Feminine wristwatches express your personality and should be one thing above all: individual. With our top 5 of the special ladies’ watches, we show how you can escape the taste of the masses with unique eye-catchers. Whether dancing diamonds, triangular cases or sculptural geometry – get ready for eye-catchers in a class of their own.

Chopard Happy Diamonds

When it comes to special watches for women, Chopard plays in the top league with its Happy Diamonds collection. The term “Happy” refers to the moving diamonds on and next to the dial: First introduced in 1976, the design, in which the diamonds move happily between two sapphire crystals, still causes a stir today. The wearer decides how opulently the playful feature comes into its own when she chooses her collection:

• Happy Diamonds Icons: The special series puts delicate lines in the foreground and catches the eye in two ways. Firstly by the dancing diamonds themselves, secondly by the transparent effect. The jewels do not move directly above the dial, but circle around the dial seemingly weightlessly above a transparent ring. Every model guarantees luxury because instead of stainless steel, only 18-carat white or rose gold is used as the case material.
  
• Happy Diamonds Joaillerie: As the most luxurious Happy Diamonds sub-collection, the Joaillerie comes up with a particularly lavish diamond insert. A prime example is the Ref. 209437-5601: two rings of majestically set diamonds frame the dial and the dancing jewels. understated? Not here. The ref. 204445-1006, which brings rubies to the dance floor alongside diamonds, is also in a class of its own.
  
• Happy Diamonds Oval: Your name already reveals the essential character trait. Instead of circular cases and dials, this Happy Diamonds relies on special oval, vertically stretched shapes for a graceful look. An elegant classic is the red gold ref. 204305-5301.
  

Hamilton Ventura S

First introduced in 1957 and made famous on the wrist of the King of Rock’n’Roll, the Hamilton Ventura is one of the great watch designs of the 20th century. But not only Elvis Presley fell in love with the triangular pioneer of quartz technology: To this day, the exotic look of the Ventura watch lovers worldwide is captivated and knows no comparison. Anyone looking for special wristwatches for women should focus primarily on the Ventura S Quartz: While the large turbine-look crown and the wider design create a more powerful appearance compared to the classic Ventura, the dimensions of 34.50 x 38.00 mm are found a good middle ground between a clear presence and easy portability on the female wrist.

The Ventura S stands out, but never in a flashy or otherwise negative way. Anyone who sees the piece of jewelry becomes curious and assumes that its wearer must be an interesting person. For this reason, the Ref. H24251391 is our favorite model: Instead of distracting from the core of the watch with bright colors, the Ventura S uses subtle silver on the dial and a white strap, so that the viewer’s complete focus is on the iconic case shape. The longer you look at the watch, the more special it looks.

Hublot Big Bang One Click Sang Bleu

After seven years of success, the Hublot Sang Bleu collection is now also becoming iconic: Created in collaboration with the Swiss star tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Büchi, it places three-dimensional geometry in the foreground and calls conventional watch designs into question. Not restraint, but extroverted luxury “In Your Face” is the motto of the complex, faceted series.

The Hublot Big Bang One Click 39mm collection contains several special watches for women, which enables a quick bracelet change at the push of a button and in the Sang Bleu King Gold Pavé (Ref. 465.OS.1118.VR.1704.MXM18) its probably most prestigious face disclosed. 180 diamonds totaling 0.45 carats adorn the solid, special King Gold case and are supplemented by 96 additional diamonds (1 carat) on the bezel. The legibility of the dial, which instead of traditional hands encompasses two triangles (hour and minute) in rotating squares, is not the primary focus of the Sang Bleu. Rather, one should regard the high-end ladies’ watch as a wearable work of art that conveys the sophisticated and extraordinary taste of its owner to the outside world. In everyday life, the sculpture scores with 100 meters of water resistance, which effectively shields the HUB 1710 automatic movement with a 50-hour power reserve from the outside world.

Junghans Form Ladies

There are good arguments why the Junghans Form Damen embodies the very opposite of the Sang Bleu: Extreme simplicity in the Bauhaus tradition, reduction to (less than) the essentials and no sparkling diamonds. Above all, the Ref. 047/4853.00 with a white dial and white indices, which at first glance reveals only three hands and a date, understands the art of minimalism.

