CLOCK OUT

What’s ticking in haute horologie? Tim Barber finds out

MID-CENTURY MODERN

Having revamped its Navitimer aviation range earlier this year, Breitling now tackles another long-term favourite, the SuperOcean dive watch.

This first appeared in the 1960s, and Breitling has gone back to the boldly handsome original look (luminous blocks for the hours, a squaretipped minutes hand), though in some very modern colourways. Dials in turquoise, deep green or bright orange are included across a range of sizes and straps – though a bronze-cased option (a first for Breitling) with racing green is the stand-out. From £2,840. breitling.com

STARRY EYED

After several years’ absence, MB&F, the firm that combines the horological technique of Switzerland’s finest with the conceptual imagination of a sci-fi auteur, is again available in the UK, at the London flagship of luxury retailer Watches of Switzerland. The brand’s six-figure ‘kinetic sculptures that happen to tell the time’ (in the words of founder Max Büsser), like the newly announced LM Split Escapement Evo, now occupy their own mini-boutique within the Regent Street showroom, joining the likes of Rolex and Patek Philippe. watches-ofswitzerland.co.uk

ART CROWD

Rolex has announced the line-up for its 2023-2024 Arts Programme, in which five of the world’s most renowned artists will each mentor an outstanding emerging talent. These include British author Bernardine Evaristo, who has selected Ghanaian writer Ayesha Harruna Attah as her protégée. Rolex established its mentoring programme in 2002 to aid the transmission of artistic knowledge and craft from one generation to the next. rolex.com

BLUE MOOD

Audemars Piguet’s ceramic-cased Royal Oak perpetual calendars are among the brand’s rarest and most soughtafter watches. Thus far, they’ve only come in black or white ceramic (sported by Ed Sheeran, Anthony Joshua and John Mayer), but a new electric blue version leaves those pieces in the shade. The remarkable surface finishing – exceedingly hard to achieve on scratch-proof ceramic –is really to the fore, while the blend of haute horlogerie grandeur and vivacious sportiness is truly decadent. Expected waiting lists will lengthen as the brand is popularised by Bill Prince’s new book, Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon, (Assouline, £195) which celebrates this remarkable design by putting it into the context of the art, culture and famous owners of its 50-year era. £POA, audemarspiguet.com

MIRROR, MIRROR

Bulgari’s current theme is ‘Unexpected Wonders’ and this ultraminimal collaboration with Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima is a surprise after recent ornate models. Known for clean lines and modernist geometry, Sejima was bound to empathise with the ultra-slim Octo Finissimo Automatic’s sleek architectural form, to which she’s applied true wonder with a completely mirrorfinished surface. There are 360 pieces available. £12,100, bulgari.com

BACK TO BLACK

Black is back in the watch world. In Dior’s small-but-perfectly-formed La D de Dior Black Ultramatte, the dial is stripped back to a dark matte surface with three black diamonds, while the case is textured with an arresting satine pattern (from £3,500, dior.com). Rather more glossy is Girard-Perregaux’s latest Laureato, with a dial of hand-cut onyx that contrasts majestically with a case of highly finished rose gold (£42,000, girard-perregaux.com).

BUCKLE UP

With their respective ‘Carrera’ icons and backstories carved out amid the dust and glamour of motor racing’s golden age, TAG Heuer’s partnership with Porsche seems written in the stars. Now it has a watch that lives up to it, celebrating the much-loved 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 – with the ‘Carrera’ script striping the car’s body. The stripe is recreated on the case flank of this elegant retro chronograph, available in steel with blue details (£6,100, limited to 500) or rose gold with scarlet details (£19,550, limited to 250), and will be catnip to Porsche collectors and fans. tagheuer.com

TWO DECADES ON

Congratulations to Linde Werdelin, the Swiss-made, Danish-based independent brand founded by Jorn Werdelin and Morten Linde, which is celebrating its 20th birthday with a watch that sums up the brand’s bold design, rugged functionality and deep-rooted whimsy. The case of the all-black Oktopus Moon 3DTP Black Ink, limited to 20 pieces, is made of 3D Thin Ply Carbon, an ultra-tough, lightweight polymer, while its dial is dominated by the brand’s unique moon phase display. £19,200, lindewerdelin.com

THE ULTIMATE BOY’S TOY

From the brand made famous by

Italian World War II commandos and the patronage of Sly Stallone,

Panerai’s new take on the idea of the ultimate tough-guy timepiece. Inspired by modern day Special Forces, this hulking chronograph has a 47mm case in blackcoated titanium, a blue ceramic bezel, crosshair sub-dials and a distinctly tactical air. Its ‘time to target’ function – a variation on the yachttimer complication – allows you to count down to a given event. Tick, tick… boom? Panerai Submersible Forze Speciali £25,500. panerai.com

SCORING RUNS

Watch brands don’t often get involved with cricket, despite the game’s huge global footprint.

Credit, then, to Oris, which this summer became the official timekeeper at Lord’s. That put the brand’s logo squarely on the Mound Stand clocktower, while Test Match centurions will have their pick of

Oris watches. Maybe the cricket pitchcoloured, brand new Aquis Date Calibre 400, with the brand’s five-day in-house movement? £3,200, oris.ch

VINTAGE INSPIRATION

Two new models make a strong case for golden oldie watches. Zenith’s

Defy Revival A3642 recreates the 1969 watch that first carried the ‘Defy’ name, with 250 editions in steel, powered by its modern Elite 670 automatic movement. (£5,900, zenith-watches.com). Doxa, meanwhile, goes back another year to a watch equally bold and even more rugged: the Doxa Army, a diving watch made for Swiss military use. Available in steel with two bezel variations: black ceramic, or green ceramic with bronze grip. (Rubber strap, £2,070. doxawatches.com)

BETWEEN THE LINES

Richard Mille’s new 1.75mm thick RM UP-01

Ferrari model is a sight to behold. Okay, it’s tough to read – the slimness necessitates a tiny dial –and you have to stick a tool into sockets on its surface to wind and set it. But it’s an engineering marvel, and a more-than-appropriate setting for the logo of Richard

Mille’s partner, Ferrari.

There’ll be 150 watches made, each almost $2 million. richardmille.com

LONDON NEW BOND STREET