STYLE & BEAUTY ON THE
STYLE & BEAUTY ON THE PULSE Back to the Future The creative flair of yesteryear continues to imbue and enhance the timepieces of today, as Timothy Barber explains What goes around comes around – and then, in the world of horology, after a while it comes around again. There’s a revivalist wind blowing through Switzerland, which is seeing a number of brands going back to their archives not just for a bit of inspiration, but to entirely re-create celebrated timepieces of yore. While these may give the wearer the chance to sport something flushed with heritage style, they are thoroughly modern specimens nevertheless, with all the excellence in materials, reliability and durability that have earned the makers their lofty reputations. 2 / 7 T U D O R H E R I T A G E R A N G E R In the 1960s the Ranger was Tudor’s equivalent of parent-brand Rolex’s Explorer: a field watch whose rugged build quality and sleek design made it suitable for both office life and adventuring. As with many current Tudor designs, the modern version takes on much of the spirit and look of the original without being a direct revival – more of a handsome homage, with the Ranger’s famous shieldshaped hour hand to the fore. tudorwatch.com 3 / 7 C A R T I E R C R A S H S K E L E T O N 1 / 7 L O N G I N E S C O N Q U E S T H E R I T A G E Longines once occupied the same prestigious territory as Patek Philippe and Rolex, and though more middlebrow these days, it produces some splendid revival editions of those vintage classics. The 1954 Conquest was a rather suave selfwinding dress watch, and the modern version is especially faithful to the original design, right down to its 35mm width – somewhat smaller than is fashionable now, but all the better for it. longines.com Of all the shaped watches Cartier has produced over the past century – Tanks, Tortues, oval Baignoires, etc – the Crash is by far the oddest, with an equally bizarre backstory. Resembling Dalí’s melted clock, it was supposedly inspired by a Baignoire that had indeed been melted and mangled in a horrific car accident, which also gave it its somewhat shocking name. It was produced in small numbers in the late 1960s and again in the early 1990s, and has more recently returned properly to the fold, this year for the first time in skeleton form, with a movement designed to the extraordinary contours of the watch. cartier.com PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE WATCHMAKERS 46 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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