Elite Traveler Fall 2019

INSPIRE TOP WATCHES

CARL F BUCHERER Heritage Bicompax Annual

OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

PATEK PHILIPPE AlarmTravel Time Ref 5520P Patek Philippe wowed its collectors with the release of its in-house Caliber AL 30-660 SC FUS, which has four patents in the entirely new 574-component, self-winding movement. Globetrotters will be lining up for the Alarm Travel Time, which incorporates a 24-hour alarm and travel-time indication via the two-time-zones mechanism; it's also the brand’s first water-resistant chiming timepiece. Just below 12 o’clock, two apertures show the alarm time in 15-minute increments. This complex alarm can chime any time during a 24-hour period using a classic gong. It can be set up to 30 seconds before the wearer wants it to ring. There is also an on/off alarm indication and a day/night indication for the alarm, and additional day/night indicators for local and home times. The watch has an ebony black dial and displays the date in a subdial at 6 o’clock. $226,810 in platinum, Patek Philippe in New York, +1 212 218 1240, patek.com

The vintage-inspired Heritage Bicompax Annual watch houses an exceptional newmovement: the self-winding CFB 1972 caliber. While its dial design is complex, it is nevertheless incredibly easy to read thanks to the bicompax chronograph subsidiary dial format. In addition to a 30-minute totalizer, it displays annual calendar functions with a big date display shown via a two-digit window, and there is a month indication between 4 and 5 o’clock. Part of the brand’s Heritage collection, the watch recalls a 1950s timepiece found in the Carl F Bucherer archives. Like many watches from that era, it displays a tachymeter scale (used for measuring distance or speed) on the outer portion of the salmon-hued dial, and it features highly stylized numerals. The 41mm timepiece is equipped with 42 hours of power reserve and is water resistant to 30 meters. $11,000 in 18K rose gold and stainless steel, Tourneau in New York, +1 212 758 7300, carl-f-bucherer.com

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and man’s first steps on the moon, Omega has created a truly special limited-edition watch. Omega’s Speedmaster played an instrumental role in the space program and was the first watch worn on the moon. To honor that historic walk, Omega produced a special 18K yellow gold watch in an edition of 1,014 pieces released in 1969, presenting numbers three through 28 to NASA’s astronauts. That original series serves as the inspiration for this new watch. The new Apollo 11 watch is made using a gold alloy that Omega developed to recall the pale hues of moonlight. The 42mm watch is powered by Omega’s new manual- winding Master Chronometer caliber 3861 with co-axial escapement and silicon balance spring. The caseback is engraved with “1969-2019” and “The First Watch Worn on the Moon.” An ocean-blue ring surrounds a partial world map that depicts the view of the rocket’s liftoff point in Cape Canaveral, Florida. $34,600 in 18K Moonshine gold, Omega in New York, +1 212 207 3333, omegawatches.com