About time: a knight's shining armour
Abid Rahman
Not to go back to the well of 1980s pop culture references again - although, let's be honest, more than a few readers of this column had their formative years in the decade that morals forgot - but Knight Rider was truly a 360-degree television show. What do I mean by a 360-degree TV show? Well, basically it means a show that as well as being entertaining also had a winning and compelling meta-narrative (my college education has been a total waste). In the case of Knight Rider, that was the maxim "one man can make a difference".
This week, we'll look at three timepieces based on Genta's genius and we'll start proceedings with the wonderfully elegant Bulgari Octo Finissimo (below left). The watch-maker designed the original distinctive octagonal Octo for his own eponymous brand which was then bought out by Bulgari. Knowing that they were onto a good thing with the Octo, Bulgari have steadily released updated versions of the design and this year the brand has released the ultra-thin Finissimo collection, which comes with either a tourbillon or a small seconds.
I prefer the simple and classic understatement of the small seconds Octo Finissimo, which gives prominence to Genta's original vision. The black dial is lacquered adding richness to the platinum hands, logo and indices. The plat-inum case is a restrained 40mm, although it looks and feels larger. The movement is in-house, self-winding and ultra-thin, illustrating Bulgari's growing confidence in its manufacturing abilities, and features wonderful Cotes de Geneve and perlage finishing visible on the case back. Prices for the Bulgari Octo Finissimo are available upon request.
Next we have the Patek Philippe Nautilus (below right), a classic Genta design that PP has been dining out on since 1976. Genta originally designed the Nautilus as a sports watch, specifically inspired by yachting, thus the design takes its cue from a porthole. There have been minor changes over the years and, for 2014, the reference 5990/1A-001 Nautilus continues the legend but adds a smattering of modern technology to keep things bang up to date. The iconic 40.5mm steel case features a mixture of brushed- and polished-steel finishes and makes a lovely counterpoint to the black graduated horizontal-stripe dial. This being a chronograph, there are two push buttons on either side of the crown, a 60-minute subdial at the six o'clock position and, at the 12 o'clock position, a circular date scale. There are curious "home" and "local" day/night indicators at the three and nine o'clock positions that complement the dual-time-zone feature. Prices for the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref 5990/1A-001 are available upon request.
Genta's crowning glory was the original Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, released in 1972. A revolutionary design back then and even now, Audemars Piguet has built a sizeable business off the back of the Royal Oak and it was the basis for Emmanuel Gueit's design of the sporty Royal Oak Offshore, released in 1993. A more youthful spin on the original Royal Oak, the Offshore, or "Roo", comes in a variety of colours and materials. The 2014 42mm Chronograph Royal Oak Offshore collection features six watches but the Navy (top), priced at HK$201,000, is pretty typical of the sporty design. The eyes are drawn to the busy blue tapisserie dial, the chronograph subdials and tachymeter scale, all of which have been squeezed into the somewhat cramped 42mm steel case.
