Watchmakers have been creating timepieces that touch our hearts

Humans love marking special days or occasions – be it birthdays, anniversaries, important milestones, to pivotal moments in history, and more traditional events such as Halloween, or silly ones such as International Bacon Day.

Watchmakers have been creating pieces that tap into this sentimental part in us. There are many such evocative timepieces out there, but we will focus on two explorers – one real and one who lives eternally in books and hearts; a machine created during the second world war; and man’s quest to conquer space.

First, let’s go back in history to the 1500s. The name Vasco da Gama conjures one single word: expedition. One of history’s greatest explorers, the Portuguese was the first European seafarer to find a southern seaway to India, fortifying his nation’s status as a leading seafaring and trading nation, and eventually a colonial empire in Asia.

Historians credit da Gama’s success to his courage, thirst for action, risk-taking and precision – traits Montblanc espouse as a watchmaker. It made sense for the team in Villeret to honour da Gama’s achievements with the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama. Just as the explorer journeyed to unchartered territories, so does Montblanc with a timepiece featuring an unprecedented combination of a cylindrical tourbillon and triple time-zone indication, capturing da Gama’s spirit of innovation and determination.

If there’s a brand that loves history, it’s Bremont. The English watchmaker has long championed its love for mechanical devices and engineering excellence with a British twist. It is no surprise that they built a timepiece that pays tribute to one of Britain’s greatest technological contributions – breaking the Enigma machine’s encryption code.

Bremont makes these special edition watches “special”. Take a look at its first limited-edition watch, the EP120, which had a rotor made using metal from a 1942 Spitfire Mk V aircraft. Or its Victory watch, which contains some of the original timer and copper from Lord Nelson’s ship, the HMS Victory.