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We take a closer look at colourful luxury watches of every shade and hue.

Back in the day, watch dials were black or white, silver or gold. Now they come in just about every hue imaginable. We sift through the spectrum of shades you can strap on to your wrist, from vibrant red to regal violet – and even a veritable kaleidoscope of colour. Here are the best colourful luxury watches.

The Best Colourful Luxury Watches

Breitling

This colourful luxury watches capsule collection of Top Time chronographs from Breitling, which pays tribute to three American performance cars of the 1960s – the Shelby American Cobra (left, with blue-and-white dial), the Chevrolet Corvette (centre, with red-and-black dial) and the Ford Mustang (right, with green and black dial) – nails the vintage vibe perfectly. In 42mm (Corvette and Mustang) and 40mm (Cobra) stainless-steel cases and with racing-style leather straps, all three watches feature ETA-based automatic movements – on the 42mm models it’s the 1/8th-of-a-second Calibre 25, while the 40mm version gets the 1/4th-of-a-second Calibre 41; all beat at 4Hz for a 42-hour reserve of power. Pops of contrasting colour on each dial’s outer tachymeter scale ramp up the appeal still further.

H. Moser & Cie.

Although with a similar design to that of the Heritage Bronze “Since 1828”, Moser’s Heritage Dual Time not only gets a lustrous sunburst fumé burgundy dial but, to burnish its already convincing vintage pilot’s credentials, it also features a second 24- hour hand that, when the user isn’t travelling, can cleverly be hidden beneath the main hour hand. If that weren’t sufficiently indicative of the ingenuity of this small, Schaffhausen-based manufacture, the brand logo is rendered in transparent lacquer and, in certain lights, becomes almost invisible. In a 42mm steel case, the watch is powered by the automatic HMC calibre, which runs at 3Hz for a 72-hour reserve.

Grand Seiko

If the sword-shaped hands and multi-faceted hour markers (which glint beguilingly from whichever angle you look at them) weren’t sufficient to tell you it’s a Grand Seiko, then just look at the dial of this Snow on the Blue Lake limited edition. Inspired by the winter landscape of Hachimandai in Iwate prefecture, the delicate light-blue hue recalls sunshine on snow. With just 140 pieces available across five key Asian markets, this delightful and rare timepiece is presented in a 40mm steel case housing the high-beat 9S85 calibre, a super-accurate automatic movement offering a power reserve of 55 hours.

Omega

Although the current design codes of Omega’s dressy Constellation collection were set back in the early 1980s, such is the way of trends that it seems they’ve swung right back into vogue. It thus comes as no surprise that the brand has decided to further enliven the Constellation’s appeal with this recent drop of three 36mm ladies’ versions with diamond-set bezels, sun-brushed coloured PVD dials and matching alligator straps. While all have steel cases and are powered by Omega’s Metas-certified 8800 co-axial automatic calibre, the burgundy model features a steel bezel, the blue reference comes with a bezel in yellow gold and the brown version has a bezel in Sedna gold.

Audemars Piguet

One of the main criticisms voiced when Audemars Piguet unveiled its Code 11.59 three years ago was that, while technically and in terms of craftsmanship the watches were exceptional, the dials were somewhat uninspiring – and especially on the simpler time-and-date models. The subsequent release, in September 2020, of five new chronograph and three-hand models with sunburst lacquered dials in blue, grey, burgundy and purple, went a long way towards addressing those issues – and especially as those opulent hues are offset with white and pink gold for the case and dial furniture, and matched with luxurious alligator straps. In fact, we’d even go as far as saying they’re actually rather fabulous.

Bvlgari x MB&F

In an unparalleled collaboration, Bvlgari and MB&F revealed two extravagantly over-the-top, gem-set versions of the independent Swiss watchmaker’s Flying T at the recent Dubai Watch Week. One, shown here, is in rose gold with a pink alligator strap and the other comes in white gold with a green strap – and both are covered in clear and coloured stones. In 39 x 20mm cases with delicately high-domed crystals, these 20-piece limited editions aren’t watches that can be worn every day, but they do demonstrate the spectacular results that can be achieved when avant-garde watchmaking and high-jewellery creativity collide.

