Watches & Jewellery
IF MONEY’S NO OBJECT, THESE INVESTMENT-WORTHY TIMEPIECES ARE SURELY WORTH PLUNDERING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT FOR
Plunder your bank account for these investment-worthy pieces. 220 The Apple Watch is now a reality. 224 Omega delivers gold with James Bond’s latest timepiece. 226 Watchmaking reaches new heights in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Hybris Artistica series. 234 The biggest names in jewellery turn the spotlight on an intriguing stone, the opal. 236 Colourful rare stones headline Piaget’s anniversary collection. 240 Cartier’s Panthère endures as its symbol for powerful women.
Among the watchmaking elite, it’s hardly unusual to have pieces priced in the high six digits. Every once in a while, however, come watches that would make even the biggest spenders wobbly in the knees. For example, Graff ’s Diamond GyroGraff makes a grand entrance with its highly sculptural case and a bezel encrusted with more than 70 diamonds for a total of 8.03 carats. The piece also shines on technical merit, featuring a 3D moon-phase indicator and double-axis tourbillon. Highly exclusive, the Diamond GyroGraff is limited to 20 pieces, in rose gold or white gold, and boasts a price tag of HK$6 million.
Certainly not missing from this list is Patek Philippe. While many of the brand’s pieces easily fall into the million-dollar category, the Ref 6002 Sky Moon Tourbillon is a superlative example featuring an astounding 12 complications on two dials, including a minute repeater, a tourbillon, perpetual calendar, retrograde date and a moonphase display. What many consider as the true highlight of this piece, however, is its beautifully crafted case, which makes it an art piece on the wrist. Should you be so tempted (and secure a coveted spot on the list), it’s yours for HK$9.3 million.
But a watch that takes the cake in this category is the much talked-about A Lange & Söhne Grand Complication, which is priced at a whopping HK$19 million. Dubbed as the brand’s “most complicated and most exclusive” timepiece, with only six pieces up for grabs, the Grand Complication offers a suite of features, including a grand and small strike, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph with minute counter and jumping seconds, and a perpetual calendar with moon-phase display.