An ode to the exceptional

Switzerland owes its watch making excellence to its pristine environment. For deep in the heady heights of its famous Alps, plummeting temperatures and blazing fires in wooden chalets made the perfect setting to nurture a watch making culture of exceptional order. It was to firmly lay the foundation for watches of extraordinary caliber and craft. Aviamost selects this season’s exceptional collections by the world’s top brands, which are designed to both exalt and inspire

OMEGA celebrated the De Ville Butterfly wristwatches with its brand ambassador Nicole Kidman at a high-profile event in Seoul’s elaborately decorated Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in October. A surprise guest, Swiss pop singer/songwriter Bastian Baker, who is one of OMEGA's newest brand ambassadors, performed an intimate concert, dedicating the final performance of the evening, "I'd Sing For You", to Nicole Kidman.

Graced with a delicate butterfly design, OMEGA’s new 18K white, red or yellow gold De Ville Prestige “Butterfly” is inspired by Asian popular culture, which associates the delicate being with love and longevity. It comes in 36.8 mm and 32.7 mm, has a captivating dial, is set with 50 full cut diamonds and has a satin-brushed leather strap. It is available with three breathtaking dials: a silvery or champagne dial with a unique butterfly pattern using ramolayage, a mechanical guillochage technique that creates a circular brushed finish; a mother-of-pearl dial with a diamond-paved butterfly between 7 and 8 o’clock while the third design makes use of transferred butterflies with a matt outline against a mother-of-pearl background, all of them feature eight or nine diamond indexes.

Leading Italian luxury brand Bulgari once again wows observers with brand new colour variations of its Berrie watch line, embodying a refined association between the technically unrivalled watchmaking complications and exquisite gemstone craftsmanship. The precious Berries Tourbillon Retrograde Hours model is adorned with emeralds or vivid, genuine round or oval-cut rubies totalling around 2.27 carats set into a 40 mm polished white gold case that, itself, is set with 63 brilliant-cut diamonds and featuring a white mother-of-pearl dial. Its highlight is the opulent coil of brilliant-cut diamonds winding voluptuously over the white mother-of-pearl dial. The sapphire case back affords a fascinating view of the regulator which ensures not just the smooth running of the self-winding movement via a hand-crafted 22K gold oscillating weight, but also guarantees a 64-hour power reserve.

On 26 March 2012, the expedition’s submersible piloted by James Cameron descended 10,908 metres (35,787 feet) to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the world’s oceans, located in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, east of the Philippines. It lies some 11,000 metres (nearly 7 miles) below the surface. If Mount Everest were dropped into the Mariana Trench, its peak would still be more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) underwater.

In 2012, the innovative case architecture of the Rolex Deepsea and its Ringlock system served as the blueprint for the design of the Rolex Deepsea Challenge, waterproof to a depth of 12,000 metres (39,370 feet). Its dimension was scaled up from 44 to 51.4mm for ultimate pressure resistance and a gas escape valve with a spring was designed to allow the helium that enters the watch in the decompression chamber to automatically escape when there is a difference in pressure.

Swiss luxury watch manufacture Zenith enriches its Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane line with three timepieces in tribute to three emblematic South American revolutionary figures: Simón Bolívar, Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Emiliano Zapata. These are veritable miniature paintings produced by expert craftsmen with the help of a sophisticated system of gold appliques fixed directly onto the movement. We feature the model, with a portrait of general and politician, Simón Bolívar. The open dial architecture allows one to admire: the barrel with fusée-chain transmission appearing between 10.30 and 1.30 on the dial; the gravity control gyroscopic module; as well as the high-frequency regulator at 6 o’clock. The three gold subdials – hours/minutes at 12 o’clock, small seconds at 9 o’clock and power reserve at 4 o’clock – have been finely guilloché and then enamelled, equipped with blued steel hands.

