Extreme watches

Image
Extreme watches - Baselworld 2019
3 minutes read
There are plenty of watches with multiple features and countless details. We’re taking a closer look at those that take these features and details to the extreme.

The most colourful: Hublot Big Bang Unico King Gold

Extreme watches

Rainbow setting is currently enjoying its 15 minutes of fame. Hublot joins the dance with this rainbow-hued Big Bang. Although multicoloured stones are usually confined to the bezel, here they have invaded the case and the solid elements of the skeleton dial. There are 436 gems in total, including ruby, topaz, tsavorite and, the stars of the show, sapphires in four different colours.

The most lunar: Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 1L

Extreme watches

Ferdinand Berthoud has strayed way off the beaten track of traditional moon phase displays, devoting its second complication to our nocturnal satellite. It features two different indications – a feature so rare as to be virtually non-existent. The first is located below the hour dial, indicated by a hand that points to a cartouche marked with gradations going from a full moon to a new moon. The other is at the edge of the dial, and points to a cam that calculates the age of the moon, a complication that will lose just one day of accuracy in the next 577 years.

The best-dressed: Bell & Ross BR 03-92 MA-1

Extreme watches

This is a sporty watch – an extremely sporty watch – inspired by an article of clothing. The MA-1 bomber jacket is one of the US Air Force’s most iconic pieces of equipment. Bell & Ross has taken its colours of khaki and orange to create a new kind of tribute watch.

The quickest: Zenith Defy Inventor

Extreme watches

18 Hz corresponds to 129,600 vibrations per hour. After unveiling a prototype in 2018, Zenith now offers proof of concept of its very high-frequency watch in the shape of a series-produced Defy Inventor. Balance wheel, balance spring and regulating organs have been kicked into touch and replaced with a uniquely shaped silicon component that oscillates at an incredibly high speed.

The wildest: Chanel Première Midnight in Vendôme

Extreme watches

Into the mouth of this impressive amphibian made entirely of gold, Chanel has inserted a diamond-paved watch. Once removed from its perch, it can be placed inside a ring with an interchangeable central stone. When it’s not telling the time, this piece of jewellery exhibits an immense yellow sapphire. The emerald-cut gem is in the exact shape of the Place Vendôme, which also inspired the shape of the Midnight watch.

The most mellifluous: Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Alarm Travel Time

Extreme watches

With its four prominent pushers, this alarm watch with dual time zone plays its cards very close to the chest. Although it looks highly technical with its battery of buttons, it boasts an astonishingly musical alarm. Patek Philippe has used the principle of the minute repeater to strike a single time of the user’s choice: waking-up time.

The thinnest: Bulgari Chronograph Octo Finissimo GMT

Extreme watches

And… here’s another one! Bulgari is continuing its quest to beat all thinness records for every watch category. This time, it’s the chronograph’s turn to undergo the manufacture’s steamroller treatment. The watch measures 6.9 mm deep in total, 3.3 mm of which is the movement. And it comes with the inimitable Octo styling.

The most elegant: Grand Seiko Elegance Slimline

Extreme watches

There’s a new hand-wound movement, a new case and a new dial design. The Elegance range from Grand Seiko promises a plethora of choice for the Japanese high-end watch brand. Among the many options available is this one, with steel case, grey sunray convex dial, dauphine hands and applied markers – quintessentially elegant and faultlessly tasteful.

The most symmetrical: Arnold & Son Nebula 38

Extreme watches

Initially launched with a diameter of 41.5 mm, the Nebula was subsequently brought out in a 38 mm diameter for women. This skeleton watch with its spectacular architecture is now available in one eminently wearable universal size. The perfectly symmetrical arrangement of its bridges is ideal for showing exactly how a movement works, as well as being fascinating to look at.

Featured brands