Round-UpWatches And Wonders 2022: The New Coloured Timepieces Of The Season
We bring you some of the best new coloured watches launched at this year’s edition of Watches and Wonders
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Like every year, there is enough excitement around the new launches at the annual horlogerie extravaganza, and this year’s Watches and Wonders is no different. In fact horophiles had been looking forward to this event since travel restrictions were eased out and many have been able to travel to Geneva to witness the watches in person after making do with digital sessions since the last two years. While complications are always the highlight for any brand when it comes to their showstoppers, many watchmakers also infuse a new lease of life into their timepieces by introducing new colours that offer a vibrant take on fine watchmaking. Traditionally, white and black have always been the mainstays when it comes to dominant colours in watches, with blue also becoming a preferred choice in the last couple of years. While these hues were present in most novelties, what stood out were timepieces in colour schemes around green, pink and grey—offering a fresh perspective in the horological space. We look at some timekeepers that are in sync with the colour wheel for this season
Green
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition Woodland
IWC have been pioneers when it comes to crafting watches in ceramic—a difficult material to work with. They have been using ceramic not just for their cases but also for movement parts. And this year, they have launched a verdant, olive green hue for Pilot’s watches Top Gun line aptly named—Woodland. The flight suits of naval aviators have inspired this distinctive, newly developed shade of green used for the ceramic case and the dial, while the numerals and hour markers are printed in a lighter hue. The pushers and the case back are made of matt black Ceratanium. Developed by IWC, this material combines the lightness and structural integrity of titanium with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to ceramic. A matching green rubber strap with textile inlay completes the design.
Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel
The Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel recognises the importance of sustainability goals while maintaining the brand’s established design codes and technical finesse. Here, 72gm of the watch is made of recycled materials, corresponding to 52 percent of the total weight of the watch (137gm). The dial and bezel of the 44mm timepiece are in the same colour and are offered in three hues: blue, grey and green. They are all mounted on matching straps made from recycled material. The green version or Verde Smeraldo, looks rich with its lush, green gradient dial with luminous hour markers and dots. There is a date window at three o’clock and a small seconds counter positioned at nine o’clock.
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green
Experimenting with coloured dials comes pretty naturally to H. Moser & Cie., who are renowned in the industry for their fumé or gradient dials in various arresting hues. This year, Moser have reinvented their signature fumé dials with a focus on traditional skills and expertise, to pay tribute to the art of enamelling, imbuing this age-old technique with a modern sensibility. The result is a brand new, intense shade of green, with a fresh vibrancy and an original hammered texture that enhances its appeal. The new Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green comes in a 40mm stainless steel case with an automatic movement, and combines the classic elegance of a three-hand watch with a perfectly balanced contemporary aesthetic. Here, each dial is unique because enamelling is done by hand and they showcase a striking texture and an intense hue, with no logo or indices.
Hublot Big Bang Integral Ceramic
The master of the art of fusion has done it again. In 2020, the Big Bang was launched in a version with an integrated bracelet, and with an architecture showcasing clearly defined lines, fully integrated in ceramic, with the exception of the composite lugs, pushers and crown over-moulded with rubber. And this year the brand have developed on this trajectory further with the introduction of four new monochrome shades in the Big Bang Integral line. Each watch is available in a limited-edition of 250 pieces, with shades that represent the elements of water, earth and wood. The 42mm jungle-green version looks rich with its overall verdant hue, and the ceramic case and bracelet ensure hardness and durability, superior scratch-resistance, greater intensity in colour while retaining its lightness, making it extremely comfortable on the wrist. It is powered by the in-house Unico movement that supplies a generous 72-hour power reserve.
Pink
Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400
Last year, Oris experimented with a bubblegum pink hue for one of its bronze timepieces in the Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy collection. And this year, they have opted for a salmon-pink hue dial for one of the three versions introduced in the new ProPilot X Calibre 400—a titanium-cased watch inspired by more than a century of aviation heritage and powered by the brand’s five-day automatic movement. The watch comes in a 39mm titanium case with a bracelet in the same material. This gives a semblance of uniformity to the timepiece and allows the dial hue to stand out against this neutral canvas. The taut, angular lines of the aviation-inspired form are satin and sandblasted, and the oversized crown, also in titanium is flanked by protectors. This is a fresh, expressive palette, chosen to augment the case’s dynamic proportions, as well as to bring life and colour to your wrist.
Grey
Parmigiani Tonda GT Chronograph
The Tonda GT Chronograph returns to the forefront with functions and colours that lend it a sporty tone while remaining in the realm of complications. It appears in two versions: 18-karat rose gold with chronograph and big date functions; and steel with chronograph and annual calendar functions. The model featured here stands out for its various shades of grey, right from the case to the strap. Even the sub-dials on the dial are in the same colour scheme but look impressive against the greyish silver-toned guilloche backdrop. The 42mm Tonda GT Chronograph is powered by an integrated, in-house self-winding chronograph calibre operating at a frequency of 36,000vph. It is visible through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback, and boasts a 65-hour power reserve.
Angelus Chronodate
Known for their ultra-sporty and exceptional chronographs with skeletonised dials, Angelus have launched the Chronodate—a collection that pays homage to the brand’s famous chronograph calibre presented 80 years ago, in 1942. This collection presents a fusion of the signature Angelus styles, which combine traditional watchmaking with contemporary technical innovation. The choice of chronograph movement and peripheral date is reminiscent of the brand’s glory days and contrast with the multi-structure and multi-material exterior. The 42mm Chronodate is available in three limited-edition series of 25 pieces whose aesthetics are inspired both by historic Angelus references and the sleek, open-worked lines of its recent timepieces. The model featured here comes in a titanium case with an opaline-greyish, frosted centre, black DLC applied details coated with white Super-LumiNova emitting a blue glow. The black minute track is placed next to the flange, and one can also see the rhodium-plated applied logo positioned below 12 o’clock. Its bi-compax automatic chronograph movement is encircled by a peripheral date, just as it was in the original model.
