STYLE & BEAUTY in the STYLE & BEAUTY in the details 1. TIME UNBOUND A new breed of unconformist watchmakers is shaking up the Swiss orthodoxy with their futuristic creations. Alex Doak reports Ask any self-professed watch nerd what brand paved the way for the current golden age of sci-fi-inspired time machines, and the standard response will be Richard Mille. But as ground-breaking as the eponymous French auteur’s high-tech “racing machines for the wrist” may have been in 2000, this answer is as facile as citing Apple as the sole reason we are now tapping away feverishly on touchscreen tablets. Quite simply, with the breathless revival of top-end collectable horology, it was inevitable we’d see a breakaway faction of enfants terribles challenging the received wisdom of the round watch, the standard three hands, the matching cravat and so on. And while these far-out contraptions can still only be made by the same sort of tweezer-wielding, mountain-dwelling artisans as the likes of Audemars Piguet and Breguet, the scope for innovation is theoretically limitless, as the very foundations upon which the oldies rebuilt their reputation in the 1990s (“tradition”, in a word) is ultimately irrelevant to the new school – an anathema, in fact. Unbound by the shackles of tradition, the likes of Urwerk and Christophe Claret can blossom in ever-challenging ways. 1 no Cyrus Klepcys 48MM Like so many of Switzerland’s new breed, Cyrus was founded by a family with deeply entrenched experience in the traditional local industry – and with a commensurate reliance on its cottage industry. Designed in cooperation with Jean-François Mojon, the beguilingly threedimensional Klepcys is inspired by the Tower of Babel. cyrus-watches.ch Photo © cyrus 48 CENTURION-Magazine.COM
Discover more online... 01 new material Wood, ceramic or carbon – a selection of unusual timepieces www.centurion-magazine.com/unusual-watches 02 Bedazzled It needn’t be complicated – the top bejewelled watches from Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie www.centurion-magazine.com/SIHH-jewel 03 Looking forward Get a sneak peek at the top timepieces emerging out of Baselworld www.centurion-magazine.com/basel online and on the pulse www.centurion-magazine.com
