From Bvlgari’s emerald-enriched Octo Roma to Hublot’s Sang Bleu II Magic Gold, we’ve picked out six timepieces we loved from the LVMH Watch Week 2022.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of the year again.
The Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton or LVMH Watch Week 2022, in usual fashion, is the first global gathering of the horlogerie calendar. Also, in usual fashion, it’s an absolute fiesta of mechanical mastery, micro-engineering, artistic wrist-ice, and some seriously retro stuff. Surfing through this year’s novelties from Zenith, TAG Heuer, Bvlgari and Hublot, I found a mutual emotion – They’re all celebrating their past while also creating icons for the future, charting new territories for the watch world. These are six of our favorite timepieces from this year’s LVMH watch fair.
LVMH Watch Week 2022: Best timepieces – Hublot, Zenith, TAG Heuer, Bvlgari
Zenith DEFY Revival A3642
If you’re looking for a dose of funk and disco in this year’s LVMH line-up, this is it.
Zenith cracked open a vault from the 1960s (the pre-‘luxury sports watches’ era) and pulled out something truly special – The design folder for the original 1969 DEFY, which, right since its debut, has been a hot commodity in the everyday-worn luxe sports watch market. The new ‘Revival’ edit celebrates this success, as it’s a true heritage hot-ticket for fans. For 2022, Zenith retains everything retro about the watch and packs an automatic calibre Elite 670 under the hood. The gradient brown dial comes cased in stainless steel. Limited to 250 pieces.
Bvlgari Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie
In the watchmaking industry, Bvlgari has always served as a vantage point for all things micro-engineered and the ‘haute-est’ enrichment in modern joaillerie. This, of course, is prominently underlined with Roman elegance. With the Octo Finissimo, their mastery has proven time and time again, that the most notorious of watch complications like minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and tourbillons can fit in cases thinner than four millimeters. On the other hand, we’re forgetting that Bvlgari are ‘Jewelers of Time’ and have a bedazzling heritage in artistic jewelry.
At the LVMH Watch Week 2022, we saw an Octo Roma that celebrates both emotions. Right from case to crown and lugs to bezel, the new Bvlgari Octo Roma Grand Sonnerie appears to be a chandelier for the wrist – Decorated with a total of 446 baguette-cut Zambian emeralds and diamonds racking in over 30 carats. Inside, rests a self-winding BVL703 calibre that boasts up to 8 complications. With four hammers and gongs of the grand sonnerie, we also see a power-reserve indicator. To complement the emeralds, the timepiece is also strapped with green alligator leather.
Bvlgari Lvcea Intarsio
For Bvlgari, the Lvcea is a round-dialed canvas that has always housed the timeless elegance and marvels of Rome. In its 2022 iteration, Bvlgari takes the sundials of ancient Rome that captured light to signal the passage of time, into a three-dimensional form. Using a marquetry technique called Intarsio, the dial consists of 37 hand-cut blue aventurine micro-elements, this allows a highly unique display of lightwork and reflection that creates the three-dimensional effect. To complement this, the 33-mm steel case houses a diamond-set bezel and a cabochon-cut rubellite crown. You also have 11 diamonds as hour markers. You also see a date window at three o’clock. Inside, rests a self-winding calibre B77 with a 42-hour power reserve.
TAG Heuer Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph
The Autavia quite rightfully so, is the chronograph watch, and this year. it’s celebrating its 60th anniversary. This silent chronograph veteran was a real hit back in the 1960s, where watching car races was a Sunday morning staple. Bringing back the heat once again, the Autavia comes forth loaded with a flyback chronograph, a first for the line. You get to choose between dial options of panda, all-black, or blue (GMT). All pieces feature Super-LumiNova indexes and hands. Inside, we see a Calibre Autavia Chronometer Flyback Chronograph or Calibre Heuer 02 COSC Flyback, which boasts an 80-hour power reserve and winds automatic.
Zenith Defy Skyline
Presenting the new Defy Skyline, dedicated to ‘those who follow their light and forge their own path on their journey towards their star’, as Zenith says. The dial boasts a set of geometrically-placed astronomical-inspired motifs, or well, a grid of Zenith stars. The three-hand watch is cased in 41-mm stainless steel with a blue-toned sunburst-patterned dial. The hands and indexes are rhodium-plated and coated with SuperLuminova. It’s powered by an automatic-running El Primero 3620 that promises a power reserve of 60 hours. You also get a tiny date window at three o’clock. You also get to choose between dial options of silver and black.
Hublot Big Bang Sang Bleu II Magic Gold
Seven years running, Hublot refreshes its iconic partnership with Sang Bleu with a super-special case ingredient they call ‘Magic Gold’. What’s Magic Gold? it’s an in-house material cooked up by Hublot where they mix 18-karat gold with ceramic. This way, they almost completely rid the worries of scratches and disfiguration. With a Magic Gold case, the dial, in usual Sang Bleu fashion, retains its intricate, geometric, and symmetric suave. Powering this marvel is a calibre HUB 1240 Unico Chronograph, that runs automatically with a 72-hour power reserve. All of this is strapped in rubber and a special Sang Bleu clasp. Bonus: There’s also a flyback chronograph on board. Definitely a highlight from the LVMH Watch Week 2022.
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All images: Courtesy brands. Hero image: Courtesy Hublot. Featured image: Courtesy Bvlgari. The story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India
