|
|
|
STORY BERNARD CHEONG
Tough machines, practical glamour.
FINDING an all-weather, alloccasion watch, especially one that takes you from the beach, back home and then back out for an evening’s charity ball, is a tough call. Gone are the days when an ounce or two of gold or platinum and a few diamonds are all it’d take to transform a conservative watch into a versatile machine. Today, such a watch has to be functional for work, pleasure and even sports, while at the same time look good.
Here’s my take on what a versatile watch should be: practical, tough yet elegant and conspicuously bejewelled. Here are 5 such watches on my want-list:
1. Chopard’s interpretation of a glamorous but tough watch – the Happy Sport. This is one of the most enjoyable pieces that come from Chopard, a house that is steeped in years of experience with jewellery. The Happy Sport is not a watch that struggles for an identity – it is 100% fun. Visually intrusive in any company, it is a colourful expression of identity.
The Happy Sport is unique in that it is designed primarily to be tough with a capital T. Quartz driven, it has up to 6 spinning diamonds on the dial, with an option for diamond encrusted case work for that extra layer of protection from wear and tear.
2. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is an item that must be considered if you are a woman looking for a tough intellectual watch that will never leave your wrist, under any circumstances. It will take you swimmingly from office to spa to sea to bedroom.
This watch is very tough. Its aesthetic lasts and has proven itself over a decade. Diamonds and an array of coloured dials and coloured details to the casework is a must. The crust of diamonds on the bezel and lugs not only protects the watch case, but also gives the no-nonsense watch a touch of glamour.
3. My favourite is the solid gold Rolex GMT Master with a bezel set with rubies and blue sapphires. The gold is made exclusively by Rolex with a patented process, and retains its colour hue permanently.
Each ruby and sapphire is carefully chosen to be a perfect colour match to the stone next to it.
4. The Bulgari Diagono Proffessional Chronograph in solid gold is my all-time choice for the sexiest wristwatch for women.
It is a thick block of gold suspended on two spidery legs of pure unadulterated black rubber that form the straps. This is one of the very few yellow gold watches around that can look tough, sexy, and yet be worn with a black formal dress to a ball. In fact, it is the only watch that can pass off as glamorous without the trace of a single diamond.
Unique to solid gold Bulgari watches is a certificate that states the exact amount of gold used in the timepiece.
5. Last but not least, is the Omega Speedmaster, my reference point for the many challenges that fortune has brought into my life. I had bought myself a Speedmaster as a token of my success in the early stage of my career in the 1980s. I would still wear this simple stainless steel watch today whenever I have to deal with serious matters of business. The essence of Omega has always been a balance between practical functionality and a celebration of success.
Omega Speedmaster, as well as Seamaster wristwatches, in a strange yet unmistakable way, become glamorous simply with a strand of diamonds over the bezel. Both would feel at home at the most exclusive dinners, and on the hot beaches of Bali. Being made of stainless steel, the diamonds are held in claws that are twice as hard as gold, probably allowing for the woman to be
twice as rough.
Practical glamour, if it exists, could be possible only with these wristwatches.
To read more about watches under this series, click here.
|