Rolex

To Rolex-watchers accustomed to minuscule yet Earth-shaking changes in case diameters or bezel thicknesses, the company’s drop of new watches in the late summer of 2020 must have been a particular shock because among them was a quintet of Oyster Perpetuals in 36mm steel cases and brightly coloured lacquer dials. Four of them – in yellow, turquoise, coral red and candy pink – are shown here; there was also a not-quite-so-shattering green, and this year they were joined by 36mm Datejusts with palm- motif dials in olive green, gold and grey. All these may be unusually light-hearted on the outside, but they’re resolutely Rolex within, boasting Superlative Chronometer movements with Chronergy escapements and a 70-hour reserve of power.

Richard Mille

Yet another tribute to the long-time Richard Mille friend, ambassador and tennis great, the new RM 35-03 Rafael Nadal brings a new patented innovation – in the form of a butterfly rotor, three years in the development – to the brand’s high-tech box of tricks. This new feature, says the brand, “allows the wearer to directly interact with the rotor’s geometry, controlling the movement’s winding speed based on lifestyle and activity levels …” Philistines that we are, however, we’re more interested in the watch’s colour palette, which on this version includes blue Quartz TPT, red, yellow and white (there’s another model in mostly white Quartz TPT and light blue).

Hublot

Never one of the shrinking violets of the Swiss watch industry, Hublot has become renowned for pushing the boat out – though, in this, its latest collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, the vessel in question is more superyacht than skiff. In fact, the limited-edition Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Sapphire Rainbow, whose name pretty much says it all, is described by Hublot as “a whirlwind of transparency and colour”, which indeed it would be if you were to combine a 45mm case fashioned from solid sapphire with a rotating dial comprising 384 brightly coloured gemstones. And yes, if you were wondering, it even tells the time.

The post Time in Technicolour: Colourful Luxury Watches in Every Shade appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

A wrist statement piece, the timepiece is covered in 18K rose gold and contains 155g of gold.

The post In a minute: Bell & Ross BR05 Skeleton Gold appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Under Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s watchful eye, Chopard has excelled in areas that matter to the brand, from chiming mechanisms and artistic crafts to high-precision movements. We look closely at two novelties in its L.U.C and Alpine Eagle collections.

Chopard’s L.U.C. collection as we know it today is entirely the making of the brand’s co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, who during the past 25 years has tirelessly pursued true innovation and artisanship in watchmaking. In 1996, Manufacture Chopard first introduced the L.U.C 1860, powered by the Calibre 96.01-L that was both Geneva Seal and COSC-certified, a time- and-date-only watch that became an instant classic and secured Chopard’s place amongst the watchmaking greats.

Since then, the L.U.C collection has grown and matured, encompassing the manufacture’s persistent endeavours in fine watchmaking to Scheufele’s exacting vision. More movements, more complications and more extraordinary pieces have culminated in this year’s 25th-anniversary celebration timepieces, such as the elegant L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25 and unique pieces such as the L.U.C Full Strike “Dia de los Muertos”, a minute-repeater watch that honours Mexico’s Day of the Dead.

Aside from the L.U.C, another Chopard collection that’s creating a buzz is the new Alpine Eagle, unveiled two years ago and based on the St Moritz, an ’80s sports watch Scheufele designed in his youth. The launch of the Alpine Eagle was especially meaningful for the family, as it was Scheule’s son, Karl-Fritz, who came to his father with the idea of reinterpreting the now- discontinued watch and turning it into a contemporary classic.

This year, the collection has a new addition featuring new material and a new calibre. We take a closer look at these two novelties and discover Manufacture Chopard’s extraordinary technical and artisanal capabilities.

