Haute Horology
The year has thrown up a host of luxury watches from prestigious watchmakers, some even rating as ‘Novelties’ at the Geneva Watches and Wonders’ in April. Marrying traditional craftsmanship with modern advancements, they have pushed boundaries in design, material, and functionality—offering us a glimpse into the future of horology while reflecting the evolving aspirations of contemporary consumers. Among the several that demand attention are...
glacial summit
Chopard’s Alpine Eagle collection welcomed an exceptionally refined model combining the Maison’s watchmaking and jewellery expertise in Alpine Eagle 41 XP Frozen Summit. Crafted in ethical 18-carat white gold, every last surface of the 41 mm-diameter case, dial, bezel, crown, and integrated bracelet is set with meticulously-cut diamonds—evoking the celestial beauty of stars reflected on glaciers. Making no compromises in terms of technical expertise, the timepiece boasts of ultra-thin L.U.C 96.41-L movement, with automatic winding via a micro-rotor ensuring a 65-hour power reserve. It is water resistant up to 30 metres.
classically new
A novelty timepiece, Frederique Constant's flagship model the Classic Moonphase Date Manufacture in a new 40 mm variation features a new classic steel case and silver dial. Sober, elegant, and modern, the model’s new FC-716 Manufacture calibre is equipped with a new barrel that offers a power reserve of 72 hours. The fan-shaped côtes de Genève—visible through the open caseback—is water-resistant to 50 metres, while the silver-coloured diamond-cut hour and minute hands are hand-polished and hover over a fine modern midnight blue sun-rayed dial. The creation, worn on a navy-blue overstitched alligator strap, has a minute track in railway-style, and an onion-shaped crown at three o'clock.
complicatedly yours
A milestone in contemporary watchmaking history and much-discussed at Watches and Wonders, Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers—The Berkley Grand Complication is arguably the world’s most complicated timepiece. Comprising 63 horological complications and 2,877 components, it surpasses the record already held with Reference 57260 that it presented in 2015. Similar in design to the 2015 one, this world-first timepiece features a genuine Chinese perpetual calendar. Given the details of this lunisolar calendar characterised by a complex and irregular cycle, the mechanical programming of in-house Calibre 3752 through to 2200 is a feat of horological genius. It took 11 years to develop, including one year devoted entirely to its assembly.
jet set go
TUDOR’s additional model to the Black Bay line, the Black Bay 58 GMT is evocative of an era when jet-setting across time zones was matched by elegant style, this new model is fitted with TUDOR’s new mid-size GMT Manufacture Calibre paired with warm hues of burgundy, black, and gilt on the bezel. Among other aesthetic allusions to this historic watch—the first TUDOR divers’ watch waterproof to 200 metres—this model has a 39mm diameter case, 65-hour power reserve and smooth functioning when exposed to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss and precision following exposure.
tribute to eternity
Building on its comprehensive calendar expertise, IWC Schaffhausen’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar automatically accounts for the Gregorian calendar’s leap year exceptions by skipping three leap years over a period of 400 years. Also, its moon phase is so precise that it will only deviate by one day after 45 million years. The platinum case, automatic, self-winding watch with a diameter of 44.4 mm and a white dial boasts of a 7-day power reserve, power reserve display, a rotor with 18-carat gold medallion, eternal calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and eternal moon phase, a double box-glass sapphire crystals, and anti-reflective coating on both sides.
like the moon
The Classics Elegance Luna, is the latest addition to the Frederique Constant’s esteemed Classics collection. This exquisite timepiece which caught attention at the Geneva Watches and Wonders 2024, captivates with its ethereal design and heartfelt inspiration. It features a poetic moonphase motif on a shimmering mother-of-pearl dial. At the heart of the watch is a bespoke lunar disc that is delicately suspended at 6 o’clock, while the mother-of-pearl dial is adorned in hues of pink, light green, blue, or grey. The Luna with slender Roman numeral hour markers, harmoniously synchronised with colour-matched leather straps, is available in four variants, including diamond-set models.
smart luxury
The Montblanc Summit 3 Smartwatch is a contemporary luxury watch that while continuing the legacy of the Summit line, combines fine watchmaking design with technology. Inspired by the purity of glaciers, the latest blue colourway features a lightweight titanium watch case and configurable watch faces following in the glacial theme. For active movers, Summit 3 incorporates a personal health suite via the Summit App that tracks health and wellness goals with precision, offering features like step tracking, sleep monitoring, and blood oxygen measurement. The health suite provides a variety of workouts to maximize impact over time. Powered by Wear OS by Google, the smartwatch has all the necessary apps to enhance daily life, from turn-by-turn navigation with Google Maps to convenient payments with Google Pay. Montblanc Summit 3 not only runs Wear OS 3, but it is the first smartwatch on the new unified platform to support iOS.
