Designed for life…
The finest timepieces mix form, function and technical excellence to sparkling effect, as
these masterful new models prove.
HERMES DRESSAGE
This year marks the centenary of the French luxury house producing watches. Appropriately, its new flagship piece is the first to contain a dedicated, in-house movement thanks to part-Hermes-owned prestige manufactory Vaucher. A simple, clean design that’s nevertheless brimming with class and character.
£6,100 (in steel) www.hermes.com
SEIKO ASTRON GPS SOLAR
Sharing its name with Seiko’s legendary first quartz watch, this is also a game-changer. It connects up to GPS satellites orbiting Earth, meaning when you step off a plane in a new timezone it automatically adjust to local time. Not only that – it’s solar powered, and feather-light thanks to a high-tech titanium case.
From £1,750 www.seiko.com
FABERGE ALEXEI PAVILION
Not just a maker of bejewelled eggs, Faberge also produces some wondrously stylish watches. This women’s watch is the pick of the bunch: the geometric decoration on its silver-white painted dial is inspired by the glass lattice-work famous Pavilion Hall in the Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg.
£18,066 www.faberge.com
JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER ULTRA THIN RESERVE DE MARCHE
The Swiss grande maison’s Master line of watches are put through exceptionally stringent tests, not that you’d know it from this quietly charismatic piece. Its design is a lesson in refined detail, while inside is a high-spec JLC movement that’s just 4.9mm thick. A watch that’s as suave as it is svelte.
££6,300 www.jaegerlecoultre.com
PANERAI
RADIOMIR CALIFORNIA 3 DAYS
A California dial is a nice little oddity in watch design, in which half the numerals are Roman and half Arabic, named for a Californian company that refurbished watches with this dial in the 1930s. It lends a bit of recherché cool to this vintage-styled beauty.
£5,600 www.panerai.com
A. LANGE & SOHNE
DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN
Originally released in 1999, the Datograph – famous for that huge date display, off-centre subdials and spectacular flyback movement – is one of the great watches of the modern era, now upgraded with a 60 hour power reserve, bigger size and refined design.
£59,800 www.alange-soehne.com
CARTIER TANK LOUIS CARTIER XL SLIMLINE
Probably the most enduring wristwatch design of all, the Cartier Tank is an absolute cornerstone of watch history and this new, ultra-thin interpretation one of the finest ever. Embellished with diamonds for female wearers or just plain, it’s as adaptable as it is ineffably chic.
CHANEL J12 GMT
The fashion uber-maison’s glossy J12 watches are intended as unisex pieces but have thus far been understandably more popular with women than men. This year Chanel has finally come up with a matte version of its lightweight, impervious ceramic case for a more masculine approach, including this extra time zone version.
£4,625 www.chanel.com
PATEK PHILIPPE NAUTILUS
Patek’s reference 5711 watch, better known as the Nautilus, is a modern classic that has survived almost unchanged since its appearance in the 1970s. So how can it have taken so long to do a version with a white dial? It was worth the wait though, bringing new clarity to that unmistakable, perfectly balanced design.
£17,970 www.patek.com