SINGAPORE (July 3): Deep blue enamelled masterpiece
Breguet’s Extra-Thin Self-Winding Tourbillon is adorned with a touch of deep blue using the traditional grand feu enamel technique. While only a few artisans are still capable of handling this age-old process, Breguet is keeping the art alive with a workshop dedicated to enamelling. Beyond providing decoration to the dial, enamel work is a particularly specialised craft, one requiring rigour, patience and technical mastery. In this timepiece, the hue is a blend of a number of blue nuances, whose striking depth effect is applied to the Breguet numerals, hours and seconds chapters and logo on the dial. Under the dial lies the beating heart of the watch with its minimalist design — the 581 Calibre. Breguet’s thinnest tourbillon movement showcased in this timepiece is no thicker than 3mm. The total thickness of the case is 7.45mm. Meanwhile, the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367 boasts an 80-hour power reserve, thanks to its highenergy barrel, a concept patented by Breguet.
Exquisite midnight moon phase
This year, Blancpain’s most classic collection pairs the purity of its lines with the infinity of the colour blue. This colour is now available on two red-gold timepieces from the Villeret line — the Quantième Complet and the Ultraplate. Named after the village where Blancpain was founded in 1735, Villeret models are characterised by the purity of their lines, their timeless elegance and the technical sophistication of their manufacture-made movements. The Villeret Quantième Complet model combines a complete calendar and moon phases. Its dial features discreet apertures indicating the day of the week and month at 12 o’clock, a calendar with a serpentine hand and a moon-phase display with a mischievous face positioned at six o’clock. A midnight-blue dial adorns its 40mm red-gold case. The sunburst dial finish is embellished by applied hour markers with Roman numerals crafted in red-gold and slender matching hands.
For the global traveller
Bell & Ross has unveiled three watches that evoke the three realms of travel — sea, air and land. Both classic and modern, all three — the BR V2-93 GMT Blue, BR V2-92 Military Green and BR V2-94 Aéronavale Bronze — are driven by a reliable Swiss mechanical movement with automatic winding and equipped with a Nato stretch strap with practical closure system, created using parachute straps. The GMT Blue displays two time zones at the same time while functionality and legibility drive the overall design. Its 41mm round steel case is characteristic of the Vintage series with integrated protection for the screw-down crown. With a galvanic blue caseback featuring a sunray pattern, the dial is a nod to the world of air travel and long transatlantic trips, while the seconds hand counterweight is subtly styled in the shape of an aircraft. The strap is also available in satin-polished steel.
When the fumé dial says it all
Five years ago, H. Moser & Cie released its first minimalist Concept model with a dial void of indices or logo. The Schaffhausen manufacture has redefined the notion of luxury watchmaking by stripping the superfluous and focusing not only on displaying the time but also embodying an expression of emotion. The fumé dial has become the brand’s signature — even without a logo. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Concept series, H. Moser & Cie has released three new models in different versions with 100% Swiss-made manufacture calibres. Available in 5N red gold, white gold or steel, in a three hand version or with a tourbillon movement, the manufacture plays with different tones of the fumé dial — Funky Blue and a colour previously unseen in the Endeavour family — Burgundy — are paired with diamonds adorning the bezel.
Unlocking the feminine side of MB&F
Legacy Machine FlyingT owes its genesis to MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser’s ruminations on the roles women have played in his life. Launched last year, the diamond-set Legacy Machine FlyingT embodied elegance and vitality over the softer conventions of womanhood as generally seen in women’s watches. The LM FlyingT in 2020 sheds its diamonds with an edition in red gold and platinum. A guilloché plate — one as dark as a moonless night and the other in midsummer sky blue — with a radial pattern of scalloped arches draws the eye towards the heart of the in-house developed engine. At the top of the flying tourbillon, which gives the LM FlyingT its name, a single 0.035-carat stone rotates in time with the underlying mechanism, making one complete turn every 60 seconds. The dial is inclined at a 50° tilt so that the time can be read only by the wearer, which highlights the personal nature of the LM FlyingT.
Brightness coloured in grey
The latest addition to the Bell & Ross LUM collection, the BR03-92 GREY LUM’s Super-LumiNova C3 treatment makes the timepiece legible both day and night. This intense green light is known for its ultraphosphorescence with unrivalled brightness. Designed according to the principles of industrial aesthetics, the case of the BR03-92 GREY LUM features the iconic Bell & Ross ‘circle in a square’ design, referencing the silhouette of an aeroplane cockpit clock. The dial is in anthracite grey. The colour of the hands, large decal numerals and indices echo runway lights. Driven by a Swiss mechanical movement with automatic winding, the BR03-92 GREY LUM is fitted with a grey-green velvet calfskin strap, reflecting the green colours of the Super-LumiNova C3 treatment.
Passion for speed
For those who are passionate about sports cars, red has long been an iconic colour, which Girard-Perregaux has integrated into its collections for decades. The Laureato Absolute Passion now offers a chronograph that celebrates this legacy. A limited edition of just 50 pieces, the Laureato Absolute Passion features a faceted, 44mm case with a black PVD treatment and touches of red adorning the entire watch. Features include high-end finishing, with the barrel bridge alone consisting of five types of finishing — engraving, Côtes de Genève, bevelling, mirror polishing and circular-graining — a self-winding mechanical movement and water resistance up to 300m, one of the few watches not dedicated to diving with this level of water protection. The rubber strap seamlessly integrates into the watch — as if it were made of a single piece — with red inlay and stiches, with the microadjustment system on the buckle ensuring comfort as part of the supple but highly resistant rubber strap.
Cycling Triple Crown with a new partnership
Tissot has added the Giro d’Italia to its prestigious list of cycling races — an obvious choice since the sport has been closely associated with the brand for the past 50 years. Having renewed its links with the Tour de France and the Vuelta in 2016, Tissot is now completing the Triple Crown with the Giro d’Italia, thus making it the first Swiss Official Timekeeper in the history of the three biggest cycling tours. To celebrate the partnership with Giro d’Italia, Tissot is launching the Tissot Chrono XL Giro d’Italia 2020, a 45mm diameter chronograph in honour of the first partnership between Tissot and the Giro. A racing bike is featured on the chronograph’s second hand — a reminder of the cycling spirit of this special collection. In addition to details in pink, the Giro’s emblematic colour, the caseback is engraved with the Giro d’Italia logo and the watch has two interchangeable straps. It comes in a presentation box dedicated to the event.
