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Vogue Singapore
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Vogue's Watches Report: For Hermès, anywhere but the wrist
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, the new Maillon Libre brooch watch by Hermès that is designed to be worn pinned, as a necklace, however you can imagine it—just not traditionally on the wrist. Hermès has in its stable a veritable treasure trove of signature designs. The Chaine d'ancre, one of its most popular, has surprisingly never been interpreted as a watch save for subtle details here and there. That changes this year with the introduction of the Maillon Libre collection, a line that re-interprets the anchor chain link. Designed without a traditional wrist strap, Hermès's new Maillon Libre encourages adventurous, nomadic ways of wearing. Tom Johnson, courtesy of Hermès The most surprising and chic design to come out of the Maillon Libre collection is the brooch watch, which leans into a small but increasingly popular niche of watches that aren't meant to be worn on the wrist. It takes a single link of the anchor chain and turns it into a watch. It's offered in rose or white gold with a diamond-set bezel, with a line of diamonds on the dial to simulate the centre pin of the chain link. In rose gold, the dial is polished to mirrored perfection, while in white gold the dial is made of matte black onyx. The half-link brooch pin is just as luxuriously detailed, with a line of diamonds like the bezel, baguette-cut diamonds on the centre pin, and set with an indicolite tourmaline on rose gold or a terracotta tourmaline on white gold. Tom Johnson, courtesy of Hermès The Maillon Libre can be worn on a lapel, on a shirt or just as easily on a sleeve to imitate the traditional experience of looking at the time on your wrist. But what might be more chic is to wear it with the provided leather cordlet and cloche as a swinging sautoir necklace. No surprises that the leather, black Swift calfskin or alligator, is sumptuous—it is Hermès, after all. Vogue Singapore's June 2025 'Gold' issue is available on newsstands and online.
Vogue Singapore
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Vogue's Watches Report: After bracelets come bangles
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, a cheeky answer to the question of 'what comes after the bracelet?' Why, watches with bangles, of course! Courtesy of Cartier Bracelets have gotten some major love this year, but their distant relative, the bangle, is no slouch either. Since Cartier's yellow gold bangle Baignoire hit a goldmine of popularity last year, this style has been on the rise. The Parisian jeweller-watchmaker, in fact, seems to have been surprised by its own success—the bangle-style watch was on a waitlist, with very limited sizes. This year, it's amping up the Baignoire on a bangle with a version that's dotted with diamonds informally nicknamed 'polkadot'. Courtesy of Chanel Courtesy of Chanel Courtesy of Chanel Chanel, meanwhile, is upping the jewelled aspect of its octagonal cocktail watch with the Première Galon. The new designs are now cased in solid 18-carat gold, with twisted gold bracelets to match—'galon' is French for braid, and takes its reference from the braided trims of Chanel's tweed suits. Courtesy of Bvlgari Courtesy of Bvlgari And at Bvlgari, the Roman house has given its snake icon the Serpenti its first major reimagining this decade. Enter the Serpenti Aeterna, which abstracts the snake form into geometric arrowhead shapes and which curls around the wrist as a hinged bangle. Vogue Singapore's June 2025 'Gold' issue is available on newsstands and online.
