ABOUT TIME

THE WATCH WORLD WILL DESCEND ON GENEVA IN APRIL FOR THE FIRST MAJOR FAIR IN TWO YEARS. BEFORE THEN, THESE ARE THE HEADLINE STORIES FROM THE HOROLOGICAL YEAR SO FAR

Words: Richard Brown

OMEGA SPEEDMASTER

A remidner: Omega’s original Calibre 321 – a hound-wound column-wheelcontrolled chronograph movement – powered the first Speedmasters and all subsequent Speedies selected by NASA for the Apollo space missions. Three years ago, on occasion of it being 50 years since the first lunar landings, Omega began re-manufacturing the Calibre 321, placing it in a 42mm Speedmaster in platinum. And so to the latest chapter in the 321 story: this year’s Speedmaster Calibre 321 Canopus Gold, launched to mark the chronograph’s 65th birthday. What’s new? A black Onyx dial, Grand Feu enamel-infilled numerals on the bezel, and a 38.6mm case (the original Ref. 2915 measured 38mm), which, along with the watch’s bracelet, bezel and hands, is constructed from Omega’s propriety white ‘Canopus Gold’. £69,500, omegawatches.com

PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 5236P-001

Here’s an oldas-stainless-steel question: why would anyone buy a watch in platinum? Isn’t it, after all, pretty much impossible for Joe Bloggs to spot the different between (very expensive) platinum and (much less expensive) stainless steel? In a word, yes. And isn’t tough-as-nails steel far harder, and therefore far more scratch resistant, than dentable platinum? Um-hum, it certainly is. But all that’s to miss the point, isn’t it? Because platinum watches aren’t meant for Joe Bloggs, are they? Platinum watches are meant for those in the know. Because when you know, you know. And so to Patek Philippe’s Ref. 5236P001 In-line Perpetual Calendar. The elegant dress watch (it actually dropped last year) sports a patented one-line display function and is available exclusively, you guessed it, in platinum. Tweaking a base movement to accommodate an energy-hungry perpetual calendar mechanism, the watch is the first Patek to display the day, date and month on a single line in an elongated aperture beneath 12 o’clock. So, now you know. £104,740, patek.com

HUBLOT BIG BANG INTEGRAL

Hublot has announced a collection of six timepieces that pay homage to the watch that started it all – the yellow-gold-on-blackrubber Fusion from 1980. Our pick of the bunch is the time-only Big Bang Integral, featuring a rubber-protected crown and 18kt yellow-gold case and bracelet. £40,900, hublot.com

GIRARD-PERREGAUX CASQUETTE 2.0

How cool is this? In 1976 GirardPerregaux released the sci-fi looking Reference 9931, a quirky, quartz-powered contraption that was subsequently nicknamed ‘the Casquette’. Half a century later, GP has released the retrofuturistic Casquette 2.0. Now in Grade 5 titanium but still fresh as hell. Approx. £3,500, girard-perregaux.com

TAG HEUER AUTAVIA

TAG Heuer’s new Autavia 60th Anniversary Flyback Chronograph is available with either a silver dial and fine-brushed stainless-steel case, or a black dial and DLC-coated stainlesssteel case. Given its stealthy styling and punchy green Super-LumiNova® hour indices, we’d plump for the latter (seen here, kinda). The brace of chronographs, with their extra-large crowns and quick-change leather straps, represent the first time an Autavia has been equipped with a flyback function – where a chronograph hand can be reset and restarted with a single push of a side button. £5,800, tagheuer.com

ORIS BIG CROWN X CERVO VOLANTE

Oris has partnered with Swiss sustainable accessories company Cervo Volante on three new Big Crown Pointer Date watches, each featuring a gradient dial inspired by Alpine colours. Pick between three straps made from previouslydiscarded deer leather. £1,350, oris.ch

BULGARI ROMA BLUE CARILLON

Bulgari’s Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon features an open-worked titanium middle-case and hollowed-out case-back to maximise the clarity of its chiming function. Activate a side pusher and the skeletonised Roma’s three hammers will chime a C note for the hours, an E D C for the quarter-hours, and an E for the minutes. Melodic. Approx. £240,000, bulgari.com

ZENITH DEFY 21 CHROMA

Powered by Zenith’s high-frequency El Primero 21 movement, the new DEFY is capable of recording passages of time to an accuracy of 1/100th of a second. What, exactly, you’d need to time to that level of accuracy we’re not quite sure, but that’s beside the point. £12,000, zenith-watches.com