Building stately, capable 4×4 rigs for expedition remains Land Rover’s core competency.
But modern customers are more Moschino than Magellan. The new Range Rover SVAutobiography fills out the brand’s rugged backbone with next-level luxe accoutrements. It’s offered exclusively as a long-wheelbase model, guaranteeing limo-like legroom. Highlights include hot-stone-massaging rear seats, an onboard Champagne chiller, and push-button-operated electronic doors.
The El Primero Range Rover Special Edition strikes a similar balance between style and utility, putting Zenith’s venerated high-beat chronograph movement inside a unique 42 mm ceramised aluminum case with a perforated leather strap. For making an entrance at far-flung locales, nothing else comes close.
Home timepieces don’t have to be sleepy. These contemporary table clock designs from Patek Philippe, Cartier, Panerai, and others will tempt collectors.
By Kareem Rashed
Dating back to the Renaissance era, clocks have long been a canvas for watchmakers’ creativity. Thanks to their generous surface area, clocks afford watchmakers the ability to flaunt their handicraft skills, from intricate engravings to elaborate enamel paintings. “During the 1920s, clocks from great jewelers and watchmakers surpassed mere mechanics and became outstanding works of art,” says Lee Siegelson, an esteemed dealer of estate jewelry and objects whose collection includes several museum-worthy art deco clocks. “The makers of these clocks designed increasingly complex and ingenious creations to continually outdo themselves and each other.”
Part of the allure of timepieces lies in their balance between form and function: they aren’t purely decorative, yet are more than just machinery. A great watch doesn’t simply tell the time—it has brains and beauty in equal measure. In that sense, table clocks are the ultimate symbol of the watchmaker’s talent: utilitarian mechanics housed within an artful package. So, while there is no shortage of options for telling the time today, there still isn’t anything that does the job quite as attractively as an exquisitely designed table clock.
Although table clocks may not be as ubiquitous as they once were, the range available today is as diverse, and desirable, as ever. Many of the most storied watch brands create a select few clocks annually that are prime examples of their watchmaking virtuosity—pure catnip for connoisseurs. More than just beautiful objets, these clocks celebrate the enduring appeal of craftsmanship in the face of an increasingly digitized world.
PATEK PHILIPPE
Patek Philippe has a rich heritage of creating exceptional clocks, including one gifted to J.F.K. in 1963 by the people of West Berlin depicting the time in Moscow, Washington, D.C., and Berlin. Their latest is “The Hour Circle,” a unique Bauhaus-inspired design that is meant to be viewed from above. The clock’s surface is a study in the art of enamel, with inqué and guilloché designs coated in a vibrant transparent blue.
CARTIER
Cartier’s annual high-jewelry collections showcase the breadth of their atelier’s technical abilities and always include a select number of one-of-a-kind clocks. This piece, in white gold, agate, onyx, turquoise, and diamonds, features a dial made of faceted amethyst. The mystery clock setting, which Cartier has championed since the 1920s, utilizes hour and minute hands affixed to clear crystal disks connected to a movement in the clock’s base, giving the illusion that the hands are floating within the dial.
BOUCHERON
The art deco era was arguably the table clock’s heyday, with numerous brands upping the design ante to create clocks on par with the fashions of the day. This piece, from the collection of Lee Siegelson, was designed for Boucheron in 1929 by Verger Frères, a leading clock manufacturer, and features a movement by Vacheron Constantin. Constructed at the same time as the Chrysler Building, the clock’s design is quintessential deco, with graphic, architectural lines rendered in nephrite, agate, gold, enamel, and coral.
PANERAI
For its first-ever table clock, Panerai scaled its iconic Radiomir dial up to 65 mm and encased it in a glass sphere. As with all of Panerai’s watches, the dial features luminous indices and an engraved logo. An open back, also topped with convex glass, allows a magnified view of the P.5000 caliber at work inside. The movement is hand-wound using the oversize polished-steel crown at the clock’s top and has a power reserve of eight days.
CHANEL
A striking monolith of polished obsidian provides the backdrop for this clock’s elaborate dial, embellished with three-dimensional carved mother-of-pearl and sculpted gold. The floral motif recalls the lacquered chinoiserie screens that Coco Chanel collected in her famed Paris apartment. An exhibition back reveals the openwork movement, which is wound with a gold key that is, naturally, studded with diamonds.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN
Part of a series of 12 clocks released to commemorate the brand’s 250th anniversary, this one-of-a-kind piece is capped with an arch of black tourmaline, highlighting the beauty of the stone’s natural inclusions. The transparent cabinet offers a full view of the constant-force, manually wound caliber 9260, which boasts an impressive 30-day power reserve. In a display of the house’s decorative savoir-faire, the Roman numerals and silver guilloché feet are coated with precious Grand Feu enamel, a notoriously difficult material.
