Planes to catch, places to be, people to see and adventures to be had. The spirit of travels and sojourns, it seems, is feeding into the new timepieces announced this year. It is, after all, the year that aviation and air travel is projected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels. The borders are open once more and watches reflect a resurgent appetite.
Louis Vuitton’s new Escale
One bold new proposition that encapsulates this spirit is the revamped Escale from Louis Vuitton. The French luxury maison’s watches division, under the ken of Jean Arnault, has seen a sweeping reform. First, the young Arnault scion discontinued the entire Tambour collection to relaunch a high-end sports model with an integrated bracelet. The relaunch a year ago was almost universally lauded. Now, the brand is debuting its second new core offering in the form of a revamped Escale.
First, a bit of history. The trunk-inspired Escale was previously the case of choice for many of Louis Vuitton’s complication timepieces. That has now been done away with in favour of a dress watch that’s terrifically refined in its simplicity. It is a time-only three-hander and offered exclusively in precious platinum or rose gold. Inside, the watch is powered by the LFT023, Louis Vuitton’s in-house mechanical movement that debuted a year ago with the Tambour.
But we’re talking about the spirit of travel and the details are where the Escale fully harnesses the house’s legacy of luggage making. The lugs are shaped like the riveted corner protectors of steamer trunks; the gold stud minute indicators—though vintage in appearance—are actually a nod to the round, reinforcing nail heads of trunks. And the dial, which has an enchanting texture, is specially developed to echo the fine grain of the house’s monogram canvas material.
An interesting feature of the Escale is that its second hand is, unlike the gold hour and minute hands, made of titanium. The reason might sound strikingly familiar to frequent flyers: weight. Unlike the Tambour, which is powered by the same calibre and which has a small seconds subdial, the Escale tells the seconds with a central hand that requires more power. In order to match the Tambour’s 50-hour power reserve, precious weight had to be shaved off in the Escale.
The Escale’s name translates from the French to ‘stopover’, an intentional allusion by Louis Vuitton to the art of travel. But the discernible quality that makes this watch most ready to take on any city is its ineffable elegance.
Louis Vuitton may have chosen the path of simplicity, but travel and horology tend to evoke time zone complications. There are, fittingly, a healthy number of new designs out this year that answer the call with aplomb.
Patek Philippe’s new World Time… now with Date
Perhaps the most ambitious is the new Ref. 5330G-001 World Time with Date by Patek Philippe. The world time complication is nearly synonymous with the Swiss manufacture, which has produced such pieces since the 1930s. The elegant solution devised over 90 years ago has, in fact, remained the basis of the mechanisms today. It is essentially three layers of time-telling: a movable ring with 24 cities and time zones; a 24-hour, day-night ring that moves anticlockwise to indicate the time in every time zone; and in the centre a traditional 12-hour time display.
The latest model by Patek Philippe adds a date indication—a revelatory first for the house. So in addition to the three classical layers, Ref. 5330G-001 now sees a new date chapter ring on the outermost silvery layer, perched on the bevelled flange. Another first: a red-tipped hand made of glass that tells the time. Rather ingeniously, the glass ensures easy legibility despite the addition of another detail to the watch.
Besides the technical innovations, what sets the new Ref. 5330G-001 apart from Patek Philippe’s stable of World Time complication timepieces is a distinctly youthful aesthetic. At its centre is an opaline blue-grey dial with a woven carbon pattern, while matching calfskin straps convey a dressed-down effect with an embossed denim pattern.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Geographic complication lands on a refreshed Polaris
Telling time around the world can be a complicated affair, which is why a manufacture like Jaeger-LeCoultre designed its own take on it. Dubbed Geographic, it is a proprietary complication that the brand first released around three decades ago. It’s now being deployed on Polaris, a dive collection that received a design refresh this year.
The Geographic complication starts with an aperture at the bottom of the dial, which displays the representative cities of the 24 major time zones. A secondary crown at 10 o’clock turns this city wheel, which sets in motion the two subdials. The larger of these is a 12-hour display of the second time zone, and on its left is a small 24-hour night and day indicator.
This elegantly combines the romance of setting the time according to cities and time zones, and the ease of displaying just two actual different times. In addition to the Geographic complication, the new Polaris models—there are also date and perpetual calendar models—feature an ocean grey lacquered dial inspired by the colour of the sea on a cloudy day. The smoky gradient finish is coated with 35 layers of lacquer and contrasted in design with lively orange accents.
A key consideration of a watch worth travelling with is its versatility. It’s more risk than it’s worth to tote around a case full of your finest, so a single timepiece that does both casual and dressed-up duty is paramount. That perhaps explains the name of Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas collection—a line that espouses a spirit of travel and trusty companionship.
Vacheron Constantin’s trusty Overseas Dual Time
The major addition to the collection this year is a range of models that debuts a sunburst green dial, all cased in pink gold. There is among them a Dual Time model that suits the travel inspiration particularly well. According to style and heritage director Christian Selmoni, this shade of green was chosen as a “sort of call to nature that makes a perfect fit with the Overseas spirit of travel and exploration”.
Seeing as it is an haute horlogerie house, this green is a colour with more than meets the eye. The centre of the dial is sunburst satin-brushed for a more radiant finish, while the flange is velvet-finished for a softer, matte look. It offers an invigorating burst of colour that is still tasteful and subtle. For even more versatility, consider the strap options. The bracelet can be swapped out, tool-free, for either a calfskin or rubber strap, which are secured with an interchangeable pin buckle.
And at Cartier, a watch originally designed for a pilot
At Cartier, the watch with the greatest sense of adventure is easily the Santos. Named for the celebrity aviator Alberto Santos Dumont, its squared, industrial design language harks to the sporty utility and function demanded of pilots. This year, the French maison is releasing the first model with a Dual Time complication since the collection was rebooted in 2018.
A steel model with a tonal grey dial design to match, the approach of the Santos de Cartier Dual Time appears to be simplicity and straightforwardness. The matter of a second time zone is designated to a subdial, which bears the Dual Time inscription, and which runs on a single hour hand. At its 12 o’clock position, a small circular display to indicate night and day. Sweet and simple, and handsomely sporty to boot.
Pre-order your copy of the Vogue Man ‘Thrive’ issue online or pick it up on newsstands from 15 July 2024.
