Chronicles of time: The most desirable watches of 2017
Timekeeping traditions have certainly come a long way since the giant obelisks of the ancient Egyptians, made to track the movements of the sun, and medieval innovations of water and candle clocks, apart from sundials and hourglasses.
When it comes to watchmaking, things aren’t as simple as they once were — day/date displays and alarms are commonplace. Just as smart watches are being relegated too, as little more than a passing fad.
Going by trends at the two biggest international trade shows of their kind (both in Switzerland) — the 27th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, held in January earlier this year at Geneva, and BaselWorld 2017, held in March, at Basel — watchmaking today, in direct terms, is all about the “complications”.
The expression to get one’s head around is, “haute horlogerie” — “haute” is French for “high” and
haute horlogerie, in essence, refers to watchmaking in its highest form.
Turning back the clock
In horological terms, complications refer to design and engineering complexities, such as in astronomical indicators — as seen in perpetual calendars, moon phase indices, and chronograph variations such as the Rattrapante (“catch up” in French) or “double chronograph”, featuring multiple second hands. The new Breitling release (pictured above), by the Swiss experts in aviation chronometers, is one such instance of exemplary craftsmanship.
Other prized variations include flyback chronographs, with an added timing hand that can be reset, or ‘flyback’ to zero. While the tourbillon (“whirlwind” in French) — a marker of design virtuosity — refers to an added rotating cage and balance wheel to counter the effect of gravity, thereby improving accuracy.
There’s also the rare complication of “equation of time”, an almost poetic accomplishment, essentially of a sundial on a modern wristwatch, to measure time according to the current position of the sun. As a fixture rooted in history, timepieces featuring the “equation of time” make for all-time collectors’ favourites.
All said, there’s little to distinguish top-of-the-line watchmaking from jewellery anymore, with maverick designers creating one-off pieces that are as valuable as they get. In effect, you’d be well-informed to tell the difference between dress watches, complication watches and statement watches. To unravel all this and more, this cover story offers an informed report on the art of watchmaking, as it stands today. Just another thing — it’s rather impolite to enquire about prices while you’re checking out these master creations.
Watch you looking at
Exemplars of watchmaking and design excellence
MB&F Legacy Machine 2
This timepiece speaks for some serious technical jargon. Announced earlier this February, this is the newest addition to the Legacy Machine series, spotlighting MB&F’s interpretations of traditional haute
horlogerie codes. Previously released in red gold, white gold, and platinum, only 18 pieces of the watch will be made, with a blue-green dial, in grade-5 titanium-cased limited editions. The makers pay tribute to the pioneering watch complications of the old masters, with the most noteworthy feature being the double “flying” balances, suspended high above the dial, apart from a planetary differential propped on a stunning double-arc bridge. The balances are the most visible parts of the watch’s twin fully independent regulating systems, each beating at its own rate. Conceived and produced by Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen, the design extends a nod to historical dual regulator mechanisms, with oversized jewels countersunk into gold chatons. mbandf.com
Jaquet Droz ‘Loving Butterfly’ Automaton
“This is an automaton with a 242-year-old story — of master watchmaker Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz, who created an android automaton (or a mechanical man, like of Georges Mélies’ in the film Hugo; pre-dating modern-day technology by centuries). Jaquet-Droz’s mechanism made breathtaking sketches – such as of a cherub seated on a chariot drawn by a butterfly. Released earlier this March, as a part of the Jaquet Droz collection, alongside the Bird Repeater, Charming Bird, and Lady 8 Flower pieces, this is watchmaking expertise at its finest. Forty hand-engraved parts in white or red gold are manually assembled — from Cupid’s arms to the infinitely fragile butterfly antennae (0.2 mm thick), in tribute to the famous Petite Heure Minute dial, and a machine that fascinated all of Europe back in the 18th century. jaquet-droz.com
Geo.Graham Orrery Tourbillon