“Why”, you will ask yourself, “is this inconspicuous Junghans on the list of eye-catchers?” Firstly, the simplicity of the Black Forest quality instrument catches the eye, secondly, it unfolds its full strength in combination with different outfits. Whether casual, festive or colorful – this watch always cuts a harmonious figure. The simplicity that characterizes the dial continues in the 7 millimeter flat stainless steel case and the leather strap. As an entry-level watch, the Junghans Form ladies offers excellent quality standards at affordable conditions: From the sapphire crystal to the quartz caliber J645.36, the ladies’ watch is characterized by high quality “Made in Germany”. Women who prefer elegant design with subtle finesse instead of a conspicuous eye-catcher factor will be happy with this shapely beauty.

Special Italian: U-Boat Classico 30 Lady

The U-Boat Classico 30 Lady by the Italian designer Italo Fontana follows a different philosophy: Exotic accents, above all the left-hand crown with locking clip, but no oversize in the tradition of many other U-Boat models characterize the models. 30 millimeters cut a confident figure on delicate wrists and is easily enough to make the other specialties of the Classico 30 Lady visible. Above all, the dial layout deviates from the crowd: Only the numerals 4, 8 and 12 are Arabic and at the same time set with diamonds, which gives the otherwise not lavishly decorated piece of jewelery a certain glamor factor.

The choice of dial color determines how striking the U-Boat presents itself: while black mother-of-pearl (Ref. 8899) is particularly classy and tends to be reserved, pink (Ref. 8898) catches the eye with clichéd femininity. In our opinion, the aquamarine editions (Ref. 8900), whose shade of blue is bursting with vibrancy, are particularly special wristwatches for women. All dials are made of mother-of-pearl, which is underlined by the proud inscription “Mother of Pearl” above the six o’clock position. Functional bonus: A small date display at nine o’clock.

Der Beitrag 5 special ladies’ watches erschien zuerst auf Uhrinstinkt Magazine.

For some gentlemen, it is enough that they themselves know the value of their luxurious timepiece. Equally legitimate is the desire of other men that their precious accessory catches the eye. Do you belong to the second faction? Look forward to special wristwatches that testify to their sense of style and are guaranteed to be admired.

Movie Star with Vintage Style: Omega Seamaster Diver 300 M Co-Axial Master Chronometer 007 Edition

Life is peppered with challenges that you master with courage, finesse and acumen. What fits this better than special wristwatches for men who are not impressed by escapades? As a movie star, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300 M Co-Axial Master Chronometer proved that it meets the high requirements of real military watches. With it, 007 secret agent James Bond alias Daniel Craig not only successfully fulfilled his mission. He also contributed constructively to the development of the limited special edition.

The Swiss brand remains faithful to the technical setting for which the legendary diving watch collection is internationally appreciated. With the helium escape valve and the special bezel, the timepieces were created for deep-sea diving, water resistant up to 300 meters. In order to face everyday adventures without any worries, ultra-light titanium grade 2 characterizes the 42mm case and milanaise strap.

The innovative industrial material is also a key aesthetic element of the accessory, which appropriately has “No time to die” in its movie appearance. Indestructibly charming is the vintage look with tropical brown dial and blackened skeleton hands. Omega has created special wristwatches for men with the Seamaster Diver 300 M Co-Axial Master Chronometer 007 edition, which is a pleasure to dive into the extravagant spheres of luxury timepieces.

Purist opulence – Maurice Lacroix Eliros Sunshine 40mm

The Swiss noble brand established the Eliros collection in 1996 to design special wristwatches for men and women. The aim is to transform trendy impulses into simple timeless design. Does the philosophy contradict a creation that is all about golden yellow? The surprising answer is: No! Maurice Lacroix proves this with the Eliros Sunshine 40mm. There is nothing ostentatious about its dazzling harmony, which extends from the gold-plated case to the dial and calfskin strap. Rather, the jewelry watches exude delightfully unconventional pure optimism.

The move succeeds because the quartz watch remains true to the emphatically minimalist tenor that is typical of the collection. It is expressed, for example, in the absence of indices or numerals. Characteristically, Maurice Lacroix rounds off the Eliros Sunshine 40mm with a pyramid-shaped texture that also encompasses the entire jewelry piece of watchmaking art. Those who curiously explore the textured leather strap in gold tone with their sense of touch while wearing it must admit: Special wristwatches remind us that life wants to be lived. This is precisely the insight that the renowned company wants to convey with its men’s watches, which are also recommended for ladies thanks to their slim design.

Monochrome work of art – Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Moonphase Black Magic

Fans of exclusive timepieces were astonished when Hublot combined gold with rubber for the first time in watches and the result was captivatingly attractive. Since then, it has been the declared goal of the courageous manufacture to combine traditional watchmaking art and innovative creative elegance. It likes to play with material contrasts, which becomes apparent when zooming in on the strap of the Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Moonphase Black Magic. It is made of alligator leather and rubber and thus dares to mix classic-exclusive and modern-functional materials.

