrepid explorer James Cook on its dial accompanied by Rado’s famed anchor. But, as we will soon find out, Cook’s adventurous spirit and his embracing of the importance of science would create a ripple effect that extends to the present and bring Rado’s humble dive watch back into the folds of conversation among enthusiasts.
Since the rebirth of the Captain Cook collection in 2017, Rado has updated each successive generation with their latest watchmaking technologies. And as the collection grew, so did the boldness of its ideas. For 2023, the latest Captain Cook High Tech Ceramic Skeleton has emerged out of the sea to showcase not only Rado’s technical side of watchmaking but also reinforce its status as a Master of Materials.
New World Exploration
To understand the Captain Cook at present, we must first dive into its past. Although the watches of Rado look as futuristic as watches come, its history actually dates back to 1917 when brothers Fritz, Ernst and Werner Schlup converted part of their parent’s home into the base of operations for Schlup & Co. After the Second World War, they had become one of the largest producers of watch movements, all the while upholding the ‘Swiss-made’ quality standard. It was around then that they decided it was time to launch their own brand and thus, the name Rado was born, based on the Esperanto word for wheel.
As with all mechanical watches at the time, innovation was synonymous with necessity. And the first Rado-branded watch, the Golden Horse, was created in 1957 based on a water-resistant case construction. In 1962 the Rado Diastar was created with an ultra-resistant hard metal, earning it the title of the world’s first scratchproof watch. It was in this same year that the first Captain Cook debuted.
An advertisement featuring the name Rado circa 1952.
In the 1960s there was a steady uptake of recreational diving thanks to the invention of scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) gear like the Aqua-Lung by French engineer, Émile Gagnan, and the world-renowned explorer, Jacques Cousteau. To tap into this highly lucrative market, Rado created their own version of a dive watch, offering a timepiece with a greater level of water resistance and a timing bezel that was essential for divers to keep track of their dive times.
Back then, the accuracy of the timekeepers and the reliability of these bezels could mean the difference between life and death as it was used to keep track of decompression timers. Decompression is the act of taking breaks at specific depths so that the body has time to naturally dissipate the nitrogen that has seeped into the tissue from breathing the compressed air within the scuba tanks. If the timing is not adhered to, the nitrogen will expand as the outside pressure decreases creating bubbles in the joints, lungs, and/or spinal column which depending on the severity can be fatal.
Rado christened their dive watch collection after the legendary British explorer James Cook. Captain Cook was most known for his expeditions to the Pacific Oceans where he circumnavigated and mapped New Zealand. Cook was also revered for his navigational prowess relying on astronomy, and accurate marine chronometers to determine his position on the globe. Additionally, he often carried several scientists on his voyages allowing them to make significant observations and discoveries like the cataloguing of over 3,000 plant species during his first voyage in 1768 and on his second voyage, the artist William Hodges produced notable landscape paintings of Tahiti and Easter Islands.
The New Expedition
One of the hallmarks of a great design is that no matter how many years go by, its form and function remain relevant in the present. If you look at the first Rado Captain Cook launched in 1962, everything was designed to be both functional and beautiful at the same time. The hour markers contrast against the background, the hands are large and obvious, and even the Rado insignia freely rotates not just as an aesthetic choice but back then, it was also used as an indicator to tell you when the watch needed to be serviced. Additionally, some other identifying traits of the Rado Captain Cook collection are the bezel that is sloped inwards and the box-style crystal.
After the Captain Cook was discontinued in 1968 it spent a good 40-plus years in hibernation and in 2017, in a move that took most of the watch industry completely by surprise, they relaunched a new Captain Cook that looked almost identical to its predecessor. All of the design cues of the original were still there, updated with modern movements and a better-constructed case of course. But the one thing that really caught the attention of aficionados was the fact that Rado decided to keep the sizing at 37mm.
A small dive watch was nothing special in 1962 but in 2017, when trends were leaning towards oversized chunky watches (especially so in the dive watch category), the creation of a small and svelte option was one that found its niche set of customers. This smaller size was also ahead of the game at the time as only now other brands have started to gravitate towards reducing the size of their watch cases.
Master of Materials
Extremely high temperatures are needed to create the glossy finish on Rado’s ceramic cases.
With Rado’s reputation for manipulating the ultra-hard, scratchproof, corrosion-resistant, lightweight and hypoallergenic ceramic material, it would only make sense for them to incorporate this highly technical material into the Captain Cook collection. Various forms of ceramics have been around for thousands of years, however, unlike its rudimentary forms like vases and bowls, the ceramics used in Rado’s manufactures are lightyears away in terms of technology.
Rado’s High-Tech Ceramic material starts out as ultra-fine zirconium oxide powder with a grain size of approximately 0.001mm, 50 times smaller than the diameter of human hair. After it is mixed with a binding agent, it is injected into a mould at 1,000 bars of pressure. Next, it enters a sintering process where it goes into an incredibly high-temperature oven of 1450°C and over many hours, this ceramic fully hardens. Then, specially designed diamond tools are used to rework the end product to achieve the strict tolerances needed for the case to ensure the watch can be assembled perfectly and to keep the integrity of the water resistance rating. Interestingly the high-tech ceramic, when it was first created, was only available in black. It was only in 1993 that coloured ceramics became available.
Rado has been constantly perfecting and updating their ceramic manipulation technologies for more than 35 years now and they have brought the craft to a point where they are now able to precisely control the outcome of the materials down to the precise shade of colour or even a specific texture on the surface. A case in point is their plasma finishing where the high-tech ceramic is subjected to yet another high-temperature process to give the material a permanent metallic shade without the use of any metallic content.
Past Meets Present
Since the return of the Captain Cook collection in 2017, many variants have been added to its repertoire with each successive year. But this year, their latest reference seems to have taken all the brand’s savoire faire and combined it into a single, all-encompassing watch – the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton.
Let’s start with the case. From afar, the watch exudes all the design cues that identify it as a Captain Cook, the case shape, the sloping bezel, the arrow hour hand, and the box-style crystal are all there. However, it is only upon closer inspection that all the nuances of this fantastic timepiece become obvious. Firstly, the case is made entirely of plasma high-tech ceramic and its famed properties of extreme surface resistance. This makes it perfect for a dive watch that is usually worn in, shall we say, more adventurous situations. Additionally, the bezel and bracelet are also made from the same robust material.
For this reference, Rado chose a deep anthracite colour to represent the virile, primal forces of the mineral world. Various shades and finishing techniques are added to the case components to give the watch additional character. The matte finish of the monobloc case is contrasted visually with the circular brushed finish on the bezel insert. Even the bracelet offers centre links of a lighter shade and a glossy mirror finish for a more elegant look. Lastly, to give the watch that added pop of visual detail, the bezel is made in a rose-gold colour with matching bezel indicators.
As we dive deeper into this Captain Cook reference, the transparent dial offers an unbridled look into the new and improved skeletonised movement. The Calibre R808 skeleton has been reworked with a smart new geometry and the components are shaded in different tones to give it an architectural façade. The box-shaped sapphire crystal adds to this effect by increasing the visual depth, and to give all of it an air of mystery, the crystal has a lightly smoked tint. The movement itself is highly reliable with a Nivachron hairspring, offering unparalleled anti-magnetic properties. The power reserve for the movement is 80 hours which when fully wound will let the watch sit on a dresser over the weekend and still have more than enough juice to keep going when Monday rolls along.
Global Phenomenon
In tandem with the launch of the new Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton, they have also announced a new brand ambassador – Ji Chang-Wook. The popular South Korean is already a household name in his home country and with the K-wave hitting frenzied levels across the globe, Ji Chang-Wook is a name that clearly, most around the world are also familiar with.
Having got his start in the industry when he was just 20 years old, his fame sky-rocketed when he played a Korean-American speed skater in 2010’s Smile Again, which aired every weekday during prime time for 159 episodes. Since then, his acting career has also diversified with contemporary and historical characters across a broad range of film, television and web series formats. His versatility on screen is also mirrored in his ability to perfectly play an Emperor like in the drama Empress Ki or romantic roles like in Backstreet Rookie and Lovestruck in the City in the same convincing fashion.
“I have always been interested in Swiss watches, especially in unique designs and special materials, and I’m very happy to star in my new role as Brand Ambassador for Rado. The Captain Cook is such a beautiful watch, I look forward to wearing it whenever I can.” Comments Ji Chang-Wook.
In many ways, this Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton draws parallels to the brand’s South Korean ambassador. His diversified talent in multiple roles is similar to how the watch can fit into many daily roles. Designed with dive watch aesthetics, the Captain Cook is naturally rugged and fits casual dressing styles and yet, thanks to its unique grey and gold colour combination along with the polished centre links of the Plasma High-Tech Ceramic bracelet, the watch will look just at home in a suit or dinner jacket.
Even with his fame as an actor, Ji Chang-Wook doesn’t seem to be contented in just one realm of the entertainment industry. Despite being an award-winning actor, he still finds the time to actively dip his toe in the music industry. To date, he has appeared frequently in musicals and music videos and has even recorded a number of OSTs (Original Sound Tracks). For a man that seems like he wants to do it all, the watch is a perfect accompaniment to him, because through Rado’s constant pursuit of research and development when it comes to materials, the watch is created to withstand anything and everything life can throw at it. And the best part is, it does so with the utmost amount of style.
It is no secret that luxury watch brands have been taking keen interest in jewellery for years as part of their learning curve to design horological sculptures. The idea is to look beyond pure timekeeping and precision instruments to develop extraordinary jewels of time; this of course has nothing to do with the jewels in mechanical calibres!
