Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Top 10 Watches: A few of my favourite things
By Michael Balfour
Published: June 8 2007, FT
Last month Renault recalled all 470,000 Clio IIs, so that a potential bonnet fault could be corrected.
An event of this type has never occurred in the watch industry. This highlights just how extremely sophisticated today’s watch production procedures have become. Even the least expensive of timepieces are marvels of micro-engineering. The choice for consumers in the wristwatch marketplace is enormous, but seemingly never disappoints.
To choose just ten watches from such an abundance is both pleasurable and unenviable: unenviable because, for example, no top twenty pop music chart has ever been able to claim that it really is just that. In the horological context it is estimated, by visitors to major trade fairs, that the number of new models and all their various versions launched worldwide so far in 2007 exceeds 10,000.
The ten watches featured below do not represent success either by sales unit volumes or turnover values alone. Five brands are privately owned and so such figures are not in any case available. Another point: none are limited editions, produced perhaps for the collectors' market, but on the contrary are regarded as “lifers” by their makers. They are given in alphabetical order of brand, and the prices shown are UK retail.
The Chronomat Evolution series from Breitling has long been a favourite among aficionados for complicated outdoor timepieces, with its calculation functions. Much favoured is the model in stainless steel and pink 18-carat gold on a two-tone pilot bracelet: it retails at £4,965.
Cartier launched the Tank Fran?aise in 1996. The 18-carat yellow gold quartz version for ladies is a delicious piece, with its silver-grained dial and roman numerals (£8,825).
Citizen claims to manufacture annually more wristwatches than any other company. Its Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 (model ref. BL 8000 – 54 L) has an astonishing range of functions for any follower of sporting pursuits. This blue-dialled version costs £269.
By contrast, Jaeger-LeCoultre goes on selling its stainless steel Reverso Duo (model ref. 271.84.10; £4,500) year after year, ever since its first introduction in 1931. It is one of the great classics and available in a wide choice of versions, many with additional functions such as two time zones.
Longines, another long-established Swiss brand, enjoys success with its quartz Grande Classique range; big, bold and simple, the stainless steel model L4.241.0.80.6 is set with diamonds and has a bezel also set with diamonds, surrounding a mother-of-pearl dial displaying diamond time markers (£1,740).
Ever since Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon on 21 July 1969, Omega has celebrated Nasa's feat with its Speedmaster range. A perennial favourite is the quartz Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, a 42mm diameter wristwatch with a stainless steel case and bracelet. The model ref. is 3570.50.00, and the price is £1,675.
Patek Philippe is another great watch name, and its Calatrava range has had worldwide followers since its introduction in 1932. The selection here is the model ref. 5127J; £9,645.
The Parsifal for Ladies range from Raymond Weil is much enhanced by the rectangular model ref. 9740-STS-00995. This one, in stainless steel with an 18-carat yellow gold bezel set with diamonds, sells at £2,295. The range prices start at £875 and go up to £10,375.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust is the iconic model from this famed maker, and the Rolesor version, with a steel and yellow gold bracelet, comes in gentlemen's, intermediate and ladies' sizes. The man's model (shown) is ref. 116233; the bracelet ref. is 63203, and the price is £4,120.
Rotary has been making dependable, inexpensive timepieces since 1898. The quartz Havana model (ref. GBO 2340/08) is cased in bi-colour stainless steel, and comes complete with a date window at 3 o'clock; it retails at just £130. ¶ 12:11 AM
Published: June 8 2007, FT
Last month Renault recalled all 470,000 Clio IIs, so that a potential bonnet fault could be corrected.
An event of this type has never occurred in the watch industry. This highlights just how extremely sophisticated today’s watch production procedures have become. Even the least expensive of timepieces are marvels of micro-engineering. The choice for consumers in the wristwatch marketplace is enormous, but seemingly never disappoints.
To choose just ten watches from such an abundance is both pleasurable and unenviable: unenviable because, for example, no top twenty pop music chart has ever been able to claim that it really is just that. In the horological context it is estimated, by visitors to major trade fairs, that the number of new models and all their various versions launched worldwide so far in 2007 exceeds 10,000.
The ten watches featured below do not represent success either by sales unit volumes or turnover values alone. Five brands are privately owned and so such figures are not in any case available. Another point: none are limited editions, produced perhaps for the collectors' market, but on the contrary are regarded as “lifers” by their makers. They are given in alphabetical order of brand, and the prices shown are UK retail.
The Chronomat Evolution series from Breitling has long been a favourite among aficionados for complicated outdoor timepieces, with its calculation functions. Much favoured is the model in stainless steel and pink 18-carat gold on a two-tone pilot bracelet: it retails at £4,965.
Cartier launched the Tank Fran?aise in 1996. The 18-carat yellow gold quartz version for ladies is a delicious piece, with its silver-grained dial and roman numerals (£8,825).
Citizen claims to manufacture annually more wristwatches than any other company. Its Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 (model ref. BL 8000 – 54 L) has an astonishing range of functions for any follower of sporting pursuits. This blue-dialled version costs £269.
By contrast, Jaeger-LeCoultre goes on selling its stainless steel Reverso Duo (model ref. 271.84.10; £4,500) year after year, ever since its first introduction in 1931. It is one of the great classics and available in a wide choice of versions, many with additional functions such as two time zones.
Longines, another long-established Swiss brand, enjoys success with its quartz Grande Classique range; big, bold and simple, the stainless steel model L4.241.0.80.6 is set with diamonds and has a bezel also set with diamonds, surrounding a mother-of-pearl dial displaying diamond time markers (£1,740).
Ever since Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon on 21 July 1969, Omega has celebrated Nasa's feat with its Speedmaster range. A perennial favourite is the quartz Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, a 42mm diameter wristwatch with a stainless steel case and bracelet. The model ref. is 3570.50.00, and the price is £1,675.
Patek Philippe is another great watch name, and its Calatrava range has had worldwide followers since its introduction in 1932. The selection here is the model ref. 5127J; £9,645.
The Parsifal for Ladies range from Raymond Weil is much enhanced by the rectangular model ref. 9740-STS-00995. This one, in stainless steel with an 18-carat yellow gold bezel set with diamonds, sells at £2,295. The range prices start at £875 and go up to £10,375.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust is the iconic model from this famed maker, and the Rolesor version, with a steel and yellow gold bracelet, comes in gentlemen's, intermediate and ladies' sizes. The man's model (shown) is ref. 116233; the bracelet ref. is 63203, and the price is £4,120.
Rotary has been making dependable, inexpensive timepieces since 1898. The quartz Havana model (ref. GBO 2340/08) is cased in bi-colour stainless steel, and comes complete with a date window at 3 o'clock; it retails at just £130. ¶ 12:11 AM
