12 Luxury Watches That Are Beautifully Complicated | Verve Magazine
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Luxury & Brands
November 04, 2016

12 Luxury Watches That Are Beautifully Complicated

Text by Simone Louis

These timepieces incorporating a chronograph, perpetual calendar and minute repeater, push the boundaries of watchmaking

Carl F. Bucherer

With a dial that boasts a perpetual calendar date display, and day of the week, month and leap year at 9 o’clock, and moon phase at 3 o’clock — none of which require correction — the Manero ChronoPerpetual is complex yet convenient. Also featuring a flyback chronograph, the watch is adorned with a gorgeous 18-carat rose-gold case and hand-stitched Louisiana alligator leather strap.

A. Lange & Söhne

Refined and on trend, the Grand Complication is technically immaculate and a rare horological work of art. The watch flawlessly incorporates lavishly finished parts and brings to life the most elaborate complications — like the chiming mechanism with grand and small strike, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph with minute counter and flying seconds as well as a perpetual calendar with moon phase display.

Breitling

The world’s first wristwatch with a built-in Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), Emergency can quite literally save your life. The surprisingly light futuristic gem, equipped with a dual frequency transmitter compliant with the specifications of the Cospas-Sarsat international satellite alert system, is intended for a wide range of users in a variety of fields including aviation, navigation, climbing, trekking, exploration and extreme sports.

Bovet

An honest tribute to the art and fine craft of watchmaking, the Amadeo Fleurier Tourbillon Virtuoso III is a tourbillon with a five-day power reserve and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date. Additionally, it features reverse hand-fitting so that it can appear as a simple two-hand, hours and minutes watch and also be reversed to view all the perpetual calendar information at a glance.

Vacheron Constantin

Inspired by the precision clocks used to adjust watches since the 17th century, the Maître Cabinotier Perpetual Calendar Regulator is distinguished by its regulator-type display and hand-guilloche dial. Besides its perpetual calendar, the timepiece indicates the day of the week, month, date, leap years and moon phases within a pink-gold case topped by a concave bezel.

Officine Panerai

The Luminor 1950 Equation of Time Tourbillon Titanio – 50mm L’Astronomo is the brand’s fittingly innovative tribute to the genius of Galileo Galilei. Moreover, its tourbillon with its equation of time, indication of sunrise and sunset times for the city chosen by the purchaser and depiction of the night sky of the same city on the back plate make it the brand’s most technically sophisticated wristwatch.

Audemars Piguet

Creating a fusion of the brand’s cutting-edge visions and traditionally rich areas of technical expertise, the Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie brings with it unprecedented acoustic performance, remarkably refined sound quality and the clear, melodic tone of traditional pocket-watches. Presented in a super-light titanium case, it features a tourbillon and a minute repeater on two gongs, as well as a chronograph with central sweep-seconds hand and a 30-minute counter.

IWC

Having succeeded in combining solar time with sidereal time in a single watch, the brand presents its most complicated watch ever — Portugieser Sidérale Scafusia. A stunning depiction of the night sky that you can wear, it also boasts astrological complications, which are most fascinating for serious collectors and buyers.

Cartier

With 578 components and a 5.49mm-thick self-winding mechanical movement, the Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication brings together a perpetual calendar, minute repeater and flying tourbillon in an elegant platinum case. The model plays with transparency, thanks to an openwork dial in 18-carat gold and a dexterously skeletonised movement.

Jaeger Lecoultre

Powered by the Calibre 182 movement, the Hybris Mechanica Grande Sonnerie is housed in an 18-carat white-gold case with an openworked dial providing a chance to observe the Grande Sonnerie hammers in action. It also features two more complications: a 73-part tourbillon fitted on the back of the movement and a perpetual calendar that indicates the date with a retrograde hand.

Jaquet Droz

A playful yet impressive example of innovation, Charming Bird features a singing bird automaton movement, a hand-winding mechanical movement and a push-button automaton triggering mechanism in addition to the brand’s revival of 18th-century miniature painting, sculpture and engraving. Its rolled-edge handmade alligator leather strap is finished with black alligator leather lining and an 18-carat white-gold folding clasp.

Baume Et Mercier

A flyback chronograph is enhanced by a tachymeter, telemeter and date function in the Capeland 10006. Its decidedly vintage 44mm pebble-shaped case beautifully balances the steel timepiece, and the off-white dial displays two counters along with a date-display aperture.

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