Isabelle Cerboneschi, a renowned historian of fashion, watchmaking and jewellery had this to say when asked about the watch brand that paved the way in terms of applying ornamentation in its collections, “If we’re talking about the last two centuries, I would definitely say Vacheron Constantin. The company, which was founded in 1755, joined forces with the Parisian jeweller Ferdinand Verger (which later changed to the name Verger Frères in 1921) as early as 1879…until 1938. Together, they created jewellery that told time according to the style and taste of that period, including some Art Nouveau and Art Deco marvels. They had nothing to envy the pieces of the great jewellers of Place Vendôme in Paris. The Verger Company had registered numerous patents in the field of jewellery and watchmaking, and Vacheron Constantin benefited from these awe-inspiring inventions. For instance, in the company’s archives, there is a watch with flaps that opens mechanically to reveal the time.”
Vacheron Constantin 1972
Jewellery and watchmaking in Geneva, the home of Vacheron Constantin, became interlinked when the austere Christian reformer John Calvin ran the show in the city back in the 16th century. He banned jewellery, and thus the craftspeople all switched to watchmaking; it is a well-known story in the city, and shaped the destiny of watchmaking in Switzerland, as did the Reformation in general. Swiss watchmakers later developed a reputation for crafting highly ornate pieces, in stark contrast with their English and American counterparts.
When it comes to giving an ornamental look to watches, Abraham-Louis Breguet was also very influential. “Breguet was really at the cutting edge of making watches people carried, particularly European royalty and nobility, and some of those early pieces had amazing ornamentation done on them. Of course, he didn’t start it. In fact, it started long before him in the preceding centuries, but he helped make it more fashionable,” said Eric Wind, a seasoned vintage watch expert.
EVOLUTION OF WATCH SHAPES INSPIRED BY JEWELLERY
Jewellery houses have also played a pioneering role in the origin of wristwatches that never fall short of appealing to the senses, and the one that alwayd comes to mind is Cartier. One only needs to think of the Santos to understand why, and then add Edmond Jaeger’s contribution and it all makes sense. Always regarded as the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers, Cartier remains a triumphant player in both haute joaillerie and haute horlogerie. We do not need to see the novelties at Watches and Wonders Geneva to tell you that there will be some sublime “jewels of time,” on display.
The principle of embracing liberal yet enchanting designs of its own has always been at the core of Cartier’s ethos even when it comes to creating highend timepieces in varying shapes thanks to its unparalleled expertise in jewellery. We will just name-drop a few for good measure: the Tank (in all its various forms), Tortue, the mind-bending Crash, Cloche, Ballon Bleu, and Baignoire—We could go on at length but Cartier will always deliver some sort of new sort of watch that will surprise (like the recent Pebble, seen below).
A good part of the success of these watch shapes also has to do with their attractive design features such as Roman numerals, blued hands (sword hands or Breguet hands), and rail-road minute tracks on the dials. No other brand has had as much success with shaped watches as Cartier, and it all has to do with both how the watches look as well as how they wear. When gems are in the picture, Cartier takes it to another level.
“I think Cartier has often been the maker of the best “jewellery watches” in that they sometimes have incredible stones incorporated and other times it’s just the watch standing on its own merit,” Wind said. The gem-set version of the Astrotourbillon (literally a favourite of more than one WOW editor) bears this out. Wind continues: “The worlds of jewellery and watches are inextricably connected as watches really evolved out of jewellery centuries ago; pieces of the watch such as the case and dial were mostly made by jewellers for early timepieces. Often the craftsmen and designers for watches started their careers in jewellery. Gérald Genta, probably the most famous watch designer of all time, started life as a jewellery designer before pivoting to watches and his work very much reflects that approach. Gilbert Albert, who famously designed so many interesting Patek Philippe watches, especially the iconic Asymetrie wristwatch series in the 1960s, also was a jewellery designer. At the end of the day, jewellery and watches are both about shapes and craftsmanship or skill.”
Cartier Tank Française
Gilbert’s contribution to the world of jewelled watches can be gauged precisely from the Patek Philippe Ref. 3295, part of the “Tutti Frutti collection”. Most importantly, it won the 1960 Prix de la Ville Genève (which today is the GPHG) jewellery watch award.
“Not surprisingly, the real difference came to light when brands like Piaget, Omega, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet called on brilliant designers like Gerald Genta or the lesser known but no less brilliant Jean Claudie-Gueit, who worked for big brands like Baume & Mercier, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Rolex, for whom he particularly invented the rainbow setting. But above all, he worked for Piaget, creating emblematic models such as the Polo or other more creative watches, including articulated cuffs or stone dials all under the aegis of Yves Piaget,” Cerboneschi said.
So in terms of shapes especially asymmetrical ones from trapezoidal to elliptical, if one looks at the vintage models of Patek Philippe (the Gondolo collection), Vacheron Constantin (its 1972 asymmetric model, tonneau and cushion-shaped designs), Piaget, Omega and Audemars Piguet, all these watch brands borrowed from the rich history of jewellery aesthetics. All in all, Vacheron Constantin was having its own heyday in designing playful watch designs from 1910 to 1930 like a shutter watch from the 1930s and the ref. 10970 from 1917. As Christian Selmoni, heritage and style director at Vacheron Constantin said, “When it comes to the Maison still releasing limited editions of early shaped watches from its archives, the best example that comes to mind is the American 1921, which is one of the most recognizable designs of the brand with its crown at 1 o’clock and its inclined dial in a cushion-shaped case. Such models from the past demonstrate Vacheron Constantin’s endless creativity and bold attitude already adopted by it at the beginning of the 20th century.”
Shedding further light on how jewellery has influenced the technical aspect of watchmakers or taken it to another level, Wind pointed out, “There have always been new innovations in the world of jewellery, including advancements in the art of stone setting and materials used. So watchmakers will often adopt these approaches in order to advance their own designs.”
Another famous Swiss watchmaker with a history of crafting astonishing watches in bold shapes is Corum with its Golden Bridge collection. Since its introduction in 1980, the brand has been able to occupy a particular place in the hearts of watch lovers. “All the iterations of the Golden Bridge collection created thus far have been extremely successful in garnering a great deal of popularity in the watch collecting world thanks to (watchmaker) Vincent Calabrese’s vision of inventing a timepiece without a dial yet revealing the movement in its entirety,” said Marc Walti, head of product marketing and communications at Corum.
Corum Golden Bridge models
While the baguette movement can fit into any shape, Walti explained, “We will focus mainly on the iconic tonneau shape in the future and play more with “métiers d’art” to better highlight this movement. Having a collection such as this which remains in demand is a boon and the wish of many a watch brand. Timelessness is a highly sought-after value in this sector.”
MEN’S PENCHANT FOR WATCHES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
“Nevertheless, there will always be male customers obsessed with purchasing luxury bling jewellery watches like the famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo whose passion for ostentatious jewelled timepieces is well-documented. But as time goes by, the demand for traditional watches fitted with extreme complications as well as studded with precious gemstones and diamonds in a certain way will also grow bigger,” Cerboneschi said.
Jacob & Co. The Caviar Tourbillon Tsavorites
It is no wonder that Ronaldo’s preference for classy watches adorned with gemstones is no less prominent. He is often spotted wearing one of Breguet double tourbillon models such as its Classique ‘Grande Complication’ 5349PT model. Since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now his new homeland after he signed the contract with the country’s Al Nassr football club, he made it more special by wearing the most lavish and expensive timepiece “The Caviar Tourbillon Tsavorites” created by Jacob & Co for his arrival here in January this year. The case of this 47mm watch comes adorned with 224 baguette tsavorites on the surface, with 130 baguette tsavorites used on the dial and 18 on the buckle.
The popularity of jewelled watches certainly owes a lot of credit to men and women alike as they both love such luxury pieces. “I think of the Rolex Rainbow Daytona series as the perfect example where men and women both want to own this watch,” Wind said.
The watches of Bell & Ross may be Swiss Made but the heart and soul of the brand are very much entrenched in France. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that for an aviation partnership, in 2021, they chose the Patrouille de France, an elite unit of the French Air and Space Force. This year marks the 70th anniversary of this prestigious aerobatic display team that has built its reputation on the prowess of its pilots.
To celebrate this momentous milestone with Patrouille de France, Bell & Ross launched a limited edition of their BR 03-92 which offers a dial in a mesmerising shade of blue, a colour that mirrors the team’s Alpha Jet. The beautiful dial is combined with subtle elements of colour in the form of the yellow Patrouille de France insignia, a beautiful logo to indicate its 70th anniversary and the colours of the French flag represented on a ring around the dial. This vibrancy is balanced nicely with the white Arabic numerals and hand tips to ensure the utmost legibility. It is, after all, designed with the input of the pilots.
The 42mm width of the square BR 03-92 case is made of the same high-tech ceramic found on previous models and it has also been given a matte black coating to ensure the case maintains a utilitarian look. On the back side, the designers have taken special care to fit in all five aircraft that have flown since the creation of the Patrouille de France in 1953. This includes the Thunderjet which was flown during the team’s debut, the Alphajet which has been in service since 1981, and the Ouragan, Mystère IV and Fouga Magister which have helped forge their legacy. These planes, built not for their destructive capabilities but rather for agility and manoeuvrability in the skies, have very interesting silhouettes adding to the uniqueness of the caseback.
The BR 03-92 Patrouille de France 70th Anniversary is powered by the solid BR-CAL 302 movement and the entire watch is water resistant up to 100 metres. Whether you are a Francophile, aerophile or just looking for a new shade of dial colour, this new launch from Bell & Ross will appeal to at least one, if not all the mentioned demographics. And at only 999 pieces available worldwide, you can be sure that it will quickly ‘fly’ off the shelf.
MOVEMENT BR-CAL.302 automatic CASE 42mm in micro-blasted ceramic STRAP blue calfskin and ultra-resilient black synthetic canvas fabric PRICE MYR 17,600
When I started out on my watch collecting journey, I spent a few years “accumulating” very different watches. Then a pattern emerged, and I identified moon phase watches as my first real “collecting” theme. Life events and romanticised ideals led me to develop a second theme of GMT watches about a decade later. Then, in late 2019, after five years of writing about watches in a professional capacity, I consciously started a third theme of buying one iconic case design from each watch brand.
