Any haute horology enthusiast looking to expand their collection should perhaps give Swiss watchmaker Breitling’s latest wrist candy, the Navitimer Aviator 8 B01 Chronograph 43 Boutique Edition, a once-over. The first design to spawn from its partnership with online men’s style portal MR PORTER, this eye-catching timepiece boasts a sleek silver fascia ringed by an anthracite contrast chronograph. Fitted with an in-house calibre B01 movement, it’s limited to only 1,000 pieces, making this an almost instant collector’s item. www.breitling.com
Swiss watchmaker Hublot celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with four brightly coloured watches poetically called the Spirit of Big Bang collection. The open real estate of the watches reveal the HUB1770 hand-wound skeleton movement, charmingly enhanced by a quartz dial. The entire lunar cycle has been captured within the surface of these timepieces, thanks to two alternating moons visible through a semi-transparent, sand-blasted disc. A small seconds sub-dial sits pretty at 9 o’clock, with a large date display on a double analogue disc perfectly positioned between 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock accentuating its impression of depth and astronomy. www.hublot.com
Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin has added another stellar watch to its Fiftysix collection – the Fiftysix Tourbillon. Just 6mm thick and equipped with a 22- carat gold peripheral rotor, the movement is entirely visible thanks to a transparent caseback. According to the makers, apparently the tourbillon alone demanded more than 12 hours of meticulous work, thanks to its minute hand-crafted detailing. Each element of its distinctive design is a knowing nod to the original iconic Fiftysix model created in 1956. www.vacheron-constantin.com
French haute jewellery house Chaumet‘s latest offering to haute horology comes in the form of three eye-catching models of jumping hours Complications Créatives watches designed by Kenyan artist Evans Mbugua. Set in white gold with brilliant-cut diamonds, each of the watches evokes a lush picture of Africa. With giraffes, crocodiles, frogs, etc adorning the surface of the watches – each handcrafted and hand-engraved – the miniature real estate of the timepieces transforms us to a primitive world. www.chaumet.com
