Pearl Star

The unique styling and oval face meant that William Anthony’s Pearl Star pocket watch was the first to be made with ‘expanding hands’.  When the watch indicated it was 12 o’clock the hands would be fully extended to the top of the case, whereas at quarter to and quarter past the hour the hands would become shorter so that they wouldn’t fit within the sides of the case.  Considering this watch was made over 200 years ago, this is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual

The Rolex Oyster was a significant milestone in the evolution of the wrist watch as it was the first to be made waterproof.  Rolex has always been an innovator of timepiece technology and the perpetual movement, first designed by Louis Perrelet in the 1750s, was perfected by Rolex in this model of watch.  It worked by having a small weight wound around the watch.  This weight would then move as the wearer moved their arm, eliminating the need for daily winding - hence the watch ran ‘perpetually’.  The Rolex Oysterl Perpetual celebrates its’ 100th anniversary this year.

Patek Philippe Graves

In 1933 New York Banker Henry Graves Jr. asked Patek Philippe to make him the most complicated possible at the time.  The resulting creation was called the ‘Graves Complication’ and had an impressive 24 functions.  The styling looks remarkably similar to some of the more rugged watches available today.  The Graves Complication was way ahead of it’s time and in 1999 was sold at auction for an incredible $11 million.

The Rolex Oyster was a significant milestone in the evolution of the wrist watch as it was the first to be made waterproof.  Rolex has always been an innovator of timepiece technology and the perpetual movement, first designed by Louis Perrelet in the 1750s, was perfected by Rolex in this model of watch.  It worked by having a small weight wound around the watch.  This weight would then move as the wearer moved their arm, eliminating the need for daily winding - hence the watch ran ‘perpetually’.  The Rolex Oysterl Perpetual celebrates its’ 100th anniversary this year.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

This watch is responsible for the popularity of titanium, steel and ceramics popular as watch materials to this day.  Audemars Piguet was founded in 1854 and catered their high-end watches to only the most exclusive of clientele.  By the 1970s most Swiss watch manufacturers were using precious metals and jewellery in their watches, however in 1972 Audemars Piguet made the world’s first stainless steel luxury watch thanks to famed designer Gerald Genda.  The first watch cost approximately $2000 and has undergone several different incarnations since then, including the Outdoor Survivor edition which cost a massive $42,000.

Jaeger LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon

18th century watcmaker Abraham-Louis Bregue pioneered the first tourbillons during the French revolution.  They were crucial to the evolution of the watch as they offset the effects that gravity had on the balance wheel (the gear inside the movement which measures out seconds).  Jaeger-LeCoultre improved on this mechanism by creating the gyrotourbillon, which was a three dimensional wheel which rotated in a similar way to a tiny planet on the watch face.  This combination of a 300 year old invention and modern engineering techniques resulted in one of the most mechanically impressive watches the world had ever seen.

This watch is responsible for the popularity of titanium, steel and ceramics popular as watch materials to this day.  Audemars Piguet was founded in 1854 and catered their high-end watches to only the most exclusive of clientele.  By the 1970s most Swiss watch manufacturers were using precious metals and jewellery in their watches, however in 1972 Audemars Piguet made the world’s first stainless steel luxury watch thanks to famed designer Gerald Genda.  The first watch cost approximately $2000 and has undergone several different incarnations since then, including the Outdoor Survivor edition which cost a massive $42,000.

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Keen car enthusiasts will no doubt be aware of Swedish car manufacturer, Koenigsegg and their spectacular 245mph supercars.

While these cars are staggering feats of engineering what you may not be aware of is that they have turned their hands to the opposite end of the spectrum.  Koenigsegg have enlisted the help of Swiss designer watch brand Edox to produce  a watch who’s style complements the lines of their CCX supercar.

The watch is as predictably crazy as the car with flip up ‘doors’ around the display, a strap made from alligator and a price tag of £13,500 which is considerably cheap compared to some luxury watches and even cheaper than the car itself which comes with a hefty £350,000 label.

We may be suckers for a nice watch here but in this case give us the car any day of the week!

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After trawling the net, here are 5 beautiful  luxury designer watches which Watch Superstar think will really pave the way for future watch design!

1)  Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti 370

This stunningly obscure watch was created by Parmigiana Fleurier to commemorate the release of Bugatti’s incredible Veyron car.  The appearance of the 370 watch was designed to parallel the styling of the Veyron’s engine.  The face can be easily viewed thanks to the cylindrial design whilst the movement is easily accessible.  This watch is highly exclusive as there are only 150 lucky recipients each year!

2)  Maître du Temps Chapter One

The Maître du Temps Chapter One is a ’super brand’ watch, created by three of the world’s top watch designers all of whom have worked for some of the most prominent companies in Switzerland.  This spectacular watch looks hugely futuristic whilst maintaining a certain retro look and feel.  It features a manual wind mechanical movement, one minute tourbillon and a retrograde GMR indicator.  Most worthy of your attention are the attractive rolling bars at the top and bottom of the case.  The bottom roller displays the day whilst the top roller (which is so precise that Maître du Temps holds a patent on it) displays the gradual transition from day to night.

3)  Pita Barcelona Oceana

The record for the deepest diving watch is held by the small spanish firm, Pita Barcelona.  Usable at a staggering depth of 5000 metres, the Oceana has a truly innovative case design and some of the most durable construction that you will find in any watch today.  The case has no winding crown, nor does it have a back cover as these are the 2 most common areas where the watertight seal of a watch is broken.  These are even more exclusive than the Bugatti watch as just 80 are made each year!

4)  Armin Strom Blue Chip Skeleton

The tiny company of Armin Strom employs less than 20 people across all of it’s 16 departments yet despite this then have managed to open a cutting edge manufacturing facility based in Biel.  Unusually for such a small company they are on the verge of producing a completely in-house watch - an achievement that can only usually be afforded by much larger firms.  The exquisite movement is hand decorated to such a high level of quality as to be unmatched by any other watch in it’s price bracket.

5)  The Urwerk 202

This is quite possibly our favourite one on this list.  The Urwerk 202 was released just over a year ago and looks so awesome, menacing and futuristic.  This watch was the first to integrate fluid dynamics into a watch’s movement.  Each of the three gauges extend and retract to point to the appropriate time whilst the winding is regulated by two small turbines seen through the back of the case.  All this sounds massively complicated but all we know is - we want one.

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