Just in Time: Top Timepieces

Department
jewelry
Richard Mille RM 052
Tourbillon Skull Detail
Just
in
Time
by Michele Meyer
For those on watch, bling’s no longer
the main thing with timepieces. At
watchmakers’ annual haute couture
collections — Baselworld 2012 in
Switzerland — inner workings were
as seductive as exterior trimmings.
On Europe’s catwalks weeks
earlier, the newest arm candy
romanced the past and reflected on
the future. Gem tones, flying feathers
and rose gold echoed the Roaring
’20s, shimmering ladylike pearls the
restrained ’50s; raffia roughness the
bohemian ’70s; and pared-down
black and charcoal the minimalist
’90s. But most enthralling to top
timekeepers were gravity-defying
and highly accurate tourbillons;
no-nonsense “complications” (or
attributes)
providing
seconds,
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dates and time zones; and the
best of water-resistant materials,
including grade-5 titanium, 18K
gold and brilliant-cut diamonds.
“There could be 680 mechanical
parts in the tiny case,” marvels
Benjamin Clymer, Executive Editor
of watch collector-focused Hodin
kee.com. “It’s like wearing a race car
on your wrist. Be aware you’re not
just getting an expensive piece of
jewelry, but something people have
labored on for hundreds of hours.”
We’ve kept a close watch on the
latest hour power hot off private jets
returning from Basel. Having viewed
hundreds of timepieces, we present
the tick tocks that truly rock. Clock in
your favorite from our top selections
for men and for women.w
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{ Men’s Timepieces }
Hit the Target
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda
1950 Special Edition
You’ll be envied, not ribbed,
for this distinctive bull’seye, self-winding watch
with Hermès alligator strap.
The limited edition of 60
touts a second-hand dial,
42-hour reserve, 29 jewels
and an oscillating titanium
micro-weight. At age 16, the
newcomer among Swiss
Haute Horlogerie brands
develops all its watches inhouse.
$16,900
parmigiani.ch
Fly Zone
Bell & Ross Vintage PW1 Pocket Watch
Harkening to World War I, the PW1 takes flight
with a black face so clean you can read it while
landing a plane. A domed crystal, Swiss movement,
long chain and 49 mm wide barleycorn guilloché
caseback of steel make this a fly buy for collectors.
$3,000
bellross.com
Traveling Man
Apple Core
“For the guy on the road, it’s a fun way to keep
track of two time zones. And you don’t pay a
fortune as with Cartier’s diamond-encrusted 18K
cufflinks,” says CEO Robert Tateossian. Hipsters
will be drawn to the sporty black, red-handed
“Racing” quartz watch-in-a-link and traditionalists
to the rose-gold “Vintage” version.
$295 (per pair)
tateossian.com
Perhaps inspired by Apple founder Steve Jobs,
Nike Watches ex-creative director Scott Wilson
dreamt up the ultimate “smartwatch,” exploiting
the iPod Nano’s color display, radio, pedometer
and multi-touch screen. A snap-in wrist dock and
aerospace-grade aluminum or silicone rubber
straps convert the engineering marvel into a watch.
$40-$140 (Nano not included)
lunatik.com
Eight. Tateossian Cufflinks
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LunaTik iPod Nano Watch
Bare Face
Richard Mille RM 052 Tourbillon Skull
Richard Mille’s watches merit capital, brashness —
perhaps a bodyguard. Take a skull of moving parts,
add tourbillon precision, 50-meter water resistance
and the titanium, aluminum and vanadium alloy used
in aeronautics — within a 50-mm case — and see why
tycoons queued up in Basel. “It’s as cool as you can
get,” Clymer says.
$500,000
richardmille.com w
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{ Men’s Timepieces }
Slender Means
Timeless Timepiece
Cartier Two-Tone Stainless
Ballon Bleu
Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald would warm to this
’20s-inspired bargain hunter’s dream: an 18K yellow
gold-and-steel bracelet and automatic winding
Cartier caliber 049, ruled by bold Roman numerals.
Crave instant cred? Maker Richemont is a Swiss
company known for accuracy and endurance.
$9,500
jamesfree.com
Audemars Piguet OpenWorked Extra-Thin Royal Oak
Need proof you can’t be
too rich — or thin? Try this
40-piece limited edition.
Stripped of complications, the 39-mm thick yet
sturdy Royal Oak merits its name, reaping full
resale value. “Collectors are over showboating,”
Clymer says. “Ninety percent of people won’t know
you’ve arrived as a secret club’s member.” But fan
Jay-Z will.
$141,400
audemarspiguet.com
Statistician Status
Rolex Oyster Perpetual
Sky-Dweller
With unprecedented —
yet sure to be aped —
efficiency, the Sky-Dweller
lets globetrotters track
dual time zones via a 24hour format visible on the
dial. With a twist of the
bezel, the wearer chooses
the function to set. This
revolutionary design
launched at Baselworld 2012
touts 14 patents. Rose, white
and yellow gold versions
glisten.
