Netjets US Autumn 2022

ON THE PULSE
BLUE HEAVEN
Above from left: H. Moser & Cie
Endeavour Perpetual Calendar;
Czapek Antarctique; Oris Big Crown
Pointer Date.
Facing page, clockwise from top:
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus; Ulysse
Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase;
Cartier Santos.
fi nd the Freak X Aventurine, an altogether bolder
way to work a deep blue into the collection.
Indeed, there is often a practical consideration
to the choice of color on offer. Whether it’s
the rich starry blue of aventurine glass or the
complexity of creating exactly the right color-fast,
wear-resistant pigment, or perfecting the dozens
of artisanal steps that can go into a high-end,
enamel-fi red dial, the fi nal color of a watch is
determined by what’s possible as much as by
what its creator may have been able to imagine.
Ceramic watches are notable for opening up a
whole new world of possibilities: The whole
watch can adopt a new shade, from bezel to
buckle, but each new color requires a fresh
chemical recipe for the raw ceramic powder,
which will change color when moulded and fi red
into shape. Hublot’s Big Bang Integrated Sky
Blue (hublot.com) is a case in point—such a
delicate hue has taken its engineers a while to
master. The end result is a watch that won’t be
mistaken for any other. Also experimenting with
spreading color beyond the dial is Cartier (cartier.
com), which having breathed new life into the
Santos a few years ago, is now expanding it
far beyond its 1980s roots (which seemed
daring enough back then) with a blue coating
to the bezel and bracelet. The all-blue look—
thanks to its expansive dial and carefully paired
leather strap—was also on display at Ressence
(ressencewatches.com), which debuted its new
Type 8 (the simplest and most stripped-back
of its creations to date) in just one color. And if
clever, independently owned watch brands with a
minimalist streak are your thing, there’s also H.
Moser & Cie (h-moser.com), whose nifty perpetual
calendar complication was given a dazzling blue
dial for the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar that
launched in February alongside a provocative
sister model whose dial came inscribed
with chalkboard-style instructions for use.
At the other end of the spectrum, in terms
of solemnity if not visually, there is perhaps no
better indication of blue’s arrival than its use by
the very biggest watchmaking maisons for their
top releases. Patek Philippe (patek.com) chose
to debut an incredible, multi-patented new
chronograph, reference 5470P-001, in what is,
by its dignifi ed standards, a very racy blue and
red color scheme, with a casual fabric strap to
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE WATCHMAKERS
62 NetJets