WORDS BY NICK CARVELL
With this work-from-home world blurring the line between life on and off the clock, the whole concept of time feels rather fuzzier than it did a few months ago. However, this unexpected flip of the script we used to call everyday life has probably made many of us more keen to keep a track of time - and to reconsider the things we will consider important moving forward. And one of those things will be how we buy and what we’ll truly value in the purchases we make.
When it comes to a wardrobe update, nowhere is this more important right now than with watches. Whatever your budget, a watch should always be a significant purchase - one you make with a view to the long-term. Ultimately watches are a practical way to tell the time, but in an era where everyone has a smartphone with the time right there in the top bar, watches are more than that - these are items that express something about you. It’s why people who obsess over timepieces end up having collections in much the same way as art lovers - each will have an aesthetic or technical value beyond being able to tell you if you’re late for a meeting. Whether you’re looking for your first watch or your fifteenth, your appreciation for the watch should be the benchmark for buying it - not a particular occasion or outfit.
In other words, living through a bizarre period of human history where everyone’s lives around the world are paused should make you consider the timelessness of your watch. Is this a design that will suit you and your life years from now? Do you love it beyond wearing it to a specific occasion? That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy a watch to celebrate a certain event (after all, most fine watches are bought for exactly that reason), but now’s the time to consider how that watch will outlive the situation it’s bought for rather than how it might look for the situation itself. For example, if you’re keen to invest in a watch for your wedding, prioritize how that watch will work for you long-term, not how it will look with your outfit on the big day. And for that, a timeless watch is far more suitable than one that’s trend-led.
However, it’s a big watch world out there – so where do you start? Thankfully, there are plenty of models by renowned timepiece manufacturers that have built a strong fan following since they were first released. These are time-honored models that, while perhaps showcasing certain nods to the decades they were designed in or the professions they were originally crafted for (even the gender they were intended for), have transcended factors that might date them to become solid, timeless classics. The key thing to remember is that the situation we all find ourselves in right now doesn’t mean putting purchases on hold, it means making those purchases in a more considered way. Below are a selection of timepieces that are in it for the long haul - and, right now, having something on your wrist that gives you a little reminder that the future still exists feels, well, timely.
When Rolex launched its Daytona ‘racing watch’ in 1963 as a competitor to the Omega Speedmaster, it failed to connect with its market (fewer ended up being made and those that were were sold with discounts to move stock). However, the course of this watches history was changed when Paul Newman went into a Tiffany & Co and bought one with a black and white dial - and the models’ popularity and desirability slowly began to skyrocket. In 2017, when it went up for auction, Newman’s Daytona became the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at $17.8 million. That record has since been broken, but the status of the model as a modern design classic has been confirmed.
Perhaps the ultimate test of timeless design is if it can still gain that status even if it comes out of a decade whose fashion was, to many, questionable. Released in 1983, the Panthere de Cartier epitomizes all of the best bits of this era’s style and none of the bad bits. Due to its smaller dial size, its opulence is subtle, not showy - it’s the sophistication and slinkiness of a night at Studio 54 with none of the hairspray and huge shoulder pads of Dynasty. The sleekness of this particular model has been amped up and modernized, thanks to a matt black finish applied to the original stainless steel and the addition of a few twinkling black diamonds on the dial. Proof that a classic can always benefit from a slight update.
Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC 40mm
It’s hard to pin down what truly takes a watch into timeless territory, but often that’s to do with a certain simplicity in the design - and Girard-Perregaux’s 1966 WW.TC is a masterclass in it. Originally released in 1990, it does something that many other watchmakers have found tricky: making a sleek, minimalist GMT (a type of watch that tends to have a notoriously busy face due to all the functions it needs to accommodate). However, that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of personality, far from it. The genius of this design is that it still has interest, especially seen in the beautiful sun and moon icons on the 24-hour ring. Another thing to note is its size. At a robust 40mm wide, but only 12mm deep, it feels substantial but not bulky. In short, it pulls off a timeless trifecta: special, simple and slim enough to slip nicely under a cuff.
Take a look in your wardrobe and you’ll be struck at how many items originated in the military. Trench coats were made for British soldiers in the First World War. Breton shirts were made for seamen in the French Navy in the 1850s. In short, pieces rooted in soldierly history might be reworked and reinvented after the conflicts they originated in pass, but they tend to find a certain timelessness in the process. Bell & Ross has always allied closely with aviation history since it was founded in 1992, and all its models reflect this - most notably the instantly recognizable, squared-off ‘BR’ range, which is modeled on the instruments of the cockpit. The BR S showcases this in its purest form, with a steel case and minimal face that feel visually as close to the feel of the cockpit than any of their other models.
Technology might feel like the antithesis of timelessness, but as we move into a world where technological innovation becomes ever more integrated with our lives it’s important to find classics amongst items that seem futuristic right now. While other traditional watchmakers dithered, TAG Heuer was one of the first big timepiece crafters to get in on the smartwatch action in 2015 - and the success of that initial model, led to this, the second generation of TAG Heuer Connected, which launched earlier this year. What sets TAG apart in this field is not only the quality of the technology included (the high-definition screen is eye-poppingly crisp), but its design feels incredibly close to that of a traditional mechanical watch. It’s weighty and substantial, but not bulky - and uses the same design nods as those seen in its closest cousin, the Carera. However, crucially, it makes a case for itself over a mechanical watch by having more practical benefits like one of its non-smart counterparts: (sports monitoring programs, integration with your smartphone, instantly updating multiple timezones etc). The fact it can adapt to how we’re set to live in the future is, in itself, timeless.