FANTASY

Traditional watchmaking in the age of the smartwatch is about as fantastical as a Tolkien saga, which is pretty much the point – so why not rejoice in this flight of fancy?

VISCONTI OPERA GMT BLUE £3,000 The Italians pull no punches, revelling in all-out maximalism, as this Visconti illustrates. There’s no mucking about inside, though, as it’s driven by a Swiss workhorse, the Sellita SW330-1.

GREUBEL FORSEY TOURBILLON 24 SECONDS EDITION HISTORIQUE RED GOLD £365,000 With all the sorcery of a wizard, this sports a tourbillon cage that spins rapidly to negate the effect of gravity on the movement. If Gandalf wore a watch, this would be it.

GRAFF GYROGRAFF METIERS D’ART TOURBILLON POA Graff might be known for its precious stones, but it also turns out some fantastical watches. This model has a white-gold dial, laser-carved to pick out the map lines of the Middle East, before being hand-set with diamonds.

THOMAS SABO REBEL ICON £259 Time waits for no man, they say, and for that reason watchmaking is peppered with morbid exercises in memento mori – reminders that death is always lurking. Thomas Sabo’s Gothic jewellery simply puts a rock’n’roll spin on things.

CORUM BIG BUBBLE MAGICAL 52 ANIMA £6,150 We all sighed with relief when Corum revived the Bubble back in 2015. This year, it stepped up the relaunch by showcasing a menagerie of bizarre visions, viewed through one huge, cuff-busting bulge of sapphire crystal.