Introducing the watch world’s latest strokes of genius
Innovative materials, dazzling dials and moments of pure whimsy. We’ve collected a stellar roundup of the most exciting watches from the world’s top brands that are on the market today.
Whimsical, minimalist or exuberant – the watch world has got your back. Below is a collection of some the latest, most dazzling pieces available from the world’s top brands to help you find your new favourite wristwear.
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Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours Casino (pictured above)
Vivienne, the Louis Vuitton mascot, puts on her poker face to play croupier on this jumping-hour watch.
The minutes are shown by an ace of spades on a traditional rotating hand, while the hours are displayed on a freshly dealt playing card.
The dial, encircled by green and red gemstones, is made from skarn, a rare mineral whose colour and texture nicely evoke the green baize of a traditional card table.
POA
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TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver
The Superdiver finds TAG Heuer plunging back into the deep end.
It’s a Leviathan of a watch, with a 45mm titanium case and a prominent crown protector adding further bulk.
But that robust build is a sign of its tough functionality as an ISO-certified professional tool for saturation diving with 1000m of water resistance.
Inside, the watch is powered by a new COSC-certified caliber from Swiss movement maker Kenissi.
$9650
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Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 38mm
The names for paint colours are good value: will you paint your bathroom Elephant’s Breath or Dead Salmon?
Omega plays it safe with its five new dial colours, merely offering Atlantic Blue, Bay Green, Sandstone, Saffron and Terracotta.
Creative energy is prudently saved to instead nail the vivid hues themselves.
Also impressive are the dimensions, with 38mm the Goldilocks size for many watch lovers.
$9250
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Patek Philippe Ref. 5320G-011 Perpetual Calendar
We get it: you’re really busy.
That’s why it’s good news that you only need to adjust this perpetual calendar once every 122 years.
After ticking that task off your to-do list, you can spend more time drinking in the elegant nuances of the salmon-coloured dial.
Particularly the way the black outlines delineate those applied Arabic numerals to make them practically glow against the dial’s soft pink hue.
$133,800
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Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, reference 228236
Platinum is the acceptable face of heavy metal.
It’s the ultimate stealth-wealth material, offering the discretion of steel but with that luxurious extra heft on the wrist.
This is the first time Rolex has released a platinum Day-Date with a fluted bezel, pairing it with the ice-blue dial it tends to reserve for this metal.
A magnificent watch that throws its weight around in the best possible sense.
POA
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date Green Gradient
This is a deceptively captivating dial.
In the light, the colours continually shift from pale olive to dark green, an effect heightened by the creamy lume and jaunty orange accents.
That depth comes from the dégradé fade applied to both the dial’s centre and hour chapter ring.
The Polaris, which is water resistant to 200m, wears its dive- watch capabilities lightly to emerge as the ideal gentleman’s sports watch.
$13,800
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Hermès Cape Cod Crépuscule
Digital art meets nanotechnology here in a very Zen way.
The silicon wafers commonly used in microelectronics, it turns out, also make great shimmery watch dials.
They become the unlikely medium for bringing alive this digital artwork by Thanh Phong Lê called Crépuscule – dusk in French – and its conjuring of that magical time when day bleeds into night as you pour that second glass of wine.
$7250
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Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer Purple
Hublot doesn’t make watches for shrinking violets.
That’s a point firmly emphasised here with the Big Bang Unico Summer Purple.
The anodised aluminium case of this limited edition is rendered in a blazing lilac along with the crown, pushers, dial indices and strap.
The only non-purple areas are on the movement and the screws on the bezel, providing contrast and legibility.
$30,700
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Bulgari Lucea
Bulgari reaches for the sky with this timepiece and its evocation of the heavens above.
The aventurine dial is assembled using a special marquetry technique whereby 37 micro-elements are cut and faceted then pieced together in a geometrical pattern to depict the rays of the sun.
The diamond bezel and hour markers add further dazzle to a watch that exemplifies Bulgari’s dual strengths in jewellery and watchmaking.
$16,600
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Rado Captain Cook Chronograph
Know the expression ‘too many cooks’?
Rado is having none of it.
Since its re-release in 2017, Rado’s Captain Cook range continues to expand and this chronograph version is the latest addition.
The 43mm diameter is substantial, but that size allows it to accommodate the sub-dials with ample space.
The diver is also available in steel, but this bronze-cased version with a blue sunburst dial is the definite standout.
$7050
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Chanel Mademoiselle J12 La Pausa
‘If you’re sad, if you are heartbroken, make yourself up, dress up, add more lipstick, and attack.’
That was the advice of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, to whom this watch pays tribute.
An animated likeness of the revered fashion house’s founder appears on the black lacquered dial clad in Breton striped T-shirt and wide-legged trousers, her hands indicating the hours and minutes and 46 diamonds framing the bezel.
