We’re simply in love with these top five watches that would make a perfect gift this season.
Slender Splendour
Piaget, the ever-innovative Swiss luxury watchmaker, has marked the 60th anniversary of its invention of the truly iconic Calibre 9P movement – a historic, ultra-thin hand-wound
watch mechanism – with the launch of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept. With a thickness of just 2mm, the company claims it is the world’s thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch. Fashioned from a cobalt-derived high-tech alloy, the timepiece also boasts a 0.2mm thick crystal cover, a 1.1mm alligator leather strap and a super-slender pin buckle. www.piaget.com
Rado Active
Taking inspiration from the very finest – Mother Nature’s endless bounty – Rado, the Swiss watchmaker that famously produced the world’s first truly scratchproof timepiece, has incorporated water, earth and leaf motifs into its recently launched True Thinline collection. With individual watches dedicated to one of the three natural elements, buyers can choose between blue-hued Water, green-liveried Leaf and russetty metallic Earth, as their slimline wrist adornment of choice. Each watch comes with a quartz movement and a high-tech ceramic/stainless steel case and bezel. www.rado.com
Rolex Roll-outs
Rolex’s much-loved GMT Master II collection has expanded somewhat with the addition of three classically-styled chronometers to its elegant ranks. These include the first two 18-carat rose gold incarnations of this most timeless of timepieces, as well as a model rendered in Oystersteel, complete with a rotatable bezel fittingly emblazoned with the brand’s iconic 24-hour graduated red-and-blue Cerachrom design. All three boast in-house calibre 3285 movements, and are clearly set to be fine additions to the collection of any true haute horology enthusiast. www.rolex.com
Pyramid Selling
While pyramids will always first bring to mind the long-dead pharaohs of long-lost Egyptian dynasties, nuzzling into second place, in terms of three-dimensional triangle association, is surely Hermès, the Paris-headquartered high-end, high fashion brand. Not only were these pointy promontories a recurring motif in the marque’s truly memorable Fall/Winter 2018 collection, they are now the defining element of its newly-released and elegantly eye-catching Médor Rock collection of watches, with each model boasting a distinctly pyramidesque dial-mounted gem. www.hermes.com
Sign of the Time
Maintaining its commitment to creating truly luxurious accessories, Harry Winston, the New York-headquartered haute joaillerie house, has unveiled The Precious Signature, the dual offering of a programmable automatic signature writing system (an automaton) and desk clock, all finely crafted in 18-carat white gold and zirconium alloy. For its part, the automaton can churn out pretty convincing takes on the signature of marque-founder Harry Winston or be reprogrammed to sign its owner’s name. Best to keep your cheque book in a different drawer maybe. www.harrywinston.com
One thing’s certain though – with these top five watches, you can woo anyone with a perfect gift!