Four watches and two years into this third theme, I decided to bite the bullet and just buy the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT I have always wanted, since seeing it for the first time at (the now-defunct) Baselworld in 2019. It is a logical purchase for me because it fits not only the iconic case design theme but also the GMT one; honestly, I did not quite care about its record-breaking slimness. To me, this watch deserved my hard-earned money because of the impeccable way the chronograph and GMT functions were joined on such an emblematic canvas.
This sleek timepiece offers so much functionality despite its minimalistic guise. At first glance, one may rationally assume that this Octo Finissimo is a normal tricompax chronograph, but the subdial at 3 o’clock is in fact a 24-hour display that you can set via the crown. When landing in another country, all you need to do is press the flat button on the left side of the case as many times as needed to align the central hour hand with local time. On the other side of the case, two more flat buttons controlling the chronograph operation flank the crown as if they are crown guards. It gives me joy just to look at how these buttons are so integrated into the case while also echoing its various angles and facets.
As technical specifications are publicly available, I will cut to the chase and head straight to my ownership experience: I like wearing this watch (It is possible to enjoy some watches, yet feel uncomfortable wearing them, so Ruckdee is not being entirely facetious – Ed). It may be slim at 6.90mm, but it is not small with a diameter of 42mm. The presence on the wrist is further substantiated by the bracelet, which is 30mm wide where it meets the architectural beauty that is the case. And, with each link being small, it is possible to size the bracelet to a perfect snug fit, which is not the case for many bracelet watches with a concealed clasp.
I am as comfortable wearing the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT with a full business suit as with jeans and other casual wear. The sartorial compatibility here is effortless. The watch will look good even with tennis wear, but I have more rugged watches for outdoor activities. I bought this Bulgari to wear when I want to look sophisticated and cultured. Since I picked it up in July, it has joined me on business trips to South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore. It is not a flashy watch at all, not with its sandblasted titanium aesthetics. Still, this Octo Finissimo watch piques the interest of those in the know (unspoken here is that Ruckdee dared to wear his watch in Europe, which is impressive – Ed).
I have received compliments on my Octo Finissimo from a handful of gentlemen from the hotel, airline and watch industries, and a few of my international watch journalist friends have asked to try the watch on. The experience could be likened to driving certain cars in a country where the automaker has yet to establish an official dealership. People are curious about your purchase, and they are interested to hear about the rationale behind your decision. This may go away in a few years when there are more Octo watches on more wrists out there.
In terms of performance, the watch does everything as advertised in a legible and reliable way. Its platinum peripheral rotor has no problem building the power reserve at all. Rate is stable but my particular example should have been better adjusted. As it is, the watch is about six seconds slow per day when worn and the power reserve is high. However, if I leave it in any stationary position while the power reserve is also low, it can be as slow as 13 seconds per day which is completely unacceptable to me. So I will have this adjusted to the fast side under warranty when I have the time.
The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT is an almost perfect watch; little could have been done to improve its design or functionality. Perhaps, for the next generation of this watch, Bulgari can consider having two pushers on the left side of the case to adjust local time hour hand forward and backward. That will be great, although the current setup of adjusting forward only is not inconvenient by any standard. Also, if the subdial at 9 o’clock can feature a 12-hour totaliser instead of the continuous second hand, the watch will be even more useful in real life where the chronograph function is concerned.
In continuation with my purchase of the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze, I have my eyes set on my next acquisition already; it is just a matter of when I commit to the purchase. I have not set a specific timeline for it, so it will happen when I eventually open my wallet again. However, there is the sticky situation of price hikes, too — the 8 per cent GST increase has come into effect on 1 January 2023, and there are also annual price adjustments to stomach, which are quite the norm these days. Unfortunately, there are little blips in the journey, but I will get to a Grand Seiko Spring Drive watch eventually.
I have been paying more attention to Grand Seiko releases over the past three years (Asaph also choose to recommend Grand Seiko last year – Ed) and am particularly enamoured with the nature-inspired watches. The usual suspects that come to mind are the Snowflake or the recent hot favourite White Birch but others such as the Mount Iwate, Lake Suwa, or Seasons Special are capable of holding their own against the more illustrious duo. Of course, the high-end pieces are truly captivating, but in the interest of staying realistic, I will not mention pieces such as the Credor Eichi II or the Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon (the latter is not a Spring Drive, but you get the drift).
The next question is whether to get a Spring Drive watch with a power reserve indicator on the dial. A Spring Drive watch is characterised by many technical innovations, and the power reserve display is one of the best bits of visual evidence for them. They say if you got it, flaunt it but having it concealed is quite the flex as well. Grand Seiko’s calibres 9RA5 and 9RA2 are the latest incarnations of the Spring Drive, offering a five-day power reserve amongst the other subtle but noteworthy improvements.
While Spring Drives are in a league of their own, Grand Seiko’s hi-beat calibres are probably the closest competitors, most notably the Grand Seiko calibre 9SA5. It is one of the most advanced calibres being produced at the moment, and while it has made its way into regular production, no one can say for sure what the production numbers are for the movement. In a nutshell, the 9SA5 is a hi-beat movement offering 80 hours of power reserve (hi-beat and longer power reserves do not usually exist in the same sentence) thanks to a dual impulse escapement. There are a whole host of other technicalities that make the 9SA5 such an impressive movement, which you can check out in an article written expertly by Ashok in 2020.
A close friend recently picked up the Grand Seiko SBGA413 “Shunbun” and has graciously offered to exchange it for a month with my Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze so I can have a feel of a Spring Drive watch for an extended period. I am definitely looking forward to that experience!
Parmigiani Fleurier took its winning GMT Rattrapante idea and applied it to the minute hand in the aptly named Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante. The presence of three pushers here should alert you to hidden complexities in what the Parmigiani Fleurier manufacture is trying to accomplish. To begin with, there are two minute hands here (one in rhodiumised white gold, the other in rose gold), and one behaves reasonably, tracking the minutes as it should. The other, the rose gold hand, does something never seen in watchmaking as far as we can tell — it tracks ahead of the standard minute hand by increments of one or five minutes. This effectively allows it to act as a countdown timer, waiting for the standard minute hand to catch up. The pusher at 8 o’clock advances this hand by five minutes while the pusher at 10 o’clock advances it by one minute.
The above description shows how the watch might easily be used to mark elapsed minutes, but what is the pusher on the crown for then? It returns the rose gold hand back under the standard minute hand, where it moves in lockstep until called forth again. Now, this is the sort of complication that must either leave you scratching your head or grinning broadly, because this is a kind of chronograph yet is nothing of the sort. As the manufacture cheekily notes, this kind of function is typically done with a rotating bezel, but has now been literally complicated by being performed by the movement, the automatic calibre PF052 with micro-rotor. Personally, I use the bezel-operated function on my dive watch for this purpose, while I travel, to cover certain key timing events (how much time left before I need to head to the departure gate at the airport, for example). If I had the Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante, I would be using the pushers on the watch for the same effect.
You might fairly ask if this sort of thing really requires a new movement, and strictly speaking, it does because of all the increased action in the motion works, and the necessity for the pushers to interact with the same. That being said, having three pushers here challenges the aesthetics of the Tonda PF case, pushing elegance to the limit. The manufacture says the pusher system is in place to make the watch easy to use, and it certainly does that. A function selector, via the crown for example, would make the watch a little fussier even as it would potentially make the case cleaner and the watch more mysterious. The Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante from last year also probably made the decision to use pushers easier, since that watch looms large in the minds of many collectors.
In a lot of ways, this new Minute Rattrapante echoes its GMT predecessor, down to its 40mm diameter and 10.7mm thickness. The manufacture calibre, P052, seems like an evolution of the P051, which powered the GMT Rattrapante; examining it via the exhibition caseback, it looks exactly the same. This is unsurprising, given that all the action happens in the motion works, which you would only see if the dial was openworked, or in sapphire crystal. The watch is in steel, with knurled platinum bezel, and rest pusher in rose gold. At Watches and Wonders Geneva, the price was listed at CHF28,000.
Although the Grand Seiko line was introduced in 1960, it was Seiko’s release of the 44GS watch in 1967 that definitively established the collection. This is because the 44GS’s design language would go on to define the aesthetics of all subsequent Grand Seiko timepieces, even today, with Grand Seiko now operating as a separate entity from Seiko itself.
In 2020, Grand Seiko updated the aesthetic code set down by the 44GS. The reworked design language, Evolution 9, was conceived to represent the most contemporary form of watchmaking at Grand Seiko. More than this, however, Evolution 9 is now also a standalone collection within the brand’s line-up, with offerings ranging from sporty chronographs to dressier time-and-date watches. The latest addition to this line is the SLGA021, which bears a textured dial inspired by the view of Lake Suwa before dawn.
Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive-equipped watches are produced at the brand’s Shinshu Watch Studio in the town of Shiojiri, some three hours’ drive from Tokyo. To the manufacture’s southeast sits Lake Suwa, a prominent landmark that has long inspired its watches’ designs. The focus this time is on a familiar pre-dawn scenery, when Lake Suwa is still clothed in tranquil darkness. During this period, the gentlest breeze stirs up rippling waves that create an undulating surface bearing various shades of blue, each blending into each other while also playing with the ambient light differently.
It is this picturesque view that the new SLGA021 alludes to, with its dial bearing a textured pattern reminiscent of the lake’s surface. The vignette is made complete by the dial’s midnight blue tone, which captures exactly how the lake looks just before the first rays of sunlight emerge over the horizon.
