As the world becomes a smaller place, all you need is one nifty gadget to track your schedule for business and pleasure. Karishma Tulsidas suggests dual-time watches that will do all the hard work.
Thrills & Spills
With the Galactic Unitime SleekT, Breitling boasts a new first: Calibre B35, the premier in-house manufactured movement that is not a chronograph. Instead, the Galactic Unitime SleekT panders to another aspect of the watchmaker’s link to aviation, and offers a simple view of the time in any part of the world. The time can be adjusted in one-hour increments forwards or backwards by the crown. Thanks to ingenious engineering, adjustments can even be done during that precarious 10pm to 2am window when time adjustments would normally put the watch at risk of damage. The steel watch comes with a scratch-resistant and ultra-hard tungsten carbide bezel, appealing to the adventure seeker’s need for durability and resilience.
German Artistry
Deeply entrenched in the values of German watchmaking, A. Lange & Söhne’s Saxonia collection has long been the ultimate exemplar of the watchmaker’s elegant Teutonic style. For 2015, the collection has undergone a minor facelift, while its dimensions have been slightly trimmed down. In addition to automatic and manual-wound versions, the Saxonia now also features a dual time complication. Accents of blue via the second hour hand and hour markers stand out against the silvered dial and gold case. The seconds counter at 6 o’clock provides a visual symmetry to the day/night indicator subdial at 12.
Architectural Influences
The art deco lines of Harry Winston’s Avenue collection adorn its latest iteration, the Dual Time. The imposing 53.8mm by 35.8mm timepiece features two unique faces, one revealing the home time, the other the local time. On the left, a second time zone is indicated by a vertical retrograde counter, while a classic hour and minute hand displays the home time on the openworked side of the dial. An aperture at 5.30 reveals the date, and the timepiece comes in either Zalium or Sedna gold.
Slim & Trim
As its name suggests, the new Slim d’Hermès is svelte from every angle—its bezel and lugs are narrow, and a new typography for the roman numerals, dreamt up by graphic designer Philippe Apeloig, is similarly lithe. The movement, too, is slim thanks to a micro-rotor, and is etched with an H decoration. Within the minimalistic collection, Hermès has also showcased its technical prowess with a perpetual calendar with a moonphase and GMT function. Two subdials at 9 and 12 o’clock indicate the calendar functions, while another counter reveals home time at 6. The Hermès logo sits under a mother-of-pearl moonphase over an aventurine sky.
Oceanic Time
Ulysse Nardin returns to its nautical roots with its 2015 edition of the Dual Time Manufacture, by introducing a new navy blue dial with a geometric rope design. With its case hewn in a stately pink gold, the timepiece is dressy enough for business meetings across the world, and yet idiosyncratic enough for holiday shenanigans with the family. It is extremely easy to operate as well, with the central hour and minute hands linked to the home time, and a second time zone window at 9 o’clock that can be adjusted via “+” and “–” pushers at 8 and 10 o’clock. The timepiece also comes in a more classic variant with an ivory dial.
Dark Horse
Greubel Forsey is known for pushing the boundaries in the construction of tourbillons, but the independent watchmaker duo has had another ace up its sleeves with its GMT timepiece. This year, the titanium watch undergoes a black treatment, and comes coated with an ADLC (amorphous diamond-like carbon) finish. The watch’s impressive features aren’t overshadowed, however, and one will instantly notice a globe at 7 o’clock. It rotates in real time, letting the user know whether it is day or night anywhere in the world. A second time zone sits above the globe, while the back of the timepiece exhibits a world time ring. The black version is only available in 22 pieces, as a discreet marker of luxury for the most discerning travellers.
Home Chime
Following the success of the playful Escale Worldtime last year, Louis Vuitton proves its horological chops once again with the addition of a minute repeater function to the timepiece. Aesthetically, the watch retains its inspiration from the Louis Vuitton trunks of yore, with hand-painted geometric motifs lining the dial. The minute repeater has been calibrated to chime the home time wherever in the world you may be; thanks to its titanium construction, the sound is loud and distinctive. The hand-wound in-house manufactured movement offers 100 hours of operational power.