Brace yourselves, my dear WorldTempus family. They’re coming. One by one, you’ll start seeing them arrive. At first, when they can still be counted on the fingers of one hand, you welcome them. They warm your heart. They make you feel loved and appreciated. Let a few more days pass, though, and you begin to recognise your naive folly. How did they become so numerous so quickly? How will you ever be able to adequately meet all their clamorous demands? Might you still be able to send out an email declaring (falsely) that you’ll be away the entire month of December, thereby escaping their tinsel-twined clutches? Behold, the implacable friend-turned-antagonist of everyone’s festive social calendar: the Holiday Party Invitation!
Look, I don’t hate parties, despite the hyperbole of my previous paragraph. I’m just really bad at turning down invitations. I genuinely like seeing my friends and family; I enjoy spending time with the people I care about. The issue here is one of overscheduling. When you’re dashing from one gathering to another, inching along in holiday traffic with sacks of presents (panic-bought, panic-wrapped and panic-labelled — you’ll be lucky if everyone ends up with their intended gift) rolling about in the back of the car, nursing the aftermath of last night’s orgy of overconsumption (otherwise known as Christmas Dinner) … You might be forgiven for wondering why having a good time is such hard work.
Here at WorldTempus, we want to see our readers make the most of the holiday season, but we also want to remove unnecessary stress from your lives, the best way we know how. What’s about to follow is ostensibly a list of watch recommendations, but you might see it as our gift to you — a gift of emotional support. A gift of doing all the thinking for you so your energy and efforts can be deployed where they’re most needed. A gift, in other words, of time.
End-of-year parties can be a source of anxiety for even the most socially confident and assured among us. The question of what to wear to a party is invariably one of the top three concerns that arise. (The other two questions being: Who else will — or won’t — be there, and What time to arrive/leave.) Whatever events and gatherings you have on your calendar this December, we have the right watch for you. And if you don’t already have these pieces, well, take this as a sign to stop by your nearest watch boutique and buy yourself a little horological treat this year. You deserve it.
(Expert tip: always get the boutique to wrap your purchase up beautifully as a present, and then keep the packaging in your car. Because in a worst-case scenario, you could even use it as an emergency gift for that super-important person you accidentally left off your shopping list this year. Then you have a good reason to go get yourself another watch. Everyone wins!)
THEMED OFFICE PARTY — OMEGA CONSTELLATION STEEL AND SEDNA GOLD
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a company year-end party is not complete without a theme. These themes tend to follow pop-culture moments, and despite initial predictions that Barbie-themed parties would be the reigning trend of 2023, it seems that people generally prefer parties without complex feminist overtones. The crowd-favourite 1990s is therefore the ultimate winner this year, and while you might feel obliged to make some poor wardrobe choices in the interests of period accuracy, you can at least be sure that with this ’90s horological icon, your wrist will be impeccably dressed.
I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS — MAURICE LACROIX PONTOS DAY DATE
This classic ballad by Elvis Presley expresses the yearning to be back in the arms of a loving family at Yule. What it doesn’t mention is how quickly that yearning dissipates once you’ve actually spent a few days back in the parental household. If you had a watch like the Maurice Lacroix Pontos Day Date to keep you anchored in the here and now, to assure you that the seconds, minutes, hours and days are indeed moving at their usual speed, perhaps that would allow you to relax and fully appreciate the round-the-clock proximity of your closest genetic relatives.
THE REUNION — CARTIER SANTOS-DUMONT SQUELETTE MICRO-ROTOR
This kind of party doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, it’s legendary. It’s something to remember. At least 50 percent of attendees have taken a long-distance flight in order to be here, proof of the long-lasting friendship that exists between those present. What could be more appropriate to wear to such a party than the Cartier Santos-Dumont, the enduring icon of aviation timepieces, born out of the amity between Louis Cartier and Alberto Santos-Dumont?