It’s hard to tear oneself away as soon as the interaction in the ceramic case comes into focus. Consistently, almost all details of the displays for date, time and moon phase remain true to the gray and black tones. As a result, the fascinating automatic movement with its countless components magically attracts the eye, which Hublot brings to bear on the watches with a skeletonized design.

The masterpiece of watchmaking has the power of fascination that makes special wristwatches for men. By the way, the Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Moonphase Black Magic looks deadly chic on the wrist. This is thanks to the courage of the completely black appearance. In the fashion world, it is called a “total look” and is considered a high art of creativity. Because there is a fine line between monotonous boredom and breathtaking purism. The luxury brand has succeeded in this tightrope walk, presenting special wristwatches for men in restrained black that look downright spirited on closer inspection.

Poster retro style from Italy- U-Boat Classico

In 1942, Ivo Fontana was commissioned to develop special wristwatches for the gentlemen of the Italian Navy. Although he immediately set to work, the project never reached completion. It was only when his grandson came across it a few decades later that the remarkable designs for men’s watches received the attention they deserved. At the turn of the millennium, it was done: the U-Boat Classico finally graced the wrists of self-confident men.

For the original order, it was enormously important that naval officers could easily read the time during underwater missions with correspondingly poor lighting conditions. This is reflected in the pointedly clear dial design with strikingly large numbers. Nowadays, of course, the original design no longer meets the demands that military-grade time indicators have to fulfill. Thus, the U-Boat Classico sees itself more as a tribute to the Fontana workshops and men who love special wristwatches. A brown leather strap completes the Italian men’s watches with a charismatic retro touch in a particularly stylish way.

Futurism for individualists – Sevenfriday S3 Engine

Is the dose of extravagance in the featured luxury watches not enough for you? Then the accessories by Daniel Niederer and industrial designer Arnaud Duval are your thing. You’ll look in vain for the usual in their timepieces. That’s because the label was founded in 2012 to challenge the status quo and enrich the watch scene with impressive impulses. Fittingly, the Sevenfriday S3 Engine comes up with a square format that is hard to miss on the wrist.

In some collections, the lifestyle brand turns the display upside down in such a way that reading the watch for the first time is like taking an intelligence test. The S series is somewhat more classic in this respect, displaying the hours and minutes as usual and only the seconds in an unconventional way on a disc. Typical for the design style of the eccentric automatic watches is a depth effect, which Sevenfriday forces in the S3 Engine with a partially skeletonized dial. If you’re looking for special wristwatches for men that clearly stand out from the mainstream, you’ll hit the bull’s eye with this one.

Der Beitrag 5 special watches for men erschien zuerst auf Uhrinstinkt Magazine.

Watches are among the most spectacular gifts we can give a loved one. But art enthusiasts and architects in particular are demanding target groups who have exact ideas about a beautiful timepiece. Today we present five models that make clear statements for specific art eras and all have what it takes to be the ideal architect’s watch.

What characterizes a good watch for architects?

Whether art historians, passionate collectors or architects: People who are familiar with the effect of artistic works look behind the scenes of an object or painting. In addition to the pure, emotionally felt beauty of the work, the deeper meaning of an aesthetic appeal plays the central role for them. So, if you are looking for a gift for architects from the watch sector, you must choose a timepiece with a clear aesthetic message. A Bauhaus watch, for example, that focuses every millimeter of its appearance on functional simplicity. Or a splendidly ornamented Art Nouveau model with floral ornaments. The watch must not be a “middle thing”, but should appeal to a firmly defined taste in all its visual details.

The Eiffel Tower sends its regards: Mido Commander Gradient

When the Paris Eiffel Tower was completed for the 1889 World’s Fair, its steely and functional architecture was met with outrage, especially among the educated upper classes. Today, the ultimate landmark of the Seine metropolis is loved worldwide and has inspired the number one architect watch brand, Mido, to design its new Mido Commander collection. Our favorite is the Commander Gradient (Ref. M021.407.11.411.00): While its transparent dial evokes the translucency of the French tourist magnet, the graduated smoke effect makes reference to its steel color. Towards the rim, the Architekten watch turns black, so that its applied stainless steel indices can be read with high contrast, as can the date display. On the back of the 40-millimeter stainless steel watch, we are greeted by a transparent case back that reveals the Mido 80 automatic movement (base: ETA C07.611) with a whopping 80-hour power reserve. Like the Eiffel Tower, the work of art attached to the stainless steel solid bracelet has no superfluous lines: The overall Mido design is clear, straightforward and “inspired by architecture”.