As part of the Evolution 9 collection, the SLGA021 bears the nine design elements that collectively define the updated 44GS aesthetic. Faceted hands and indices with carefully balanced proportions for improved legibility, a thin case with a lower centre of gravity that sits closer to the wrist, and more widely spaced lugs which better distribute the watch’s weight are just some salient features here. What these elements represent is equally important: an evolution of a legacy that has been similarly codified to reflect Grand Seiko’s watchmaking philosophy. The 9RA2 calibre that powers the watch parallels this. Its Spring Drive technology is proprietary to Grand Seiko, and gives the SLGA021 an astonishing accuracy of ±10 seconds per month. Visually, the movement also sets itself apart with its perfectly smooth second hand — a result of the hybrid Tri-synchro Regulator that melds the best qualities of both quartz and mechanical movements. The SLGA021 is cased in steel and sized for the contemporary wearer with its 40mm diameter. Unlike an earlier iteration, the SLGA007, which was limited to 2,021 pieces worldwide, this watch will be part of the regular collection. For more watch reads, click here.
Have you ever tried on a watch and just felt like keeping it on? Sort of like taking that Porsche 911 out for a test drive… and just drive off into the sunset. Well, I don’t know about you but I certainly have, especially at Watches and Wonder Geneva where I tried on the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 39mm for the second time. Apparently, Ryan Gosling had the same idea, although he could probably have any TAG Heuer he wants! In the new short film, The Chase for Carrera, promoting 60 years of the Carrera watch collection, Gosling plays himself as a star on the run… from the prop master who wants his TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph. Hilarity ensues.
While Gosling wears the new design for the Carrera, Vanessa Bayer, who plays the prop master, wears the uncredited TAG Heuer Carrera Date with pink dial. There is a lot that is uncredited in the short film, including plenty of sight gags. See how many you can spot.
The comic short film is produced by David Leitch’s 87 North company (John Wick and Deadpool 2, amongst others), and directed by Nash Edgerton (Mr InBetween). Leitch has a bit in The Chase for Carrera too.
On the heels of Watches and Wonders Geneva, Breguet has revealed the new Quantième Perpétuel 7327, marking the debut of a new perpetual calendar from the storied watchmaker. In a season dominated by chronographs — Breguet has its own something-something coming up — it is great to see a new execution of the most complex of all calendar mechanisms, the perpetual calendar. This writer is somewhat biased towards calendar complications, and to asymmetric dial layouts so the Breguet Quantième Perpétuel 7327 is a straight-up win. Collectors should note that reference 7327 is a replacement for reference 5327, the Classique perpetual calendar that was a mainstay of that collection. You can see from the layout of displays on the dial that there is a new calibre at work here.
We begin with the new automatic calibre 502.3.P, which delivers a highly unusual retrograde date display (between 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock on the dial); this is the most obvious sign that there is a new movement here, and is how we distinguished this model. Oddly, Breguet did not lead with this information in its publicity materials (we have not seen it in person), yet this is precisely what collectors should take note of. Basically, it makes reference 7327 an important milestone for Breguet. The hairspring and anchor are in silicon, which is par for the course at the manufacture, and the escapement beats at 3Hz.
Significantly, the calibre is just 4.5mm thick, allowing the case to come in at under 10mm — this is just right to fit under a sleeve. Breguet faithful will recognise calibre 502.3.P as an evolution of the ultra-thin calibre 502 (and thus another upgrade to the original Frederique Piguet calibre 70, as reported by SJX), and the brand says that the calendar mechanism was added as module. There are a total of 294 components in total. The modular construction is perhaps slightly disappointing for purists who insist on integrated calibres, but we think that reference 7327 should be judged on its overall merits (for the record, we would love to see how the 21st century Breguet manufacture would approach engineering a perpetual calendar from the ground up, particularly with regards to the 45-hour power reserve, which is well below contemporary expectations).
While we have not seen the watch in the metal, Breguet lists an impressive list of finishing arts here, including a circular barleycorn motif (rose-engine handworked) on the oscillating weight, Geneva stripes on the bridges, and chamfered edges on many components. A look at the real calibre will reveal a lot about the quality and nature of the finishing, but Breguet is certainly on par with other brands at the haute horlogerie level.
Turning to the case and dial, note the fluting on the case middle and the straight lugs, both of which are Breguet staples. The 39mm watch is available in white gold and rose gold, but the dial and hands remain the same in both. The hands are called “Breguet” because Abraham-Louis Breguet came up with the design, but the brand also prosaically refers to this style as “moon” tip hands. Overall, the 7327 is very fetching, including the update to the moon phase display (no more smiling anthropomorphised moon), and the balance of the information on the guilloche dial.
We have some questions about the fit here, given the style of lugs, and we will return to this story with updates once we see the watch. Having said that, if you are in the market for a distinctive perpetual calendar with a grand story, and have S$116,300 to spare (same price in either gold), the Quantième Perpétuel 7327 might be it.
With transparency, community and fair prices as its guiding principles, Swizerland-based watch brand CODE41’s consultative approach to watchmaking is making waves far and wide. It has successfully launched a couple of projects from NB24 to X41 and the latest creation, Mesascape. All of these represent the brand’s raison d’être of pushing the limits of watchmaking while keeping the cost of its product reasonably priced.
For its latest venture into the world of haute horology, CODE41 debuts the T360 Tourbillon, which is the brand’s first tourbillon watch and a testament to its mastery over the art of watchmaking. In a similar vein where the CODE41 community were involved in designing the T360, the final product also ensures that customers are given many options for customising their desired watch (bridge and hand colours, straps, and even the shape of the case). In doing so, the brand hopes that the T360 tourbillon can bring about a shift in watchmaking where it is open, participatory and accessible.
As per how the previous projects were conceived, the CODE41 community voted on what the brand should venture next, and the tourbillon was the top favourite. To make the process as transparent as possible, the brand created dedicated pages on its website to document each step leading to the final stages of production. The T360 underwent numerous changes: 192 design variations, over 12,500 votes were casted, some 400 comments were given and 43 sleepless nights. Each critical step has been made through voting by hundreds of thousands of community members.
The tourbillon is placed at the 6 0’clock position.
The tourbillon is widely considered the “Holy Grail” in watchmaking and has captured the hearts of many watch connoisseurs since its creation. Patented by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the purpose of the tourbillon was to counterbalance the effects of gravity, which affects the regularity of a watch’s mechanical movement. In today’s context, a tourbillon is exalted for its “unique esthetic and exceptional mechanical ballet that its primary utility” because the “movement of our wrists already deals with offsetting the variations in rate due to the Earth’s gravity.”
Making a tourbillon is no easy feat, and the cost of making one can easily hit up to five or six figures. However, CODE41 is able to bring the price down thanks to its economic model, where they cut out intermediaries and sales are done directly to the customers. The X41 model is a prime example. While its lower cost would cast doubts, the brand reassures that the T360 tourbillon surpasses all the regulatory tests with flying colours. For a starting price below CHF 10,000, the T360 tourbillon is the culmination of peerless Swiss watchmaking expertise with accessibility.
Looking at its design, the T360 is unreservedly masculine and retains CODE41’s signature skeletonise features. Here, the wearer will be mesmerised by the enthralling horological ballet in which the tourbillon dances as it completes one full revolution in its cage every 60 seconds. Also, taking into the modern sartorial trend, the watch is made for everyday life rather than being worn only during special occasions. Some key features include a 105-hour power reserve, deviation at ±5 seconds per day, Super-Luminova on hands, indices and the bridge of the tourbillon cage, and two types of cases.
In keeping with its principles of openness and excellence, CODE41 has delegated the tourbillon’s development and production to 100 per cent Swiss partners, without whom none of this would have been possible. Each of these artisans has contributed significantly to the T360’s design in their own right and these craftspeople can be found on the website. Their tasks and responsibilities are clearly stated and emphasised. In addition, this human story serves as one of the daily motivational factors for the CODE41 teams, who are inspired by showcasing the master watchmakers who make dreams come true.
Touching further on the customisation options, the T360 allows for what CODE41 calls ultra-personalisation. There are over 200 possible combinations starting from the straps, where the wearer can choose between leather, rubber or steel. With its interchangeable straps, the T360 tourbillon adapts to any circumstance and reflects the wearer’s personal style and moods. Then, there are two types of cases available: NativeDNA or Stratom. In addition, there are five colour combinations that the wearer can also choose from for the watch’s dial and hands.
The CODE41 T360 tourbillon is available for pre-order on 19 April until 17 May for a starting price of CHF 9,898, and only 150 Creator Edition pieces are on offer. Click here to learn more about the watch.
Conceived back in 1987 as the Maison’s inaugural watchmaking creation, the Première watch was the born from the genius mind of Jacques Helleu, Artistic Director at Chanel. Devoting himself to Chanel since the young age of eighteen, he was coming into his fourth decade at the Maison.
Icons Together
From the moment of its creation, the Première watch rose as a shining star and proved to be an unstoppable icon for Chanel and for the world of watches. The octagonal shape of the stopper of the legendary Chanel N°5 perfume bottle is the main inspiration behind the shape of the case. The stopper was, in turn, a design idea taken from the outline of Place Vendôme in Paris as seen by Gabrielle Chanel from her suite at the Ritz.
Dressing this recognizable shape in black lacquer was just the first step. Bringing it all together was the interlaced leather and chain strap of the iconic quilted Chanel bag. Its form was chosen to perfectly partner said case as the bracelet of the watch. The bracelet is flexible and comfortable to wear and ends in a superbly refined clasp befitting of the whole setup. As a whole, the completed Première watch took the watchmaking world by storm and, finally, women had a watch that could match the masculine giants of horology.
Place Vendôme
Free from the norm and exuding the charm and aura of femininity, the watch represents the first of its kind that is genuinely intended for women and not simply a scaled-down version of a men’s watch. The Première is an elegant watch made for women and dedicated to every woman who lives in the present and seizes the moment.
