Everything you need to know about watches this September.
BLANCPAIN TRIBUTE TO FIFTY FATHOMS MIL-SPEC
Fifty Fathoms was one of the pioneering diving watches when it was launched in the 1950s, and this piece reinterprets the original which featured a water-tightness indicator. It comes in a 40 mm stainless steel case and is powered by an automatic winding calibre. The black dial has a watertightness indicator, as in the old watch. The unidirectional rotating bezel is covered in scratch-resistant sapphire, a Blancpain innovation which first appeared in 2003. A limited edition of 500 pieces.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN TRADITIONNELLE
The slate grey (the first for the collection) dial on a 18K pink gold case is the hall-mark of this new addition to the Traditionnelle collection, which also features five other models with similar combinations. The 41 mm case of this piece has a transparent sapphire crystal caseback. The selfwinding movement is just 2.45 mm thick, giving the watch its slim look. The power reserve is 40 hours.
A. LANGE & SÖHNE 1815 CHRONOGRAPH
This new addition to the famous 1815 collection comes with a stopwatch functionin a 39.5-millimetre white-gold case. The rhodiumed hands ensure legibility against the backdrop of a jet-black solid-silver dial. The time is indicated in hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds. The flyback chronograph comes with a precisely jumping minute counter. The watch can measure heart rates with the pulsimeter scale on the outer ring of the dial graduated from 40 to 200 beats. When the time for 30 beats is measured, the peripheral scale indicates the heart rate per minute. The manually wound movement has a 60 hours reserve when fully wound.
BREGUET CLASSIQUE 7147
The classical looking self-winding watch comes in a 40 mm, 18K white gold case with delicately fluted case-band. The dial is in `Grand Feu’ enamel with a small seconds offset at 5o’clock. The extrathin movement, which is only 2.4 mm thick, has a power reserve of 45 hours.
JAQUET DROZ GRANDE SECONDE QUANTIÈME
The watch is instantly recognized by connoisseurs thanks to its two offcenter dials, majestic direct-drive seconds hand and pointer-type date display highlighted with a touch of intense red. Two shades are available – anthracite, equipped with hands in rhodium-plated steel, and gray, with hands in blued steel. Each version is available with a diameter of 39 or 43 mm. The date, located on an incline on the dial at six o’clock, brings an added touch of modernity to this work of visual architecture. It has a power reserve of 68 hours.
CHOPARD L.U.C XPS TWIST QF FAIRMINED
While its 40 mm slim rose gold case (7.2 mm thick) is made from ethically mined gold, this watch is distinguished by the slate grey colour dial featuring a stamped sunburst texture. The crown is off-centre. at 4 o’clock, and the small seconds sub-dial is at 7 o’clock. The alligator leather strap is hand-sewn and dyed with plant-based pigments. The self-winding movement has a power reserve of 65 hours.
OMEGA SEAMASTER DIVER 300M COMMANDER’S WATCH LIMITED EDITION
This elegant Seamaster honours the brand’s long association with James Bond movies, three of which are celebrating anniversaries this year: “You Only Live Twice”, “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Tomorrow Never Dies.” In each of these films, Bond wears his official military uniform and an Omega watch. The 41 mm stainless steel case features a blue ceramic bezel with a Liquidmetal diving scale with red rubber covering the first 15 minutes. The dial is in polished white ceramic. The 007 gun logo counterweight on the central seconds hand and the number 7 in the date window are coloured red, while all other numbers are blue. It’s powered by the Omega Calibre 2507, and limited to 7,007 pieces.
PANERAI MARE NOSTRUM ACCIAIO — 42MM
Named after the original Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea, this watch is a new version of a rare chronograph that was originally developed for the Italian navy in the 1940s, and then recreated in 1993. The chronograph minute counter is at 9 o’clock, the small seconds dial at 3 o’clock. It comes in a 42 mm, brushed steel case with a blue dial that features luminous markers. The handwound movement has a power reserve of 42 hours. The elegant wooden box of this special edition watch of 1000 pieces comes with a small model of Luigi Durand De La Penne, an Italian Navy destroyer launched in 1993, on which the previous version of the watch was unveiled.
BREITLING COLT SKYRACER
Named after Skyracer, the plane with Breitling colours that is part of the famous Red Bull air race, this high-performance watch comes in a 45 mm case made from Breitlight, a specially made material that is 3.3 times lighter than titanium and 5.8 times lighter than steel. Yet, it is significantly harder, resistant to scratches, traction and corrosion, and also has anti-magnetic, anti-allergenic properties as well as a warmer ‘touch’ than metal. It is powered by a thermo-compensated SuperQuartz movement that is ten times more accurate than standard quartz. It is equipped with a rotating rider tab bezel, serving to memorise times, and a dial with an additional 24-hour (military) scale.
LONGINES MASTER COLLECTION
Launched in 2005, this collection of automatic watches blends classic elegance and excellence. This year’s new editions are in gray and blue. The sunray blue or sunray gray dial shows the hours, minutes and seconds thanks to rhodium-plated hands. They come with a steel bracelet or alligator leather strap.
FREDERIQUE CONSTANT SLIMLINE MOONPHASE MANUFACTURE
This moonphase comes in a 38.8 mm, 3 parts-case in either rose gold-plated or polished stainless steel, and two dial variations: silver-coloured and black. The see-through case back reveals the inner workings of the FC-702 calibre which was redesigned to split the moonphase and date into two new counters (at three and nine o’clock, respectively), and is adjustable through the crown. It has a 42-hour power reserve.
