COLLECTOR SPECIALS Watches

Centuries ago, craftsmen such as Abraham-Louis Breguet and Jean-Marc Vacheron made watches for European high society and royalty. Today, the top brands continue to produce collector pieces that are sought after by the most discerning clientele. Here are this year’s museum pieces of the future.

Patek Philippe 5930 World Timer Chronograph

Two styles of watch that Patek Philippe has turned into an artform are the chronograph and the world timer; however, in its entire history, it has only ever combined them in one single watch, made for a doctor in the 1940s and now in the brand’s museum. Finally, though, Patek Philippe has produced a world timer chronograph, and it’s a thing of rich beauty, with a gorgeously engraved blue central dial.

Montblanc Bi-Cylindrique 110 Years Anniversary

The German luxury house is 110 years old this year, and is marking the anniversary with this quite sensational watch, of which only three have been created. Part of the Collection Villeret, all handmade at an ancient manufacture in the Swiss hills, it includes the collection’s signature tourbillon, with a double cylindrical balance spring.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon

Eight years ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre made the first Reverso containing the brand’s landmark gyroscopic tourbillon, a mesmerising device that rotates in three dimensions. This year, it has revisited the concept but with a much more streamlined proposition – 30 per cent less mass than its whopping precursor. In design, it’s art deco on one side and elaborately skeletonised on the reverse when you flip it over.