Ignoring its cost, how does one measure something so subjective as the prestige of a luxury watch? A recent survey by New York's independent Luxury Institute aimed to do just that by asking 500 ultra-wealthy American consumers what they consider to be the most prestigious timepieces. The results? Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin and Breguet won out as the three best-thought-of watch brands.
Despite not being widely known by anyone other than timepiece connoisseurs, Swiss manufacturer Blancpain stood out as the most luxurious brand of the 33 featured in the study, with the highest ratings for all four measures: consistently superior quality; uniqueness and exclusivity; making the customer feel special across the entire experience; and bought by people who are admired and respected.
While not its most expensive piece, the most covetable of Blancpain's new releases would have to be the Carrousel Repetition Minutes Le Brassus (top left). Only 10 units have been produced of a watch that, for the first time, combines a flying one-minute carrousel with a cathedral gong minute repeater. The carrousel is a slightly sturdier cousin of the tour- billon and, while its technical superiority is likely to draw a gasp only from experts, observing the watch's movement in action and listening to the superior rich gong is likely to please any enthusiast wealthy enough to spend HK$3 million on one.
Paris watchmaker Breguet drew the crowds at the Basel Watch Fair this year with the sophisticated Tradition 7047 (left). The watch contains the Breguet overcoil, the gold standard of balance springs. A tribute to the brand's first tourbillon pocket watches, the 7047 also features a tourbillon and fusee-and-chain transmission and is priced at HK$1.4 million.
Vacheron Constantin pays tribute this year to platinum, by encasing the complicated movement of the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2253 (above) in the precious metal. The 2253 provides information seldom found in watches, including the times of sunrise and sunset. It also has an exceptional running time, of 336 hours. Such is the complexity of the Calibre 2253 that it comprises 457 parts in a movement only 9.6mm thick, which explains why production was limited to 10 pieces, each of which costs HK$3.96 million.
Don't expect the rest of the players to concede the title easily, though. This year, Cartier honours its heritage with a masterpiece equipped with the first self-winding mechanical movement crafted entirely in-house: the Calibre 1904 MC (above). Named after the year that Louis Cartier created one of the first wristwatches, for friend and aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, the 1904 MC embodies the brand's adventurous spirit with extra-large XII numbers, powerful lines, a robust case and a novel structure. Its 42mm round case is heightened by a bezel and extended by four curved horns, which make it exceptionally comfortable to wear. The Calibre 1904 in gold is priced at HK$145,000.