Legendary Parisian luxury brand Cartier’s secret watches are an ode to time’s fantasies. Like all secret watches, they come with a cover that enables one to close the face of the watch, viewed only at the user’s discretion. Its new superlative High Jewellery Secret Watch - Swan décor is fashioned in rhodium-plated 18k white gold set with pear-shaped and briolette-cut diamonds, emerald eye and a bracelet in natural pearls. It is powered by a quartz movement and is a Unique   piece.

Inspired by the richness of nature, Harry Winston’s Premier Precious Marquetry 36mm features an enchanting white gold dial with an endless array of flora and fauna –from brightly coloured wings of butterflies and birds, to the petals of exotic blooms. It took expert artisans more than one hundred hours to work on it. It is comprised of several diverse elements, including mother-of-pearl, enamel, cabochon sapphires and exquisite diamonds set at different levels. Three ‘paillonné’ (spangled) enamel areas are dusted with gold flecks and hand-set with diamonds and cabochon sapphires creating an intense fusion of colors.

For its new 41 mm white gold Arceau Cheval d’Orient limited collection of three timepieces, each limited to just 24 pieces, Hermes has used the Vernis Martin lacquering technique developed by the French in the late 17th century. Time consuming, it starts with the application of a layer of black lacquer – pigments mixed with a copal-based varnish and letting it dry for three days, a second coat is applied after fine sanding the first coat. Process is repeated at least 30 more times to achieve the deep black base and other colors. Horse motifs are then penciled and brought to life by applying colors individually in multiple coats to produce the patterns. It’s powered by the Manufacture Hermès automatic H1837 caliber movement and fitted with a matt black alligator strap.

Renowned London jeweler Graff’s latest floral evolution takes the form of the FloralGraff, an exquisitely feminine ladies watch. A beautifully simple, mosaic inspired design forms the outline of each blossoming petal, represented by a delicate trail of pavé diamonds paired with a striking arrangement of 8-perfectly shaped and polished cabochon sapphires, emeralds or rubies (6.40cts). An ornate mother of pearl dial, inlaid with a radial motif and decorated with further gemstones completes the piece, while an exquisite diamond-set buckle fastens the FloralGraff to the wearer’s wrist.

This year marked the 90th anniversary of Montblanc’s iconic pen, the Montblanc Meisterstück (German word for “masterpiece”). Paying tribute to it is its new Meisterstück Heritage watch collection. The moonphase display of the 39mm, 18k rose gold (5N) Meisterstück Heritage Moonphase is integrated into the scale of the date display, which relies on a classical blued hand. It has all the characteristic features associated with Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage design. The bezel is narrow, convexly rounded and polished to a glossy finish, surrounding the slightly cambered dial, which has a finely shimmering sunburst pattern. The hour circle is made of clearly faceted, applied indices and an applied Roman numeral “XII”. It houses the automatic Calibre MB 29.14. It has a sapphire case back and is matched by a black alligator-skin wristband.

Parmigiani and Pomellato’s alliance has resulted in something really beautiful. The Capri-inspired Tonda Pomellato pays homage to the colours of the Mediterranean in its dial, which is comprised of an exquisite turquoise disc. Cutting the turquoise stone was a technical challenge as an even surface had to be found which did not exhibit the stone's natural roughness. The turquoise blue dial is exquisitely radiant at the centre of the "full set" case – this means that the case is set with diamonds around the bezel as well as on the lugs. In this way, the watch plays on the same contrast between light and opacity which marked the success of Pomellato's Capri jewellery.

Let the moon hold the stage says A Lange & Sohne with its new 41mm Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase in yellow gold, pink gold or platinum gives the moon-phase display — which is designed to remain accurate for 122.6 years and features a patented coating process on the moon disk, in sync with the actual orbit of the moon. The display is connected with the watch’s hour-wheel continuum, meaning that it is constantly in motion, just like the moon itself, though too small to be detected by the naked eye. It houses the Lange manufacture calibre L095.3. The moon-phase display also indicates the time that elapses from new moon to new moon with an impressive accuracy of 99.9978 percent. Once correctly set, and assuming the watch runs continuously, the moon-phase would need to be corrected by just one day every 122.6 years.

