TREnDs

OFF THE bEaTEn TRack

Dan Diaconu

Pack up your bags. Escape from everyday life to a secluded house with a view overlooking the sea, far from mass tourism. Head off to discover a country, a region, or simply a town. Explore the deep blue sea; let yourself be carried away by the waves even if mermaids don't exist. Following routes by land or sea offers the opportunity to maintain a sense of curiosity. A Tuareg proverb states that "travelling is going from oneself to oneself by way of others". Every journey makes some people disoriented, while enabling others to find their bearings. Astonishment is the effect brought about upon discovering the new GMTMaster II. Is it due to the presence of the bidirectional rotating bezel insert, black and green, in Cerachrom ceramic? Rolex mastered it perfectly as of 2014 when

creating this two-tone timepiece. Could it be its dial providing an incomparable reading of the time data? The Geneva manufacturer excels in refined and highly legible compositions and has done so for decades. What is surprising is without a doubt the positioning of the crown and the date. For the first time, these two functions are placed on the left side of the metal case. This originality in no way detracts from its ability to comfortably manage the display of two time zones.

The 3285 automatic calibre, certified

Superlative Chronometer, built into the 40 mm-diameter steel case, ensures precision timekeeping worldwide by orchestrating the pair of hands dedicated to local and reference time. Surprises keep our senses alert. Sometimes our brain can play tricks on us. For just a few seconds, benign cognitive disorders can disrupt our sense

THERE aRE nO nUmbERs PROViDing anY cLUE TO THE FacT THaT wE aRE inDEED EncOUnTERing a TRaVEL waTcH.

THE TOnDa PF gmT RaTTRaPanTE insPiREs asTOnisHmEnT anD REEncHanTs THE PLEasURE OF DiscOVERY.

of certainty. Watchmaking holds the gift of recreating them with the help of heuristic know-how. Parmigiani Fleurier sets our minds abuzz. On the magnificent blue dial adorned with a very pure "Barley Grain" guilloche pattern of the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, only two perforated rhodium-plated gold hands are visible. There are no numbers, no graduated bezels, or any other element providing a clue to the fact that we are indeed encountering a travel watch. As director Christopher Nolan reminds us in his film The Prestige, every sleight of hand is made up of three acts. "The first is known as the promise: the magician presents you with something ordinary. The second is referred to as the trick: the magician uses this ordinary thing to accomplish something extraordinary. However, you can't bring yourself to applaud yet, because making something disappear is not good enough, you have to make it reappear. And so, you try to find the secret, without being able to because, of course, you are not watching carefully. You don't really want to know... You prefer to be mystified." The manufacturer succeeds in this illusion with maestria. One press on the pink gold push-button discreetly housed in the crown? A further hand machined from the same precious metal appears. Once back in one's own country, the secondary time-zone display is no longer necessary. Another push on the button and the two hour hands are once again superimposed. Globe-trotters in pursuit of aestheticism are ecstatic. They are again when they contemplate the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur watch. Since 1978, the Parisian brand

never ceases to enchant watchmaking. Its poetic vision takes you on a journey to the very edge of the imagination. This year's latest addition carries on this tradition by offering a novel alternative to the GMT function. Its dial sets the tone. It assumes the features of a dreamlike equestrian world map with multiple finishes designed by French graphic artist Jérôme Colliard and produced for the 2016 Saut Hermès Paris. An offcentre circle enables local time to be read off. This satellite positions itself on one of the 24 time zones by means of the push-button at 9 o'clock. Each press of the button advances the hour hand in unison. Among the reference cities, 24 FBG appears in place of the French capital in a nod to the saddler's historic address. To remind you where you originated, a large window at 12 o'clock displays the time of your home country. Available in 38 and 41 mm, in a monochrome blue or anthracite colour scheme, this timepiece can be worn on all wrists to straddle the world, like the times in which we live.

Change your point of view. Find a new angle. This is also what Patek Philippe suggests with the reference 5231G featuring a self-winding movement equipped with the world time complication. The composition is well known. Louis Cottier imagined it in the 1930s. For this variation positioned within a white gold case measuring 38.5 mm in diameter, the brand reminds us that the earth's centre of gravity is constantly shifting. The geocentric perception of Europe is a thing of the past. Thus, at the heart of its dial, a representation of South-East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific Ocean comes to life in colour using the delicate technique of Grand Feu cloisonné

wHETHER TRaDiTiOnaL OR cREaTiVE, cHEcking TimE zOnEs cOnsTiTUTEs a PassPORT TO ELsEwHERE.

© Hermès-Joel Von Allmen / Parmigiani Fleurier / Patek Philippe / Rolex / Tudor enamel. Excellent craftsmanship continually reinvents the world.

More classical without being too formal, the Black Bay Pro unveiled this year by Tudor captivates thanks to its dimensions. Its 39mm-diameter steel case combined with a fixed graduated bezel reveals a tool Watch personality that inspires one to take it on a journey across every continent. Its dual timezone obtained thanks to the "Snowflake" type hands, including a 24-hour hand, and the presence of an Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) certified calibre with a 70-hour power reserve, all contribute to making this model particularly attractive. To enhance legibility, the markers are machined in one-piece luminous ceramic. "Details are not simply details. They create the design." More than ever, the philosophy of the designer Charles Eames (19071978) takes on its full meaning with the 2022 vintage travel watches. Watchmakers are constantly expanding the boundaries.