POA
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Breguet Tradition Quantième Rétrograde 7597
Breguet seems to have been reading its Somerset Maugham and embracing his view that ‘tradition is a guide and not a jailer’.
Inside the white-gold case, the skeletonised dial reveals a movement inspired by Abraham-Louis Breguet’s ‘souscription’ watches, launched in 1797.
But the fact that the movement is clad in contemporary anthracite coupled with the vibrant pops of blue suggests Breguet keeps an eye on the future too.
$56,300
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Christian Dior Gem Dior
Watch bracelets tend to focus on functionality over fun.
Not this one, dreamed up by Victoire de Castellane, creative director of Dior Jewelry.
It consists of pink-gold asymmetric links set with a mad jumble of diamonds and ornamental stones, including carnelian, aragonite and tiger’s eye.
The pink dial is also made of aragonite, its natural texture bringing further interest to this visual riot of a watch.
$120,000
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Tudor Black Bay GMT S&G
Tudor’s GMT returns, bringing with it a knowing air of louche grandeur.
The two-tone bracelet in silver and gold brings a retro touch while also making the watch feel a little dressier.
The aluminium bezel insert, meanwhile, changes from classic ‘Pepsi’ tones to the black and brown ‘root beer’.
It’s still a rugged travel watch with a GMT function and 200m water resistance, but one that’s not averse to the finer things in life.
$7560
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IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium
From ‘hangry’ to ‘moobs’, the joys of a good portmanteau are hard to put into two words.
IWC’s contribution is ‘Ceratanium’, its ingenious alloy with the lightness of titanium and the scratch resistance of ceramic.
The case, crown and pushers are all made of it, offering a matte-black tone that’s fit for a stealth bomber.
Grey lume on the black dial sacrifices some legibility but the moody aesthetic more than compensates.
$18,800
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Piaget Polo Date
Forty years ago, Bond girl Ursula Andress launched this at the World Polo Cup in Palm Beach, which gives you some idea of its glamorous target market.
Today, the sports- luxe credentials of this 42mm watch get a makeover, with a pink-gold case offsetting the guilloché dial in green.
The addition of a green alligator-leather strap, meanwhile, whisks this watch off the polo field and into the promise of the night.
$44,900
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Panerai Luminor Quaranta Verde Militare
Many are drawn to the Luminor’s eye-catching looks, only to be intimidated by the fearsome size of the standard models.
The Quaranta presents the solution.
At 40mm x 48.9mm, it wears phenomenally well, offering approachable dimensions alongside Panerai’s signature crown guard and cushion-shaped case.
This online-only edition in military green gives further proof that, for watches, bigger isn’t always better.
$10,800
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Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Self-Winding
The Patrimony has always subscribed to a code of masterful restraint, offering a minimalist interpretation of the brand’s ultra-refined 1950s models.
These new models feel comparatively depraved, thanks to the presence of 48 diamonds.
In fact it’s all done in predictably good taste, the gleam of the sparklers accentuated by the way the dial’s soft pink begins to darken past the edge of the gold hour markers.
$41,200
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Doxa Sub 600T
Doxa - the preferred wristwear of Jacques Cousteau – is a name revered in dive watch circles.
The Sub 600T revives one of the brand’s ’80s designs with angled lugs and sharp chamfers that hug the crown at 4 o’clock.
A ceramic bezel, 600m of water resistance and oodles of lume make this a serious diver, but the bright dial options and blocky looks also make it a prime contender for your next summer watch.
$2395
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Mido Multifort Skeleton Vertigo
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is this new Multifort’s inspiration, with the vertical decoration on the outer dial and movement meant to echo the suspension cables of the Coathanger.
It’s easy to miss this detail, however, as your eye is inevitably drawn to the intricacies of the skeletonised dial.
It’s water resistant to 100m and represents another well-priced offering from a Swiss brand specialising in delivering real bang for your buck.
$1625
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The Gucci G-Timeless Planetarium
Gucci is pushing into high watchmaking with its unique brand of loopy exuberance.
On the G-Timeless Planetarium, a garland of 12 gemstones whizz around the dial at the touch of a button.
In the centre sits a flying tourbillon whose mechanical trickery would normally be the focal point of a watch.
To enliven proceedings, however, Gucci adds an ornate star festooned with extra diamonds for good measure.
POA
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Van Cleef Lady Arpels Heures Florale
Whimsical and utterly enchanting, this unusual watch tells the time via a unique form of flower power.
The dial contains no hands or indices, just 12 animated mechanical flowers that open at the start of an hour and close as the next approaches.
The number of open flowers conveys the hours, while a display tucked into the bejewelled case flank gives you the minutes. In short, it’s blooming marvellous.
POA
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