In Jaeger-LeCoultre’ breathtaking new Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication three complications do not merely coexist in the white gold case – they are intertwined in an almost poetic way: for the essence of the watch lies in its interpretation of astronomical timekeeping for the wrist. Its driving force is the pulsing heart of a flying tourbillon rotating around the royal blue aventurine dial, depicting a sky-chart of the northern hemisphere. Its brand new Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 945 is a highly complex mechanism with 527 parts, all of which require the hands of a single watchmaker to be assembled and adjusted.

Swiss watch brand Baume & Mercier’s entirely new men’s collection, the Clifton is inspired by a 1950s model from the brand’s extensive archives. Its 43 mm stainless steel Complete Calendar has a moon-phase display and a sunray satin-finished blue dial. It displays the date (via a center-mounted pointer and 31-day scale around the dial’s periphery), day and month (via two small windows directly above the hour and minute hands) and moon-phase (in a large aperture at 6 o’clock). The movement is an automatic Dubois-Dépraz 9000 with a snailed côtes de Genève motif on the rotor, providing it a power reserve of 42 hours. It has scratch-resistant sapphire crystals in the front and back of the case, and comes on a black alligator strap.

Blancpain’s 42 mm, 18K red gold Villeret Quantieme Perpetual, a new perpetual calendar is endowed with an 8-day power reserve, has a large moon phase and small seconds. The new self-winding Calibre 5939A in addition to keeping track of the varying month lengths and leap years involved in the complex Gregorian calendar, without any need for adjustment until 2100, powers small seconds and a large moon phase at 6 o’clock. It enables adjustments of the day, date, month and moon-phase indications at all times without any risk of damaging the movement. It has a white grand feu enamel dial, a sapphire case-back and is teamed with a chocolate brown alligator strap and is also issued in a limited numbered platinum edition.

One of legendary Swiss watch brand Breguet’s watches showcased at the InsideBasel.Geneva (IBG) 2014 series of collector events in Chicago was the 41 mm red gold or platinum Classique Tourbillon Quantieme Perpetuel 3797. It has a distinctive opaque sapphire hours and minutes chapter ring with metallic Roman numerals and Breguet open-tipped hands in blued steel. Beneath the disc, an engine-turned hobnail pattern decorates the dial, overarched by the semi-circular scale of the retrograde dates. The one-minute tourbillon is at 6 o'clock and the subdial for the days at 9 o'clock is engine turned in waves. On the back, a sapphire crystal glass reveals the finely decorated hand-wound movement, Calibre 558QP2, beating at 18,000 vph and offering a power reserve of 50 hours.

During the 2014 Las Vegas Watch and Jewelry shows — JCK and Couture in May 2014, Carl F. Bucherer unveiled a new watch from Baselworld: the 42.5 mm 18k rose gold Manero PowerReserve, now equipped with an in-house movement. It contains the brand’s manufacture Caliber A1011, which adds an integrated power-reserve-display function to the existing CFB A1002 movement, along with the patented Dynamic Shock Absorption (DSA) system. In addition to the semi-circular, hand-type power-reserve indicator at 3 o’clock, the dial (available in black or silver) features a large date at 11 o’clock, the day of the week in a window at 9 o’clock, and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. It has 55 hours power reserve, is water-resistant to 30 meters and is matched by a black Louisiana alligator strap.

Renowned Swiss brand, Icelink introduces its latest collection of unconventional, 12-piece limited edition Zermatt Silver VII. With the original Zermatt limited-edition collection in such high demand, IceLink created a second version for avant-garde watch collectors and connoisseurs with special attention given to the dial design. The new dial pushes the boundaries of traditional watch design and is inspired by the power of connection. It takes inspiration from the Six Degrees of Separation theory, which suggests that everyone and everything in the world is six or fewer steps away from being connected.

