INSIDE OUT
Watches where wearers can see all the moving parts have always been fascinating, allowing one to peek into the intricacies of the movement. This year, skeletonised watches are as trendy as ever, with highly technical materials and challenging complications at the forefront of innovation
GIRARD- PERREGAUX Laureato Absolute Light
THE RESULT OF precision engineering, Girard-Perregaux’s latest addition to its Laureato Absolute collection, which was launched in 2019 with the aim of reinventing its most iconic watches, plays with the concept of light. The timepiece comes in an octagonal 44mm case with anti-reflective sapphire and lightweight titanium, making it appear see-through, and offering the wearer and any nearby admirers a full view of its skeletonised, self-winding GP01800 movement (featuring hours, seconds and small seconds) from all angles. Each bridge and mainplate has been beautifully finished and NAC-treated, as well as the ring with 12 curved sections between mirror-polished triangles that function as the hour markers. The timepiece comes with a seamlessly integrated rubber strap with a micro-adjustment system for increased comfort. This watch comes in a limited edition of 88 pieces.
BOVET Virtuoso VII
WITH A DOUBLE- FACED timepiece in a patented case that allows the wearer to convert it from a reversible watch to a pocket watch, and then to an elegant desk clock via what the maison calls the Amadeo case, the Virtuoso VII is certainly a versatile piece. Built with a perpetual calendar movement that offers five days of reserve power, one side of the timepiece displays the time, date, day of the week, month and leap year cycle, with the workings of the movement clearly seen through sapphire glass. On the other side, it shows the hours, minutes and seconds. A power reserve indicator is displayed on both dials. The plate and bridges showing the functions of the perpetual calendar are fully hand-engraved. The 2020 Virtuoso VII comes in a limited edition of 800 pieces, in red or white gold with a green guilloché dial featuring a prismatic lotus flower pattern: the symbol of the House of Bovet since 1822.
RICHARD MILLE Yohan Blake RM61-01
THE FIRST VERSION of the Yohan Blake tourbillon watch, which was designed for the record-breaking Jamaican sprinter, was first released in 2014. (Those who’ve been following the brand should remember it for its bold green and yellow design, in an ode to the Jamaican flag.) The watch was a work of tech genius since it was aerodynamic, ergonomic and made of incredibly light material that met all the requirements of a world champion sprinter of Blake’s calibre. The watch was so successful that Richard Mille decided to produce several iterations over the last six years. This latest – and the last of its kind – is what the watchmaker calls the “Ultimate Edition” or RM 61-01. It shows off a highly skeletonised movement in
Grade 5 titanium, which is impact-resistant up to 5,000Gs. This watch now also features a bezel and caseback in carbon TPT and quartz TPT, tech materials that the watchmaker has developed with partner company NTPT. The last three letters, TPT, stand for thin ply technology, which makes materials like carbon fibre and quartz ultra-lightweight yet super strong because they’ve been reinforced with a resin. According to Richard Mille, carbon TPT decreases stressor breakage by 25 per cent and micro-cracks by 200 per cent when compared to regular carbon fibre. The weight reduction is also a big plus, especially for high-performance watches for athletes like Blake. The RM 61-01 is limited to 150 pieces. ROGER DUBUIS NOT A LOT of watchmakers have the ability to create minute repeaters, let alone ones so intriguing that they play a tritone, a chord banned in the Middle Ages for allegedly being the “devil in music” (in Latin: diabolus in machina). Add a flying tourbillon and all the futuristic elements of Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur watches and you’ve got this visionary/historic wonder of a timepiece that begs to be seen and heard. It features the Neostar, looking like deconstructed criss-crossing Xs to form the skeletonised case, as well as the use of a tech alloy called CarTech Micro-Melt BioDur CCMTM, which is more durable and scratch-resistant than stainless steel. The workings of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Diabolus in Machina’s in-house RD0107 automatic minute repeater and single flying tourbillon movement are clear from its skeletonised 45mm case. A lever between 3 and 4 o’clock lets the wearer know whether the watch is set to the manual winding or time-setting position, which is extremely helpful so as not to damage the minute repeater movement.
Excalibur Diabolus in Machina
VACHERON CONSTANTIN Overseas QP Ultra-Thin Skeleton
THE OVERSEAS SHOULD be familiar to Vacheron Constantin fans as one of the most wearable watches of its collections; it’s great for travel and sporty enough to be used every day. Through the years, the watchmaker has released quite a number of iterations, from world timers and chronographs to tourbillons. What these designs all have in common are their sleek lines, their Maltese cross-inspired bezels and their convenient strap/bracelet one-touch changing system. This year, the maison takes it up a notch with its latest Overseas: the Perpetual Calendar (Quantième Perpétuel) Ultra-Thin Skeleton. In this new gold version, a sapphire dial invites the wearer to see the workings of an extremely thin perpetual calendar movement – the self-winding Calibre 1120, at just 4.05mm and with more than 270 parts. For the first time in the collection, the back is also openworked, showcasing the great trains and NAC-treated oscillating weight in 22K gold that’s also shaped like a Maltese cross. A truly impressive timepiece, the Overseas QP Ultra-Thin Skeleton boasts beauty and functionality alike, as the perpetual calendar won’t require any adjustment until March 1, 2100 for its calendar indications and moonphases.