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Vogue Singapore
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Vogue's Watches Report: It's all about a beautiful bracelet
A ladies' timepiece used to be a bit of an afterthought for many watchmakers. Going by the releases and design trends this year at Watches and Wonders, the world's biggest horological showcase, that is surely no longer. Pursuits of beauty, poetry and (surprise!) usefulness are making the ladies' category perhaps the most exciting it's ever been. In this series of Vogue Watch Reports, we curate 2025's most noteworthy releases from Geneva. Here, beautifully and thoughtfully crafted bracelet watches make a statement. In fine watchmaking, everything is about the details. And not just on the inside movements, mind you, but even the slightest nuance of how a watch is shaped in the right places to sit comfortably on the wrist. One area of such minute detail that is getting a lot of attention this year is bracelets. Particularly, watchmakers that have introduced brand-new bracelet styles that are sure to define and influence the rest of their collections for years to come. The five-link Flat Jubilee bracelet, introduced on Rolex's new Land-Dweller collection. Courtesy of Rolex Rolex Land-Dweller 40 in Oystersteel and white gold, $21,800 Courtesy of Rolex The biggest news is surely that of Swiss giant Rolex releasing a new collection—its first in 13 years. Enter the Land-Dweller, the brand's take on an integrated bracelet design. In the same way that the Datejust was launched in 1945 with the now-iconic Jubilee bracelet, the Land-Dweller also debuts the brand-new Flat Jubilee. The five-row design features flat links, which are satin-brushed with polished chamfered edges on the outer links and mirror-polished inner links. Elegant, yet with a grounded spirit that lives up to its Land-Dweller name. Jaeger-LeCoultre debuts a Milanese bracelet in its signature collection on the all-pink-gold Reverso Tribute 'Or Deco'. Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre has had an icon in its Reverso for almost a century. In all of its forms, it has been almost exclusively styled with leather straps. This year, the Swiss watchmaker is introducing a revelatory new reference, the Reverso Tribute Monoface 'Or Deco' with the collection's first—and, at the moment, only—Milanese bracelet. The entire design of the watch, from case to dial to bracelet, is crafted in a monochromatic palette of pink gold. Crafting this bracelet called for no less than 16m of pink gold threads, which are woven to form a dense flat mesh that is then hand-soldered to seal without pins. The result: a gold bracelet that's as supple as a second skin. Piaget's new signature model, the Sixtie. Courtesy of Piaget At Piaget, the focus this year is on shapes. That's underscored by its big release of 2025, the new trapeze-shaped Sixtie collection of jewellery watches. The design references trapezoidal jewellery and sautoir watches from the maison's '60s and '70s archives, and updates it for modern tastes. The trapeze shape of Piaget's Sixtie watch is not limited to its case. Even its bracelet is distinctly curved and shaped to echo the silhouette. Courtesy of Piaget A side view of the Sixtie reveals its subtle curves. Courtesy of Piaget The trapeze is obvious enough on the shape of the case, but where it really shines as a subtle, complete and thoughtful detail is in its newly developed five-link bracelet. The outermost links are shaped like halves of a trapeze, and the middle links like rounded rectangles so that every part of the bracelet has curves that extend the silhouette of the watch throughout the wrist. Vogue Singapore's June 2025 'Gold' issue is available on newsstands and online.
Khaleej Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Rolex, Patek Philippe: Highlights from Watches and Wonders 2025
Watches and Wonders is more than just a trade fair – it's horology's grandest stage, where the world's most storied maisons unveil their boldest ideas, cutting-edge technologies, and artistic feats. At its heart lies a celebration of innovation not just in mechanics, but in imagination too. And while this year's edition, held from April 1 to 7 in Geneva, unveiled marvels across every segment of watchmaking, we look closely at four watches that revealed the philosophical breadth and technical ambition that define this golden age for the industry. None perhaps was more quietly radical than the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller. In an era where complexity often wins applause, Rolex introduced an entirely new model – its first in many years – with nothing more than three hands. But therein lies the genius. The Land-Dweller, available in 36mm and 40mm, is Rolex's most contemporary vision yet: a sublime fusion of technical prowess and design restraint. With 32 patent applications, including a new high-frequency 5Hz calibre 7135, ceramic balance staff and Dynapulse escapement, this is no minimalist gimmick. It's a redefinition of purpose. The honeycomb-patterned dials – set in Rolesor, Everose or platinum – and the integrated Flat Jubilee bracelet speak to a brand in full command of its aesthetic language. Amid a sea of hyper-complications, it offers a refreshing return to purposeful elegance. If Rolex's creation is a study in pared-back perfection, Vacheron Constantin's Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication – La Première is its polar opposite. A watch that looks to the cosmos and finds poetry in precision, it is a horological universe contained within a 45mm white gold case. With 41 complications, including five rare astronomical functions and a celestial chronograph – the first of its kind – it now stands as the most complicated wristwatch ever made. Eight years in development, driven by the 1,521-component Calibre 3655, it is as much an astronomical instrument as it is a wristwatch. Civil, sidereal, and solar time are woven together, alongside a Westminster minute repeater, tidal indications, and a stunning display of the Sun's path. Solaria is a technical and aesthetic marvel, symbolising Vacheron's 270-year commitment to pushing the limits of possibility. Equally arresting is the Patek Philippe Ref. 5308G Quadruple Complication, a symphonic fusion of four grand complications: split-seconds chronograph, minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar, and moon phase. Patek's newly developed R CHR 27 PS QI calibre features 799 parts and two patented innovations – an anti-backlash wheel and an isolation system for the rattrapante – to ensure remarkable energy efficiency. The calendar's instantaneous jump – executed in just 30 milliseconds – is a marvel in its own right. Encased in hand-finished white gold and dressed in a sunburst ice blue dial, this watch is Patek at its lyrical best: reserved yet resonant, intricate yet elegant. The final piece in this quartet of greatness is the A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual, a rare union of German engineering and emotive craftsmanship. Limited to 50 pieces, this platinum timepiece features the manually wound calibre L122.2, which introduces refined mechanics like a patented hammer blocker and pause elimination for uninterrupted acoustics. The perpetual calendar – accurate until 2100 – and the hand-enamelled white gold dial with Lange's iconic outsize date, reflect the house's unique voice in high watchmaking: stoic, cerebral, and unrelentingly precise. From Rolex's contemporary minimalism to the orchestral complexity of Patek, Vacheron, and Lange, these four watches show the full spectrum of what fine watchmaking can be in 2025. Together, these four watches form a constellation of vision and virtuosity. The Land-Dweller speaks of restraint and reinvention; Solaria of celestial grandeur; Ref. 5308G of lyrical complexity; and the Lange of Teutonic rigour laced with emotion. In their own way, each charts a course into the future – where horology remains not just about measuring time, but mastering, refining, and embellishing it.