Back in 1987, Chanel opened two boutiques exclusively for the launch of the Première. They were located at 40 avenue Montaigne, Paris and at 43 rue du Rhône, Geneva. Subsequently, in 1990, another boutique opened at Place Vendôme. During these times, the Première watch appeared with all the freshness and charm of a jeune première across all variations. The symbol of ingenuity and elegance continues today. With Chanel Watchmaking and Fine Jewelry now at its new home in the redesigned townhouse at 18 Place Vendôme, the Première returns to the spotlight, in a subtly streamlined version. Nevertheless, contemporary, unique and full of personality, the watch fully retains its radiant persona even though 35 years has passed since its arrival. After all this time, Chanel is letting us in once again into the grand world of the Première — the Chanel Première Original Edition. Crafted with the same level of passion and skill, but with the latest in technology and savoir faire, the Première Original Edition is a watch with an incomparable provenance and timeless appeal.
Every single aspect of the Chanel Première Original Edition points to undeniable opulence. The elegant silhouette and sleek shiny lines bring together a watch that simply exudes class, style and desirability. The main star of the watch, its case, is crafted with solid stainless-steel, coated with yellow gold. One may set the time with a matching crown, also coated in yellow gold and set with a prominent onyx cabochon that mirrors the deep stark black lacquered dial which seems to have a mysterious depth. The golden hands stand out against this dial to legibly tell the time.
Within the watch is a highly accurate and precise quartz movement for convenience. It is protected from the elements, by the case, for up to 30 metres of water resistance. Another key highlight is the bracelet of the watch. Made specifically to complement the design of the case, the steel bracelet is also coated in yellow gold and interlaced with a black leather strap. The interplay between black and gold offers the watch a rich and grand aura with just a hint of playfulness, thus justifying the Chanel Première Original Edition’s icon status.
Blackpink Lisa wearing the Bvlgari Bvlgari x Lisa Limited Edition Watch
K-pop idols are gaining more attention these days as announcements of new brand ambassadors at various luxury fashion houses grabbed headlines in the industry. Starting with Jimin from BTS as Dior’s latest brand ambassador to fellow groupmate Suga at Valentino and Big Bang’s Taeyang new role at Givenchy, luxury brands are cashing in on the growing fame of these South Korean artistes. In a similar vein, Bvlgari and Blackpink’s Lisa has announced a new collaboration, the Bvlgari Bvlgari x Lisa Limited Edition watch.
The timepieces are available in a 23 mm-diameter and 33 mm-diameter steel case. Other than steel, the watch is also crafted in 18K rose gold with a “BVLGARI BVLGARI” engraved bezel. Its dial features a sunray pattern that changes its colours from green to blue and purple, depending on how the light interplays with the watch face or when viewed at different angles by the wearer. The versatility of hues is akin to the different façades of Lisa, from being a singer to a rapper and muse for Celine.
Apart from being a skilled timepiece maker, Bvlgari is an iconic jewellery brand with a long history. Hence, surrounding the dials are 12 diamonds that act as hour markers and these gemstones are swept over by two rose gold hands. Furthermore, the rose gold crown is affixed with a cabochon-cut rubellite — one of the brand’s emblematic signatures. Powering this exquisite timepiece is a quartz movement.
On the closed caseback shows the engraving of the Swiss Alpine flower, the edelweiss, which is also Lisa’s favourite flower. “For my first collaboration with Bulgari, I chose my favourite flower, the edelweiss and designed the sketch with ‘L’ initial in the middle of the back case,” the multi-hyphenate shares of her inspiration in a caption on Instagram. In addition to being Lisa’s favourite colour, the edelweiss is also a homage to Bvlgari’s watchmaking manufactures in Switzerland.
While we were busily assembling and curating a list of festive Chinese New Year watches for 2023, Parmigiani Fleurier came out of left-field with the 42mm Tonda PF Xiali Calendar in steel, with trademark knurled platinum bezel. Going well beyond a thematic Year of the Rabbit novelty approach, the Xiali Calendar is a complete Chinese calendar; in fact, xiali means Chinese traditional complete calendar, which also means that this watch has two calendars in its name. Technically, the Chinese calendar combines features of both solar and lunar calendars so there are really two calendars in play. This means that there is a lot of complexity to go through here, because the Chinese calendar cannot be turned into a perpetual calendar. So yes, the Xiali Calendar is an annual calendar.
To get it out of the way, Parmigiani Fleurier is known for its forays into calendar complications, with the Xiali Calendar following up on the Hijiri Perpetual Calendar and the Gregorian Annual Calendar (like Deployant, we also recall a Hebrew calendar but we too might be mistaken). You might recall that the Hijiri, an ode to the Islamic calendar, won the Innovation prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) in 2019. According to the manufacture, calendar complications are a personal pleasure for Michel Parmigiani, hence the focus on them. Given that this is the case, let us first begin by looking at what the Chinese calendar tracks. We are no experts on non-Gregorian calendar systems so we will have to take all this at face value. Caveat emptor, as they say.
To begin with the combination of solar and lunar indications, these are synchronised by the addition of a 13th month. This allows both cycles to coincide every three years, approximately. Just considering the word “approximately” there must have given the watchmakers pause, but there is more! The solar year is divided into 24 periods, not the 12 we are accustomed to; and new years are mechanically challenging because it is always the arrival of spring, which for the Xiali Calendar is some time between January 21 and February 19 (the second new moon after winter solstice, if you want to go down this rabbit hole).
And then there is the matter of the 60-year cycles involving the lunar years and months, where the years are named and the months are numbered. Given that this requires astronomical observation, it is quite impossible to standardise via a mechanical movement, although the automatic calibre PF008 is reportedly fantastically complicated, with 353 components and a structure purpose-built to deliver user-intervention free functionality for 12 years. We will return to the movement, and adjusting the time, in a bit, but we are not done with calendar stuff yet. As a bit of trivia, it is useful to note that the Chinese New Year and the Lunar New Year are not the same thing, as there are plenty of other cultures that also have a lunar new year.
So how does all this play out on the dial? Quite neatly, as you can see, which plays to the strengths of the Tonda PF collection (more on this, briefly, later). Hours and minutes are indicated by the usual skeletonised and rhodiumised white gold delta hands, and that is it for regular timekeeping. Starting from the outermost display, the chapter ring around the dial, this one displays the 24 solar periods, via a central baton hand. The three-level subdial at 12 o’clock indicates the name of the year, zodiac animal and corresponding element (one for each level, from outside in); this subdial also uses a coloured marker to signify the end or the beginning of a 12-year cycle. The subdial at 3 o’clock shows the day number of the month, from 1 to 29 or 1 to 30; an aperture within this subdial indicates if the month is long or short. Phases of the moon are indicated at 6 o’clock (as is traditional in watchmaking), and this is synchronised with the aforementioned day number (exclusive to the Xiali Calendar); the month number is displayed at the 9 o’clock subdial, with the aperture indicating if a 13th month is present (if not, nothing shows). All calendar indications are in traditional Chinese, including the numerals, and that about covers it for time displays here.
As expected for the Tonda PF collection, the dial is in the typical grain d’orge or barleycorn guilloche, this time in Imperial Red (emphasis is the brand’s). Markers are white gold (rhodium-plated) and so is the brand’s cartouche bearing the logo, moved to the space between 1- and 2 o’clock for the first time. Adjusting the calendar is accomplished by the pushers in the case middle, which should only be necessary should the watch run down its 54-hour power reserve. Good views of the movement are not yet available, and we have not yet seen the watch in person to comment on the finishing, but expect not to be disappointed, given Parmigiani Fleurier’s track record here. We will leave it here, and conclude with the comments of both Michel Parmigiani, and brand CEO Guido Terreni.
“Calendars are a radiography of civilizations. It’s something magical because the calendar comes from the observation of humans as well as of nature. Nature is full of codes that are beautiful to discover. It’s always harder to talk about nature when you are in an urban area. It’s better to immerse oneself in nature and its rhythms in order to create and to stimulate creativity. By observing nature, one can travel through history and trace the development of civilizations. I think of the Maya and the Toltec cultures, which had calendars that were very similar to the Chinese calendar. Calendars were born from a need to understand nature’s seasons, to plan the times for sowing seeds and harvesting crops, to anticipate and manage the winter’s cold and the summer’s heat. The calendar exists because we need to anticipate the phenomena of nature’s nurturing,” said Michel Parmigiani.
“This year is indeed a very special year. This is a project that I’m very attached to, and it is the nucleus of this year’s collection. The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Calendar is a complete Chinese calendar, born from Michel’s passion for cultural calendars. And it is very dear to me because it is also about respecting and understanding different cultures. What sets civilizations apart is the ways in which they interpret time. The Chinese calendar is among the most difficult calendars to master because it’s both a solar and lunar calendar together. For the first time on the wrist, you will be able to see all the elements of the calendar that are not cyclical. It has been a great challenge to master,” said Guido Terreni.
While the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition is definitely not the star of the brand’s novelties at the LVMH Watch Week in Singapore, it is a good headliner. The Carrera was launched in 1963 by the legendary Jack Heuer, and we have covered the gist of the collection elsewhere, and TAG Heuer is going to be celebrating this iconic collection across the year. In other words, this 2023 model might soon be in the rearview as Watches and Wonders Geneva approaches in March. To be clear, this 600-piece limited edition Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary is definitely going to be one of the last versions of this watch.
In its presentation for the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition, TAG Heuer plays up the legibility focus of the original design. We also know from TAG Heuer Creative Director Guy Bove that the brand works hard to hew close to that legibility focus, and this 60th Anniversary Edition reflects that by referencing the 2447 SN model of the late 1960s (as opposed to the actual first Carrera, because that was a manual-winder, but you may recall that reference 2447 SN was in production from 1963). Those who may have been expecting a manual chronograph here will be disappointed, but it should never have crossed anyone’s mind that TAG Heuer would actually deliver on that; there is also no manual chronograph in the brand’s in-house inventory.
