Complete your look with class acts from the largest watch fair
Glashutte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase
The minute differences between classic elegance and modern refinement are revealed with Glashutte Original’s new take on the Senator Excellence. The new Panorama Date Moonphase executions are very much the latter. The award-winning Calibre 36 is back, but the watches are slightly larger at 42mm, the bezel more streamlined, and vintage Roman numerals eschewed for clean, pointed hour markers.
Sword hands and dots of lume complete the modern, tapered look. There are options of silver, blue and white dials with the large Panorama Date display at four o’clock, and a moonphase display between 10 and 11.
Chopard Luc Heritage Grand Cru
Last year, Chopard found a way to combine the world of fine wine with that of horology with the LUC Heritage Grand Cru. The timepiece returns in 2018 with extra sparkle. It is still a tonneau (barrel-shaped – as in wine, of course) timepiece with a small seconds and date window at six o’clock, powered by the same chronometer-certified in-house automatic movement.
Unlike its pink gold predecessor, however, the new execution has a case of 18k white gold and a bezel set with 40 baguette-cut diamonds. The dial is different too, where white lacquer is swapped for black, lending this version a more mysterious and modern aura.
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Sandblasted
Bvlgari’s triumph of modern watch design, the Octo Finissimo Automatic, sees two new sandblasted executions in 18k rose gold (€42,900, S$67,600) or rhodium-plated steel (€12,900, S$20,000). The matte textured finish lends a gritty air that furthers the industrial and stealth-luxury demeanour of the watch. Otherwise, this is the same record-setting and distinctive Octo Finissimo as before: just 5.5mm thick despite the automatic movement (the BVL Calibre 138 Finissimo) and a 60-hour power reserve.
Blancpain Villeret Grande Date Jour Retrograde
It does not get more classic than the Blancpain Villeret collection, and in many ways the newest addition stays in the same mould: round case, light dial and Roman numeral markers. However, the Villeret Grande Date Jour Retrograde comes with a symmetry-breaking twist; with a large double-window date between five and six o’clock, and a retrograde day indicator at eight o’clock. The latter has a blued indicator hand that adds a visual exclamation point. The two complications implement a touch of flair over a timepiece of austere elegance. This watch comes in red gold with silver opaline dial or stainless steel with white dial.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36
Midsized watches might just be coming back in style. That most iconic of them, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36, sees a new generation with a myriad of models. The case has been redesigned ever so slightly, but the real change is under the hood. Calibre 3235 presents some of Rolex’s latest innovations to the Datejust: increased power reserve of up to 70 hours, greater precision (well above chronometer certification at -2/+2 seconds per day) and greater resistance to shocks and magnetic interference. It may still have the instantly recognisable fluted bezel and lensed date window, but this is not your grandfather’s Rolex.
Omega Seamaster 1948 Limited Editions
During the Second World War, Omega supplied over 110,000 timepieces to the British armed forces, where they were prized for their reliability and water resistance. At the war’s conclusion, Omega took its experience and turned to more optimistic civilian pursuits. The result was the launch of the iconic Seamaster line 1948. Seventy years later, we have tributes to that beginning in a pair of limited editions. The new Seamaster 1948 watches are 38mm, leather-strapped pieces, one of which has a small seconds subdial. Both remain faithful to the original’s clean post-war design, which today is full of vintage appeal.
Longines Master Collection Annual Calendar
Since 2005, Longines’ flagship Master Collection has presented a modern take on traditional timepieces, with some examples housing complex mechanics. Introduced this year is the collection’s most technically complicated piece yet: the Master Collection Annual Calendar. It seems unassuming at first, as a three-hander with date and month window that can easily be mistaken for the day-date version.
However, the new L897 calibre will keep track of the days in each passing month, and will require manual adjustment only once a year in February. The watch is available with the collection’s signature barleycorn textured dial in silver with Arabic numerals or diamond markers, black with Roman numerals, and sunray blue with baton markers.
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse Rare Handcrafts
The Golden Ellipse is Patek Philippe’s second-oldest line, and this year it turns 50. This milestone deserves something special: the celebratory Rare Handcrafts edition (SFr80,000, S$108,000), limited to 100 pieces. The dial sports a black enamel layer that stylishly contrasts the intricate engravings of the 18k white gold dial plate.
The hand-engraved volute patterns form balanced curves that are a perfect aesthetic match to its platinum case. Speaking of the case, it is, of course, the classic Golden Ellipse part square, part circle, proportioned according to the golden ratio. It measures a modern 34.5 by 39.5mm, and is just 6.6mm thick despite the self-winding movement.
