That the tourbillon hasn’t lost any of its appeal in this new era of wristwatches becomes crystal clear at Only Watch 2021. The mechanical ballet of the tourbillon remains mesmerizing and highly appreciated by watch connoisseurs. Here are five very special examples that you can bid on in the upcoming Only Watch auction taking place on November 6, 2021.
Gérald Genta’s claim to eternal horological fame is closely connected to the rise of high-end stainless steel watches: he designed both the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (1972) and the Patek Philippe Nautilus (1976). While those two watches alone are enough to make Genta a legend, he did much, much more than that as Martin Green shares here.
The Maurice Lacroix Simon Nogueira x Aikon Urban Tribe adds even more spice to the Aikon collection with its cool engravings and amazing price/performance ratio. But Martin Green thinks you’ll just be wowed by its looks.
Martin Green explores whether there are any watches intended by their makers for women that a man could wear. And by “wear” he means wear with self-esteem intact and looking good while doing so!
When Breguet introduced the Tradition collection in 2005, it took inspiration from Abraham-Louis Breguet’s souscription pocket watches made back when the famed watchmaker himself was still at the helm. The new Reference 7035 is very much a precious version of Breguet’s modern La Tradition with diamonds added to the mix. And they are beautifully snow set!
For the Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire, Armin Strom teamed up with Kari Voutilainen to give the backplate a refined guilloche motif. We clearly see the hand of the master in this: while the design of the guilloche is not particularly outgoing, it shows its refinement in the way that it is draped around the other parts of the watch. It gently directs the eye to all the right places, allowing admiration for this technical-looking piece to grow.
When Bell & Ross introduced the BR 05 in 2019, Martin Green wasn’t a big fan. But he had a completely different reaction when he first set eyes on the attractive and efficient BR 05 GMT. The extra hand with red-tipped luminous arrow and a chapter ring with 24-hour indices made all the difference for him.
The Bulgari Octo Roma Worldtimer is delightfully down to earth. It might not be the thinnest, most complex, or rarest watch in the collection, but, boy, it is good looking! In Martin Green’s estimation, it is one of those rare watches where everything simply falls into place.
When the Royal Oak Offshore launched in 1993 its timing was perfect: the bolder, larger, louder sibling of the Royal Oak was one of the trailblazers of the oversized watch trend. Nearly three decades later, the line’s large sizing has mellowed down a bit. While it never comes close to becoming a dress watch, the Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph does a mighty fine job of outlining how the complicated future of this collection might evolve.
In ‘No Time to Die,’ James Bond once again saves the world, this time with an Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Co-Axial Master Chronometer 007 Edition on his wrist. Martin Green has all the details.