Monthly Archives: December 2014

Terrascope 39mm

When I first saw this new watch to end the year with, all I said was: at last! JeanRichard has catered for women who like masculine watches but whose wrists are too small for the usual 44mm case size. The brand has reworked the proportions of its famous polished and satin-finish steel cushion-shaped case and round bezel to get a far more ladylike 39mm diameter. It houses a self-winding JR60 movement with a 38-hour power reserve and brings to life the time and date functions. The vertically satin-finished black dial bears 11 rhodium-plated phosphorescent hour indices whilst the minute track rims the chapter ring. Two wide hands with the signature Terrascope luminescent highlights track the hours and minutes; a slim red-tipped central seconds hand points out the seconds. The white-on-black date display lies at 3 o’ clock. Price: 2,000CHF excl. VAT

Cat’s Eye Tourbillon with Gold Bridge

Brilliant-cut diamonds wrap around the feline and feminine white gold Cat’s Eye. Almost 300 gems hug the curves of the oval sides, bezel and lugs totalling approximately 3.60 carats whilst a rose-cut diamond adorns the crown. The diamond dazzle highlights the gleaming mother-of-pearl dial engraved with a floral pattern. Two gold leaf-shaped hands match the sculpted design and track the hours and minutes. The seconds count down in the lower half of the dial with a view of the tourbillon spinning at 6 o’ clock on a white gold bridge engraved with delicately baroque scrolls. The time functions are brought to life by the manual wind Girard-Perregaux calibre nestled in the heart of the 37.30×32.30mm case. The movement provides a 70-hour power reserve. Price: 196,100 CHF

MONTBLANC – Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum

Montblanc has brought globetrotting gentlemen a stylish new travel companion. The classical yet functional piece is called Orbis Terrarum meaning “world” in Latin. A map takes up the centre of the sapphire crystal and presents the continents as seen from the North Pole. The map in different blue hues is surrounded by the names of 24 cities matching 24 time zones. The pusher at 8 o’ clock enables the wearer to choose the city and move it to 6 o’ clock to show the time at home and local time with the central hands. A midnight blue and silver-white ring displays the 24 hours around the cities. The time functions, world timer (2nd time zone) and day/night indicator are brought to life by the self-winding MB 29.20 movement inside the 41mm steel or rose gold case. Price: 5,800CHF (steel) – 16,200CHF (rose gold)

BREGUET – Secret de la Reine

Once upon a time, etiquette frowned upon women wearing watches with a ball gown so some watchmakers designed secret watches for them: jewellery masterpieces to conceal time beneath glittering finery. Breguet has breathed new life into this tradition with a resplendent rose inspired by a 1793 portrait of Marie-Antoinette in which the queen holds a blossoming flower tied with a bow. This rose has been delicately hand-sculpted in white cameo whilst the ribbon dazzles like a river of diamonds. Press the queen of flowers to unveil a sparkling dial with two openwork blue-tone Breguet hands. The time functions are brought to life by a self-winding 586 calibre nestled in the white gold case. There are 432 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bow and 116 on the dial. Price: 110,000CHF

BR 123 GMT 24H

The most recent addition to the 2014 Vintage collection grabs your eye with its little hints of orange jumping out from the intense black dial. The 42mm steel BR case houses a mechanical self-winding movement. The long luminescent silver-tone hour and minute hands glide over the oversized Arabic hour numerals and elongated indices interspersed with a slim minute track. A white central seconds hand tracks the seconds whilst a discreet white-on-black date display lies at 4.30. A fourth eye-catching black hand with a phosphorescent orange tip points to the 24 hour scale on the chapter ring whose second time zone enables travellers to get their bearings. Price: 3,300 CHF

Master Calendar

Once considered a “rock from outer space”, the rareness, origins and composition of meteorites have fascinated man since the dawn of time. Stardust slithers of sky have now settled on the stunning timepiece made by expert hands in La Vallée de Joux. The plates on the dial are made from a block of meteorite which fell on Swedish soil then was cut up and treated. The patterns which change with the light are enhanced by discreet triangular indices beneath dauphine-shaped hands. A slim hand with a blue crescent-shaped tip provides the date the length of the dial whilst the day and month appear in 2 separate windows at 12 o’ clock. A counter displays the seconds and moon phases at 6 o’ clock. The functions are all brought to life by a self-winding 866 calibre nestled in the 39mm polished steel case. Price: 9,100€ excl. VAT

Saxonia

To ring in 2015 and the 170th anniversary year of the Saxony brand, A. Lange & Söhne has unveiled a trio of timepieces to join its signature Saxonia collection. There are 2 relatively classic (hour and minute hands in the centre and small seconds in the lower half of the dial) pieces in rose or white gold whilst the third watch has a second time zone. The Saxonia has a manual wind calibre inside the 35mm case whilst the other two have a self-winding movement in their round 38.5mm cases. Yellow gold, rhodium or rose gold hands glide over the black hour indices and slim minute track on solid silver dials. The second time zone has an hour hand (set using the pushers at 8 and 10 o’ clock) and a 24 hour counter at 12 o’ clock all gleaming in blue steel. Price on request

Clifton Big Date and Power Reserve

The Clifton collection launched almost 2 years ago and is inspired by a timepiece from the 50s which is now preserved in the Baume&Mercier museum. The modern pieces in this new collection revive the classic curvy elegance with a hint of modern design and technical details. Its 43mm steel case flits between polished and satin-finish surfaces. A self-winding movement lies in the heart of the watch to provide the 42-hour power reserve and bring to life the time and date functions. The hours appear in the form of gilded indices and Arabic numerals, the black minute track has blue markings and three gold hands glide over the dial. A gold-rimmed dual date display stands at 12 o’ clock whilst the silver sunburst lower half of the dial is filled with the power reserve indicator and its little blue hand at 6 o’ clock. Price: 3,690 CHF

Excalibur Spider Tourbillon Volant Squelette

The Genevan watchmaker celebrates the art of “skeletonisation” in 2015. The technique involves removing and/or revealing certain parts of the watch, particularly its movement. The unveiling of the Excalibur is a sign of what’s to come as the lack of dial lays the movement’s cogs and wheels bare. This miniature architectural work has a half-heavenly and half-spider’s web star-shaped structure which the openwork luminescent hour and minute hands seem to orbit. As time passes, the hands track the white minutes on the black chapter ring whose titanium screws glow in the dark. The seconds at 7.30 are activated by a flyback tourbillon bearing a Celtic cross. The in-house manual wind RD505SQ calibre brings to life the time functions and takes pride of place in the heart of the 45mm titanium case. Price: 148,500 CHF

CHOPARD – Mille Miglia 2014

There’s a tinge of nostalgia to the Chopard chronograph dial bearing the Italian flag’s colours and the logo for the race Enzo called “la corsa più bella del mondo” (the most beautiful race in the world). The matt white disc radiates the colourful racing spirit of the Mille Miglia, the 1000 mile prestigious and legendary car race running through Brescia-Rome-Brescia founded in 1927: the green minute track, tachymeter scale and large red central seconds hand, 3 counters (small seconds at 3, minute counter at 9 and hour counter at 6) and date (at 4.30) in black. The hours appear in 30s style calligraphy. Two baton-shaped hands with a luminescent coating in the centre track the hours and minutes. The time functions are brought to life by a self-winding COSC-certified movement in the 42mm steel case. Price: 4,900 CHF