Watches

On our watch: 5 New timepieces millennials will love

29.07.2020

By Celine Yap

On our watch: 5 New timepieces millennials will love

Let’s be honest here. As much as they are beautiful, watches can be quite boring. Especially when we’re told they’re so mind-bogglingly complicated and full of minuscule details, but really, they all just look alike.

To some extent, it’s got to do with the industry’s largely Calvinistic origins, although to blame everything on ancient history wouldn’t be fair as well. For a long time, there was simply no incentive for brands to reinvent the product because the key target audience (men in their late 40s and above) were satisfied.

But things are different today. After recognising the need to refresh its image in order to appeal to younger buyers i.e. millennials, the industry has finally accepted the fact that there is more than one way to design a luxury watch.

Hublot Big Bang Millennial Pink

In this day and age, pink is no longer a colour just for girls. Millennial pink in particular is completely gender-neutral as it veers between subtle tones of beige, salmon, apricot, and grapefruit. Hublot sees the beautiful positive message behind this joyous hue and dressed one of its classic Big Bang models in full millennial pink.

A collaboration with Milan-based design firm, Garage Italia, this 42mm timepiece is cased in ultra-light titanium anodised in this specific colour and satin-finished on all surfaces. We love how the watch comes with two interchangeable straps. Use the Hublot patented One Click system to switch between a soft rubber strap and another in Velcro and knitted PES fabric.

TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02 Automatic (160 Years Montreal Limited Edition)

Watch companies are always celebrating anniversaries. And they really love doing so by releasing special editions based on existing best sellers. Think of them as seasonal drops that offer you something different from the usual staples. And this TAG Heuer timepiece is no exception.

Blending design influences from a 1972 timepiece named Montreal with the Carrera DNA of today, TAG Heuer offers a striking “blue panda” chronograph in a very elegant and wearable 39mm diameter. Additional red and yellow livery around the white dial play up the watch’s bold auto-racing heritage—the Carrera spirit—while the domed glassbox sapphire crystal evoke a vintage appeal.

IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition Orlebar Brown

Whether you’re a boating enthusiast or just love being near water, it’s always a good idea to stock up on swim-appropriate apparel. Designed for aquatic pursuits, the IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph found an ideal partner in British men’s swim and resort wear label, Orlebar Brown.

The 44mm diameter makes it a hefty piece but the custom navy blue strap made by Orlebar Brown for IWC sits as comfortably as the polished stainless steel case allows. Old-school mushroom-style chronograph pushers reminiscent of vintage yachts, and that beautiful deep blue dial, make us want to drop everything and charter a boat out to the nearest private island for an instant getaway.

Hermès Cape Cod Martelée

As one of Hermès’s most enduring watch icons, the Cape Cod has taken on numerous guises yet the French maison is far from out of ideas. This only goes to prove how timeless and artful this timepiece is, and can be. This striking new rendition not only looks unusual but feels different too. It’s edgy, it’s chic, it’s bold, and it’s completely unexpected because this fine luxury watch is covered with…dents.

Found all over its stainless steel case, lugs and dial is a traditional jewellery crafting technique known as hammering, where an artisan strikes the perfectly smooth surfaces of the watch repeatedly with a hard and heavy tool. It lends a raw, weathered appearance to the watch, and is intensified by a thin layer of translucent lacquer on the dial painted in gradated shades from anthracite in the centre to deep black around the edges.

Pasha de Cartier 35mm

Making a glorious return in 2020, this 1980s icon proffers a slew of improvements crafted for the urban sophisticate. The watch with the famous screw-down chained crown now bears refined edges, a slimmer profile, an extra blue spinel (or sapphire), a see-through case back, and a lovely hidden customisable engraving known only to the wearer.

There’s also a cool QuickSwitch system that allows you to change between different straps and bracelets, the latter boasting Cartier’s unique SmartLink system designed for adding or removing links whenever, wherever.

This article was first published on BURO Singapore. Minor edits have been made.

Related: 12 Watch designs you should be paying attention to this year

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