Imran Jalal on the hot trends to know.
Now that you’ve learnt some of the trends from the recent Baselworld watch fair, we list all of the things to know about watches in the coming year.
Trust Rado to come up with a watch fully made of ceramic that’s lighter and nicer to wear than, well, ceramic. The secret is mixing silicium nitride into high tech ceramic. The former is used in automative engine parts and weighs less than half of normal high tech ceramic. You still get the same scratch-resistant style, but with a more comfortable feel on the wrist.
The idea might sound icky to some: wings of scarab beetles. But Dior’s use of the iridescent material – on the dial of its Dior VIII Grand Bal Piece Unique Envol No 5 – is stunning.
For Harry Winston, the emerald green shine on the Premier Precious model is achieved by transferring the colour pigments of the Chrysiridia Madagascariensis butterfly.
Creating watches that chime is an age-old and highly complex form of watchmaking. Back in the day, people used to listen to the gongs knocking in a watch to tell time in the dark. Jaquet Droz not only makes some of the prettiest chiming timepieces, it’s big on details as well. Cue the birds feeding their young, the spreading wings, the flowing water and the hatching egg. Skip to 1:50 here to see how it works.
Love classical music? Ulysse Nardin shrunk a music box on its Stranger timepiece – it plays Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in E. Listen to it here.
So much so that Hermes launched a new line of watches it simply dubs the Slim d’Hermes.The entire movement comes in at just 2.6mm, making it one of the most svelte timepieces in the market. And that Bauhaus-esque typeface for the indexes is a totally new design made just for the maison. Available in three sizes, and a multitude of leather straps and finishes.