Most of the relevant action takes place on the dial, which like many variants of reference 2447 SN had, is a tricompax layout of chronograph subdials in the so-called ‘panda’ setup. In fact, there the dial of the Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition could have been lifted from the old reference, with the vintage Heuer logo in place at 12 o’clock. The black stripes bisecting the hour and minute hands as well as the markers is present, and so are the double-stops above the logo. Of course, the automatic calibre Heuer 02 powers the watch, so the chronograph counter is at 9 o’clock while the minute counter is at 3 o’clock; it was the reverse for the originals from the 1960s. Likewise, tritium is out and SuperLuminova is in, case size is 39mm, and water-resistance is 100m (the original was probably something like 30m but we will have to check on that).
Purists should take note of the various ways the 2447 SN differs from the tribute Carrera Chronograph 60th Anniversary Edition, but also how this special edition differs from the core collection Carrera. The 60th Anniversary Edition has a pin buckle rather than a deployant clasp, for example. We will finish here with a note that we are excited for the Carrera anniversary, but for now are very impressed by the electronic pieces from TAG Heuer, including Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph and the All-Black Connected Calibre E4, which can tell you the time on Mars (or elsewhere in our solar system). We will come back to that in a general story that covers the highlights from the LVMH Watch Week.
It is often said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but let’s be honest: a little shine cannot do us any harm, irrespective of gender. Besides, some of us may want to go the extra yard when it comes to adorning the wrist.
This article gives an in-depth insight into a few of the top diamond watches for men and women from renowned watchmakers worldwide. It will help you decide which watch compliments your personality best so you can make it part of your wardrobe for 2023.
Jacob & Co. Crystal Tourbillon Diamond Men’s Watch
This masterpiece is unquestionably the most fashionable and audacious item on the diamond watch market. Costing almost a million dollars, this timepiece features a gorgeous skeletal dial and an excellent 18k white diamond round case. It will be the envy of your entourage if it is within your price range.
The watch is one of the largest watches available, measuring 14 mm in thickness and 47 mm in diameter. Its case houses the Jacob & Co. 7 caliber movement. It also has a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and an 18k white gold fixed bezel set with baguette diamonds.
Patek Philippe Grand Complications Celestial 18K Gold Diamond
This watch is a marvellous creation by the renowned Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe. It belongs to their Grand Complication line, which sits atop the most luxury watch collections list.
The sky-chart dial has silver-toned hands and a date scale on its outer ring, furthering the watch’s striking appearance and excellent functionality. The bezel is set with 38 baguette diamonds and instantly grabs attention from all sides.
The most notable feature is the moon phase function, which adds to the other remarkable features. A 44mm 18k white gold case and a blue alligator leather strap are included with this spectacular piece.
Bulgari Octo L’Originale Watch
You cannot expect a list of top diamond watches to be complete without this stunning work of art. It is undoubtedly one of the best pieces you can buy, made unique by its wonderful details.
The baguette diamonds in the thin bezel catch the light and sparkle without overshadowing the frame. Hence, the pristine 44mm platinum case and its skeletonized movement can be seen clearly. By framing the piece just enough, the diamonds let it sparkle in its own way.
Underneath the sapphire crystal, the watch’s complex mechanisms do their work. This testifies to the outstanding attention to detail and Bulgari’s ability to separate itself from the competition.
Hublot Classic Fusion Tourbillon 18K King Gold Diamond
This chic Hublot timepiece comes in a combination you won’t find in most other diamond watches: featuring a tourbillon in addition to being a skeleton watch. You can’t help admiring the Swiss-made piece’s complicated yet gorgeous mechanism via the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.
The bezel is fixed and encrusted with baguette colourless diamonds. The round-case analog watch is 45mm in diameter and has a 50-meter water resistance rating.
A black alligator leather strap is added to the 18k gold case as an accessory to complete its lustrous design.
Breitling Colt Lady Diamond Watch
Breitling Colt’s diamond watches for ladies are renowned for their distinctive look, making them a contender among the top luxury diamond watches for women. They do a tremendous job of blending the rigor of a luxury sports watch with the sophistication of high-end design.
One of the greatest diamond watches for active ladies is the women’s Breitling Colt Lady watch, which stands out thanks to its 33mm casing and exceptional water resistance, which can be as much as 500m for some variants.
Breitling doesn’t believe that women need to give up strength for beauty. Hence, the watch comes in many forms while delivering a delightful blend of style and functionality. It has configurable watch features and numerous diamond pavé settings.
Joe Rodeo Women Diamond Watch
10.25 carats of real diamonds are set all over the stainless-steel watch case of this Swiss-made Joe Rodeo Madison watch.
The white mother-of-pearl face, one of the more remarkable features, makes this rectangular diamond watch stand out and gives it a unique look. A woman’s watch that has been iced out and covered in a stunning assortment of genuine diamonds is a statement.
Joe Rodeo is one of the most well-liked diamond watch companies due to its ability to understand how to make even the smallest details significant. This also makes them a highly sought-after brand by celebrities.
18k Gold Ladies Diamond Watch Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has a 27mm case, a white mother-of-pearl dial with diamond hour markers, and a complete diamond case, bezel, and band.
We believe that even the pickiest women will appreciate this AP watch’s scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, diamond mosaic dial, and iced-out 18K yellow gold case and strap.
The elegant dial features glistening diamond hour markers and the emblem at the 12 o’clock position. It also has a bezel embellished with 9 carats of sparkling diamonds and sides and a band covered in crystals. The piece will take your wardrobe to the next level by glittering from every angle.
Engraving the case of the Parmigiani Fleurier La Rose Carrée
Nowhere is industrial production more emotive and appealing to the broader world than in watchmaking. From understanding the biggest suppliers such as ETA to niche independent watchmakers such as Roger Smith in the UK, it seems everyone wants to know how watches are made. Of course, when it comes to looking under the hood, as it were, there is not much point if you do not know what to look for, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Backtracking a little, stating that “everyone” wants to know about the screws and bridges is a big claim. There are no studies looking into the nitty gritty of watch production, and the desire of the watch-loving public to learn about it, as far as we know.
On the other hand, given the lengths by which demand for mechanical watches is outstripping supply, it is only natural that watch enthusiasts wonder about what is happening in the manufactures. If demand goes up, production should rise to match, and this is indeed the expectation. For this expectation to match reality though, it is certainly helpful to know how watch manufactures work… which is where our invitation to visit the Parmigiani Fleurier manufacture comes into the picture.
Image: Parmigiani Fleurier
What we can say here, with regards to Parmigiani Fleurier, is that it can produce watches entirely with internal resources and know-how. To be absolutely clear about it, the following are the only things Parmigiani Fleurier sources from external suppliers — sapphire crystals, synthetic rubies, leather straps (from Hermès, famously), bracelets and mainsprings. If you are a regular reader, you might recognise that list from our Parmigiani Fleurier story early last year.
Having already delved into the workings of Parmigiani Fleurier back then, we thought we would complete that picture by actually visiting the Fleurier and La Chaux-de-Fonds facilities that make up the Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre. But wait, why are Parmigiani Fleurier watches made in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the first place, and what is this Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre? And thus the complexity begins, and by reading this perhaps you will better understand why the Tonda PF — introduced just last year — remains such a tough get.
As a quick aside here, because we will not dwell on it, but the sharp-eyed amongst you will have taken note that the absolutely amazing Tonda PF bracelet does not come from Parmigiani Fleurier. That surprised us when we recalled it in the aftermath of the release of the Tonda PF (the tl;dr on this collection is that does sports luxury at the highest level). The brand has a supplier for the bracelet, one that (presumably) worked on the similar but totally different Tonda GT bracelet. While Parmigiani Fleurier has not revealed who makes the bracelets, CEO Guido Terreni told us that he specifically wanted the design evolution on the PF bracelet, rather than the same Tonda GT bracelet, including the specific details about how it fits and how it looks.
The picturesque settings of watch manufactures look nothing like contemporary industrial zones.
This squares well with Terreni’s past statement that making the screws in-house is not that spectacular, compared with actually making the watch, or indeed being able to restore an antique timepiece. Parmigiani Fleurier is, after all, a watchmaker, not a producer of watchmaking movement screws. This paragraph will stand as a counterpoint to the argument that vertical integration is the answer to everything. This is especially important here because the Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre does indeed produce its own screws. It is also important because founder Michel Parmigiani cut his teeth on watch restoration, and it is the reason Parmigiani Fleurier and the Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre exist.
Underscoring this are the images of the in-house restoration of the Parmigiani Fleurier La Rose Carrée. As we noted in our story on Luxuo.com on this, the pocket watch took 12 months to complete… or 25 years… or 100 years… or maybe more than 500 years. La Rose Carrée is the real reason Parmigiani Fleurier is included in our Legacy issue. It speaks to the intent of Parmigiani Fleurier to preserve and advance the craft of watchmaking. This is exactly why Terreni speaks in glowing terms of Michel Parmigiani’s “black belt in watchmaking,” because that is how he sees the art of restoration. Indeed, this is the very reason the Sandoz Family Foundation financed the creation of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand and the entire Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre.
To complete the picture, you should recall that Parmigiani Fleurier’s production facilities extend beyond the two locations mentioned, just as its expertise goes beyond the making of commercial pieces. We did not get to visit escapement-maker Atokalpa and high-precision micromechanics company Elwin this time, although we did briefly get acquainted with the restoration atelier in Fleurier itself before we had to scamper off for our interview with Terreni. Fortunately, we have learned enough about all the production facilities over the years that we can provide a brief introduction.
The reason for getting into all of this, and drawing a comparison between the disparate worlds of the Tonda PF and La Rose Carrée is to illustrate the watchmaking philosophy of Parmigiani Fleurier. It is a more poetic, and visually pleasing, way of understanding how the contemporary and traditional can both coexist and support each other.