L.U.C Full Strike "Dia de los Muertos"

This isn’t the first time Chopard has introduced a timepiece depicting the calavera, an artistic interpretation of the human skull seen in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. Chopard first introduced the L.U.C Perpetual T Spirit la Santa Muerte in 2018, followed by the L.U.C Skull One in 2020. This seems to have evolved into an annual tradition, with this year’s launch of the L.U.C Full Strike “Dia de Los Muertos”.

This minute repeater is powered by the L.U.C Calibre 08.01-L, which bears the Geneva Seal. A master of the minute repeater mechanism since 2016, Chopard won the Aiguille d’Or prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in 2017 for its L.U.C Full Strike watch.

The Day of the Dead is not a grim occasion; rather, it’s celebrated with joy, life and music, making the “Dia de los Muertos” chiming watch a fitting tribute to the festival. The minute repeater mechanism’s chime is even in tune with the music in the festivities, making this timepiece extra special.
There’s nothing subtle about the watch’s design.

It comes in an ethical white-gold case that’s entirely hand-engraved with imprints of skulls, guitars, birds and skeletons, topped by a bezel set with baguette-cut blue sapphires. The dial is also a work of art, with a guilloché pattern on the outer parts of the skull motif, while the calavera itself is engraved using the champlevé technique, which outlines the skull, crossbones, moustache, nose and tattoos in relief. The rest of the surface is covered with blue lacquer, with final touches in mother-of-pearl forming a quirky smile with seven diamonds “fillings” on the teeth.

The design also seamlessly incorporates the minute-repeater complication, for which the hammers become one of the eyes, while the concentric power-reserve indicator forms the other. The calavera’s moustache conveniently becomes the setting for the inertia regulator, which aids in defining the cadence of the strike. The Calibre 08.01-L’s development took 15,000 hours and resulted in several patents, including the crystal, which is machined out of one block of sapphire to give the watch its unique sound intensity. The watch also comes with a patented strikework-pusher disengagement system, which protects components from breaking in the event that the striking mechanism is reactivated while the watch is still chiming.

To ensure the sounding mechanism is also secure, the calibre is equipped with a separate barrel that stores energy for the strikework alone – sufficient for 12 complete soundings of the longest time (i.e, 32 strokes heard at 12:59 pm) – and also prevents it from being activated if there’s insufficient energy in the barrel to strike the required sequence. The longer hand of the indicator at 2 o’clock indicates strike work power reserve, while the shorter hand shows the reserve for movement’s power reserve, which when fully wound is 60 hours.

Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF Titanium

High frequency improves chronometry, a subject that’s very dear to Karl-Friedrich’s heart, as a calibre’s high-frequency performance has the essential function of maximising its accuracy precision. In fact, as far back
as of 2012, Chopard was already working on a series of watches with a chronometer-certified high-frequency movement, enhancing its L.U.C collection with the L.U.C 01.06-L calibre in an experimental series of 100 L.U.C 8HF timepieces in titanium, which are now genuine collectors’ items.

Chopard’s high-frequency movements – once the domain of high watchmaking and the sporty Superfast lines – have now found a place within the Alpine Eagle collection in the brand-new Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF Titanium.

When Chopard launched the Alpine Eagle two years ago, it was seen as the brand’s entry in the all-steel sports-watch frenzy that was raging at the time. The watch was extremely well received from the start, propelling the brand into confidently releasing more variations thereafter. The chronograph version was launched last year but it’s this year’s Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF Titanium that has us on the edge of the seat.

The 41mm watch is cased in titanium for the first time, making it both light and robust. What’s even cooler is the all-new self-winding Calibre 01.12-C within, which features a high-frequency escapement beating at 57,600 vibrations per hour (8Hz) – in other words, twice as fast as a standard automatic movement – while offering a power reserve of 60 hours. And like all its predecessors, its exceptional precision is certified by the COSC.

All the codes of the Alpine Eagle remain, from the eight screws on the bezel circle, its satin-brushed and polished surfaces, to the intriguing dial, featuring the sunburst “eagle iris” pattern, a direct tribute to the bird
of prey that inspired the collection. To keep the dial clean and simple, baton-type hour markers are used, except for the Roman numeral at 12 o’clock. The dial also bears the inscription “8 HZ Chronometer” beneath the Chopard
name, as well as a dynamic arrow-shaped logo above 6 o’clock, a hallmark for all the brand’s high-precision watches. The Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF is produced in a 250-piece numbered limited edition.

