Counting It Down

Luxury watch brands are teasing collectors with new drops ahead of the anticipated annual Watches and Wonders exposition.

-  Alvin Wong

WE KNOW THAT most collectors cannot wait. As it turns out, a lot of watch brands can’t either. Ahead of the world’s largest watch fair, Watches and Wonders, which is taking place in Geneva this month, a handful of brands are chomping at the bit, eager to entice aficionados with what they’ve prepared for the year. Here are some noteworthy pre-fair releases that caught our eye.

Hermès 

Slim d’Hermès Le Sacre des saisons

From the bursts of autumnal colours to cool wintry blue hues, the magnificence of the four seasons is artfully depicted on a quartet of Slim d’Hermès watches. Powered by Hermès’s ultra-thin movement and limited to 12 pieces for each series, the Le Sacre des saisons timepieces captivate with surreal and vibrantly coloured dials depicting animal motifs in 17th- and 20th-century French and Russian ballet costumes. Our favourite is the model that evokes autumn. Dressed in striking scarlet, it flaunts a lovely three-dimensional gold dial fronted by an eagle depicted in relief engraving, carefully hand-painted with luscious shades of red and gold.

Piaget