10 watches in Christmas colours
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Marie de Pimodan-Bugnon
Freelance journalist
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With just a couple of days to go, there is still time to leave an extra gift under the tree. Let the Christmas spirit be your guide with this selection of watches in festive shades of green, red and gold. Enjoy!
Bovet Miss Audrey
A symbol of good fortune, a sign of hope, an ode to nature: like a lucky omen, green invites itself onto the dial of the Miss Audrey watch. Beautifully nuanced thanks to the magnificent guillochage – an expertise at which Bovet excels –, the dial is brought to the fore by a 36mm convertible case in steel hemmed with diamonds. This jewel of a watch can be set on a desk, worn on the wrist or as a pendant on a string of jade beads.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater
If you liked the sandblasted appearance of the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater in titanium from 2016, you are sure to love this year’s iteration in rose gold. Bulgari applies the same mat sandblasted finish to the case and dial of this ultra-thin Minute Repeater. A combination of understated elegance and impressive mechanisms in a package just 6.90mm thick!
Cartier Santos-Dumont “La Baladeuse” Watch
Cartier shows how to instil a touch of the modern day into a neo-vintage design by rethinking the proportions of its Santos-Dumont, proposed as a 300-piece limited edition. The watch that Louis Cartier designed in 1904 for the pioneering aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont reappears with an extra-large rectangular case (43.5 x 31.4mm) made from yellow gold. Slender blued hands sweep the champagne-coloured dial. Turning the case over reveals an engraving of “La Baladeuse”: the motorised airship that Santos-Dumont flew over the heads of astonished Parisians in 1903.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Centre Seconds
It set the ball rolling for the year’s new releases when it was unveiled, in January, as an automatic flyback chronograph. Its steel curves, which flow seamlessly into an integrated bracelet, now focus on the essence of time: hours, minutes and centre seconds. This new rendition of the Streamliner is also a chance to show off the contours of the 40mm case with a fumé dial in an original colour – Matrix Green – that displays a subtle palette of shades from olive green to red gold.
IWC Portugieser Chronograph
Making a statement with a red dial, the Portugieser Chronograph is proof that a watch can be a classic and keep pace with trends. Of course, the Portugieser’s natural elegance dictates a subtle burgundy shade for this 41mm model in steel (if you want to lie in wait for Santa behind the tree, there is also a green-dial version).
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One
Did we mention that even the most storied watches are surfing the colour wave? On the cusp of its 90th anniversary, the Reverso has chosen a delightful wine-red to dress up its dial. This rich shade is achieved through the application of multiple layers of lacquer over a finely executed sunray guilloché pattern. Two rows of diamonds, like rays of light, accentuate the characteristic gadroons of the steel case which extends into a shiny alligator strap, also in wine-red.
MB&F LM101 MB&F x H. Moser
With its red fumé dial and no logo, this 15-piece limited edition in steel bears a distinct resemblance to something H. Moser & Cie. might make when in fact this is very much an MB&F watch, the result of a successful collaboration between the two. Design-wise, Max Büsser has opted for the clean, minimalist Moser aesthetic. Movement-wise, we have a large suspended balance fitted with a double balance spring, made by Precision Engineering AG. On the reverse side, another famous name, Kari Voutilainen, adds his contribution to the finishing. Available also with a Cosmic Green fumé dial.
Omega De Ville Prestige
All that glitters is not gold, we are told. The De Ville Prestige is clearly an exception as this new iteration in yellow gold comes with a dial in Moonshine gold. Exclusive to Omega, this alloy is paler than traditional yellow gold and more resistant to fading over time. What better way to preserve the refined beauty of this classic Omega watch, illuminated by six diamond hour markers.
Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon Infinitely Personal
Red’s your colour? No problem! You swear by green? Step this way! Nothing, it seems, is impossible for the personalisation concept that Piaget has introduced on the Altiplano Tourbillon Infinitely Personal. Case size (38mm or 41mm), gem-setting, dial colour and finish, strap and buckle can all be personalised to your heart’s content. The proof with this version whose green guilloché dial basks in a flurry of diamonds.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual
Rolex has revamped the Oyster Perpetual with bold shades of coral red, yellow, green, turquoise and candy pink. They usher in a new era for this classic dress watch, proposed as a 41mm or 36mm diameter. Ticking away inside is a new movement which Rolex introduced this year. Get 2021 off to a flying start by choosing green, the colour of renewal.
