Welcome to the next instalment of our series where we look at the watch releases of the past seven days, 'Watches of the Week'. We'll be taking a look at some new watches from Blancpain, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc and TAG Heuer. Enjoy!
Blancpain Introduces Two New Villeret Models
Blancpain has expanded its Villeret collection by introducing two new blue-themed watches, the Villeret Quantieme Complet and the Villeret Ultraplate. The Villeret Quantieme Complet sits in a red gold case and features a complete calendar complication along with a moon phase indicator. The Villeret Ultraplate is the simpler model, also encased in red gold but instead only featuring a date window, in addition to the standard hours-minutes-seconds indicator. Pricing for the Villeret Quantieme Complet is $33,700AUD while the Ultraplate is priced at $25,600AUD.
HYT SOONOW DROP THREE
New from HYT is the SOONOW DROP THREE. HYT calls it audacious, vibrant and timely, all fitting adjectives for what is essentially one very loud, very badass piece. You've got turquoise, orange and burgundy popping up around the piece, along with HYT's iconic skull-shaped capillary and proprietary fluidic mechanism. Is it weird that I oddly like it? Pricing is yet to be confirmed.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève
New from Louis Vuitton is the Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève. With Louis Vuitton's infamous logo emblazoned in the centre of the skeletonised dial and that mesmerising flying tourbillon sitting nice and flush to the left of it, the Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève does well to hone in on the fundamentals of this piece. Without diamonds the Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève will cost $258,000USD, while the more blingy option will cost a hefty $322,00USD and will feature 4.22 carats of diamonds.
Montblanc Drops Three Brand New Watches
Montblanc has only just released three brand new pieces, the Heritage Manufacture Pulsograph Limited Edition in rose gold, the Heritage Monopusher Chronograph in steel with a salmon dial and the Heritage Automatic with a green dial and yellow gold case. The first model features an in-house rose gold-plated movement, while the other two models feature ebauche Sellita-based movements which is a shame but is somewhat reflective in their final prices. The Manufacture Pulsograph will cost $33,000USD, while the Heritage Monopusher and the Heritage Automatic will cost $4,950USD and $8,900USD, respectively.
Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton
Jaquet Droz has introduced the latest iteration of its Loving Butterfly Automaton, this time featuring a dial made out of Chinchilla Red. This is a material that was formed 150 million years ago when fir trees were engulfed by volcanic lava. The result is one of the most beautiful, most complex and most rare materials ever to be used in watchmaking. That coupled with the insanely intricate nature of an automaton timepiece makes the Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton an absolute delight. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.
TAG Heuer Connected Watch 2020
Featuring improved usability, a better hi-res OLED touch screen and a modular design, TAG Heuer's Connected Watch 2020 is the third timepiece to be released since its inaugural introduction to the world way back in 2015. There's improved sensitivity specifically to sports-related activity tracking, along with a more badass look altogether. A solid rival to the Apple Watch? The Connected Watch 2020 is available on either a rubber strap for $2,600AUD, while the steel bracelet variant will cost $2,800AUD.
New Bell & Ross R.S. Chronographs
Bell & Ross has dropped four brand new R.S. inspired chronographs, one round-cased and three square-cased models. Each model's colour palette is based on the iconic yellow-grey-black look of the Renault Formula 1 team. The round-cased model features an enclosed dial, as does one of the square-cased models. The other two square-cased models each feature an openworked dial, with one of them featuring a beautiful flying tourbillon. You of course would know what my pick of the lot would be!