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Pomellato isn't your typical fine jewellery brand. It prides itself for being different, for being bold and for being authentically, and fiercely, Milanese in its design and philosophy. This festive season, if you're looking for a gift for yourself or for the independent women in your life, you've come to the right place.

"Pomellato is about the beauty of being yourself," says CEO Sabina Belli, and wearing Pomellato can convey "a sense of power, independent, strength." The brand was created in 1967, at a time when women's rights were being affirmed. It was the dawn of a new era for new power, bringing to light a new generation of youths, women and creative minds.

Pomellato's founder was Pino Rabolini, who frequented the Brera's Bar Jamaica in Milan, an epicentre of progressive thinking for all artistic fields. When he established Pomellato, it brought a fashionable revolution to fine jewellery and was an integral part of the Milanese design renaissance.

Today, the brand carries on this independent spirit. While the world of fine jewellery can still be quite conservative, Pomellato is paving the way for jewellery that speaks directly to women who prefer to buy their own jewellery, and prefer jewellery pieces that liberate, rather than show off wealth and status.

With their unconventional yet timeless designs, Pomellato jewellery pieces are sure to excite the receiver, be it your closest women friends and family, even yourself.

Read on to discover the latest collections from Pomellato.

Nudo – gifts for the sophisticated woman

Take the Nudo collection for example, which debuted in 2001. At a time when ring settings tended to be more elaborate and traditional, Pomellato reduced the ring design to its bare essence, presenting its vivid coloured gemstones in its purest, most tactile form. The first collection featured vibrant hues of garnet, aquamarine, peridot, iolite and red tourmaline and enjoyed instant success all around the world.

This year, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Nudo Chocolate collection is born, bringing us a few new delectable designs.

The Nudo Chocolate collection is inspired by cacao sweet treats. Set with moonstones and brown diamonds on warming 18K rose gold, the rings, earrings and bangles are a departure from Nudo's usual colour palette, evoking a more subtle and sophisticated touch.

Iconica – gifts for the audacious woman

Design is at the forefront of the new jewellery pieces in the 2021 Iconica Collection. In sinuous gold, crafted in homage to Pomellato's origins in goldsmithing, the Iconica bracelets and chunky rings are sculpted from rose gold or white gold, with hand-carved diamond settings in the shapes of Pomellato stars, triangles, droplets, diamonds and squares.

There is also a precious colour parure in the collection, featuring a new "chain link" earring and a new hoop earring that comes with Pomellato's signature gemstone colours set in rose gold.

Catene – gifts for the fashionable woman

Catene, meaning chains in Italian, naturally features chain-inspired jewellery for the young, fashion-forward customer. Chains have always been a fashion staple, and have been at the very heard of the Pomellato story since the beginning. Founder Rabolini was the son of a Milanese family of goldsmiths who specialised in chain and ring-making. His Gourmet chain, when he debuted it, became the first fine jewel to be considered a fashion accessory.

Pomellato has mastered the technique for making supple chains, no matter whether they're stacks of chunky chokers or tiers of draped, gem-set chains. A long sautoir would require 16 hours to craft, while more elaborate gem-set versions could take up to 170 hours of meticulous work by Pomellato's craftsmen.

The timeless design makes the Catene collection the perfect daily essential with a Milanese sensibility. Composed of bracelets, rings and earrings, the collection features dangling and mobile chains in the Gourmette (curb chain) link style, which moves with the wearer as she goes about her day. The collection comes in rose gold with or without diamonds, or in white gold with diamonds.

Playful, sophisticated, stylish and timeless, each Pomellato jewellery piece is an embodiment of each individual's personality and style. It's sure to be a gift you would love to gift and receive.