Bauhaus with merits: Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope

Aesthetic clarity is also the focus of our next watch for architects: Max Bill by Junghans. Ever since it was designed by the Swiss artist of the same name in 1961, it has been considered a prototypical Bauhaus watch and has only minimally changed its no-frills look over the decades. “Form follows function” – straight lines and radical minimalism are the order of the day here. A particularly interesting Junghans model is the Max Bill Chronoscope (Ref. 27/4600.04), which adds the functional benefit of a time stopper to the basic model.

We find it amazing how cleverly the chronograph has been integrated into the overall design of the 40-millimeter beauty: Under the curved hard plexiglass, the usual reduction to the essentials dominates, supplemented by a wafer-thin 30-minute counter in the upper half and a 12-hour scale in the lower half. Even the date, which disturbs the aesthetic harmony of many watches, is flawlessly integrated into the silver-plated surface of the Junghans Max Bill. The architect’s watch draws its power from the caliber J880.2 (basis: ETA 7750) with automatic winding and 48-hour power reserve. “Inspired by architecture” – this time stopper from Junghans makes Bauhaus enthusiasts happy.

Art Nouveau in oval splendor: Frederique Constant Classics Art Déco Oval

The Frederique Constant Classics Art Déco Oval (Ref. FC-200MPW2V6) shows us that a watch for architects can also serve completely different tastes: Created for the female wrist, the 30×25 millimeter slim stainless steel work of art is a perfect representation of Art Nouveau. While ornate Breguet hands and a guilloché surface in the center of the dial represent the high decorative art of Art Deco, the large Roman numerals catapult us back to the 1920s as if by magic. Swing, champagne and Charleston – with this watch, the Roaring Twenties come to life on the wrist.

Visually, mind you – on the technical side, this chic gift for architects holds a modern quartz movement with a whopping 63 months of battery life, allowing for a fragile-looking height of just 6.8 millimeters. Lightweight, compact and loaded with artistic meaning, this masterpiece will blow any architect’s mind. The brand proves that Frederique Constant is serious about its motto of “affordable luxury” with top-quality workmanship and fine details like the mother-of-pearl segments of the dial.

Edgy and modern: NOMOS Glashütte Tetra

Back to Bauhaus: Anyone who loves the clear design of the Weimar art school should get to know NOMOS Glashütte as well as Junghans. One of the most striking editions from the up-and-coming top brand from Saxony is the square-shaped NOMOS Glashütte Tetra, which uses corners and edges to pursue a modern, extremely consistent design language. Our favorite architect’s watch is the Tetra Neomatik 39 silvercut (Ref. 423): 33×33 millimeters slim, the stainless steel model has the best unisex qualities and draws attention to its silver dial, which is reminiscent of the stainless steel facades of modern skyscrapers.

Special treatment with gold plating, rhodium plating and wet blasting is needed to achieve the cool effect. Blued hour and minute hands and a small seconds hand in red bring life to the cool overall design. Through a sapphire crystal case back, the 7.3 millimeter thin icon lets you look into its DUW 3001 automatic movement, which is equipped with the revolutionary NOMOS Swing System, a completely self-developed escapement. If you want to show clear edges in the truest sense of the word, you’ve come to the right place.

High-end Gothic charm: Breguet Tradition

Pointed arch windows, a soaring skeletal structure and filigree ornamentation – the Gothic is one of the most important architectural styles of all time. Anyone entering Paris’ inland island “Île de la Cité,” the birthplace of the legendary luxury brand Breguet, is almost overwhelmed by Gothic beauty. In its most distinctive collection, the Breguet Tradition line, the watchmaker’s designers have realized key elements of the architectural style to perfection: While the unobstructed view of the wheel train and escapement on the front corresponds with the Gothic skeleton construction, the decoration of the hand-wound 507 DR1 manufacture movement is on par with the magnificent ornamentation of a cathedral. Many models are available; an absolute classic is the Ref. 7057BR/G9/9W6 in 18-karat red gold.

With a diameter of 40 millimeters, the watch for architects sits discreetly on the wrist in terms of size, but not visually. The Tradition wants to be an eye-catcher and leaves astonished watch fans in no doubt about its prominent status. Those who want additional functions to the hour and minute on the noble mini dial will find what they are looking for in the collection: GMT models, chronographs and even a tourbillon can be brought to the wrist of the watch-loving architect if the budget is right.

Der Beitrag Top 5 architect watches erschien zuerst auf Uhrinstinkt Magazine.