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Brummell • Watches
Richard Mille RM58-01 ↑ Futuristic and ultra high-tech in typical Richard Mille style, the RM58-01 is a sophisticated world-time watch with a nifty rotating bezel. Simply turn it so the city of your choice is aligned with 12, and the hands instantly synchronise to show the correct time in 24 time zones. The black-and-white inner bezel shows whether it is day or night, and an indicator at two o’clock shows the amount of power remaining in the hand-wound 10-day movement. The RM58 is not for the feeble of wrist, however: its 200-part gold and titanium case measures a mighty 50mm in diameter. Its price, too, is fairly substantial. £350,000; richardmille.com
Bremont Supermarine Terra Nova ↑ British brand Bremont’s Supermarine, although named after the legendary aircraft company, is actually a rugged dive watch offering 500m water resistance. Back in 2013, Bremont created this special Terra Nova version, which polar explorers Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere wore for their record-breaking 1,795-mile Antarctic trek. The pair used the compass bezels and secondary GMT hands of their titanium-cased watches to navigate through the type of conditions in which battery-powered GPS devices quickly fail. It is now available in a 300-piece limited edition. £4,495; bremont.com
Breguet Marine Dual Time ↑ Mention the Breguet name and most horologists think of tourbillons, but the legendary 18th-century clock and watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet also supplied accurate and sturdy marine chronometers to the French navy – a fact that lends legitimacy to the simultaneously rugged and beautifully fnished Marine Dual Time, pictured here. Although replete with such Breguet signatures as an engine-turned dial, blued-steel hands and the classic futed case, this 42mm steel watch is water-resistant down to an impressive 100m. The highly legible, dual-time display lends a further touch of practicality. £16,900; breguet.com
Blancpain Speed Command ↑ Blancpain’s racy Speed Command combines the high-end fnish and mechanical sophistication for which the house is renowned with one of the most eye-catching sports watch designs around. Its brushed-steel case is coated with a tough, Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) fnish, while the dial, made from a sliver of carbon, is equipped with individual counters for 30 minutes, 12 hours and 60 seconds elapsed time recording. The ultra-thin, self-winding chronograph movement features a fyback function, which enables it to be stopped, reset and re-started with a push of the button. £14,180; blancpain.com
Chopard Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 ↑ Chopard followed the announcement of its backing of Porsche Motorsport last year with the creation of this limited-edition version of the Superfast Chronograph, which pays homage to the marque’s 919, hybrid-powered endurance racer. The watch features the 45mm case and fyback movement of the ‘standard’ Superfast, but the dial is decorated with a vertical grid pattern and the ‘919’ logo. A look through the sapphire-crystal case back reveals an oscillating weight, inscribed with ‘Offcial Timing Partner Porsche Motorsport’. Only 919 will be produced, all with ‘slick tyre’ rubber straps. £8,320; chopard.com
Bell & Ross BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph ↑ Bell & Ross created a cult watch with its hefty, square-cased BR-01 a decade ago. Designed to look like an instrument from the cockpit of a fghter jet, it has since appeared in numerous guises – the latest of which is this, the BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph. Inspired by the Bell X-1 rocket plane of the late Forties, it combines a 45mm titanium case, protected by a rubber and ceramic buffer with ‘rocker’ push pieces made from red ceramic. The self-winding chronograph movement has been seriously skeletonised for a pared-down look. Just 250 examples will be made. £13,000; bellross.com