Reclaim your magic
Timekeeping trends from grand complications and navigation tools to new materials and companions for modern adventurers
The Swiss watch industry certainly knows how to navigate its way around a crisis, and the pandemic was no exception. The major fairs and brands quickly adapted in 2020, in some cases even evolving as they moved business and communications online. By and large, the forced pause also gave our “always on” society an opportunity to reset the clock and establish a new rhythm. With everyone suffering from Zoom fatigue, in 2021 the fairs adopted a most welcome “phygital” (physical and digital) format with “sustainability” and “digital” topping the agenda of the daily panel discussions, serving to highlight the important shift in consciousness for both industry and consumer.
From grand complications and navigation tools that remind us of the origins of watchmaking to new materials and companions for modern adventurers, the novelties for 2021 are a pretty good reflection of our changing attitudes and the spirit of this new age.
COMPLICATIONS
Grand accomplishments in watchmaking are often hidden in plain sight: a high complication masked to the untrained eye only through the clever simplicity of the dial design. But flip them over or open them up — and the high art of the mechanical heart is revealed.
The Patek Philippe In-Line Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5236P-001 has its day, date, and month displayed on a single line. On the surface, it has an unassuming, elegant design with a satin-finished blue dial, yet within its 41.3mm platinum case is the new self-winding mechanical Caliber 31-260 PS QL with a highly sophisticated mechanical “memory” of four years. “Complexity made simple”, the minimalist H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar has an impressive power reserve of 168 hours. Through simplified display, its hand-wound HMC 812 calibre shows the months via a small red and white central hand, and a window indicates the date, updated at midnight through a “flash calendar” instantaneous date-change mechanism. A sight to behold, on the other hand, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 Quadriptyque is the first four-dialled wristwatch and is the horological equivalent of a children’s fantasy pop-up book. Featuring 11 complications, its mechanical wonders are revealed in microscopic detail as you turn the four dials of the quadriptyque.
Such grand complications also remind us of the origins of watchmaking as we look for new navigation tools, to the stars or sages in search of answers.
Image: Supplied
INNOVATION
Much like motoring, the watch industry is about emotion and the synergy between design and complex machines. For example, the Longines Heritage Classic Silver Arrow breathes life back into an archival piece from the post-war 1950s that referenced the torpedo-shaped Mercedes-Benz racing cars. But while there are many re-issues of historic icons to stir the emotions, innovation remains the cornerstone of the industry and even more so now to keep a new generation of collectors interested.
Innovation is about surprising clients with fresh ways of timekeeping and real-world practicality such as the user-centric Ressence eCrown system — a hybrid watch that uses a photovoltaic cell to keep a mechanical movement on time. Throwing down the gauntlet, Tony Fadell has said: “Fine-watchmaking must embrace new technologies to bring back functionality and excitement for the new generations.”
Looking like a nuclear-reactor emergency-shutdown button, the slim version of their original Type 1 is presented this year in bold red. Within their focus on pilot’s watches this year, IWC presents the future of watchmaking and extreme aeronautics with its Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL. This is the first watch to feature the brand’s patented new shock absorber system based on a cantilever spring that suspends the movement inside the case. Protected movements have survived the extreme forces from accelerations in excess of 30 000 g, making it ready for interplanetary sports.
SUSTAINABILITY
The major watch fairs quickly adapted and evolved last year but have now shifted to a most welcome “phygital” (physical and digital) format. Topping the agenda of daily discussion with industry experts presented during the fairs were “sustainability” and “digital” but also included corporate social responsibility, distribution, client experience, blockchain technology, collaboration, and innovation. There is a commendable commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals involving ethical material sourcing and more circular economies, with pioneers such as Chopard and IWC leading by example.
