Style
23 April 2022
Watches & Wonders 2022, complications for everyone
At Watches & Wonders, haute horlogerie came up with more contemporary designs and creative twists sometimes tinged with humor and poetry. All designed to challenge, amuse, and inspire, and ultimately lure new customers as yet uninitiated into the world of complications.
By Sandrine Merle.
“J12 Tourbillon Diamond Caliber 5”, Chanel
Diamond lovers, the new Chanel tourbillon is for you! The device that counteracts the negative effects of the Earth’s gravity on the watch’s operation is illuminated by a beautiful solitaire positioned right in the center. Beyond the sheer technical prowess, it’s fascinating to observe the precious stone turning on itself as the seconds tick by, thus revealing all its facets. What’s more, there is a beautiful lion’s head on the back.
“Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Purple Sapphire”, Hublot
The “Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Purple Sapphire” combines a complication with a bezel and case made entirely of sapphire crystal. A sapphire crystal of an original color, translucent purple, which transforms this hypertrophied watch: it is extremely light and airy, almost immaterial. It’s as if you were wearing the tourbillon next to the skin. A model with a look in tune with the times and with the NFT era in which the brand is an active participant.
“Rendez-Vous Étoile Filante”, Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre engineers have invented a complication that’s the stuff of dreams… The obsession with precision combined with such randomness has given birth to a shooting star activated by the movements of the wrist: it crosses the night-blue aventurine dial 4 to 6 times an hour but it’s impossible to know exactly at what moment… Such is the magic of the shooting star! Enough to enthuse the superstitious, especially since they can make it appear by turning the crown several times.
“L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire”, Chopard
High-flying mechanics that have given rise to no less than 7 patents. In summary, the minute repeater complication, which rings the hours and minutes, is entirely made of sapphire crystal, a better sound propagator than traditional gold. When the gong, machined in one piece from a block of sapphire crystal with the watch crystal, is struck by the hammer, it’s not the only part that vibrates The infinitely crystalline tinkling is so unique that the Capuçon brothers claim to have had shivers down their spines… Take note if you have perfect hearing!
“Masse Mystérieuse”, Cartier
A watch for magicians! The hands and the movement appear almost weightless, as if suspended in the void. Behind this illusion lies a highly technical “trick” that required 8 years of development: the combination of an original movement, the caliber 9801 MC (patented) concentrated in the skeletonized oscillating weight in the shape of a semi-circle. The complication is a spectacle in its own right. This principle has existed in Cartier’s clocks since the 1910s, inspired by the invention of the famous illusionist Robert-Houdin.
“Arceau le Temps Voyageur”, Hermès
On this new Arceau, a dial with indexes and hands gravitates in a dial with city names representing the different time zones. Such fun! Thanks to a push button, the first city is positioned in front of the time zone for which it displays the time. Paris is represented by “24, Faubourg”, the address of Hermès’ flagship boutique in Paris… The back of the dial features a whimsical map of the world by graphic artist Jérôme Colliard, whose imaginary continents bear names inspired by the equestrian world. The mischievousness of the Hermès in all its splendor.
“Lady Arpels Cherry Blossom Hours”, Van Cleef & Arpels
On its watches, Van Cleef & Arpels, whose “Poetic Complications” collection was launched in 2006, keeps replacing hands and indexes with birds, fairies, planets and other figures gracing the dial. With this one, the poets among you can tell the time by counting the number of open flowers! The minutes are on the side of the case. It was inspired by Carl Von Linné’s Flower Clock: in the 19th century, this Swedish botanist imagined a garden plan based on plants organized according to the hours at which their corollas opened. Stunning.
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