You’ll no doubt have seen the red and white logo everywhere this month. As Singapore celebrates its diamond jubilee, we’re seeing a raft of special themed collections, commemorative collaborations and promotions. The watch world is in on the SG60 fun—no surprises, considering how much of a watch hub Singapore is. A fun fact: Singapore, tiny island nation as it is, ranks as the sixth largest market in the world for Swiss watches. That’s just behind places like the US, China, Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
The style of these SG60 special editions by watch brands ranges, and expresses in particular ways the identities of the watchmakers behind them. Perhaps the most interesting is the one undertaken by Vacheron Constantin, which celebrates 270 years of continuous watchmaking this year. The manufacturer works on an exclusive, rarefied level, exemplified by its slogan “one of not many”.
Instead of a watch, Vacheron Constantin has chosen to partner with Delugs, the Singapore brand of handmade watch straps, on a collection of limited edition straps for its timepieces. It’s a reflection of how much the Swiss brand cares for savoir-faire, and a well-made choice to partner with a Singaporean brand for a distinctly Singaporean occasion.
Just as impressive: a watch crafted especially for Singapore’s 60th anniversary, and a good cause to boot. Case in point: Audemars Piguet quietly created a special edition of its Code 11.59 Starwheel for the National Museum of Singapore’s fundraiser auction. The dinner and auction, to be held on 15 August, will see proceeds go towards the ongoing revamp of the museum’s permanent galleries, as well as restoring and upgrading its 138-year-old Stamford Road building.
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Audemars Piguet's Code 11.59 Starwheel Singapore edition
This August, the National Museum of Singapore holds its first major fundraising event in 15 years to support the revamp of its permanent galleries in premises. Part of the fundraiser will include an auction, to which the Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet has crafted a special edition watch to mark Singapore’s 60th anniversary.
The Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Starwheel taps into the wandering hours, a connoisseur’s complication that tells the time in a beautiful, intriguing way. This pièce unique is crafted in white gold and black ceramic, and features a special red lacquer dial in homage to Singapore’s national colours. On the back, a 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight designed with a 60th anniversary motif.
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Bell & Ross's BR-05 Sincere White Lum
Bell & Ross has partnered with Sincere Fine Watches, one of Singapore’s leading, and oldest, watch retailers, on a special edition that takes inspiration from Singapore’s red and white colours. The BR-05 model comes from the watchmaker’s urban collection, and features for the first time a full lum dial with red indices. That means, come evening or nighttime, the entire dial itself and the hands (enhanced with high-tech Super-LumiNova X2) will emit a luminous glow.
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Bvlgari's Octo Roma WorldTimer SG60
The Roman luxury brand recently staged a pop-up exhibition at Paragon Shopping Centre to display and celebrate its timepieces. At the centre of it all was the launch of the Octo Roma WorldTimer SG60, a Singapore-exclusive limited edition model.
It builds on the house’s signature Octo collection, defined by an architecturally-inspired eight-sided octagonal silhouette. This special edition comes, unsurprisingly, with red accents. What’s perhaps coolest is that the WorldTimer function—which typically uses another city to represent our GMT +8 time zone—features Singapore marked distinctly in red.
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Vacheron Constantin's limited edition straps with Delugs
Delugs, the Singapore brand of watch strap makers, is on the rise. It had a buzzy moment in 2024 when Ed Sheeran, in town for a concert, put a Delugs strap on his Patek Philippe watch. This year, the brand opened a first-of-its-kind boutique in Raffles Hotel dedicated solely to watch straps.
Vacheron Constantin sharply took to the brand, and has worked with Delugs on a collection of 60 pairs of collectible straps for its timepieces. They come crafted in Epsom green and Baranil gold leather, colours selected for subtle contrast and timelessness. Each one comes stamped with “Delugs for Vacheron Constantin” on the reverse, red and white stitching at the buckle end, and individual numbering to mark each pair.
