The dial of a watch is, quite literally, its face. It’s the aspect that often gets the most decorative and aesthetic attention. But in the realm of fine watchmaking, it’s the reverse that can sometimes draw, attract and intrigue connoisseurs and collectors. The reason is simple: finely crafted mechanical watches often feature a see-through sapphire crystal display caseback that shows off its inner workings.
The point is obvious. If part of the premium you’re paying for is—more than just design, reliability, and, let’s face it, a brand name you enjoy—about horological finesse and capability, being able to see it is a big plus. That, and the fact that beautifully finished movements and components are a luxury only found in the high end.
We’re talking about edges—on almost every component—that are chamfered to elegant slants, to soften the harsh angles of sharp corners. Every conceivable surface—on almost every component—decorated and finished by hand with subtle stripes, circles, or other patterns, that play with and reflect light beautifully.
What’s exciting is the range of different expressions that can exist on these movements. A brand like A. Lange & Soëhne, for example, has movements so beautifully and intricately finished that they can at times be more entrancing than the dial. Patek Philippe, meanwhile, is never flashy, but always immaculately executed. And then there are newer entrants to the high watchmaking segment who bring unique perspectives: Tiffany & Co.’s as a jeweller, or Louis Vuitton’s as a brand founded on travel.
Consider this an invitation the next time you’re looking at nice watches in person to flip it around and take in the view.
In the meantime, though, here are seven watches—seen from the back—with stories to tell.
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Tiffany & Co.’s jeweller’s vision
Something interesting is happening at Tiffany & Co. The brand, which has so far and mostly stuck to its lane as a jeweller, is now knocking on the door of fine and high watchmaking. Just this year, the brand participated for the first time in LVMH Watch Week. The model that has emerged as its frontrunner in the game is the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon, a horological interpretation of Jean Schlumberger’s famous cockatoo-perched-on-a-gemstone design.
A flying tourbillon complication represents, for many entrants of high watchmaking, ambition, intent and capability. To wit, the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon, which is limited to 25 pieces, is the first by the brand to feature a bespoke flying tourbillon movement. This movement is crafted by the fairly young Swiss company Artime. Founded in 2021 in Les Brenets, Artime is led by six veterans of Swiss watchmaking with an impressive accumulation of experience in high-end movements and complications.
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For a jeweller, the design of the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon is unsurprisingly beautiful. The timepiece is set with nearly 900 diamonds, weighing more than 4 carats in total. The dial is crafted from wafer-thin slices of turquoise joined with marquetry, with a pair of miniature diamond-set cockatiels in flight. The exposed flying tourbillon is cased with clear sapphire that’s faceted to resemble the table and crown of a brilliant-cut diamond.
But the consistency of Tiffany’s identity as a premier jeweller is to be found on the back of the watch. Where most brands are content to let finely finished metal speak for itself, Tiffany & Co. has instead used snow-set diamonds—a sophisticated gemsetting technique—to decorate the movement; and its pair of star-shaped bridges take inspiration from the house’s famous six-prong solitaire Tiffany Setting.
Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Flying Tourbillon in white gold with diamonds and turquoise marquetry dial
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Audemars Piguet’s svelte, slender flying tourbillon
At Audemars Piguet, which turns 150 this year, innovation has never ceased. One of its under-the-radar endeavours is the RD, or Research and Development, series which was established in 2015. Here, the Swiss haute horlogerie manufacture pushes the boundaries of feasibility in watchmaking. The idea is that, in time, these advancements will make their way into their contemporary production models.
One new design that is enjoying the fruits of this effort is the 38mm Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon. Cased in 18-carat sand gold, a new alloy the brand introduced last year, and set with diamonds on the case sides, crown, lugs and clasp, it is the first timepiece by the brand offered in this size with a flying tourbillon.
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Sure, the complication might sound easy for an accomplished maker like Audemars Piguet. But the ultra-thin movement, dubbed Calibre 2968, is actually a result of the RD#3 project which shrunk the flying tourbillon into a movement just 3.4mm thick. As downsized watches evolve from trend to norm, mechanical movements that shrink in size but not capability become all the more important.
For Audemars Piguet, it’s a blend of state-of-the-art mechanics and beauty, and which opens the doors for future timepieces to feature the manufacture’s sophisticated complications in smaller sizes.
Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in sand gold with diamonds
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A. Lange & Söhne’s masterwork of finishing
A. Lange & Söhne timepieces are a connoisseur’s dream. The German brand is the flagbearer of the grandest forms of Saxonian watchmaking and it is often said that Lange movements are some of the most beautiful in the world. A back view of the Datograph Up/Down’s calibre L951.6 movement offers a horde of details worth appreciating.
Gorgeous curved lines give mechanics sensuality. The colour palette is entrancing: bridges made of German silver that patinate to a warm golden yellow, levers and chronograph parts made of cool grey steel, vivid blued steel screws, and vibrant ruby jewels ensconced in gold chatons.
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Each of these parts bears carefully chosen hand finishes that match its function. Wheels have a circular grain to echo their movement; chronograph parts have vertical brushing and polishing that suggest no-nonsense precision; and German silver bridges are finished with either traditional striped Glashütte ribbing or the overlapped circles of perlage.
