Pocket watches are making a big comeback, with wearers and collectors snapping up these timepieces as much for their antique artistic value as their wearability and functionality.
'People who are into pocket watches are at the forefront of a new impulse, so I would say this is a watch for people who are extremely independent and follow their own instincts without much concern about what everyone else is doing,' says Richard Mille, founder of the eponymous luxury watch company.
The brand placed significant emphasis on developing its pocket watch, the RM 020 (HK$3.13 million), focusing on its practicality and versatility. It took 18 months of work to ensure the chain was light and easily detachable. The attachment mechanism alone comprises more than 47 parts made of Grade 5 titanium.
'With such details in place, it means you can wear and use the RM 020 with jeans or a jacket. It is very flexible. The RM 020 can be a part of a horological experience in quite a different way than a wrist watch,' Mille says.
The RM 020 has a tourbillon escapement, first invented for pocket watches in the 19th century, and is driven by a double winding barrel that can supply up to 10 days of power reserve.
'Pocket watches are bold statements; you take notice when someone takes a pocket watch out of their pocket.