The Sixtie collection offers a range of styles, from elegant yellow gold to diamond-encrusted versions
(Image credit: Piaget)
The 1960s were a vibrant era for watch design, with bold dial shapes and the use of semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, tiger's eye and turquoise. Watchmakers embraced avant-garde styles, incorporating unique materials into daring, dynamic timepieces that reflected the spirit of the decade. Piaget was one such pioneer, leading the charge with innovative designs that were elegantly disruptive.
Andy Warhol was a fan of the brand: one of his favourite Piaget pieces was a large yellow gold watch with a cushion-shaped case, featuring stepped or chiselled gadroons. The style has heavily influenced the marque's brand new silhouette, The Sixtie, which has a trapezoidal-shaped case embellished with the same decorative contour lines. Notably, the rounded case is wider at the top than at the bottom, offering a nostalgic nod to the past by celebrating the era's love of abstract forms.
The Sixtie collection offers a range of styles, from elegant yellow gold and steel to bi-metal and diamond-encrusted. Its distinctive shape perfectly captures the nostalgic glamour and sophisticated decadence of the past, with even more variations expected in the future.
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The Cadenas model is one of Van Cleef & Arpels most historic silhouettes. Introduced in 1935, it was designed to harness the new-wave spirit of the times, fusing the philosophy of Duchampian ready-mades – in this case a humble padlock – with the geometric allure of Art Deco aesthetics.
Unapologetically distinctive, this timepiece balances audacity with restraint – its bold, volumetric look tempered by the quiet ingenuity of a slanted dial that tells time discreetly. No stranger to dressing up in precious gems, the Cadenas has secured its place in watchmaking history with a series of unforgettable iterations, including models embellished with leather and hardwood in the 1970s.
Celebrating the Cadenas' 90th birthday this year, AC&A has released two new dazzling designs that showcase the atelier's world-famous gem-setting expertise: a yellow gold version covered in snow-set diamonds punctuated by two rows of princess-cut sapphires, and a white gold model encrusted entirely with icy white diamonds.
A trip to London's V&A museum, which is hosting a blockbuster Cartier exhibition dedicated to the brand's bejewelled wonders, is a reminder of the marque's long history of crafting incredibly ornate jewellery watches. True to form, the house has this year released a number of gem-set horological marvels, including a yellow gold Baignoire Bangle covered in ‘polka dot’ diamonds, and a series of gem-set Tressage watches noted for their sculptural style inspired by braided material.
But Cartier is also associated with the Machine Age and the more restrained aesthetics of Art Deco style, at once industrial, adventurous and sleekly glamorous. These are themes harnessed by the house’s new Tank à Guichets from the exclusive Cartier Privé collection. Inspired by a vintage design first released in 1928, and worn by jazz legend Duke Ellington, this timepiece is a whimsical paradox: minimalist in its display of the time revealed through two tiny apertures, or guichets, yet unapologetically maximalist in form, with a bold metal sheath that nearly eclipses the dial beneath.
Equipped with a jumping hours complication, this unisex Tank will be offered as an open edition in platinum, yellow gold and rose gold. Additionally, a distinct platinum model featuring an alternate display will be released in a limited run of 200 pieces.
Chanel new J12 BLEU Caliber 12.1 38 MM Limited edition
(Image credit: Chanel new J12 BLEU Caliber 12.1 38 MM Limited edition)
Bleu de Chanel may be the name of the house's best-selling men's fragrance, but the colour navy is also dressing the maison's horological stars. The iconic J12 ceramic watch, first revealed in sleek black 25 years ago, has finally embraced a new shade: an intense, seductive midnight blue. It took Chanel's engineers five years to perfect the colour, as the true hue only emerges after the intense sintering process, in which ceramic and pigment particles are subjected to extreme temperatures, fusing them into a durable, scratch-resistant material.
Achieving the smooth, visually immersive matte finish was another challenge the research team overcame, ensuring the final result is nothing short of flawless. The J12 Bleu has already been turned into new haute joaillerie versions, including a Diamond Tourbillon and a skeletonised Bleu X-Ray iteration set with 196 baguette-cut blue sapphires. Like a piece of fashion couture, each watch is designed and assembled from start to finish under one roof, at Chanel's watchmaking workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
Patek Philippe's elegant Twenty~4 women's collection has long been synonymous with the chic sophistication of a gem-set dial. However, in a surprising departure, the watchmaker recently unveiled a new model crafted entirely from rose gold, without a single diamond, yet still delivering an impressive statement for the wrist.
This new release is the first in the collection to feature the perpetual calendar, one of Patek Philippe's most iconic Grand Complications. The brand introduced the world's first wristwatch with a perpetual calendar in 1925, and vintage Patek Philippe models featuring this complication are known to command astronomical prices at auction.
The perpetual calendar is pure watchmaking wizardry. It automatically recognises the differing lengths of months, 30 and 31 days, and even accounts for leap years. Remarkably, it only needs a correction once every 400 years. Super slim with either a satin-brushed silver-tone dial (apparently inspired by shantung silk) or a sunburst olive green dial, this new reference 7340/1R-010 is the perfect union of delicate design and mechanical mastery.
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