Vogue Singapore
19-06-2025
- Business
- Vogue Singapore
Vogue's Watches Report: The new daily timepiece is here
Courtesy of Cartier 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, a look at a new generation of luxury daily watches. A luxury timepiece is an investment, to be sure, and one evergreen category is the everyday watch. Something that is well-made, beautifully designed and stylistically versatile to carry you through most occasions. Sophisticated and understated to take you from workdays to the evening, or even weekends and special occasions. Thanks to the trend for smaller case sizes, brands like Bell & Ross are following suit. This year, it introduces the smallest watch in its contemporary catalogue: the 36mm BR-05 Auto, pictured here with a grey dial. Courtesy of Bell & Ross A new generation of 'dailies' emerged this year, thanks in part to the growing trend of smaller case sizes. What's interesting is that these watches, even as they have been rescaled to slighter proportions, are being imagined for wrists of any gender. It's the rare sweet spot of a nearly-universally flattering case size. Somewhere between 32 to 36mm, and which fits most wearers. In design, there's also a shift from delineating daintiness for women. That sort of outmoded thinking has gone out the window. Watchmakers are recognising that the (very large) market of women are just as like to be in pursuit of an investment timepiece that doesn't infantilise their tastes. (Read: make it small, put a battery in it, and placate with some diamonds.) Good! It's driving the design brief of a modern luxury daily watch in a challenging but ultimately rewarding direction. A bit of reassuring heft and substantiality, coupled with essential elegance and style. Courtesy of Cartier 1 / 6 A classic, rejigged The appeal of a classic is a proven, enduring design. Which is why the matter of even a few millimetres in difference can be exciting: it opens up plenty more wearable possibilities. Cartier, for instance, has debuted a new small size for its contemporary Santos de Cartier that recalls some of the most desirable vintage models. Santos de Cartier small model in stainless steel, $8,750 Courtesy of A. Lange & Söhne 2 / 6 As for A. Lange & Söhne, its new 34mm 1815 models offer a traditional, understated look that is impeccably elegant. It's one of the German watchmaker's most discreet, yet tremendously chic designs: a classical three-hand watch that gets all of its details just right. It's powered by a hand-wound manufacture movement, newly developed for the watch and the brand's 75th since it was re-established in modern form. And despite its small case size, this new movement promises a 72-hour power reserve. A. Lange & Söhne 1815 34mm in white gold, price upon request Courtesy of Patek Philippe 3 / 6 A nifty square A square, geometric watch face is unique in a sea of circular models and easy enough to wear on the daily. The Cubitus, Patek Philippe's newest collection, welcomes a new 40mm model this year in options of white or rose gold that shrinks its casual chic look just a smidge to fit nearly every wrist. It's an investment to be sure, but the Cubitus is finding its place as one of the revered watchmaker's most brisk, energetic designs in its contemporary catalogue. Patek Philippe Cubitus ref. 7128/1G-001 40mm in white gold, $110,900 Courtesy of Bell & Ross 4 / 6 At Bell & Ross, meanwhile, its signature circle-in-a-square design inspired by aeronautical equipment gets monumentally downsized to an elegant 36mm in the new BR-05. Bell & Ross BR-05 36mm in stainless steel with an ice blue dial, $6,000 Courtesy of Montblanc 5 / 6 A sporty look When it comes to a sports watch, there are generally two aesthetic camps. The first is a tool watch, inspired by divers, chronographs and such. Look to Montblanc's Iced Sea Automatic Date 0 Oxygen, now available at 38mm with frosty gratté-boisé dials crafted with an ancestral technique. Worn on a rubber strap, its all-white look is sporty yet chic; or swap it out for a steel bracelet for a touch of metallic contrast. This year, Montblanc is also rolling out its 0 Oxygen update across its watches. Essentially, oxygen is removed entirely from the insides of the case. This is meant to reduce oxidative wear, so the brand's watches last longer between services—a thoughtful feature available on new models introduced this year, and which can also be applied to prior models as an upgrade. Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date 0 Oxygen 38mm in stainless steel, from $4,900 on a rubber strap Courtesy of IWC 6 / 6 The other look of a sports watch is a sturdy, luxury design with an integrated bracelet. This is the archetype minted in the 1970s, and which has endured for over five decades. The reason for its staying power is simple: steel lasts a long time with minimal babying, and a subtly sporty look is congruent with the more casual dress codes of today. IWC has taken the temperature of the times, and scaled its Ingenieur Automatic to a nifty new 35mm size. It's part of the Schaffhausen manufacture's refresh of the collection, and this new case size comes in options of full steel with a silver or black dial, or 5N gold with a matching golden dial. IWC Ingenieur Automatic in stainless steel, $10,500 Vogue Singapore's June 2025 'Gold' issue is available on newsstands and online.
