H. MOSER ENDEAVOUR DUAL TIME CONCEPT

Limited edition watches often come in the form of highly complicated showstoppers—and while I’ll be the first to admit that it’s nice to have your figurative gob smacked by a jaw-dropping new watch, every now and then it’s nice to see a bit of understated simplicity. The H. Moser Endeavour Dual Time Concept is a perfect example of that, managing to incorporate a second timezone into an effortlessly stylish and simple dial. We’ve seen previously what H. Moser & Cie can do with minimalist design with the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, released least year—now it’s the dual timezones turn.

The beautiful fumé dial sets the tone for the rest of the watch, with its elegant colour-fade effect being both simple and impactful at the same time. Nothing interrupts the mesmerising expanse of the dial, save hands for the regular time, second time zone and small seconds. The way the GMT function works is straightforward and easy to read—the second time is displayed by a red hand, which can be hidden beneath the hour hand of the home time when not needed.

The movement that powers the watch, in the form of the in-house automatic calibre HMC 345, is no less sophisticated. It beats at 18,000vph and has a respectable power reserve of 72 hours. The watch makes use of H. Moser & Cie’s double-pull crown mechanism, which prevents accidental readjustment of the time, and the movement features a Straumann hairspring and Breguet overcoil.

The watch comes in both red gold and platinum, and each variation is limited to only ten pieces—which is probably what you should expect from a watch that puts such emphasis on minimalism. It will be interesting to see what other complications H. Moser & Cie can put the pared-down treatment to in future.

WHAT IT TAKES TO SELL LUXURY WATCHES

Someone buys a luxury pre-owned timepiece from Watchfinder every 30 minutes of every day, from a vast selection of over 50 leading Swiss brands. Giving customers the right advice to find the perfect watch takes both expertise and integrity—and with 10,000 sales totalling £36,984,716 under his belt, Senior Sales Advisor Tom Holland understands that more than anyone. So what does it take to sell that many watches in just over six years of employment? “It’s all about building a relationship with the customer and giving them the best advice you can—then they will come back to you,” he says.

It’s sound advice—over half of Tom’s monthly sales are from repeat customers, who he has developed a rapport with over a number of years, and who rely on his in-depth knowledge. “If I give a customer bad advice just to get a sale, they’re not going to trust me,” he says. “So it’s about looking after your customer as best you can.”

It’s important to guide your customer to find the right watch, says Tom, and offer the right kind of suggestions to meet their criteria—but ultimately, the final choice is down to the buyer. “That’s why we offer a 14-day no quibble return policy for online purchases,” Tom says, “and they can also come in and view the watch in person as well. It gives customers peace of mind.”

It definitely helps that Tom is a watch enthusiast himself—he wears his limited edition Speedmaster Snoopy every day—and this was part of what attracted him to working for Watchfinder in the first place. “It was nice to sell something I actually have an interest in and be enthusiastic about,” he says. “I like watches, and I like that you never know what’s going to come through the door the next day.”

That variety can include anything from talking a valued customer through a last minute sale at 9pm at night, to making sure a late anniversary gift arrives on time—and it’s Tom’s job to make sure the customer comes away satisfied. “A lot of people have deadlines—for example, if they leave a birthday present too late—and you just have to try to facilitate them as best you can,” he says.

Being so involved in his customers’ lives is just part of the experience for Tom, and is something he finds really rewarding. “I like being able to provide for key life events, especially when talking to people I first dealt with six years ago, who have come back to me. I’ve done the engagement present, the birth of their first child—I know who they are, I’ve got a relationship with them,” he says.

And when a customer feels that connection, they’re likely to return to sell or upgrade their watch in the future. But what is it that attracts Watchfinder customers to buying pre-owned timepieces as opposed to new watches in the first place? “You’re buying the watch for what it’s worth—you aren’t paying the over-inflated prices,” says Tom. “You’re getting a watch that’s in excellent condition, with a warranty, from a reputable supplier. It’s a much better investment and you’re getting the same product—it just makes sense to buy pre-owned.”

TOP FOUR FUTURISTIC WATCHES

Sat here in the present, it's hard to tell just how quickly the future has come upon us, yet a cursory glimpse into the past tells an interesting story. Imagine a world just a hundred years prior and it comes as quite a shock to realise that indoor plumbing and electricity were only just being introduced, and that the average life expectancy was less than fifty. In the last ten years, however, technology has grown at a frightening rate, making one thing very clear: the future is now, and that includes watchmaking.

DE BETHUNE DB28 AIGUILLE D,OR

Our first taste of the world of tomorrow comes courtesy of De Bethune, watchmaker, futurist and purveyor of some of the most mind-blowing watch designs this side of the technological singularity. Appreciating the DB28 you see here is a feat that must be attempted in several sittings, drinking in the details that appear layer upon layer, shapes that evolve and grow from every angle. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece, and I'm not the only one to think so, because the DB28 is a winner of the coveted Aiguille d'Or award.