On that note, La Rose Carrée is a collaborative work, with a Louis-Elisée Piguet grand sonnerie and minute repeater movement (made between 1898 and 1904) that was acquired by Michel Parmigiani in the late 1990s. A Parmigiani Fleurier restoration team went to work on this movement, alongside the technicians at LAB but also outside experts such as dial-maker LM Cadrans and chain-maker Laurent Jolliet. The involvement of an outside dial-maker is intriguing but Quadrance & Habillage was probably busy with the oversubscribed Tonda PF, or was perhaps unfamiliar with the onyx dial of the pocket watch.
With the Tonda PF, the situation was quite different of course. Indeed, the collection was developed in record time, debuting in less than a year after Terreni took over as CEO. Such rapid development is simply impossible at most manufactures, yet Terreni felt it was feasible at Parmigiani Fleurier because everything needed to create the collection already existed. That, in a few words, is exactly how impressive this Watchmaking Centre is.
While some watch brands can present sizable corporate offices, and perhaps even beautifully restored chateaus, these are often just so much window dressing. Whatever else happens in these locations, watchmaking is frequently peripheral. Not so at Parmigiani Fleurier, where the entire system of etablissage that characterises traditional Swiss watchmaking has been assembled from the ground up in some cases. There are a few parts to the watchmaking hub here, and they are not owned by Parmigiani Fleurier, per se. Instead, all are owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation, including the watchmaking brand. The various parts of the Fleurier watchmaking hub are broken down as follows:
Bar turning is what this firm is best known for, which is a process of making components out of metal bars by machining them as they rotate. Elwin happens to make its own CNC machinery, which demonstrates the level of its mastery. It also develops its own specialised software. Interestingly, this small company of just 20 makes each employee responsible for his or her own production process, much as one watchmaker handles his entire process. The firm produces screws, pinions, spindles and wheels.
Atokalpa
This amazing firm does what few others can: produce the components of the escapement. These are the escape wheel, the pallet fork, the balance wheel and the balance spring. According to Parmigiani Fleurier, Atokalpa performs such processes as stamping, cutting, bar turning, and forming teeth on computer-numericalcontrolled machines (commonly called CNC) with a precision of up to 0.001mm. Finishing processes, both structural and aesthetic, are also performed on the aforementioned escapement components (where relevant) here. In terms of aesthetics, these processes include snailing, circular graining, polishing and bevelling. Every component that requires finishing receives attention, which is a nigh-unbelievable attention to detail. In most other watchmaking firms, all of this work is done off-site. The Swatch Group firm ETA does all of this for innumerable brands.
Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF)
Michel Parmigiani told Revolution in 2013 that in order for Parmigiani Fleurier to fully utilise the capacity of Vaucher, it would have to make between 20,000 and 25,000 movements, and that this is unlikely to happen. In order to optimise the manufacture’s potential, it supplies other parties, even though it was built to supply Parmigiani Fleurier. The most famous of these outside firms is Hermès of course, with the luxury firm owning 25 per cent of Vaucher, and Richard Mille.
Bridges and plates are made here, and movements are assembled. Finishing, including handfinishing, also happens in its workshops. There is a hightech side here too, with a research and development department that handles all the watchmaking innovation. The technical drawings of all movements emerge from this department, specifying all operations to be carried out. If Michel is the spirit of Parmigiani Fleurier, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier is its central nervous system.
A specialist in the making of watch dials, this firm has mastered guillochage, sandblasting, satin-finishing, snailing, eparnage and graining, among others. Since 2017, Parmigiani Fleurier has been touting the white grained finish on its dial, and this is a technique Quadrance & Habillage has mastered. Basically, the white grained effect is produced by rubbing silver powder onto a brass plate using a horsehair brush. Needless to say, it is a labour-intensive task that must be done by hand and requires the absolute concentration of a highly skilled artisan.
Les Artisans Boitiers (LAB)
As the name suggests, this is the casemaking outfit of Parmigiani Fleurier. Water-resistance and structural integrity of the watches are ensured here. While CAD and CNC machining are the meat-and-drink of LAB, the company is also able to produce cases entirely by hand, using traditional tools. This is of course where the extraordinary 64mm white gold case, with double hunter structure, of La Rose Carrée was formed. Engraver Eddy Jaquet created a Rose Carrée motif for both covers. As you can see, the roses are square, which is reportedly a reference to the form rose petals take when they start to wither. Handworked to the nth degree, the covers are also awash in blue.
“The blue of La Rose Carrée expresses the colour of a body of water as one would see it from the sky – with all the nuances and subtle changes in the shades of blue according to the various depths,” said Michel. Deceptively simple looking in pictures, there are actually four layers of blue grand feu enamel, applied by artistic enameller Vanessa Lecci. It is worth bearing in mind that both the engraving and the enamelling appear the same on both covers, which is a very impressive feat.
Beyond that, all Parmigiani Fleurier case middles receive hand-polishing attention, which is hard to fathom. It is worth noting that the expertise of both LAB and Quadrance & Habillage are used by at least 18 famous names in watchmaking.
Swiss watchmaker Montblanc summits a new mountain with its 1858 Iced Sea Minya Konka Limited Edition, a variation on the immensely popular Iced Sea range of dive watches launched by the brand last year. When we met Montblanc’s Managing Director for Watchmaking Laurent Lecamp in Geneva in 2022, he told us that people had started calling the collection the ‘Iced Tea,’ and the Minya Konka model finally has the right dial colour, a deep and bright red. You might wonder what is going on here, and for that we have to go back a bit to the 2018 debut of the 1858 collection, and Montblanc’s quest for the right sort of dive watch to fit its mountaineering ethos.
The 1858 collection was meant to celebrate the literal Mont Blanc, and the brand’s attendant love of all things high altitude. If you know your mountains, this explains the name of this latest limited edition, with Minya Konka being the highest peak in China’s Sichuan province. In any case, it was unusual in early 2022 when Montblanc announced that its first proper dive watch, with bracelet and everything ISO 6425-certified, would be part of the 1858 collection. The watchmakers and executives at the brand struggled to figure out how to connect the winning mountaineering spirit they celebrated with the depths of the sea that so fascinated watch buyers everywhere — the dive watch is likely the most popular type of high-end tool watch in the world. According to Lecamp, the solution was to be found in glaciers, and that is what the dials of the Iced Sea models evoke.
Just as the blue, green and black of the core collection Iced Sea are all colours that one can find within glaciers, the red of the Minya Konka is also tied directly to what you can see on that mountain at sunset. While we have not seen the watch in person, Montblanc suggests that the 3D laser-engraving of the mountain, in colour, explains the colour of the dial; the caseback is also engraved with the Chinese characters ‘中国四川 贡嘎瑞霞’ (China Sichuan “China Sichuan ‘Gong Ga Rui Xia’”). It looks quite lovely, but it seems one must look elsewhere to discover the inspiration for the red.
This must have something to do with the red rocks at the Hailuogou glacier, and the way the light hits the mountain, as the brand illustrates in its visuals promoting the 1858 Iced Sea Minya Konka Limited Edition. The watch is a limited edition of 285 pieces, which is a tenth of the altitude of that the aforementioned glacier. It must be a happy coincidence that there is also a connection here with tea, in our opinion, which is amongst the many things China is associated with.
In all other ways, the Minya Konka Limited Edition is the same as the core collection Iced Sea watches, including the knurled unidirectional bezel with ceramic bezel insert, the once-forgotten gratté–boisé dial technique, the 300m water-resistance, and general size (41mm diameter and 12.9mm height). While this watch is mainly targeted at the Chinese market, we are told that it is available in Singapore ($5,500) and Malaysia (MYR15,900). It comes with both an interchangeable steel bracelet and black rubber strap with a red outline.
The contemporary marketing machine that powers Swiss fine watchmaking is, arguably, inextricably linked with the story of Hublot. Famously, the brand emerged from what was then a shocking idea: what if you combined gold with rubber in a luxury timepiece? Such watches are everywhere these days, from the most storied watchmakers to independents working with a completely classical mien. This fact alone was not enough to turn Hublot into the powerhouse it is today, with approximately 60,000 watches produced annually; the brand is one of the most prominent faces of Swiss watchmaking today, what with it being the official timekeeper of the FIFA World Cup, which you cannot have missed, even if you are not interested in the football (and call it soccer).
While all watch collectors associate Hublot with its former boss, the magnetic Jean-Claude Biver, its success is the result of the work of an entire team, one of whom is the current CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. Enticed by Biver to join him at Hublot in 2004, Guadalupe has been at the brand for all its hits, including the explosive trendsetter that was the Big Bang in 2005 and the controversial marketing campaign featuring former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in 2010. That last one was about a literal hit, and correctly predicted a startling growth in criminals targeting the watch collectors in Europe.
Trends were a big deal for Hublot under Biver, who still urges watchmaking brands to seize the opportunity with unoccupied niches, or special offerings. Since Guadalupe took on the top job in 2012, Hublot has largely stayed the course, enshrining its forward-thinking approach in its own brand identity. “Hublot, in order to succeed, had to be different compared to other traditional brands,” Guadalupe told Gulf Business in 2021. “Why else would someone buy a classic Hublot from a 40-year-old brand when they can have beautiful watches from brands that have been in existence for over 100 years?”
We caught up with Guadalupe when he was in town a couple of months ago for the launch of the Hublot boutique in ION Orchard.
Before getting into the story of Hublot itself, you became CEO a little more than 10 years ago. How did you handle the challenge of stepping out of the shadow of Jean-Claude Biver? Arguably, his reputation continues to loom over the brand itself.