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No one said showbiz was easy, and if you’ve met JuJu Chan Szeto, you’ll know she’s not one to give up. We sit down with the action star to talk about how embracing her martial-arts background led to her big break in Hollywood.

As a child, JuJu Chan Szeto wouldn’t sit still. Her father was an action-movie fanatic, and every time they watched something together, Chan Szeto remembers copying every move by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen. “I’d jump from table to table,” she says. “I broke a lot of things at home.” Exasperated with their daughter’s boundless energy, her parents sent her off to judo school where she fell in love with martial arts. From judo, to karate, Chinese kung fu, taekwondo and Thai boxing, Chan Szeto has honed her martial-arts skills since she was 10, entering national competitions and representing Hong Kong in taekwondo.

A born performer, Chan Szeto says she’s never turned down a chance to sing, dance, or act since she was a child. She studied computer science – “something practical befitting a traditional Chinese family” – but ultimately found herself enrolling into New York’s Tisch School of the Arts and learning the ropes of the film industry. Afterwards, she came back to Hong Kong to begin her career here and she’s never looked back since. 

It wasn’t an easy start, though. From beauty pageants to reality shows, and even a brief music career, Chan Szeto tried everything to make her mark, but it wasn’t until a director told her to embrace her roots as a martial artist that she found her way. That director, with the gems of wisdom that put Chan Szeto on the map and Hollywood on her radar, is Antony Szeto, who’s now her husband. 

I talked to Chan Szeto about her love for martial arts, her favourite action scenes and her upcoming feature film on Netflix, Wu Assassins: Fistful of Vengeance. 

You’ve credited your husband for pushing you to embrace your martial-arts background as an actress. 

Yes. In Hong Kong especially, actors are expected to act, sing, and appear in campaigns. When I came back I took any opportunity that came to me, because I just wanted to perform. I got signed to a music label and I released an album in Hong Kong where I wrote my own songs. My husband, Antony Szeto, directed one of my first music videos. At that time, I was doing so much and Antony knew I wanted to become an actress. But at that time also, I didn’t tell people that I could do martial arts. My image was very different then – I had long hair and looked very girly, which was the typical look in Hong Kong at that time. I wanted to make hip-hop and rap music, but my management told me to stick with mellow love songs. But Antony told me he was having a hard time finding female actors who could act and do their own actions. There are a lot more action stars in the older generation, but not in our current generation. He could tell I could fight, and he said maybe I should focus on letting people know that and not be afraid of being different. After that, I brought my nunchucks out and showed people what I was capable of. 

Was that how you got your Hollywood start and joined the cast of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)? 

Netflix was doing this worldwide search for Asian actors and actresses who knew martial arts for the movie, and they’d heard about me as one of the action actresses based in Hong Kong who also spoke English. There really weren’t that many of us at that time. There’s Michelle Yeoh, whom I really like, especially after working with her. She didn’t start in martial arts, she was a dancer who actually got trained by the Jackie Chan team and became a female action figure. I’d say until this day that she’s the biggest female action actress in Hollywood and it was amazing to have worked with her on Sword of Destiny. She was so graceful, really loving and caring and generous. I look up to her and, yeah, I hope I can work with her again. 

Do you do a lot of your own stunts?

No matter how good you are, everyone in Hollywood has a stunt double for insurance. But I do all my fight actions myself. I have my own fighting style and the way I do my actions makes it hard for people to double me. But there are times when we shoot multiple units because of our tight schedule and the production might have to use doubles to pick up some shots of our previous fights, because we can’t be in two locations at once. I love to run through all my actions as many times as possible before I shoot them. And I also like to attend the pre-visualisation sessions with the stunt team, which is where we visualise the scene to show the director how it’s going to look on
the screen. 

Have you choreographed your own stunts too?

