Yahoo Finance Gold standard: rose-hued watches and sweetie-inspired dials
Coming up rosy
The stylish playboy of Switzerland’s senior watch brands, Audemars Piguet, doesn’t do things by halves. This has never been more evident than in January, when it launched Code 11.59, a new range that isalesson in style and design complexity. Ostensibly round, each watch incorporates an eight-sided centre section, with sculpted and skeletonised lugs, a crystal that appears to have both concave and convex curves, and enough minutely worked textures to test the skill of the brand’s hand-finishing experts to the limit.
The showpiece, boasting an entirely new movement, is arguably the chronograph, as realised here in rose gold – a material even found in the edges of the subdials. The gold chronograph is really a watch genre in its own right, with a blend of technical utility and dressy luxuriousness.
Carl F Bucherer’s Manero Flyback goes all-out for finery with its champagne-coloured dial and maximalist aesthetic, while A Lange & Söhne presents the most plush version yet of its hand-wound beauty, the 1815 Chronograph, in rose gold and military black.
Find it in the German firm’s newly opened boutique on Old Bond Street. Meanwhile, FP Journe takes the rose-gold haute horlogerie watch in a more sporty direction. On a bracelet whose links are buffered with rubber, the monopusher chronograph includes a split-second function – one of watchmaking’s most rarefied constructions, and the mark of a masterpiece.
Sweet temptation
You would be forgiven for thinking that Richard Mille, known for its automotive inspired, hyper-engineered mega-watches, would be the least likely brand to dive deep into the world of decorative crafts; or to trouble itself with anything so twee as confectionery. Well, suck it and see.
This year Mille has launched a starburst of multicoloured watches–decorated with a slew of tiny sweeties, lollipops, liquorice and a marshmallow swirl.Techniques for realising the minutely sculpted sweets include acrylic painting, grand-feu enamel and a ‘sugar coating’ of powdered enamel and sand.
If Willy Wonka wore a watch, it would be a Mille; but with 10 flavours for girls and boys being made in batches of just 30 each, you may yet need a golden ticket to own one. RM 16-01 Automatic Citron, £123,000, and RM07-03 Automatic Cupcake, £137,000, both richardmille.com.
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