I like
interesting watches, mostly mid- to high-end Swiss watches. But when it comes
to actual buying, all I can afford is watches from regular, mass-market brands.
Companies like Casio, Seiko, Citizen and Timex. I have my reservations about
Chinese watch brands, though some of them seem to be doing good work these
days, producing great-looking watches with high levels of fit-and-finish, at
very reasonable prices. Some names that come to mind are San Martin, Addiesdive,
Boderry and Baltani. There’s also Pagani Design, though most of their watches
are homages to some very well-known Swiss watches. And for those who are
willing to pay more – much, much more – there’s CIGA Design and Behrens, whose
watches cost about the same as some Omega or Rolex watches! In any case, some Chinese
watch manufacturers are, today, producing watches that are quite spectacular. Watches
that, say, a Titan probably can’t even dream of making today. But I’m not too
sure if I’d actually want to wear any of those. I mean, I’d happily choose a
bowl of Schezwan chicken fried rice (with some chicken chilli on the side) over
raclette and Älplermagronen, but when it comes to watches, Swiss is the way to
go.
So, if cost was not a limiting factor, which watches would I get? Well, the mind
tends to wander all over the place when I think about that. I quite enjoy going
to watch manufacturers’ websites, browsing through their collections and
daydreaming. Almost all the watches that I like are far, far beyond my reach.
But one can still dream, right? I mean, even if you can only buy a Maruti Alto,
there’s nothing stopping you from logging on to the Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW,
Porsche, Bentley or Rolls-Royce website, going to the car configurator section
and spending an hour or two there, speccing out your dream car exactly the way
you want. It can be quite satisfying even if the whole thing ends right after
you’ve finished configuring ‘your’ car, and you don’t actually ever buy it.
What if I did have enough money to buy whatever watch I wanted? What watches
would I buy then? What watches would go into my imaginary 10-watch collection? In
no particular order of preference, these are the 10 that I’d probably get.
Vacheron Constantin Malte Manual-Winding
Vacheron Constantin is one of my most favourite watch brands. Their watches
are well made and elegant and often look quite sophisticated. The Malte, with
its tonneau-style 42x36.7mm case in 18-carat rose gold, brown leather strap,
and manual-winding mechanical movement with 65-hour power reserve, is for me one
of their best. It’s priced at 28,100 Swiss francs (Rs 27.25 lakh) but that’s
okay since this is just a ‘dream watches’ wishlist.
Breguet Tradition Chronographe 7077
Breguet, a 250-year old Swiss watch company, makes some excellent watches and my pick from their line-up is the Tradition Chronographe 7077, which comes with a 44mm white gold case and Calibre 580DR manual-winding mechanical movement with a power reserve of 55 hours. This watch features two independent gear trains (one for the hours and minutes, the other for the chronograph), both of which are on full display – mechanical timekeeping at its theatrical best. At Rs 86.22 lakh, it’s horrifyingly expensive. Look, but don’t touch…
Well, yes, this is perhaps the most ‘predictable’ watch on this list but I can’t help it, I love the Santos de Cartier. The one you see here is the medium model, with Cartier’s 1847MC automatic winding mechanical movement. Steel bracelet, 35.1mm steel case, 100mm water resistance and a price tag of Rs 6.75 lakh, which means buying one might still be a realistic prospect. Not today, but someday maybe. The shape of its case, the perfect proportions, the Roman numerals, the blue dial, the blue spinel embedded in the crown… the whole thing just comes together so well. Horological perfection, as it were.
Franck Muller makes some wonderfully wild, whacky watches but the Curvex CX is one of the company’s more sensible, conventionally good-looking watches, and this is the one I currently like the most. The tonneau-style case with its beautiful rose gold finish, Guilloché dial, that font for the numbers on the dial, which is unique to Franck Muller, the perfect proportions… this is what Swiss watchmaking is all about. At Rs 20.52 lakh, the Curvex CX certainly isn’t inexpensive. But it looks so damn good, I’d still buy anyway. If I ever had that kind of money, that is.