Price Upon Request
rolex.com
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Straw Vote
Hermès Arceau Marqueterie de Paille
It’s high time high-style watchmakers dialed into
straw weaving, an art used in furniture. The Hermès
tie-patterned face and alligator strap tap texture
and bold blue trends. Somehow 220 parts fit within
a 41 mm-wide white gold case. With 55-hour power
reserve, this self-winding Calibre H1928 watch is
close to a classic.
$115,000
hermes.com
Dare To Be Square
Buccellati Apollochron
Today’s dovetail to decorum means it’s hip to
be square — and this black dial with burgundy
alligator strap looks dashing with a tuxedo.
Automatic winding, 40-hour power reserve and a
face flaunting hours, minutes, seconds and date
make this timepiece timely for both formal and
informal forays.
$33,500
buccellati.com w
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{ Women’s Timepieces }
Pretty in Pink
Ferragamo Renaissance
Pearl Whirl
Chanel Premiere Perle
Ladylike. Pearled. Wrist wrapped.
Chanel’s sleek chic hits summer’s
biggest jewelry trends with a 194
Akoya pearl and 18K white gold strung
bracelet and a graceful 34 baguettecut diamond, 38-mm wide face.
Beauty is more than skin deep: top-tier
ceramic parts enable this self-winder
to tout a 42-hour power reserve and
50-meter water resistance.
$61,500
www.chanel.com
Arm Jewelry
Omega De Ville
Ladymatic
The Omega goes to
links that are anything
but ordinary. And this
ladylike piece of work
packs 50 hours reserve,
date window and 330foot water resistance –
all within a 34 mm dial.
Choose steely reserve in
stainless or diamonds on
the hour encased in 18
carat rose gold.
$16,600-$28,500.
omegawatches.com
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Get into the Great Gatsby swing
with this deco darling. It defies
hard times with an ultra elegant
mother-of-pearl face trimmed by
36 pink sapphires, and an art deco
steel case and pink lizard band.
Battery life? Seven years. Daisy
Buchanan would be proud to
shimmy in it.
$1,900
ferragamo.com w
Snake Charmer
Movado Festa
This python pleaser is
sexy in its simplicity.
No numbers mar the
trendy 20-mm red or
lilac dial, with matching
python strap. Movado’s
trademark stainless steel
dot sets the timepiece
apart. Nineteen diamonds
— totaling 1.37 carats —
make the 18K white gold
case sparkle. Within beats
a Swiss quartz movement.
$20,000
movado.com w
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{ Women’s Timepieces }
Flying Feathers
Harry Winston Premier
Feathers
Celestial Body
Rosy Outlook
Tag Heuer Link Lady
Piaget Limelight Garden Party
Sporty Tag Heuer’s finally pitched a fully femme
series. While Cameron Diaz’s not about to
relinquish its top-tier dazzler with an automatic
movement that shoots diamond-encrusted stars
around its rose-gold dial, the more affordable
diamond-rimmed yellow gold and steel version is
expected to hit a home run.
$5,300
tagheuer.com
Can you keep a secret? Piaget does with its hidden
watch face behind an 18K rose-gold, diamond and
mother-of-pearl garden of a cover. You’ll love 185
brilliant-cut diamonds on the case, 101 on the dial
and 51 on the buckle, garnished with a white satin
strap. It’s hour power up to any ball gown or event.
$70,000
www.piaget.com
Feminine Face
Sleek of Hand
Nixon Mellor
Knowing the last thing you need is clutter, Nixon
strips The Mellor to its essence: a full-grain leather
band, stainless case and three-hand Japanese
quartz movement. The only hitch: With a dozen
versions, it’s truly unisex. So prepare to share!
$125
nixon.com
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Hermès H Hour
You could not be more timely than this stylish
square signature H-faced timepiece on a taupe
or scarlet silk jacquard band. Numerals are easy
to read and pavé diamonds are optional on the
18K steel case, as are diamond hour markers and
interchangeable alligator, calfskin and jacquard
straps. Clearly, H marks the spot.
$2,150
hermes.com
Forgive the jeweler
for crowing about this
latest feather in its cap:
a feminine timepiece
that soars due to oneof-a-kind faces of woven
(and real) peacock
plumage. Birds of the
stylish feather are sure to
flock to this killer combo
of cobalt face and 96
brilliant-cut diamonds
encircling the dial.
$69,000
harrywinston.com
Sexy Secs
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date
Rolex goes ferociously sexy with a 36-mm
Datejust, which boasts a black lacquer, rose gold
and diamond tiger-striped dial. Snaring execs on
the prowl since its launch at spring’s Baselworld:
diamond hour markers on the dial, 60 baguette
and 120 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel. An 18K
rose gold bracelet — waterproof to 100 meters —
toughens this feline finery.
Price Upon Request
rolex.com u
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