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(^17) ULYSSE NARDIN
Freak X
From being one of the most
unconventional Swiss watches of
the decade to becoming the brand’s
flagship product, Ulysse Nardin’s
Freak has come a long way. It’s as
much of a mechanical innovator
as it is a visual one, thanks to
being one of the first watches to
use silicon movements. The 2019
Freak X retains the trademark
offbeat appearance, with that giant
hour and minute hand, as well as
conventional features such as a
crown (conspicuously missing from
the Freak line so far). It also debuts
a new movement using a lighter
silicon balance wheel, continuing to
fly the innovation flag.
(^18) RICHARD MILLE
RM 16-01 Automatic Citron
Richard Mille chose to bow out
from SIHH with a tongue-in-cheek
jab at the overly serious business
of luxury watchmaking through its
candy-themed Bonbon collection.
Meant to invoke sheer nostalgic
joy from the goodness of retro
confectionery, this is a swirl of
primary colours, and as much
about instant gratification as the
saccharine candies it represents.
(^19) ZENITH
Defy Inventor
The Defy Inventor was created
to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the El Primero,
a major technical triumph for
movement maestro Zenith that
debuted in 1969, and featured the
world’s highest-frequency self-
winding chronograph movement.
The newer watch gets a “Zenith
Oscillator” – a high-frequency,
ultra-thin silicon movement that
can be seen pulsating through
the skeletal dial. That stardust-
sprinkled bezel meanwhile is
made of a material Zenith calls
Aeronith: an aluminium foam-
based substance that’s lighter than
titanium, and stunning to behold.
(^20) BREGUET
Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat
Squelette 5395
As one of the pioneers of ultra-
thin movements, Breguet has
proved time and again that
creating ornate and slender
skeletonised movements is
a specialised art form only a
few can master. The Classique
Tourbillon demonstrates this
perfectly, with a solid gold
325-component movement
(rhodium-coated in the platinum
version). Fifty per cent of the
watch’s material has actually
been removed, to maintain
the transparency of the dial,
although traditional Breguet
flourishes like the guilloche
engravings remain. Available
in a pink gold or platinum case,
it makes it to the horological
hall of fame on the back of its
extraordinarily good looks.
(^21) GIRARD PERREGAUX
Bridges Cosmos
An astronomically inspired
timepiece is always a welcome
sight. And this year, the funkiest
comes from the house of Girard-
Perregaux. The Bridges Cosmos
gets two fully formed 3-D globes:
One depicts all the major Zodiac
constellations (rotating every 24
hours), while the other gets a
24-hour scale placed around the
equatorial belt that works as a
second time zone indicator. This
is a captivating world timer with
an inky blue and silver colour
scheme that, when paired with a
blasted titanium case, enhances its
theatrical effect considerably.
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