The Panerai Ecologico initiative also drives innovation in this area, and the manufacture has decided to share these innovations and all of its supplier’s details with the entire industry through open source. Fifty-eight percent of the components in the new Panerai Luminor Marina eSteel references are made from a new alloy that incorporates recycled materials. The 47mm Swatch Big Bold in Bioceramic is made from two-thirds ceramic and one-third bio-sourced plastic.
COLOUR SPECTRUM
The booming market for vintage and reimagined archival pieces, along with the emerging 1970s trend, reflect our quest for something solid in unpredictable times. Watches, particularly of the mechanical kind, are made to last many lifetimes, and while they reflect the demands, styles, spirit, and innovations of a particular age, they are (mostly) not about fads. Trends steal our bandwidth and through fashion suffocate our planet.
A long-term relationship with a timepiece begins with one that reflects your personality and your lifestyle. You shouldn’t choose a watch with a “sage green” dial because we tell you it’s the strongest trend of the year but because you appreciate the values of the watchmaker and the design of the timepiece in front of you. Green is a thing though, and we do acknowledge our fascination with an industry that, while planning its novelties years in advance, manages to be so in tune with the current zeitgeist. With the reassuring tick of a mechanical timepiece on your wrist, maybe the timekeepers can provide us with some insights on the world at large in this time of great flux?
The various tints, tones, and shades of green have firmly established the hue as the dial colour du jour. This echoes what’s going on in fashion, while also making a play on our emotional connection to nature and the environment. Combining the trending material and colour, the Zenith Defy 21 Urban Jungle features a “khaki green” ceramic case and an open-work dial, which show-cases the exceptional El Primero 9004 automatic movement: the fastest, most precise series-made chronograph in production today. Green highlights the miniature components of the 2mm thick Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Ultra Thin, the world’s thinnest mechanical, hand-wound watch.
Many watches this year are inspired by collections and colours of the 1970s. Refreshed and brought up to date, these include the 37mm Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 and the stainless-steel Baume & Mercier Riviera, with its 12-sided bezel and unique ripple-pattern dial.
NEW MATERIALS
Innovation extends to new technology and materials that need to stand up to the rigors and attitudes of this century. Sapphire, carbon fibre-based composites, bio-sourced materials, and high-tech ceramics are fast becoming the contemporary case materials of choice. With even more concern around sustainability, we will see more eco-friendly, recycled materials, such as Panerai’s eSteel, added to that list. Four new versions of the Hublot MP-09 with Tourbillon Bi-Axis manufacture calibre are constructed using lightweight, coloured, 3D carbon.
Anything but fragile, many luxury-watch brands use robust ceramics for their strength and scratch-proof, anti-wear, light-weight, antimagnetic, and hypoallergenic properties. In celebration of summer and the Mediterranean locations of its new boutiques, Hublot has also launched six exclusive editions of its 45mm Classic Fusion Chronograph in satin-finished and polished ceramic.
The “Master of Materials” Rado has taken its Captain Cook heritage-inspired model and infused it with years of research and development to create the 43mm Rado Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic. The 43.5mm Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Black celebrates the darkest corners of the ocean and shows the versatility of ceramic through contrasting shades of a single colour. The new 38mm Chanel J12 Electro Caliber 12.1 is part of a capsule collection inspired by electronic music and the rave culture of the 90s, while also waving the rainbow flag.
ALL-TERRAIN TOOLS
Another positive takeaway from this dramatic period is our realisation that sports and movement are paramount for our physical health and mental wellbeing. Not since the 1980s, when Jane Fonda’s Workout video had the world doing the donkey kick, have human beings been so active. Accompanying this is a healthier work-life balance as more people work from home.
From the urban jungle to the highest peak, Wunderman Thompson Data shows that 58% of people surveyed recently value the outdoors and the environment more as a result of the pandemic crisis. “In an age where almost every experience is now mediated via a screen, more people are opting for tangibility over immediacy and convenience,” the Wunderman report notes. If “resilience” is the word for the year, there are certainly many novelties built to accompany any attire and outlast new lifestyle pursuits and adventures.