Another week has come and gone, and that means another round up of all the newest watches in our regular series, Watches of the Week. In this week's instalment we'll be featuring new watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Krayon, Czapek & Cie and Piaget. Stay safe and enjoy!
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication
Released in 2010 in white gold, then in rose gold in 2015, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication is an amalgamation of supreme aesthetics and divine mechanics. The newest rendition of this acclaimed model comes in two versions, pink gold and white gold with a baguette diamond-set bezel. Uniformly spectacular and featuring an orbital flying tourbillon which rotates once per day, a star chart representing the night sky above Jaeger-LeCoultre's manufacture in Le Sentier as well as a minute repeater, the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication is quintessentially an unapologetic attempt at showcasing the watchmakers' renown, prowess and innate abilities at producing true haute horlogerie watches. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication in pink gold costs €320,000, while the white gold version with diamonds will cost €420,000. Both models are limited to only 8 pieces.
Krayon Anywhere Universal Sunrise-Sunset Complication
Krayon has released its latest complicated watch, this time in the form of the Anywhere Universal Sunrise-Sunset Complication. This gorgeous instrument of horology features the complex sunrise-sunset complication, as indicated in its name. This piece has the incredible ability of displaying the sunrise and sunset times anywhere in the world. The Krayon Anywhere Universal Sunrise-Sunset Complication is available in three variations, rose and white gold, and steel. The gold versions cost 116,000CHF, while the steel version is priced at 96,000CHF.
Czapek & Cie. Antarctique Collection
Czapek & Cie. is the latest watchmaker to enter the market of a high end steel sports watch. The Antarctique Collection's aesthetic is one that is reminiscent of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. The first model, named Terre Adelie, which is a tribute to the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville who undertook an expedition to Antarctica in 1840 and named a portion of the icy continent after his wife Adele, comes in four different dial colours. The second model, named the Orion Nebula, features a beautiful hand-varnished dial, and is limited to only 10 pieces. Both models will be available later this year, with the Terre Adelie costing $18,900USD while the Orion Nebula will cost a touch more at $20,000USD.
Piaget Altiplano 38mm Pink Gold
Last week Piaget released three sumptuous diamond-encrusted high horology watches that we just loved. This week Piaget has come back with two new, fairly conservative offerings. Here is the Altiplano 38mm, clad in a pink gold case with a stunning blue lacquered dial with a sunray pattern. There is a diamond model which costs €27,000 and features 78 diamonds set in the bezel as well as a €18,600 model without any diamonds. Both models solely feature an hour and minute hand, powered by Piaget's hand-wound calibre 430P, with both models being made in a limited run of only 300 pieces.
Ressence Type 1 Slim #WatchAgainstCovid19
Ressence and Sotheby's launched a design competition with the aim of auctioning off the winning design to support COVID-19 research. The winner was Raymond Ramsden, father of two from Yorkshire, England. His design features an eclectic display of bold colours, with each colour being chosen to celebrate the key workers during the pandemic. The blue represents the medical staff, the red hand represents human interaction and hand washing, the blue sub-dial represents the Earth, the yellow sub-dial represents the Sun, the white sub-dial represents the Moon and the red 19 marker on the minute track references COVID-19. The Ressence Type 1 Slim #WatchAgainstCovid19 will go to auction at Sotheby's Hong Kong Important Watches sale on July 11 with proceeds of the same going to the COVID-19 Research Programs of the KU Leuven and UZ Leuven universities.
Jaquet Droz Paillonnee Enamel Additions
Paillonne enamelling is a rare craft that has been around for centuries, with Jaquet Droz recording its use within its atelier some 300 years ago. Fast forward to 2020 and Jaquet Droz has released two beautiful timepieces utilising the art of paillonnee enamelling. The first is the gorgeous Petite Heure Minute Paillonnee which features a mother-of-pearl sub-dial, 232 diamonds set in its case and costs $62,650AUD. The second is the Grande Seconde Paillonnee. This model costs $59,000AUD and features silver opaline sub-dials. Both models come in an 18k red gold case, with both pieces exemplifying the purity of watchmaking art superbly.