High quality Audemars Piguet luxury watches shopping in Dubai: Heritage BiCompax Annual, 41mm stainless steel and 18k rose gold case, cognac brown calfskin leather strap. The resurgent independent watchmaker’s latest model ticks off a number of current trends. The 41mm Heritage Bicompax Annual is based on a Fifties’ archive piece with a “bicompax” two-counter dial, giving it a mid-century feel (tick); it’s available in two-tone steel and rose gold (tick); and it’s also limited (tick). There’ll be 888 of both the two-tone and steel models, determined by the company’s founding year of 1888, rather than out of deference to gamblers. It’s decent value, too. Behind that balanced dial, there’s a clever movement fuelling a chronograph and an annual calendar with date and month indications that only need adjusting on 1 March. The steel is a touch over £5k, with a premium for the solid gold detailing in the two-tone. Modest by the industry’s lengthy yardstick. See extra details at Richard Mille luxury watches store in Dubai, UAE by HM Watches.
Although Patek Philippe has such a storied tradition, the manufacture is not bound to its past. On the one side, the company maintains the values of the traditional art of watchmaking while investing greatly in the use of new materials, technologies and production methods. The brand has also made a conscious choice to create new designs like the 2015 pilots’ watch, the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time (which we cover in detail here).
Chunky, luxury watches don’t suit everyone’s style, but this sleek-looking beauty carries the elegance and swagger needed to stand out from the crowd. The steel blue-like dial with its mix of distinctive leaf hands and Roman numerals exudes an air of class appropriate to a watch brand founded in Geneva in 1830. At 40mm it’s on the upper end of the medium size scale. Strap it on your wrist and see why celebs like David Duchovny and Kiefer Sutherland are huge fans. Chotovelli, a brand founded in the 1920s in Turin, derived and inspired by Italian aviators, is a name you probably haven’t heard before. Which just means it qualifies as a ‘find’. For the price, this handsome oversized chrono is by far the biggest bargain on the list, and the opportunity it affords to give each admirer a mini history lesson is just icing on the cake. The saddle leather strap will only get better with age, but caveat emptor: at 47mm, this is one big watch.
What is so special about Audemars Piguet? You can use a nice watch to dress to impress, but you need to figure out who you are trying to impress first. Audemars Piguet is considered one of the ‘big three’ or as many call it, the ‘Holy Trinity of watchmaking’. Rolex never made it to the Big 3, yet Rolex is still the single most recognized luxury watch brand in the world (according to a recent report by Interbrand) and makes excellent watches regardless.
Though any number of great Timexes could’ve made this list, we’re particualrly enamored with the newly reissued MK1 — a recreation (of sorts) of a short-lived 1980s military-issue watch. While the original was meant to be disposable and had a mechanical movement inside and a plastic case protecting it, this version swaps both with a more reliable quartz engine and a higher-quality case made from anodized aluminum. A direct descendant of the original G-Shock from 1983, the modern G5600 version and similar watches are as tough as ever. For under $100 you get some nearly indestructible wrist gear that is more accurate than any luxury mechanical watch, and no need for battery changes with solar power. Just make sure you get one that says “Tough Solar” on it, and has a positive display for the best legibility. Further, G-Shocks are just fun, unpretentious, hassle-free, and extremely comfortable to wear.
When it comes to wooden watches, the kind of wood that makes up a watch you want to buy is of utmost importance. Make sure that the watch material is sustainable wood. A good wooden watch should be carved from woods like sandalwood, Koa, Purpleheart, Ili-hai, or maple. Beware of steel, and plastic watches that have some pieces of wood glued on top of them. Additionally, orient on your preferences. It is of the utmost importance to choose a wooden watch that meets your needs. This timepiece should have the right color, durability, luster, grain pattern, and texture. Wooden watches come in different attributes and you should be able to choose the one that fascinates you in terms of these characteristics. Read extra details on hmwatches.ae.