In fact, I was already in the brand since 2004, so (I know Mr Biver’s style)… and I was part of the brand’s success even before I took over (as CEO) in 2012. Of course, I am different from Mr Biver, who was very closely linked to Hublot (as a larger-than-life personality) and my priority when I took over was to have the brand stand on its own. The big challenge was to make the brand bigger and more important than any one person, and we achieved that. Today, Hublot alone is an important brand in the watch industry. What I want is for Hublot to stand on its own merits when, one day, I leave the brand.
Hublot was founded slightly more than 40 years ago, in 1980. What are some principles or values that Hublot continues to emphasise?
Hublot represents the Art of Fusion in watchmaking, and the brand did it in 1980 for the first time. It came up with a watch made of yellow gold (a traditional luxury material) with a rubber strap, which is a modern material. This fusion is what we call the Art of Fusion, linking tradition with innovation.
What phase do you think Hublot is at with its “Art of Fusion” motto?
We work on three pillars, and we can bring fusion into design. The Murakami watch, for instance, is a fusion of the art of Murakami and the Hublot art, and we realise a watch that becomes a work of art.
I think consumers are waiting for this kind of product because a mechanical watch today is not important for telling time. It’s important for what it represents, the object (and attendant emotions) it represents.
When it comes to materials, we always try to be innovative. We have coloured ceramics such as red and yellow. We industrialised sapphire crystal in 2016, and we are the only brand to have coloured sapphire, and produce sapphire crystal watches at a certain price point, even though they are expensive. We work on different alloys too (including Magic Gold and King Gold).
And from the movement side, we created the Unico chronograph calibre, various special calibres, and our tourbillon. We are creating new calibres for the future, but it takes years of development, and not months. We try at every level to be innovative.
That’s the key element for the success of Hublot in the future.
Speaking of the future, we are seeing unprecedented demand for fine watches. Do you think it really is unprecedented, and how is Hublot coping?
Yeah, it’s true, demand is really high and I’ve never seen that in my career. I think what I have done in the last 10 years at Hublot (sort of anticipating this moment in history) is building a manufacture, an integrated manufacture, being able to produce ourselves, not everything, but parts of the production of movements and in material innovation as well. This allows us to have quite good flexibility in production…of course (this does not mean) we can double our production like this [snaps his fingers]. I think we can manage to grow (and keep up with demand) with the investments we have made in our own industrial capacity.
We have also built strong relationships with our suppliers; we form an important part of their business. This is useful because when you are important to a supplier, you can ask for more and maybe they allocate more for you than other brands. Of course, we share suppliers with a number of brands… Being loyal to our suppliers over a number of years is also important to us, especially during the Covid lockdowns because many suppliers had a tough time, and had to fire staff… we tried to support as much as we could.
How does Hublot optimise its product strategy with the ever-changing taste of consumers?
We try to be innovative and creative and invest a lot in R&D in materials, movements (and in mechanics), and design. These are the three main pillars on which we work.
We try to create trends, and with our innovations and creativity, we can please the existing consumer and new consumers coming in with what we can offer. The key element is always to be innovative, and we do it more by instinct. We don’t analyse other trends; we create the trend.
How has Hublot’s presence in football helped the manufacture reach its marketing goals?
We entered football in 2006 with a very small partnership, and then in 2008, we had the Euro cup in Switzerland. And Mr Biver, at that time, thought about which sport we could support as a partner to communicate about our brand.
If you look at tennis, it’s quite complicated; if you look at golf, it’s complicated. And for football, there is no watch brand. Football is a very popular sport; it talks to not only our potential consumers but billions of people. Football has brought us brand awareness.
When I started working at Hublot in 2004, people in Switzerland didn’t know about Hublot. Today we can say that, in general, people know Hublot is a watch brand. And thanks to football, it was an accelerator for brand awareness, especially with the Hublot Big Bang Unico-shaped Referee Board that we had in Brazil.
Billions of people have seen it, so it is very positive for us and allowed us to be a strong brand in the world thanks to football.
Hublot ambassador Kylian Mbappé is currently one of football’s biggest stars. What do you admire most about him?
Kylian Mbappé wearing Big Bang e FIFA watch
To take an active player was a decision. When you have an active player, you can have good and sometimes negative parts, such as injuries or issues in his private life. When you have a legend like the late Pelé, he will remain a legend forever. But at a certain point, I saw this link between a legend and an active player, and I saw it through Kylian Mbappé. Even Pelé sees him as (a successor of sorts) because he won the World Cup at a very young age as Pelé did; they have similar looks and playing styles.
Mbappé accepted to be our ambassador; I think he’s a great personality, very positive. He has values of being serious and passionate, and he has success, so that’s important.
Ambassadorship is one of the main pillars of Hublot’s marketing strategy. What are some values that Hublot looks out for in potential ambassadors?
First of all, we need to have good alchemy in human relationships. An ambassador has to like our brand and not just do a commercial deal. So we always have dinner or spend a moment with the ambassador before signing anything. Of course, they have to carry the values of passion, having success and being aspirational to the young generation.
At this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG), H. Moser & Cie picked up the Tourbillon Watch Prize for the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton, adding to its tally of wins at the prestigious watch industry awards. These include the double wins in 2020 for the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser & Cie x MB&F (Audacity Prize), and the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic (Chronograph Watch Prize). And these are just the most recent achievements for the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker, which was established in 1828, 40 years before its neighbour, IWC started up. In fact, H. Moser & Cie was making watches some 11 years before the brand that would become Patek Philippe was founded, and close to 50 years before Audemars Piguet got its start. Despite this, it may surprise you to learn that in 2012, the firm was staring down the barrel of bankruptcy.
Many storied names in watchmaking have faced this fate, despite more than a hundred years of know-how and capacity. H. Moser & Cie seemed to have it all in 2012. It boasted a fully integrated manufacture that could not only draw upon its close to 200 years of creating fine timepieces, but also something few others could do: the ability to produce its own regulating organs and balance springs, via its sister company, Precision Engineering AG. Such assets are indeed very rare, but the firm was nevertheless in bad shape, and had no obvious saviour.
Fortunately, MELB Holding, the independent Swiss family group owned by the Meylan family knew a winner when it saw one. This is likely to be because the family itself was steeped in the watchmaking trade — the Meylans are distantly related to watchmaking legend Charles-Henri Meylan, who was active in Le Brassus at the same time as Jules Audemars and Edouard Piguet. At the helm of MELB, Georges-Henri Meylan was famous in his own right, as the retired CEO of Audemars Piguet, where he built many lasting relationships in the watchmaking trade, including in Asia, which we will come back to.
After doing what the company calls “emergency due diligence,” MELB Holding agreed to rescue H. Moser & Cie, becoming its majority shareholder in 2012. What followed was not simply a change in direction, rather something altogether more subtle yet engaging. George-Henri’s son Edouard took the reins of H. Moser & Cie as CEO, supported by his brother Bertrand, and leaned into innovation and disruption to create a future for the independent watchmaking firm. Crucially, the new leadership was not interested in radically changing the watches, by embracing the emerging sports watch trend, or really by jumping on any sort of bandwagon.
“The idea was to draw on what had already been done well — and there were lots of good things — and to further improve this by adding a bit of our own personality, i.e. by respecting the past but incorporating a contemporary and occasionally irreverent edge,” Edouard noted in the press release announcing the 10th anniversary of the Meylan family’s rejuvenation of H. Moser & Cie.
Instead of being trendy, H. Moser & Cie actually gained traction for starting trends, being by turns loudly caustic (the Swiss Mad Watch and the Moser Nature Watch) and quietly revolutionary (by removing the brand name, and indeed all the markers, from the dial). A favourite of ours is the Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black in 2019, where even the hands are dispensed with, although there is a tourbillon at 6 o’clock; the brand makes a habit of releasing at least one such concept piece that speaks to who H. Moser & Cie is every year, since 2016. Perhaps the most significant watch that signalled what H. Moser & Cie would become was the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Funky Blue, with its startling gradient electric blue dial. If nothing else, H. Moser & Cie was renowned for its perpetual calendars, so this 2015 watch combined something everyone already knew about the brand, but now with a twist. The watch also had a raw leather strap, foreshadowing the Swiss Mad Watch and other irreverent concept timepieces.
As wild and polarising as some of those moves and watches were, they had the intended effect of getting H. Moser & Cie some much needed attention. The brand finally had a presence befitting its fine watchmaking skills, and collectors took notice. In the last 10 years, H. Moser & Cie has reported a fivefold increase in production, accompanied by an even more impressive eightfold increase in turnover. Today, its profitability is significantly higher than the average in the Swiss watchmaking sector, and it is riding the second wave of interest in independent watchmaking. Arguably, H. Moser & Cie was at least partially responsible for creating the wave.
These waves of interest in independent watchmaking had long been crashing into Singapore’s shores, where collectors are always on the lookout for rare gems. Although H. Moser & Cie only began its relationship with regional distributor Pacific Time Pte Ltd in 2019, the watches were already known in Singapore. The Meylan family, on the other hand, had a much longer relationship with the distributor, or rather the family behind it. In his days at Audemars Piguet, George-Henri Meylan had established a relationship with Anthony Lim, the man who started what would become Cortina Holdings in Singapore, as Edouard told collectors and press at H. Moser & Cie events in Singapore and KL, Malaysia. Pacific Time is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cortina Holdings Group, which also owns Cortina Watch and now Sincere Watch.
From the left: Bertrand Meylan, Sharon Lim, Jeremy Lim and Edouard Meylan.
Watchmaking is all about connections, and relationships that last generations. This is as true of the watches as it is of the people behind the watches, and behind the scenes. Today, H. Moser & Cie employs close to 100 people in offices all around the world, from Switzerland to the Middle East and Hong Kong. Its core watchmaking competencies remain as strong as ever, and it tends to partner with the best in the trade to deliver superlative watches to collectors. The brand is thus set to continue on its audaciously classical journey, with a dash of acerbic wit. No doubt you will encounter H. Moser & Cie in the metaverse before too long…
