From Audemars Piquet, Bell & Ross, to Patek Philippe and more, here are the major luxury watches to watch out for in May 2022.
April was a treat for watch lovers as brands from the influential to the independent unveiled their much-awaited line-ups for the rest of the year at Watches and Wonders 2022. If you followed our round-the-clock coverage, you might have realised that not all brands were present.
Some were adamant about erecting their own stages and not sharing the spotlights – Swatch Group and Audemars Piguet being the most notable absentees of Watches and Wonders – while Swatch struck gold with its bevy of vivid Moonwatch interpretations. While the massive queue seen outside of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur has dispersed, the story still trends on Lifestyle Asia KL more than a month since it debuted. From what we are told, the Moonswatches are flying off the shelves whenever restocking takes place.
New watches and other watch news for May 2022:
Audemars Piguet presents the ground-breaking Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin
Audemars Piguet commemorates the half-century of the Royal Oak with an instant classic – a Royal Oak, nicknamed RD#3, measuring just 8.1mm thick while exhibiting a flying tourbillon, all encased within 39mm of steel. No doubt on the wish list of the majority of collectors, landing this watch on your wrist is akin to scaling Everest. But there’s no harm in just admiring from a great distance. With the anniversary piece, Audemars Piguet presents some technical refinements. One of which is the inclusion of Calibre 2968, a new 3.4-thick selfwinding ultra-thin flying tourbillon movement. Other aspects of a typical jumbo Royal Oak were remade to fit into the smaller 39mm case. Although the watch isn’t a limited edition per se, don’t expect Audemars Piguet to be flooding the market with it.
That’s not all. Audemars Piguet also promises a 37mm model to be announced sometime in September this year.
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Bell & Ross releases the visually alluring BR 05 Chrono Edicion Limitada
Inspired by Havana’s classiest export, the cigar, Bell & Ross’ newest chronograph exhibits streaks of pink gold and a tobacco-hue dial. The BR 05 Chrono Edicion Limitada is the watch to flaunt when luxuriating in a cigar lounge and cheerily puffing away (even though we don’t encourage smoking). If the watch was a cigar, it would be Robusto Maduro – assertive, full bodied without overpowering. The watch’s aesthetic reflects such qualities.
Encased in 42mm of 18K rose gold and steel, with a choice of a tobacco-colour strap or a bi-material bracelet, the watch exudes greater seriousness than other BR 05 chronographs without losing any of its chic sportiness. Offered in 250 pieces, each one is delivered in a spectacular wooden case that won’t look out of place alongside a box of cigars.
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Hublot celebrates the pinnacle of football with the Big Bang Unico UEFA Champions League
Four exhilarating evenings across two legs where Liverpool and Real Madrid emerged as the finalists of this year’s UEFA Champions League epitomise the captivating magic of football. It is never over until it is over as Manchester City learned it in the most dramatic of ways. To celebrate the Champions League and the joys and heartbreaks it brings, Hublot unveils the Big Bang Unico UEFA Champions League. A chronograph bearing the blue of the iconic Champions League flag, it is limited to 100 pieces in 42mm of micro-blasted ceramic. Hublot has been UEFA Champions League’s official timekeeper since 2015.
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Hublot moves into haute horlogerie with a grand complication
You thought the Square Bang Unico was cool? Here’s one even cooler – the Big Bang Integral Minute Repeater Ceramic marrying Hublot’s best-known watchmaking material with its lesser-known savoir-faire. Did you know that as early as 2014, Hublot was already recognised by the GPHG for its minute repeater in the Classic Fusion guise?
Hublot revisits its archives and offers the world’s first minute repeater in ceramic. A hardened material not known for its resonance, Hublot had to figure out how to ensure the mellifluous sound of a minute repeater can still travel brightly through ceramic. Not only that as Hublot also amps up the flair with an in-house tourbillon, part of the hand-wound movement capable of churning out 80 hours of power reserve, thus redefining this watch a grand complication. Only 18 pieces are produced with a dozen in black ceramic and the remaining in white.
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Patek Philippe debuts the Ref. 5470P-001 1/10th Second Monopusher Chronograph
Fresh from its outing at Watches and Wonders 2022, Patek Philippe debuts a brand-new watch movement for May 2022. The Ref. 5470P-001 is Patek’s first-ever wrist watch capable of measuring tenths-of-a-second. In other words, it is the first high-beat chronograph from Patek. Naturally, the 5Hz hand-wound movement comes with a range of innovations, including 31 patents of which seven are new. It also passes the stringent standards set by the house to earn the coveted Patek Philippe Seal. A sports luxe chronograph in the truest sense, the watch is encased in a 41mm platinum case, with a rare white Top Wesselton diamond embedded in the case middle.
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Rado unveils the Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver
Scratch-resistant ceramic watches need not to be unattainably priced. Rado’s popular Captain Cook is a case in point. In May 2022 the dive watch collection once again reprises its role as one of Rado’s bestsellers with a 43mm coloured and plasma trope with blue, olive green and black dials. A first for Rado, the dive watch is certified by ISO and hence capable of withstanding the immense pressure that comes with 300 metres of water. It is offered with rubber straps and ceramic bracelets.
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Richard Mille channels the samurai spirit with the RM 47 Tourbillon
The master of ultra-lightweight and openworked watches, Richard Mille draws its inspiration from mediaeval Japan for the next-level craftsmanship showcased in the RM 47 Tourbillon. Limited to only 75 pieces, each watch embodies the bushido code of honour through the meticulously crafted movement in the shape of a samurai. Richard Mille cuts no corners with exquisite engraving works.
The armour of the samurai figurine is made of 3N yellow gold where details pay homage to the Asano clan, a prominent samurai clan in Japanese history. The clan’s heraldic sign and their emblem are further incorporated into the engraved samurai, showing remarkable exactness and dexterity. Like many Richard Mille creations, this watch features a tripartite construction featuring a caseband in 3N yellow gold, as well as a bezel and a caseback in black TZP ceramic.
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All new watches for May 2022 by respective brands, except hero and feature images by Lilas Le Quellec
This article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.
Justin Ng
Digital Content Director, Kuala Lumpur
Often think of myself as a journalist and so I delve deeper into a range of topics. Talk to me about current affairs, watches, travel, drinks, new experiences and more importantly, the business, economics and dynamics behind it.
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