But the ultimate Lange signature is the hand-engraved balance cock that is a feature of every model it produces. Each is engraved freehand by one of the brand’s watchmakers, with the minutest nuances of personality and the individual—a signature of the hand.
A. Lange & Söhne calibre L951.6, on the Datograph Up/Down
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Louis Vuitton’s travel-inspired signature complication
The sign for most that Louis Vuitton had started to take watchmaking seriously was its acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps, a manufacture and movement developer with serious cred. Founded by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, La Fabrique du Temps is known for its creativity with complications.
What’s become a signature complication at Louis Vuitton is the Spin Time, a novel design in which 12 spinning cubes tell the time. It’s a modern, inventive twist on a jumping hour display by Navas and Barbasini. Aptly, the Spin Time’s rotating cubes invoke the flap displays of airports and train stations, spaces of travel that echo Louis Vuitton’s heritage.
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The latest generation of this complication is a new collection named Tambour Taiko Spin Time, a range of six limited-edition models that were developed anew and for the first time with in-house La Fabrique du Temps movements.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time in white gold
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Richard Mille’s brutalist monolith
The first skeletonised watch was created in 1760 as a way to reveal the mysterious mechanical workings of what was, in its time, cutting-edge technology. Not much has changed since then—fine watches are so intricately crafted, and on such a minute scale, that taking in even a time-only movement can spark awe. That idea of technics as beauty is at the heart of Richard Mille design, which explains why virtually every watch it produces is skeletonised.
The latest to join the Mille family is the RM16-02 Automatic Winding Extraflat, a second generation successor to the RM016 from 2007. It’s one of the brand’s more uncommon rectangular rather than tonneau shapes, and features inside it the calibre CRMA9, a new in-house movement—and the 15th now for the brand—specially designed for this watch.
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The CRMA9 is functionally straightforward. It is an automatic winding, time-only movement with a power reserve of around 50 hours. But as is the case with Richard Mille timepieces, simple is far from the truth. The design in this instance was meant to reinterpret some of the brand’s well-established codes, with a particularly brutalist bend and the sense of monolithic geometry.
What that means is a skeletonised structure in titanium with a maze-like design and almost 70 openings that simultaneously create a sense of openness and mystery. The deconstructed numerals on the dial are also created with snaking, cornered lines that evoke Ariadne’s thread guiding Theseus through the labyrinth of the minotaur. And to complement these evocative details, the brand has crafted a platinum winding rotor in an unusual, squared-off ray shape that moves on ceramic ball bearings.
Richard Mille RM 16-02 Automatic Winding Extraflat in titanium; above, in quartz TPT
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Patek Philippe’s modern ease
The august Swiss haute horology manufacture Patek Philippe made waves last year when it introduced Cubitus, its first new collection in more than 25 years. A squared geometric cousin to the Nautilus, it’s meant to embody a sense of casual chic, chez Patek.
The line-up of Cubitus models, after the introduction of a new 40mm size this year, is now five-strong. At the highest end is the Cubitus Grand Date, ref. 5822P-001. This Grand Date model debuts a new combination of complications that enhance day-to-day use: a large twin-aperture date display, a day display and a moonphase. Its intent is clear: fine, sophisticated watchmaking that is modern, direct and useful.
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To power this watch, Patek Philippe developed a new movement, the calibre 240 PS CI J LU, which is based on the prior calibre 240—one of Patek’s more famous ultra-thin self-winding movements. This evolution involved filing six new patents on tiny technical advances to do with energy efficiency, making the indicators jump faster when it’s time to change and ensuring the big date numerals are always perfectly aligned. Think of it as Patek’s secret sauce—quality-of-life improvements made under the hood.
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If there is a notable upside this Cubitus can boast about, though, it is solving the age-old problem of the so-called ‘danger zone’. For the longest time, you could not adjust or set the date on watches between 9pm and 3am as it would disrupt and damage the inner workings of the watch. With this new calibre, the problem no longer exists—a neat solution to something quotidian.
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Bvlgari’s little solution to a big problem
The Serpenti line of watches by Bvlgari has always been associated with sensuous, decadent femininity. Tubes of flexible gold that wrap around the wrist with a snake head to encase the watch—almost always in quartz, save for haute horology or jewellery models—they existed as style statements.
This year, the brand is bringing its iconic ladies’ offer up to par with the mechanical innovations and advances it has been making over the past decade. Enter a new generation of Serpenti watches equipped with the Lady Solotempo BVS100 Automatic, an in-house self-winding movement.
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Bvlgari wanted to upgrade and introduce automatic movements to the Serpenti collection. But the problem was that there were no options on the market small enough to fit into the unique shape of the Serpenti snake head. So the Roman jeweller set about on a three-year undertaking to design and craft its own at its Swiss manufacture in Le Sentier.
Just 19mm in diameter, 3.9mm in thickness and 5 grams in weight, the diminutive movement provides 50 hours of power reserve. To match it to the collection, Bvlgari has decorated its oscillating weight with a snakeskin pattern and introduced it on the Serpenti Seduttori and Tubogas lines—with a new transparent caseback to show off this evolution.
Vogue Singapore’s April ‘Movement’ issue is out on newsstands and available online.