Hailed as a horological tour de force, the Geo.Graham Orrery is an update on the maker’s “planetarium-style watch”, in tribute to the astronomer George Graham who, along with clockmaker Thomas Tompion, invented the first mechanical solar system model in 1713. That first device was presented to Charles Boyle, the 4th Earl of Orrery, under whose patronage Graham created the first ‘Orrery’. While subsequent models were produced in the 18th century, the heritage watchmakers have now produced a wearable version, nearly 300 years after the first of its kind. The watch is spectacular, to say the least, with a movement containing 470 parts. The brainchild of Graham founder Eric Loth, the Orrery draws upon the expertise of watchmaking maven Christophe Claret. Also, it’s functional for 300 years, leaving the onus with future generations, to create the third Orrery by the year 2313. graham1695.com
Métiers d’Art Villes Lumières
Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art Villes Lumieres collection sets an altogether new benchmark for luxury timepieces, which might be deemed fit for museums, just as they behoove the wrists of connoisseurs. In December last year, the makers released a series inspired by bird’s-eye tableaus of the cities Geneva, Paris and New York with Grand Feu champlevé enamelling and hand-applied precious powder — executed by Japanese master artist Yoko Imai. To mark 2017 as the Chinese year of the Rooster, the makers have now released two special edition pieces (12 models each), with dazzling artisanal dials emphasising a 3D mini-sculpture, against an elaborate background based on classic Chinese iconography. The accentuated reliefs lend the impression of a ‘floating dial’, making this a masterpiece of engineering and aesthetic subtlety. vacheron-constantin.com
MB&F HM7 Aquapod
In full view, the MB&F HM7 Aquapod Tourbillon, an “aquatic horological machine”, seems rather Wellsian in prospect, like a contrivance out of The War of the Worlds. Independent watchmakers Max Büsser and friends get a special second mention in this edition with this otherworldly masterpiece, released earlier this January. Their first aquatic-themed work, designed by Eric Giroud, the watch features a double-domed case within the bezel, resembling Saturn’s rings, a flying tourbillon that rotates around the centre, and luminescent details inspired by jellyfish. It sits on the wrist like a mini spaceship or compact submersible — a three-dimensional timepiece powered by tentacles, in Büsser’s vision. Though, it offers a mere 50m limited water resistance, which means it isn’t made out to be recreational diving gear. mbandf.com
Lady Arpels Papillon
The watchmakers Van Cleef & Arpels have trademarked the term “poetic complications”, to define their expertise in combining technical virtuosity with a sense of wonder. Easily the most charming wristwatch we’ve seen, The Lady Arpels Papillon Automate features a butterfly automaton nestling in the dial, laid out in enamel and coloured gem stones, while a unique mechanical system makes the butterfly’s wings flutter at random intervals. Exemplary champlevé, plique-a-jour and paillonné enamel techniques, with
mother-of-pearl in-sets, bring alive the 3D aspect of the flowers, leaves and stems, as the extreme attention to detail lends it a mesmerising effect. At the point where jewellery meets high-end watchmaking, Van Cleef & Arpels are creating art masterworks. vancleefarpels.com
Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater
The Cartier Rotonde De Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon is as ambitious as they come, a testament to Cartier’s famous head designer Carole Forestier-Kasapi, combining a minute repeater and a tourbillon — two impossibly challenging feats — into a wearable design. A round “rotonde” series case lends a rhythmic illusion to the two top-of-the-line complications — a minute repeater with hardened steel gongs, and a floating tourbillon, inspired by Cartier’s “mystery” clocks from the early-1900s. The watch is topped off with black rhodium-finished bridges,
contrasting circular graining and Geneva stripes. Cartier’s new releases include the Skeleton Mysterious Hour, and the Panthere Joueuse de Cartier, featuring their panther mascot inlaid with diamonds. cartier.com
Urwerk UR-210 Amadeus
Expert CRAFTSMAN Florian Güllert describes the UR-210 Amadeus’ design as of “post-Renaissance 17th-century, on a determinedly contemporary structure.” The retro-futuristic project, observing Urwerk’s 20th anniversary earlier this March, takes root in nature. “The swirling pattern of acanthus leaves is most suitable for this style, contrasting the angular look of the watch,” offers Güllert. The watch has a radically distinctive satellite complication, and also features a first-of-its-kind winding efficiency indicator. An intricate piece of sculpture more than a watch, the UR-210 is nicknamed “Maltese Falcon”, for the shape of its minute hand, and is said to take more than 260 man hours to complete. Urwerk is expected to produce 35 limited edition pieces of the UR-210 Amadeus in titanium. urwerk.co