Just as Oppenheimer’s story is a testament to the intersection of history, science, and ethics, these five exceptional timepieces embody a similar blend of precision, innovation, and timeless elegance. These horological masterpieces offer wearers the opportunity to carry a piece of history on their wrists, showcasing the enduring connection between luxury watches and the enduring narratives of humanity’s progress.
MB&F Horological Machine No. 9 ‘Sapphire Vision’
The HM9-SV features an outer hull of sapphire crystal and precious metal, curved and bubbled and precisely fitted together in three parts, is sealed with a proprietary combination of patented three-dimensional gasket and high-tech compound bonding process. Two fully independent cantilevered balances channel data into a differential that turns two heartbeats into one coherent time-pulse. Ultra-precise conical gears efficiently turn the engine’s energy and information current through a 90° angle to feed the time display on a sapphire crystal dial, marked with Super-LumiNova.
On the reverse, co-axial beneath each of the balances are propellers: twin turbines that spin freely as an element of pure visual interest, waiting for someone to begin a new type of exploration. The laws of fluid dynamics remain dominant in its design, although the hydro-governed objectives allow HM9-SV to take a more lenient approach to the sharp inward angles and parabolic curves of the previous Flow versions. A traditional balance frequency of 2.5Hz (18,000vph) may seem curiously anachronistic in a modern timekeeper, but the sensitivity to shock associated with a lower beat rate is compensated for by having two balances instead of one. To further reduce sensitivity to shocks, the HM9-SV editions feature a new shock-absorbing system: helicoidal springs placed between the movement and the case. The springs are crafted by laser from a solid tube of polished stainless steel, offering excellent elasticity and limited lateral displacement.
Hublot Big Bang Tourbillion Carbon
This limited edition model, with only 50 pieces issued, fuses traditional Fine Watchmaking with Hublot’s cutting-edge spirit. The watch comprises two genuine complications: the tourbillon and the micro-rotor. Hublot has designed the tourbillion to be skeletonized and suspended, integrated within a bottom plate doted with transparent sapphire bridges The strap alone also merits being seen as a complication—especially considering its construction. It is a featherweight 26 grams, making it one of the lightest straps available today and it is supremely comfortable thanks to a perfect integration with the case. Bringing together the interwoven nature of carbon fibre and Texalium with the HUB6035 Manufacture Calibre, Hublot created an exclusive openwork back plate for this piece. It allows light to penetrate to the heart of the movement, strengthening the cohesion between aesthetics and technique, while also recalling the interlaced nature of the materials and the exclusivity of the piece—the only one in the world with a monobloc component of this kind.
Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon
Tradition and contemporary aesthetics: the Traditionnelle Tourbillon watch embodies a perfectly balanced expression of this alliance. Epitomising horological expertise with its tourbillon regulator integrated within the ultra-thin Calibre 2160/1, it opts for a sunburst deep green dial beautifully framed by a 950 platinum case.
The Traditionnelle Tourbillon watch appearing in a 41 mm-diameter platinum case features a majestic sunburst green dial. This original colour obtained by galvanic treatment endows the model with depth and intensity, enlivening the gleaming whiteness of the noble metal with brightly shimmering reflections. The intrinsic elegance of this new Traditionnelle Tourbillon also stems from the slenderness of the case, itself enabled by ultra-thin self-winding in-house Calibre 2160/1 measuring only 5.65 mm thick. To clearly understand how it operates, this regulator has been set to a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz).
Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA PF Minute Rattrapante
The TONDA PF Minute Rattrapante’s birth was guided by the idea of reinterpreting one of the most common watchmaking functions while helping it evolve to become an absolute innovation. The basic premise: to perform the function usually operated by the graduated bezel on a diver’s watch via the movement itself. The result is user friendliness, excellent legibility and apparent simplicity right the way through to activating the function. While TONDA PF GMT Rattrapante enables a distinction between local and home time in one-hour increments, this new development of the function now serves to display the minutes in five and one-minute increments respectively.
The TONDA PF Minute Rattrapante is graced with pure and essential proportions featuring sophisticated aesthetic codes and finishes. A complication that is intuitive, efficient and extremely simple to use, in harmony with the spirit that guides the brand.
Chopard L.U.C. 1860
In a creative gesture imbued with the innate elegance of the L.U.C collection, Chopard Manufacture draws inspiration from the first timepiece in the collection, presented in 1997, by combining the sophistication of a guilloché dial in salmon-coloured solid gold, a 36.5 mm case made of Chopard’s exclusive Lucent Steel™ alloy, as well as a finely crafted chronometer-certified movement. L.U.C Calibre 96.40-L is wound by a gold micro-rotor and equipped with the two barrels based on Chopard Twin technology. At the heart of the 36.50 mm Lucent Steel™ case nestles an elegant two-tone dial. Made of solid gold, it features a subtle salmon hue obtained by galvanic treatment and contrasting with the white gold touches of the chevron hour-markers. The anthracite grey grained calfskin leather strap, with its tone-on-tone stitching, complements the refined colours and textures skilfully orchestrated by the workshops.
The L.U.C 1860 timepiece is part of a continuing story that began more than a quarter of a century ago when, under Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s leadership, Chopard established the L.U.C collection, devoted to the art and traditions of Haute Horlogerie.
