These new timepieces prove watchmaking can take you anywhere
References to the Moon landing, a deeply glamorous vintage revival and innovation from an enduring name.
It’s not often one can order “the Daniel Craig”. And yet Omega has made it possible. The artist formerly known as Bond, James Bond, was snapped wearing an Omega Speedmaster with a mysterious white dial at an event in New York last November. It promptly sent the watch-mad section of the internet into a frenzy. Now this particular Speedmaster, with its bright, white, glossy dial is available to purchase. This new dial recalls an astronaut’s spacesuit, a play on the watch’s connection to space – the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch was the first watch on the moon, after all. 1957’s original Speedmaster prized legibility, with white hands and indexes on a black dial, and this new model does the same, only in reverse. Otherwise it’s classic Speedmaster, its asymmetrical stainless steel case with sapphire crystal clocking in at 42mm and a steel bracelet featuring brushed and polished links. It runs on the manually wound Omega Master Chronometer-certified calibre 3861 chronograph movement and of course, has the Daniel Craig tick of approval, whether you’re headed to space, on a spy mission or out for a martini after work.
$13,450
Piaget Polo 79
Glam is back. Perhaps it’s a reaction to the blandness of quiet luxury, the rise of TikTok’s beloved “mob wife aesthetic”, or simply the realisation that life is short so you might as well disco. Anyway, jet-set chic feels like the mode and the mood for 2024. It’s an MO perfectly captured by the Piaget Polo 79, with its instantly recognisable trompe-l’oeil gold stripes. Indeed, Piaget practically invented the idea when Yves Piaget debuted the solid gold Polo in 1979, a watch inspired by the favourite sport of the rich and well-connected. It was designed as an altogether different offering to other sports watches on the market and worn by everyone from Andy Warhol to Bond girl Ursula Andress. The original Polo, recently seen on actor Michael B. Jordan while courtside at an NBA final, has attained “grail” (watches that are extremely rare and lusted after by collectors and enthusiasts) status. This new version, launched at the beginning of Piaget’s 150th anniversary celebrations, refines the model with new sizing – a more universal 38mm rather than the OG’s 34mm. And unlike most vintage Polo models, it’s equipped with a mechanical movement (the in-house, self-winding super-slim 1200P1) rather than quartz.
$120,000
Raymond Weil Millésime Automatic Small Seconds
At last year’s Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève (otherwise known as GPHG, or more colloquially, the watch Oscars), Raymond Weil’s Millésime Automatic Small Seconds picked up the Challenge prize. This is awarded to timepieces with a retail price equal to or under CHF 2000 ($3400). The win from Raymond Weil, an independent watchmaker that is still run by the third generation of the founding family, beat the likes of Seiko, Nomos and the cult and kooky independent watchmakers Studio Underd0g. It is, it must be said, no mean feat – offering some pizazz at an affordable price requires some horological cleverness. The most striking element of this timepiece is the silvered, sectored dial which utilises different finishes, including a brushed centre, grooved outer minute track and a smoothed-out hour track, as well as the small seconds display at
6 o’clock. This textured effect is also amplified by the combination of the brushed bezel and the polished case and lugs. Its pleasing-to-many 39.5mm size, slender proportions and sapphire crystal glass-box case recalls vintage aesthetics and yet it manages to also remain entirely modern.
$3600
This story is from the May issue of WISH.
