THE JOURNAL
Serious business, timekeeping. The Swiss have spent centuries perfecting their handcrafted approach, while the French have scientists working on something called a “laser trap”, which will let us define the length of a second with 16-digit precision. We hurry around, looking at our watches or our phones, obsessed with time. But can’t we have a little fun along the way? Thankfully there are watch brands that say yes, whose watches bring a rainbow of hues to the wrist. Do they make you more likely to turn up on time? No. But there’s a higher chance you’ll be smiling when you arrive.
01. Ressence Type 1
Surprisingly, perhaps, given its striking appearance, this is no limited-edition collab with some hotshot designer. It’s simply another spin on the marvellous rotating display, reimagined by its creator Mr Benoît Mintiens (who, frankly, is a hotshot designer) to give the Type 1 a playful energy. It’s fresh, possessed of a childlike simplicity and somehow also quite calming.
02. MAD Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph
Part of MR PORTER’s exclusive capsule collection from MAD, this Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph has a rather different approach. The comic-book horror colour scheme is worthy of the Joker himself, and guaranteed to turn heads. (For some reason, it reminds us of Mr RL Stine’s Goosebumps novels.) The black DLC-coated case is safer territory, and underneath the customised dial, Audemars Piguet’s redoubtable watchmaking quality is unchanged.
03. Oris ProPilot X
Is it multi-coloured? Is it just one shade? Can you even put a name to that iridescent, opalescent, shimmering dial decoration? It’s achieved by laser-treating a blank titanium dial – not a single pigment, enamel or dye is required. Equipped with Oris’ five-day, in-house Calibre 400 movement, its dial is intended to mimic insect wings, and it has been flying off the shelves since its release at Dubai Watch Week 2023.
04. laCalifornienne x The Dial Artist Daybreak
Mr Chris Alexander, aka “The Dial Artist”, made his name with his speckled, spattered customisations, before branching out into all manner of bespoke commissions, from complex illustrations to modern art homages and abstract patterns. But the multicoloured splatter remains his calling card, and there’s something about the marriage to laCalifornienne’s laid-back attitude and striped straps that’s particularly fitting.
05. Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver
High-contrast designs have been common in watchmaking ever since humankind wanted to know the time in awkward spots, and came to the fore with the advent of WWII’s aviation and diving watches. Bell & Ross’ ceramic BR 03 Diver draws influences from both categories, but takes its blue and orange colour scheme from the Tara Ocean Foundation, the charity for whom it has been produced, in a limited edition of 999 pieces.