Favre Leuba used to be a renowned name in the Swiss watchmaking industry but went through a challenging phase after cheap-and-cheerful quartz watches came along in the late-1960s/early-1970s. The company is currently owned by India’s own Titan (which bought Favre Leuba in 2011) and their Chief Tourbillon is one of my favourite watches. I like the proportions of the 41mm tonneau-shaped stainless steel case, which houses FL’s first tourbillon movement (with a 60-hour power reserve) and offers 100m water resistance. The dial features an interesting pattern comprised of sunburst and matte triangles, while a three-link integrated steel bracelet completes the package. A bit pricey at Rs 20 lakh, but still very cool nevertheless.
The newest watch in Patek’s lofty lineup, the Cubitus hasn’t been very well received in general, which is a bit surprising. The watch looks good to me. Five versions are available and I’d take this one, with its 40mm case in white gold, and blue dial with a horizontally embossed pattern. Its self-winding mechanical movement (26-330 S C/434 Calibre) should be one of the best in the world, even though the 35-45 hour power reserve isn’t very impressive. At Rs 65 lakh, the Cubitus costs about the same as a new Mercedes-Benz C-Class saloon but Patek Philippe customers probably anyway only ride in Rolls-Royce or Bentley cars.
The Reverso is undoubtedly one of the coolest watches in the world and of the dozen or more models available, this limited-edition Reverso Tribute Enamel Shahnameh is my favourite. The 45mm white gold case, appliqued hour-markers on a green, Guilloché enamel dial, alligator leather strap and manual winding mechanical movement (JLC Calibre 822) with 42-hour power reserve are all good, and even the 3 bar (30m) water resistance is just fine, because who would ever wear their JLC Reverso in the bath?!
Flip that green enamel dial and on the other side there’s a miniature painting of a hunting scene, with a bunch of horses racing away in every direction. ‘Bursting with colour, this scene is taken from the Book of Kings (Shahnameh in Persian), an epic and mythical tale written in the 10th century by the poet Firdausi,’ says JLC. This is a limited-edition watch and only pieces will be produced, each priced at US$142,000 (Rs 1.20 crore). Then again, what is life without an impossible dream…
Yes, there’s already one other Vacheron Constantin on this list, but since this is my list, I can damn well put another VC on it if I want. Especially since I’m not exactly buying one anytime soon. I like the simplicity of the VC Patrimony, with its 40mm 18K yellow gold case, gold-coloured dial with concentric circles etched in it, and brown calfskin leather strap. The watch features VC’s in-house self-winding mechanical movement (Calibre 2450 Q6/3) that provides a 40-hour power reserve. Prices are not provided on the official VC website but other Patrimony models, which are likely to be similarly priced, are listed at around Rs 23 lakh, on other watch retail websites. Is that a bit too much? Maybe. But I still love this watch.
The Steve McQueen connection (he wore an earlier edition of this watch in the movie Le Mans, in 1969) makes it extra-cool but even if that connection hadn’t been there, the Tag Heuer Monaco, with its Calibre 11 automatic movement, which offers a 40-hour power reserve, would still have been very desirable on its own merits alone. The 39mm rectangular case, blue dial with silver sub-dials for chronograph minutes and hours, date window at six o’clock and a red hand for minutes all come together to make the Monaco look properly racy. And at US$8,100 (Rs 6.9 lakh), it’s expensive but not so expensive that one can’t even dream of owning one someday.
Frederique
Constant Carree Heart Beat Automatic
With its rectangular, 42mm stainless steel case in rose gold, applied indicies,
silver dial with an interesting embossed design and deep brown calf leather
strap, the Frederique Constant Carree Heart Beat Automatic is the perfect watch
for those who like rectangular-shaped watches. It’s powered by FC’s Calibre FC-311
automatic movement that offers a 38-hour power reserve and the opening at twelve
o’clock on the dial lets one see the beating heart of this watch. Priced at
1,695 Swiss Francs (Rs 1.69 lakh), this is the most affordable watch on this
list and yet it’s a beautifully finished Swiss automatic that most watch
enthusiasts would love to have on their wrists. Lovely!
More affordable watches? These are some that I like!
No comments:
Post a Comment