Time without end: Iconic timepieces with a rich history
The luxury watches featured here have nothing to prove. The decades gone by validate their popularity and iconic status
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Last Updated: Sep 30, 2017, 10:36 IST5 min
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This watch is elegant and the lugs are integrated with the case, which is made from a solid block of stainless steel as done in 1940, when the navy’s new norms required divers to remain underwater for longer and their watches had to be more resistant to tension.
Radiomir 1940 has become one of Officine Panerai’s most popular collections. Variations to the original have come in 1956, 1993, 2012 and 2016. As with the original (left), the indicators on the green dial are luminous and have conspicuous large markings. The diameter of this watch is 47 mm, a tribute to the original Panerai. The watch comes with a three-day power reserve and is water resistant to a depth of 100 meters.
The 1815 series is inspired by Lange’s earliest watches that had Arabic numerals on the dial, and the minutes scale resembled a railway track with blue steel hands. But this line has also introduced several innovations—the chronograph, tourbillon, the Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, Tourbograph Perpetual—over the past 22 years.
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The new model (top left) has an annual calendar and is capable of independently adjusting for months with 30 or 31 days. It also features a manually wound movement and an analogue date, which is in line with the classic design of the 1815 watch family. And, for the first time, the moon-phase display is combined with a day-or-night indicator, through the varying blue hues and star-filled or star-less background.
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The Omega Speedmaster was originally a chronological watch launched in 1957 to complement Omega’s position as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. It was also the watch which Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin wore when he landed on the moon in 1969, earning it the moniker Moonwatch.
In the new format (left), this 42 mm diameter watch is limited to 72 pieces, with the case crafted from lightweight grade 2 titanium (inspired by titanium ore, which is abundant on the moon).
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‘45th Anniversary’ is engraved on the caseback with ‘05:34 GMT’ printed in red indicating the time of the final step made on the moon. The 9 o’clock subdial is distinguished by a gold representation of Greek god Apollo, the moon and the number 17.
The Tradition line, launched in 2005, is one of the most recognisable lines from Breguet, traditionally known for its men’s watches. So, though a largely modern product line, the movements of the Tradition collection are inspired by the legendary souscription (or ‘on subscription’ watches) created by Breguet in 1796. ‘On subscription’ watches were a type of travel clock, with a large dial and a single hand. These watches were called ‘on subscription’ as customers could reserve them for a down-payment. Thus Tradition timepieces suggest both a return to the brand’s origins and a vision of its future.
This watch was introduced a few months prior to Baselworld 2017 and is being marketed as Breguet’s flagship brand of 2017. The watch combines both established and avant-garde type styling the dial face of these watches provide for horological complications aesthetically. The face of the Tradition Dame 7038 is highly technical and hand engraved with a rosette-motif that is overlapped by a small off-centre dial in white mother-of-pearl. Unique to this watch is that the movement can be seen from front (through the crystal) and the back (caseback). The watch comes in an 18k rose gold 37mm round case while the bezel is set with 68 brilliant-cut diamonds, which adds sparkle.
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The rotating-bezel design allowed pilots and navigators to calculate their longitude during long-distance flights. Longines reintroduced the Hour Angle Watch to its heritage collection a few years ago. The most modern version of the watch comes in a titanium case and 47 mm diameter. It bears a silver dial where the numerals read from 15 to 180 degrees, showing an interval of 15 for every hour.
A 34 mm model, mainly for women, comes with a thin manual wound calibre (or movement) 430P—an evolution from the original 9P, which was introduced by Piaget in 1957. The mechanism, at the time, was just 2mm thin and made Piaget the pioneer in the field of ultra-thin watches. In 1960, came the 12P, the thinnest self-winding movement (2.3 mm), to be followed by the 600P, the world’s thinnest hand-wound shaped tourbillon movement (3.5 mm) in 2007 and the 1208P, also the thinnest self-winding movement, introduced in 2010.
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Despite the ever-improving technicalities of its watches, some of the traditional features of the original 1957 watches continue to be retained even in the modern versions. These include a thin case and dial with simple baton (stick) markers instead of numericals and hands. But, as with all modern watches, it is more water resistant (up to a depth of 30 metres).
First Published: Sep 30, 2017, 10:36
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