L’EPÉE 1839
L’Epée has been solely dedicated to crafting exceptional clocks since 1839, even producing wall clocks for ultra-luxe Concorde jets—the only timepieces ever to grace a civilian plane. Their Destination Moon clock draws on the Space Race craze of the 1960s, with a body that unmistakably resembles a toy rocket. The winding crown is at the rocket’s base, leading into a mainspring barrel cleverly disguised as a ladder, complete with a tiny silver astronaut. The time is displayed via two rotating discs towards the rocket’s top, the one concession to reality in this whimsical design.
Contemplating where to jet off to for an invigorating ski vacation this winter? From the French Alps to a former host of the Winter Olympics in Japan, some of the world’s most luxurious ski resorts are unveiling large-scale renovations and brand-new amenities. Michelin-starred cuisine? Heli-safaris? It’s all here, and we’ve got the lowdown on the exciting offerings worth packing your snow gear and traveling for.
Megève, France
Tucked away in the southwest of France under the shadow of Mont Blanc, this under-the-radar ski resort has been favored by the rich and famous since the 1920s. The opening of the 55-room Four Seasons Megève this month—a collaboration with Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, whose aristocratic family was among the village’s original admirers—is sure to put it on the map. If the town’s antique painted wagons are too quaint for your taste, take the resort’s helicopter for a spin. The Ski Concierge is tasked with finding the best powder each day, whether it’s in nearby Chamonix, Courchevel, or Val d’Isère. The sunset return ride will have you back in time for après-ski at the new home for the Rothschilds’ two-Michelin-starred Le 1920.
East Coasters needn’t look far for a top-notch ski destination. A 75-minute flight from New York will get you to Burlington, just an hour west of this quaint mountain town, which means you can leave after work on Friday and arrive in time for dinner. Check into the Stowe Mountain Lodge and book a treatment at its luxurious 2,100 square-foot spa or snatch up one of the condo-style ski-in/ski-out Club Residences. New perks include a $90 million adventure center complete with a rock wall at the base of the mountain, a posh speakeasy-style pub, gourmet dining, members-only club, and retail by Ralph Lauren.
Rooms from $219 per night to $699 on holiday and peak weekends; sprucepeak.com
(Photo: Hoshina Resorts)
Nagano, Japan
Powder hounds wax poetic about Nagano in winter, and, at just three hours by train from Tokyo, it’s easy to combine an urban excursion with a ski getaway for a yin-yang balance of city and country. Nestled in the gateway to the Japanese Alps, the intimate 48-room KAI Alps by Hoshino Resorts—a collection of ryokans founded in 1914—reopens this month after a nearly two-year renovation. Traditional, yet clean-lined and modern, the resort exudes a Zen vibe. After a morning on the slopes of the Hakuba Valley, which hosted the 1998 Nagano Olympics, bliss out at the onsen, fed by natural hot springs, and indulge in a classic kaiseki meal.
Rooms from 23,000 JPY/ (approx. $200) per night, which includes two meals, taxes, and service charges; kai-ryokan.jp
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen loyalists are buzzing about beloved five-star hotel the Little Nell’s renovation, completed this summer. Alexandra Champalimaud—the creative force behind New York’s Carlyle and Plaza Hotels, among others—brought her signature classic-meets-modern style to the revamp. “The Little Nell’s new design recalls in texture, tone, and attitude Aspen’s soul and its distinctiveness as a silver-mining town,” she said. “The particular realness of the place was a grounding quality that we respected and integrated into our work.” Also new this season: a partnership with Sentient Jet, expanded adventure programming, a guest-chef dinner series at Element 47, and the Little Nell Wine Club, which will grant members event invitations, benefits on purchases, and a place to store your stash of Dom Pérignon.
Calling all gourmands! Why not brush up on your Italian and join well-to-do Milanese and Romans for an epicurean adventure in the Dolomites this winter? Check into the historic Cristallo—family-run since 1901—which recently joined the Luxury Collection. Having hosted the Winter Olympics, Hollywood film crews, and such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, this iconic property is set to reveal a top-to-bottom renovation this month. The hotel may not be directly on the slopes, but it’s hard to complain when après-ski means an aperitivo with panoramic views of northern Italy’s snowy peaks and dinner is local cheese and house-made pasta served in a cozy wood-paneled room heated by an antique majolica stove. Let the Barolo flow!