On Wu Assassins, we had a longer period of shooting because it’s a TV series, so I became really close to the stunts team and the action choreographer Dan Rizzuto. He knew I did a lot of high kicks, so we incorporated a lot of those into the kitchen scene. We came up with the choreography together in the stunt room and ran the whole scene with the other stunt doubles. The choreographer was like, “I’ve never had an actress do this – usually it’s the stunt double’s job.” But I like being there and being able to have some creative input. I also choreographed all of my fight scenes in an independent action film called Hollow Point, which aired on FOX Movies in Hong Kong and my action performance in that film got me a nomination for a Jackie Chan Action Film Awards in 2019 for Best Action Actress. 

Out of all the projects you’ve done so far, which would you say is your favourite fight scene?

The kitchen fight in Wu Assassins episode three is one I love a lot. It’s so quick and dynamic and we were making use of all the kitchen pans and stuff. I love including things from the environment in the fight. Another favourite one would be in Jiu Jitsu (2020) with Nicholas Cage. That was one long shot of me fighting five or six guys alone, using nunchucks, jumping and turning. When we shot it, it was a two-minute-long fight scene, but in the final edit, there’s other scenes added in because there were a few fights happening at the same time. The camera guys are also moving with us at the same time to capture the shots – we’re not really hitting the actors, so you have to catch it at a certain angle, right? It’s a whole teamwork thing. 

Do you have plans to direct your own film one day?

I did a short action-comedy in Los Angeles before Covid. I shot it already I just need to finish editing it so I can release it. I’m interested in directing action films, especially as an Asian. I don’t think there’s another female action film director who actually has an action background, and I’d like to be the first. Hopefully I could get the editing done by the end of the year so I can put it in a festival and release it next year. It’s a really fun piece. 

Do you feel that as an Asian American actor today, you’re finally receiving the recognition and getting more opportunities? 

I started auditioning while in NYU, but at that time there weren’t that many Asian-American roles in America. It’s only these past five years or so that more roles have come up. I receive auditions every week from Hollywood now. There are a lot of roles and more people competing for those roles as well. It’s a good thing. For Asian representation in Hollywood to grow, we need more Asian faces, more roles in different genres. It’s a healthy competition. 

What’s a role you’d like to play that you haven’t tried yet?

A musical! Singing, dancing and maybe some action. I want to be in a musical so badly. I recently re-watched Glee and there were so many great songs and dance, and it looked like it would have been so much fun to be one of the main cast.

So Wu Assassins: Fistful of Vengeance comes out on Netflix next year. What can we expect from it?

Four of the original cast members come back from the TV series. I still play Zan, and then Lewis Tan, Iko Uwais and Lawrence Kao also come back to reprise their roles. There are new cast members too, including Jason Tobin from Hong Kong, who’s great fun to work with. Roel Reiné is the director and he was super great to work with too. We filmed the entire movie in Bangkok in 28 days because of Covid – I think they wanted to shoot it in the shortest amount of time possible since the longer you stayed the more liability there was for the whole production in case the whole thing had to shut down. We managed so many fight scenes it’s quite amazing. The audience can expect heavy action, fast pacing and just pure fun seeing all of us going around Bangkok.  

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The moon waxes, wanes, disappears, and once again returns to light up the sky. Luna Magna, the largest and most spectacular of all moons in watchmaking, begins a new cycle within its fully polished 950 platinum case with a white mother-of-pearl hour and minute sub-dial in a satin-brushed ring and ever-changing reflections. Against the grandeur of an […]

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Bob’s Watches is one of the world’s leading online marketplaces for buying, selling, and trading pre-owned luxury watches. Originally founded in the mid-1990s and relaunched in 2010 with an emphasis on offering customers a full-service eCommerce platform, Bob’s Watches offers the world’s largest selection of used Rolex watches; however, the company also specializes in a […]

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As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

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From sea-inspired colourways to quartz-powered timepieces and more, here are ten of our favourite new watches to wear this September.