With its winged lion of St. Mark and its legendary bronze figures striking the bell hourly, the Saint Marks’s Clock Tower on the Piazza San Marco, Venice, commissioned by Doge Agostino Barbarigo (AD 1486-1501), is an architectural marvel as well as a horology masterpiece. It is the inspiration for Ulysse Nardin’s 18k rose or white gold 43mm Hourstriker Tiger recalling the hour strikers of the monumental clock. It blends energy and power in a clean design where the highlights are two hand-carved gold tigers set upon a black onyx dial. They move with the sound of a gong, moving the precise number of times the hammer hits the gong. The beautifully crafted movement and its complex parts are visible through the sapphire case back of this timepiece.

Legendary Swiss brand Jaquet Droz has written a new chapter in the story of the Grande Seconde by incorporating a silicon balance spring in the escapement of its movement and rethinking its aesthetic aspect. The Grande Seconde Quantième, launched in 2011 and inspired by a legendary model, major changes have been made to the movement with the addition of a silicon balance spring and inversed horns on the pallets fork. .

Jaquet Droz plays with a range of fine finishing techniques with the movement: the plates are circular-grained above and below, the wheels are chamfered, shaped and circular-grained, the steel parts are chamfered and softened, and there are patterns of straight lines and hand-polished angles, all visible through the transparent case-back. It is further embellished with fanned Côtes de Genève decoration. Its dial, available in two versions - red or white gold in 39 or 43mm has been double enameled using the historic Grand Feu enamel technique, peculiar to Jaquet Droz.

Swiss watch brand Louis Moinet which marks its 10^th anniversary this year, is named after the great visionary watchmaker who crafted the chronograph as early as 1816. Its new 47mm red gold Astrolabe Tourbillon comes in just 12 pieces and is dedicated to an astrolabe, a device used to study celestial bodies, designed by the 14^th century Arabic astronomer Ahmad Ibn al-Sarraj, considered as the most sophisticated astronomical instrument of both medieval period and Renaissance.

It has a multi-layered dial with a curved grid, a stepped bezel and engraved Arabic numerals on the flange featuring central hands for hours and minutes, as well as seconds indication executed via its one-minute tourbillon. It has another skeletonized section at the top. On the front there is a glare-proofed sapphire crystal and the back a sapphire caseback and it is water resistant to 30m. It houses a tourbillon mechanical movement with a frequency of 21,600 vph, and is a manually-wound caliber boasting a power reserve of around 72 hours.

Breitling’s new titanium 49 mm Bentley GMT Light Body B04 extends an irresistible invitation to tear up the road. Its features asymmetrical lugs, a black rubber strap, a broad bezel with a knurled motif inspired by Bentley radiator grilles, along with push pieces built into the ergonomically streamlined profile. Easy to handle, when juggling with time zones, just pull out the crown and turn it forwards or backwards in one-hour increments. The date is automatically adjusted to local time in either direction. Its rotating inner bezel bearing the names of 24 cities enables instant reading of all time zones in relation to the one indicated by the 24-hour hand. It is powered by the B04 for the high-performance Manufacture Breitling Calibre entirely developed and produced in the Breitling Chronométrie workshops and is water-resistant to 100 m.

Longines has added a new military-style model to its Heritage line - the Longines Avigation based on the design of a model produced for the British army during the 1950s. The black dial features white and red numerals coated with Super-LumiNova® as well as the particular "broad arrow" sign and like the original, it has a 44mm circular steel case. It houses an L704 self-winding, mechanical calibre which shows the hours, minutes, seconds and date, as well as a second time-scale. As in the 1949 model, the movement is encased in a soft iron plate and dome which protects it from the effects of magnetic fields. The black dial features large white numerals as well as a 24-hour scale in red. All the hands are coated with Super-LumiNova® and it is fitted on a black alligator strap.