Horological creations that are worth waiting for
Horological creations that are worth waiting for
THE BIRTHDAY TWINS
With 2017 marking Piaget’s 60th anniversary of its Altiplano collection, it’s no surprise that the watch brand so famed for its ultra-thin movements is dedicating the year to this esteemed timepiece. The first of the 60th Anniversary collection to make themselves known are the Altiplano SelfWinding 43mm and Altiplano Manual-Winding 38mm models. Graced with a Piaget blue sunburst dial, the white gold models are just 29.9mm and 20.5mm thick respectively.
THE REFINED ATHLETE
Richard Mille’s RM 037 returns under a new guise, this time with a material that has thus far been reserved for the brand’s male timepieces: NTPT carbon, a high-performance material that Richard Mille first introduced to the watchmaking world in 2013. Bearing a skeletonised automatic movement, this diamond-set number is a technical feat that requires special machines to mill the hard carbon material before gold prongs (created separately) are inserted to hold the diamonds in place. The results speak for themselves.
THE ARISTOCRAT
Jaeger-LeCoultre turns to its attention to its Rendez- Vous once again, with a fresh injection of functions and materials to aerate the collection this year. The Rendez-Vous Night & Day, for example, is now available in yellow gold and comes in a larger size of 38.2mm with an interchangeable strap system that requires no tools. Meanwhile, the new Rendez-Vous Sonatina Large boasts a chiming reminder function of a single hammer strike when the appointed hour approaches. Last but not least is the new Rendez-Vous Moon, with a moon phase function that was only strictly reserved for the collection’s more glittering numbers until now.
THE PERFECTIONIST
For many watch lovers, the horology year is never complete without a Métiers d’Art timepiece by Cartier. Enter the Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold watch, which is the latest edition to the brand’s long list of revered craftmanship. Inspired by the technique of turning steel watch hands to a shade of blue through intense heat, Cartier ups the ante on the technique by heating up its gold dial through several precise procedures until a full palette of colours is achieved. It’s an exacting and unforgiving process that makes the watch all the more captivating because of it.