Richard Mille

For a purported “racing machine on the wrist”, Richard Mille’s latest novelty, the RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics, is unusually playful. Although the ladies’ capsule boasts the hi-tech materials and construction methods you’d expect from the Maison — you’ll have fun telling friends the skeletonised movement is in micro-blasted grade 5 titanium, while the front and back bezels are made from Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystal — the Pastel Blue, Pastel Pink and Pastel Lavendar colour schemes, and the “part-botanical, part-sunburst and part-Art Deco” dials are delightfully whimsical. This late summer stunner comes in a limited run of 50 pieces each.

Breguet

Breguet’s feminine Reine de Naples 8938 comes in two new versions. Especially flamboyant is this model in rose gold, with 3 carats of diamonds on the snow-set dial, bezel, lug and crown, an offset hours chapter in mother-of-pearl and self-winding rotor in — what else? — platinum.

Baume & Mercier

Inspired by the Côte d’Azur and first created in the early 1970s, Baume & Mercier’s Riviera has been re-interpreted for 2021 in radiant greens, a darker hue for men (in a 42mm case and automatic movement) and a lighter shade for women (in a more petite 36mm size with quartz calibre). Both feature a satin-finished wave pattern dial, as well as easily interchangeable rubber straps that match just about any summery mood.

Harry Winston

Harry Winston’s Emerald ladies’ watch collection has been enlivened by four new models, each in a vibrant colour: turquoise, orange, champagne or, shown here, violet. Each quartz-powered timepiece comes in a white-gold case set with 53 diamonds and all feature a coloured dial and matching cabochons in mother-of-pearl, set with a further 20 diamonds. A matching satin double-tour strap completes the ensemble.

Hublot

Although a 42mm case is on the large side, we can still see the ladies queueing up to get their hands on Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Summer. No, it’s not in ceramic as you might have suspected but anodised aluminium, which is not only lightweight but also gives a gorgeously metallic glint to a shade that’s said to be inspired by the colours of a Pacific lagoon. As just 200 are being made — and are available only at eboutique@hublot.com — if you want this seasonal stunner on your wrist you’d better move fast.

Bell & Ross x Patrouille de France

Earlier this year we brought you news of the tie-up between Bell & Ross and the Patrouille de France display team of the French air and space force. Well, here’s the first fruit of the collaboration, in the form of the new BR 03-94 chronograph, which bears the squadron insignia on its handsome blue dial. Available in just 500 pieces, the watch is powered by an ETA-based automatic calibre, though interestingly the team’s pilots will receive an otherwise identical quartz edition.

Tag Heuer

Tag Heuer’s Aquaracer has been a default dive watch choice for some four decades. The latest 43mm professional 300 iteration brings the watch bang up to date with new materials — including grade 2 titanium and ceramic rotating bezels — dial colours and ergonomic features.

Bovet 1822 x Rolls-Royce

Until now, the ultra-exclusive British car-maker Rolls-Royce has resisted collaborations with watch brands, but its recently announced tie-up with Bovet 1822 could hardly be more logical. The first result is a pair of astounding his-and-hers tourbillon timepieces, which are designed either to be worn on the wrist or slotted into a dashboard housing on the one-off Rolls-Royce Boat Tail — one for the owner and the other for his wife.

Bremont

Cool and relatively understated for what is, after all, a 43mm watch, the new MB Savanna is the latest offspring of Bremont’s long-term association with aircraft-ejection-seat manufacturer Martin-Baker. Designed to withstand the extreme G-forces generated when ejecting, the Savanna is a classic pilot’s watch featuring twin crowns, an internally rotating bezel, a black and yellow loop device on the central second's hand and a desert-inspired sand colour for both dial and case.

Breitling x Triumph

With Breitling wrapping up its partnership with Bentley after almost 20 years, the Swiss watch brand is striking up a relationship with another British automotive brand — and this time it’s moving from four wheels to two. In a tie-up that’s described by both parties as “long-term” Breitling will now be working closely with motorcycle manufacturer Triumph, whose products will feature prominently in the watch brand’s showrooms — and doubtless vice versa. Although the two sides have nothing concrete to show quite yet, both say they’re working hard on cross-branded watches and bikes, with first reveals scheduled for early next year.

The post 10 New Watches to Wear This September 2021 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.