Time+Tide
During our visit to Geneva Watch Days 2023, we got to experience some of the craziest watches of the year. Carbon cases, constant force escapements, fluid displays and more from brands like Bulgari, Czapek and Girard-Perregaux all make the list, serving as a total opposite to the numerous stealth wealth pieces that featured during the fair.Editor’s note: The below is an adapted transcription of Andrew’s commentary in the video, along with full specifications tables four each of these four ‘crazy’ watches. But please do yourself a favour and watch the video in full.Girard-Perregaux Neo Constant EscapementFirst up is the reinvented Girard-Perregaux Neo Constant Escapement. This watch, or its mechanism rather, was inspired by a person on a train snapping a card back and forth, which triggered a brilliant designer to think of a new way to construct an escapement. However, with this latest iteration we have a dramatically smaller case size and a new time display. Instead of having a little time display on a sub-dial at 12 o’clock, we now have central hands taking up the full space of the dial. It is smaller, more wearable, has a much more legible time display, and also there have been many micro adjustments to the constant force movement making it more reliable and more accurate (backed by COSC certification). Well done Girard-Perregaux.BrandGirard-PerregauxModelNeo Constant EscapementReference Number93510-21-1930-5CXCase Dimensions45mm (D) x 14.8mm (T)Case MaterialTitaniumWater Resistance30 metresCrystal(s)SapphireDialOpenStrapRubber with titanium tri-fold buckleMovementGP09200, in-house, hand-wound, COSC-certified, constant-force escapementPower Reserve7 daysFunctionsHours, minutes, seconds, power reserveAvailabilityNowPriceUS$99,600, CHF 95,000HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity SapphiresNumber two, the watch that I have to look at my phone to read out the name of, it’s the HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires Time Keeper. But, in that long-winded title is everything that is bonkers about this watch. We have a tourbillon on a 30 degree angle, we have a case thickness of 25mm and a diameter of over 48mm. However, this watch wears surprisingly well and it fits on my 7 inch wrist really well. That is because it is 52.3mm lug-to-lug, compact for a 48mm watch, and the strap adheres to the side of the case and drops straight down. It is also absolutely wild with sapphires rotating around that slanted tourbillon, and then, of course, HYT makes the only watches that have meca-fluidic time displays. This can be seen in action around the edges with two bellows pushing the retrograde fluidic hours to indicate the time in conjunction with a central minutes hand.BrandHYTModelConical Tourbillon Infinity SapphiresReference NumberH03131-ACase Dimensions48mm (D) x 25.15mm (T) x 52.3mm (LTL)Case Material5N gold and black-coated titaniumWater Resistance30 metresCrystal(s)Box-domed sapphireDialBlack-coated brass, sapphires, 5N coated grid and borosilicate tubesStrapBlack rubber and brown leather with embossingMovement701-TC, manual winding, 21,600vph, composed of 533 piecesPower Reserve40 hoursFunctionsRetrograde fluidic hours, central minutes, conical tourbillon, chaotic animationAvailability8 pieces, for enquiriesPriceCHF 390,000Czapek Place Vend?me CompliciteUp next is Czapek with their Place Vend?me Complicite, which has two balance wheels in action on the bottom of the dial. This watch is reimagined from a 1930s piece that has the double escapement we see in modern form here, and it is really quite spectacular in the metal. A really noteworthy thing about this watch is that it’s highly complicated, obviously, but also very reasonable to wear at 42mm due to its 48.2mm lug-to-lug span. There is something super compelling about exposed escapements and this watch certainly gives you two times the fun.BrandCzapekModelPlace Vend?me Complicite Harmony BlueCase Dimensions41.8mm (D) x 14.8mm (T) x 48.2mm (LTL)Case Material18k 5N rose goldWater Resistance5 atmCrystal(s)Domed sapphireDialOpenworked with blue galvanic treatmentStrapAlligator leather, 18k 5N rose gold folding claspMovementCalibre 8, in collaboration with Bernhard Lederer, dual escapement, manually woundPower Reserve72 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, seconds, power reserveAvailabilityLimited to 50 pieces in each colourPriceCHF 85,000 (ex. VAT)Bulgari Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual CalendarLast, but certainly not least, if the Octo Finissimo CarbonGold time only was not complicated enough for you, then how about this perpetual calendar configuration? What an absolutely divine perpetual calendar dial layout we have here. The CarbonGold is this lovely camouflage, animal pattern style of carbon, now with rose gold displays for the perpetual calendar. This is one of my favorite perpetual dials ever because I can read it and understand it with ease thanks to Fabrizio’s masterful eye for clean design. When you flip it over, you are going to see some stealth wealth on display with a rose gold-plated movement that utilises a platinum micro-rotor also plated in rose gold to keep the aesthetic uniform while maximising the density of the rotor.BrandBulgariModelOcto Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual CalendarReference Number103778Case Dimensions40mm (D) x 7.6mm (T)Case MaterialCarbon, rose gold and ceramicWater Resistance30 metresCrystal(s)Flat sapphire front and backDialCarbonStrapCarbon bracelet with folding claspMovementBVL 305, in-house, 2.75mm thicknessPower Reserve60 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, perpetual calendar, retrograde date and leap yearAvailabilityNowPriceA$145,000
13.10.23