STYLE ETC. 1 2 CASE
STYLE ETC. 1 2 CASE STUDIES FACES TO WATCH Ageless beauty meets cutting-edge innovation in the year’s most covetable timepieces. ROBIN SWITHINBANK reports from the industry’s glittering annual spectacle Geneva’s annual festival of watchmaking, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, is usually a confident, ostentatious affair, but the past couple of years have been lean by the industry’s booming, 21st-century standards. Exports of Swiss watches were down 10 per cent in 2016, mostly due to changes in Chinese spending habits. And so, as expected, this year’s SIHH was a more reserved affair, although a number of CEOs reported “cautious optimism” following a spike in final quarter sales last year. Which is all to say: nowhere are numbers and aesthetics more closely paired than watch dials – and this year’s new crop are a mostly sober lot. Herewith a quick loop of 2017’s debutants. » 1 RICHARD MILLE RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Secs Chronograph Ultralight McLaren F1 During the presentation of Richard Mille’s new hyperwatch, attention was inevitably diverted as much to the eye-catching expense as the expressive design. But price to one side, Richard Mille’s latest – the first watch to carry the name of its Formula One partner, McLaren – is an astonishing piece of avant-garde watchmaking. It’s the lightest split-seconds tourbillon chronograph ever made, an obscure record made possible by the brand’s liberal use of graphene, a new material in watchmaking said to be 200 times stronger than steel. The whole thing, strap included, weighs just 40 grams. richardmille.com 2 VACHERON CONSTANTIN Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 With 23 complications, Vacheron Constantin’s Celestia is the most complicated wristwatch the company has ever made, and one of the most complicated in watchmaking history. Among its functions are civil, solar and sidereal time (the latter two are measured against the sun and the stars), a perpetual calendar, a celestial chart, sunrise and sunset times, a tide-level indicator and indication of the seasons. It also has a thundering three-week power reserve. Phenomenal. vacheronconstantin.com COURTESY OF THE WATCHMAKERS 50 DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM
PROMOTION BEYOND THE ORDINARY The Bentley Bentayga is an extraordinary car – outstanding both in terms of its striking design and remarkable capabilities on and off road. Bentley’s aim in its creation was to tear up the rule book and produce the world’s fastest and first luxury SUV. And a durable one – as a year of traversing the globe, testing the car in extreme weather and terrain has shown. Bentayga never missed a beat. Most recently, the car proved its worth during one of Bentley’s Extraordinary World adventures, a collection of unique luxury experiences pioneered by the brand. The first of these was an expedition to South America, where Bentley’s guests spent six days taking on some of the world’s most challenging environments in Bentayga. Driving through Chile and Bolivia, guests stopped at various boutique hotels, and spent a night under the stars in the Atacama Desert. They enjoyed unforgettable sights including Bolivia’s Licancabur Volcano, the Sol de Mañana Geysers and the rock formations of the Siloli Desert. All of which the car took in its stride. As one guest said: “The defining moment was when we returned to tar-sealed roads after five hard days of offroad. There wasn’t a rattle anywhere. A very impressive SUV.” Available with either a W12 petrol or V8 Diesel engine, the latter offering an impressive 1000km range, the Bentayga is also the only SUV that offers four, five and seven seat options in one body style. Throw in a top speed of 301kph (270kph in the diesel) and you have a truly remarkable vehicle. But Bentayga is about more than mere statistics; it is about an amazing driving experience, and the journey is as exciting as the destination. bentleybentayga.com Bentayga fuel consumption – EU Drive Cycle in mpg (l/100 km): Urban 14.9 (19.0); Extra urban 29.4 mpg (9.6); Combined 21.6 mpg (13.1). CO 2 Emissions 296 g/km.
