LURE OF THE LIMITED
Limited edition watches are akin to graphic prints with the legend like No.10 of 25 pieces or No. 2 of 18. That itself makes them special. Exclusive. Meaning that only a specific numbers, usually predetermined, will be made of a certain watch. This makes for its appeal among people collectors who like to have them in their collection. Here we feature 10 limited edition watches. Each is unique and worth the technological prowess, use of material and aesthetics it boasts of.
OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Platinum/ 8 pieces
The 43.50 mm watch celebrates the debut of a complex and delicate world premier technology that allows for the setting of diamonds on hard bodies such as ceramic and sapphire. The process begins with the engraving on a hard body using a special 5-axis laser that ensures the precision and the shape of the cavities. It’s brushed and polished case is crafted from 950-grade platinum with a bi-directional 24-hour GMT rotating bezel. The slant edges of the case are fully paved with 69 trapezoidal baguette-cut diamonds; the polished black ceramic bezel is accentuated by twelve trapezoidal baguettes in the GMT scale and a full-cut diamond in the triangle at 24 o’clock. Together with the 31-full-cut-diamond-set Omega logo on the sapphire caseback, this Seamaster Planet Ocean Platinum has 113 diamonds with a combined weight 2.69 ct. It’s water resistant to 600 m.
JAQUET DROZ Lady 8 Flower/8 pieces in white gold & 28 in red gold
Made up of two superimposed circles creating a figure of eight, an emblematic number the lower circle featuring a delicate butterfly, its wings outspread. Two versions are available: one with the butterfly’s wings painted and engraved in translucent red enamel on a guilloché background; the other, incorporating jewels, features a butterfly set with blue sapphires and portrayed against snow-set diamonds. The upper circle reveals a lotus flower under a sapphire crystal dome. By pressing a push-button the lotus flower opens, revealing its diamond heart. Each petal of the flower is individually enameled or engraved to give its back a perfect satin finish.
ULYSSE NARDIN Anchor Tourbillon/18 pieces
Quintessence of avant-garde mechanical technology, the outcome of eight years of R&D with its constant Ulysse Anchor escapement made entirely of silicium, the 44mm watch revolutionizes the power transmission to the regulating system and improves the accuracy of the timepiece. This astonishing construction is housed in a 60-seconds tourbillon. Visible through a large opening in the dial at 6 o’clock, it is encircled by the indication of its power reserve of at least 7 days on a 140° arc. The caliber UN-178 is housed in a rose gold or white gold case.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN Métiers d’Art Les Univers Infinis series/ 20 pieces each
The 26.20mm timepieces pay tribute to the graphic art of tessellation used as decoration was widely used by the Romans and in Islamic art adopted by Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher that really brought it into the popular culture. It consists of three models: the Angel watch, the Lizard watch and the Horsemen watch. The space on the dials is filled with perfectly interlocking repetitive motifs, thereby creating a world of optimal illusion and perspective, beautifully framed by a white gold case. The slender bezel ensures a maximum dial opening, while the elegant hands are hollowed so as to provide full expressive scope for the art of tessellation. The polished angles, hand-drawn flanks, circular-grained mainplate, bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif and the gold oscillating weight featuring the elegant crossweave guilloché pattern, are all clearly visible through the sapphire crystal case-back.
CARTIER Santos Triple 100 3-D Special/20 pieces
The 42 mm model combines a rotating-dial mechanism with a skeleton movement for the very first time. With a simple turn of the winding crown, a spectacular display of hidden faces unfurls. A work of art entirely set with precious stones, it brings time to life in images, furnishing it with a magical and hypnotic hue. The R&D unit of the Cartier Manufacture developed this mechanism, which is in the process of being patented, after many months of research. A mobile prism in 18 ct white gold, activated simultaneously by means of the crown, is driven by a system of miniature gear trains that causes the prisms to swivel gradually in one direction or the other, revealing three different dial faces. The watch also boasts a double-barrel movement equipped with a 72 hour power reserve, which can be observed through its transparent case-back.
GREUBEL FORSEY Invention Piece 2/11 red gold & 11 platinum
Invention Piece 2’s fundamental invention is the Quadruple Tourbillon, which features two double tourbillon systems, each incorporating an inclined tourbillon, linked by a spherical differential. This provides the escapement with the average timing rate of the two regulating systems, thus minimising positional errors to improve timekeeping precision. The 43.50 mm watch has an ‘open heart’ architecture in which virtually all of is intricate mechanics are not just exposed, but deliberately displayed to their maximum advantage, all in meticulously balanced harmony. It’s so bespoke that an engraved, hand‐finished personal message from the makers, Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey chronicling the history of the invention of the quadruple tourbillon.
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “75th Anniversary”/25 pieces in platinum & 75 in red gold
This 45mm timepiece brings together lot of goodies like a perpetual calendar, a large digital date and month displays, a leap year indicator, a chronograph with innovative display and a flyback function. Every night, when the date display moves forward, the switch siphons off a little of the energy, stores it and then discharges it precisely at the end of the month or a year when, in addition to the date and month disc, the leap year disc also needs to be advanced. The perpetual calendar can be set easily using the crown and will not require correction until 2100.
ZENITH Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage II/ 25 pieces
The 45 mm watch in addition to the “gravity control” module escapement that ensures horizontal positioning of the regulating organ, it has a fusee and chain complication partially under the time dial—a thing the wearer is likely to notice each time s/he reads the time. Transmission between the barrel and the fusée is handled by an 18-cm-long chain. As the mainspring unwinds, the chain wraps itself around the barrel, drawing power to the fusée, regulating to the going gear train and eventually to the silicon escapement down the line. Being fully visible, winding the watch will yield a rare view of the chain winding itself back around the fuse. The cavernous structure of the dial side allows each of the movement components to remain visible. Around the back, there is a vivid portrayal illustrating Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America in 1492. The entirely hand-engraved work is secured to the movement by a system of gold appliqués, and it creates a rich and colorful backdrop to the mechanical complexity at work underneath.
CHOPARD L.U.C Tourbillon Fairmined/25 pieces
An elegant tourbillon model with a nine-day power reserve, the Maison has used ‘Fairmined’ gold to produce this 43mm watch. The main parts of this watch (case-back, case and bezel) are entirely made of ‘Fairmined’ gold. This certification guarantees that the gold was extracted in a responsible manner and that the miners themselves receive fair payment and an overall premium, thereby demonstrating that gold can be sustainably mined. Enclosed in the ‘Fairmined’ rose gold case, the watch features alternating satin brushed and polished surfaces. The sapphire crystal case-back provides an opportunity to admire the L.U.C 02.13-L1 movement, driving a tourbillon and a power-reserve indicator. The latter is located at 12 o’clock and displays the movement’s remaining autonomy, amounting to a maximum of 216 hours, meaning nine days.
HUBLOT Big Bang Ferrari Hong Kong Limited Edition/ 30 pieces
Made of bright red ceramic—the new material is the result of 3 years of in-house R&D. After developing the Magic Gold, the first scratch-resistant 18 ct Gold in history, Hublot has succeeded in creating a brightly coloured ceramic. Bright red is in tribute to Ferrari. This is the first time that the “magic formula” to achieve a brightly coloured ceramic has been found. It is subject of an international patent application. The bezel of this 45mm watch has been wrought from this new material.