IN THE CLUB — ROGER DUBUIS EXCALIBUR BLACKLIGHT SPIN-STONE MONOBALANCIER
If you live in a big city, there’s a high chance that your year-end plans will include at least one evening out at the kind of nightlife establishment that involves very loud music and very tight clothes. This watch was made for that evening. Its multi-coloured bridges and bezel stones in lume-coated synthetic spinel guarantee that the hottest party in town is wherever you happen to be.
A SHOT OF COMFORT — RALPH LAUREN MARTINI TUXEDO POLO BEAR
Sometimes, when it’s a special evening, you’re obliged to wear fancy clothes. As I get older, I start to sympathise more and more with the Ralph Lauren Martini Tuxedo Polo Bear. My wardrobe still has a section set aside for fancy clothes, but what goes inside those fancy clothes on special evenings is a little softer, rounder and squishier than it used to be. And on such evenings, a martini or two always helps you feel friendlier towards the people around you.
THE ONE THAT NEVER ENDS — CHANEL J12 ECLIPSE
We’ve all been to house parties like this. It’s the kind of party that starts on Christmas Eve and then just continues until New Year’s Day. The host isn’t always there. Not everyone who shows up knows whose apartment it is. The neighbours have given up complaining and have chosen to join the party. You and your friends agree to meet up there, but all of you get the time wrong (some of you even get the day wrong) so you don’t see any of your friends and instead you end up making new ones. The Chanel J12 Eclipse embodies the spirit of this party in so many ways. It symbolises evolution and transformation; it is many in one; it is the perfect blend of beauty, precision and chaos.
THE FEAST — AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK JUMBO OPENWORKED
Let’s get this one thing straight. If you wear an Audemars Piguet watch, you know how to enjoy life. It’s mostly true of plenty of other watch brands too, but with an Audemars Piguet it’s pretty much guaranteed. This is the watch you wear when you know you’re about to embark on one of the greatest sensory adventures of your life. For the purposes of this article, we’ll place this in a gastronomic context. This evening of indulgence will put all other Christmas dinners to shame, and it’ll be a close fight between your watch and the roast turkey as to which has the cleanest, most beautifully carved and most meticulously finished skeleton.
ALPINE CHIC — LOUIS VUITTON TAMBOUR ROSE GOLD
Thanks to centuries of cultural indoctrination via literary and cinematic sources, most people associate December with frosty climes. Being surrounded by snowy landscapes at the end of the year, in a cosy mountain chalet, sitting by a crackling wood fire, just feels so right. And the horological equivalent of this feeling comes in the form of the new Louis Vuitton Tambour, specifically the rose gold model, with its warm hues and chocolate-brown dial. Its perfectly round case and integrated bracelet create exceptional ergonomics around the wrist. It doesn’t just feel good. It feels right.
TROPICAL GETAWAY — HUBLOT MP-15 TAKASHI MURAKAMI TOURBILLON SAPPHIRE
Let’s say your idea of the perfect party involves you and a very limited number of people, on a boat off the shore of some island where the sand is white and pristine, and the water is warm and clear. First of all, call me. Secondly, this watch is for you. Its transparent sapphire case makes it difficult to discern the smiling flower that is the trademark of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, but that doesn’t matter, because anytime you lean over the side of your boat, you see the same smile on your face reflected in the crystalline water.
COUNTRY HOUSE STAY — HERMES SLIM D’HERMES POCKET MASAN MASAN
It’s an annual tradition for many to leave the city at the end of the year and spend a couple of weeks at the family home in the countryside. It’s a return to a simpler kind of life, one that’s very far from the daily routine of an urban professional. If this sounds a lot like what you’ll be doing at the end of this month, you might consider taking the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Masan Masan with you when it’s time to pack your holiday bag. Two equines are depicted in a scene of bucolic idyll, formed out of braided horsehair. The fact that this is a pocket watch further emphasises the genteel, almost anachronistic nature of rural living.