There's not a detail here that doesn’t benefit from the space-age touch of De Bethune: the balance wheel is made from white gold and silicon; the moon phase is a suspended ball; and the lugs are spring loaded to fit perfectly to the wrist. Whichever way you look at it, the DB28 is a picture of sumptuous elegance in curving, polished titanium that comes straight from the future. It's going to be a hard act for the masters at De Bethune to follow, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

ROMAIN JEROME MOON ORBITER

Romain Jerome's Moon Orbiter is the deep-space mining vessel to De Bethune's sleek galactic yacht, an imposing industrial titan that's every bit as forward-thinking. What you see is the flying tourbillon, the digitalized star field punched into the dial, the power reserve sweeping across the bottom portion of the case. All's well, but what's even more impressive is what you don’t see. The name 'Moon Orbiter' isn't just an arbitrary title based on its space-age aesthetics - this RJ has been to the moon. Well, parts of it have, because melded into the case is genuine metal from Apollo 11 and actual fragments of moon dust (although the conspiracy theorists may have their doubts).

It's easy to visualise the future as a sleek, chrome-plated utopia, but what Romain Jerome have done here is imagine the realism of a future where hulking craft are needed to do difficult, dirty jobs, and that sense of gritty engineering is imbued spectacularly. Right down to the thick compressors under the flexible lugs, the Moon Orbiter is a treat to make any sci-fi nut drool.

SEVENFRIDAY P1-2

Our next otherworldly visitor from the distant future heralds from a galaxy known as SevenFriday, but there's something a little different about this ultramodern offering. It doesn't have a laser that shines the time directly into your brain or anything like that, but its trump card is equally as impressive: the P1-2 costs less than £800. That's not a typo; this watch can genuinely be yours for less than £800. SevenFriday openly admit to saving costs by using a Japanese Miyota movement and mineral glass instead of sapphire, but instead of absorbing these savings as profit, they're passed on to the buyer.

A gracious and refreshing business model no doubt, but does the watch stand up in present company? Well, no, of course it doesn't, but it is by no means a bad watch. In fact it's very good, and would still attract sales at three times the price. What makes it a winner is the intuitive styling (even though some people take a while to work out how to read the time) and the attention to detail, which holds up well to close scrutiny. It is a very impressive watch indeed.

URWERK UR-210

It's hard not to be excited by an Urwerk. The name, the look, the complications -everything is about drama, digging deep into the pleasure centres of any budding engineer's brain. What's surprising is that the UR-210 is actually quite dainty, making its ingenious display even more remarkable. It certainly looks cool, but how do you tell the time? Very simply: the hour satellite slides around in the needle-nosed carrousel, which points to the minute as it travels. When the carrousel meets the end of the minute track, it snaps back to the beginning, ready to receive the next hour. Technically, it's a digital watch, and seeing it all work together so flawlessly makes for a head-scratching moment.

All these futuristic watches are absolutely fantastic, but the Urwerk has something about it that feels the most special. It can't compete with the De Bethune's beauty, nor the Romaine Jerome's exotic construction, and especially not the SevenFriday's price, but what it does do is take everything that's great about mechanical watches and pump it up to eleven. I don't know what the future holds, but I sure hope it's as extraordinary as this Urwerk.

CHOPARD L.U.C. FULL STRIKE

Chopard has been creating beautiful watches since it was founded in 1860, but it didn’t have its own manufacture until 1996. Between then and now, it’s been making up for lost time, producing some really nice in-house movements—and in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of its manufacture, the brand has gone all out with the release of the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike.

The Full Strike is the first minute repeater created by the brand (although 2010’s L.U.C. Strike One chimed every striking hour) and according to Chopard, it took six years to develop and build from scratch. Looking at the watch in detail, it’s not hard to see why it took that long. The movement strikes out the hours, quarters and minutes—but the really interesting part is the transparent crystal gongs on which the sound is made, which are machined together with the watch glass from a single sapphire block. The result is a loudspeaker effect whenever the gongs are hit, resulting in a pure, resonating tone on every strike.

But this isn’t the only technical innovation of the watch. The calibre 08.01-L was developed from the ground up to be perfectly fit for purpose. It has been constructed with a number of security systems to avoid any damage to the delicate movement by incorrect handling, and the setting of the watch has been simplified: turning the crown one way winds the minute repeater, and turning it the other way winds the striking mechanics. The movement features two barrels, so that the minute repeater has its own power source, and doesn’t effect the accuracy of the time keeping mechanism—the dual power reserve indicator can be seen at 2 o’clock.

The dial features an openworked design, showing off the spectacular movement that took so many years to create. The case measures 42.5mm by 11.5mm in rose gold, and has beautifully classic proportions. There are only going to be 20 of these pieces available for sale, making the Chopard L.U.C Full Strike one very special birthday present.