Black bezel, bronze details, leather strap. Rado cranks up the contrast.
More than a century after the company was founded, Rado remains synonymous with pioneering use of ceramic. The material is handsome, hypoallergenic, lightweight. It’s also tough as hell, and that means most Rados won’t score and scuff like a comparable steel watch. For those who like a little patina on their wrist, there’s the new HyperChrome Bronze Chrono.
Limited to 999 pieces, special-edition takes the classic 45mm HyperChrome design and introduces bronze elements—the chrono pushers, side inserts, and crown are all hewn from the stuff. The addition of rose gold hands and indexes emphasize the metallic sheen, creating a neat contrast with the high-tech black ceramic. It’ll only get more striking with age, as the bronze continues to wear-in around the rest of the scratch-resistant case.
Inside, there’s a 37-jewel ETA automatic chronograph movement, offering 42 hours power reserve, and Rado says it’s water resistant up to 100 meters. Unique engravings (on the side, “CuSn8,” the code for bronze alloy, plus requisite caseback numbering) and a vintage-look leather strap (instead of the standard HyperChrome bracelet) round out the look.
Like what you see? Keep an eye out, as the Bronze Chrono is set to debut at Baselworld next month. Expect a price tag around $5,000 when it reaches retailers later this year.
Skeletons from Bell & Ross and Girard Perregaux, a race-inspired TAG Heuer, and more.
(Photo: F.P. Journe / Holland & Holland)
F.P. Journe Chronomètre Holland & Holland
Catering to the world’s most discerning sportsmen, Holland & Holland has been manufacturing guns since 1835, in a store that conjures visions of time-honored country life, with its deeply ingrained British traditions and quirks. Joining forces with watchmaker F.P. Journe, they used two 100-year-old barrels from the Holland & Holland museum to create limited edition “browned” Damascus steel–patterned dials using traditional gun-making techniques. The two barrels were registered by hand in the company’s books. Barrel No. 1382, dating back to 1868, yielded 38 dials, while barrel No. 7183, dating to 1882, produced 28 dials.
Third-generation watchmaker Laurent Ferrier plainly states on his website his horological values: simplicity, precision, and pure, uncluttered beauty. These ideals are exhibited perfectly in his limited-edition porcelain-dial Galet Square watch, which houses an exclusive in-house movement developed and assembled in the Laurent Ferrier workshops. The gentle curves of the case bring to mind the shape of a pebble, the direct translation of the French word galet. Breguet numerals with a red 12 o’clock and gold-colored minute outer rail beautifully set off the glossy white dial—so difficult to produce that only 10 pieces will be made worldwide.
Bell & Ross is well known for its aviation association, with distinctive square-shaped watches resembling instruments taken directly from a cockpit control panel. Made of titanium, matte white ceramic, and rubber, contrasting red details provide excellent readability of the automatic skeletonized chronograph movement. The BR-X1 White Hawk looks precisely to business aircraft for its stylish inspiration, the white-and-gray materials taking their cues from private-jet interiors.
First launched in 1975, the sporty and versatile Laureato design from Girard Perregaux continues to evolve with the all-black Laureato Skeleton Ceramic. Brushed and satin finishes enhance the dark surface of the Laureato by intensifying the dramatic black PVD-treated openwork movement with exposed 18-k pink-gold details. The Laureato style is entirely adaptable, the stealth and contemporary look making this version appealing to a new generation.
TAG Heuer AUTAVIA Jack Heuer 85th Anniversary Limited Edition
2017 will go down as the year of the chronograph, especially for styles referencing the golden age of auto racing. The 42 mm polished-steel TAG Heuer reissue, a limited edition of 1,932 pieces, features the new Heuer-02 caliber proprietary chronograph and all the best features of the 1960s original redesigned by Jack Heuer himself. Jack says, “The story of the Autavia is a rich drama, full of twists and turns. It is one of my proudest achievements to have successfully converted chronographs into the Autavia wristwatch in 1962, so this collection has a special place in my heart.”
Inside, there’s a 37-jewel ETA automatic chronograph movement, offering 42 hours power reserve, and Rado says it’s water resistant up to 100 meters. Unique engravings (on the side, “CuSn8,” the code for bronze alloy, plus requisite caseback numbering) and a vintage-look leather strap (instead of the standard HyperChrome bracelet) round out the look.
