Bazaar Arabia’s Watch Columnist Elizabeth Doerr On The 3 Best Timepieces From LVMH Watch Week
The timepiece expert attended the third edition of LVMH Watch Week and spotted three timepieces that stood out from all the offerings on display from the luxury group’s stable of watch brands
As the Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) watch fair continues to evolve, change, and metamorphose in the wake of Baselworld’s demise – which was for more than a century the world’s largest watch fair – various watch groups and brands continue to ponder how to best show their new watches to retail, press and consumers. In an experimental trial run for a new-age solution, luxury group LVMH staged a small fair comprising three of its watch brands – Zenith, Hublot and Bvlgari – in Dubai in person in early 2020. The third edition of this ‘fair’ just took place and, like the 2021 edition, it happened digitally and with all four of the LVMH group’s brands present: Zenith, Hublot, Bulgari, and TAG Heuer. Here are three of the best watches to come out of this first showing of 2022’s new timepieces.
Bvlgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery secret watch with Piccolissimo movement
Perhaps the biggest surprise for most fans of Bvlgari’s iconic Serpenti timepieces was the fact that the brand has now made what is surely the smallest mechanical movement in the world to power these sumptuous, stylish snakes. It is present in four new masterpieces. The clock face is hidden in the creature’s mouth – the “Misteriosi” (“mysterious”) part – which can be opened by the wearer pressing down on the metal tongue. The crown is placed on the back to both wind and set the miniscule movement.
The four gold variations of the supple, snake-shaped bracelet are radiant with semi-transparent, hand-applied lacquer, semiprecious stones, and gemstones as they wrap around the wrist. The head of one variation is set with round-cut diamonds forming a flower while others have turquoise, diamond or lacquer scales. Depending on the colour scheme, the snake’s eyes are made of rubellite, emeralds, or diamonds. This latest version of the Bvlgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery secret watch forms the perfect unions of haute horlogerie and high jewellery worlds.
Zenith Defy Revival A3642
In a very welcome ‘revival,’ Zenith introduces an incredibly attractive, sporty stainless steel watch as a modern reproduction of the brand’s earliest Defy model from 1969, the A3642. It is housed in the original shape combining a rather bold octagonal case and a 14-sided bezel, whose facets exhibit different finishes and sharp definition, reflecting light like a jewel. This is practically a replica of the original with the same proportions, case diameter, and ‘ladder’ bracelet, but with an open case back to allow the owner to see the modern automatic Elite movement. Modernity is also seen in the 300 metres of water resistance this watch offers.
The dial is wonderfully expressive with its warm grey gradient colour that almost veers off into light brown. In 1969 this was one of the first of its kind. But it’s the unusual, squared hour markers that steal the spotlight with their horizontal grooves conveying a sense of motion. Differing only from the original in the use of Super-LumiNova instead of Tritium on the luminous hands, the open case back, and the use of sapphire crystal instead of Plexiglas or mineral crystal, this watch exudes timeless beauty. The only downside is that it’s limited to 250 pieces.
Zenith Defy Midnight Borealis and Sunset
Zenith also released two new automatic Defy Midnight models, a line first seen at LVMH Watch Week 2020 with a declared “feminine approach,” this time in ‘Borealis’ and ‘Sunset’ dial variations. As one might expect, the dial of the Sunset variation is chock full of warm tones ranging from red to yellow and emanating from the Zenith star at 12 o’clock thanks to an underlying stamped pattern of ‘sunrays.’ The Borealis model is similar except that the colours range from navy blue to emerald green.
The base story line of the Defy Midnight revolves around the sky, which involves both a romantic notion and incorporates the Zenith star. As Zenith CEO Julien Tornare once told me, the brand offers different dial variations “because the sky doesn’t always have the same colour; it can be blue or a bit reddish at sunset or even cloudy – but you can always see the star because it’s yours.” This line’s stainless steel case accommodates a slimmer wrist, making it exceedingly proportionate at 36 x 10.35 mm, but it is still substantial due to a higher bezel that shows off 44 full-sized brilliant-cut diamonds set into it. And let’s not forget the 11 diamonds used here as hour markers for a wonderful bit of extra sparkle.
The Defy is the most progressive and modern line currently at Zenith, and the sporty chic Defy Midnight fits here like a glove. Aside from the romantic connotations of the collection, which have led to some lovely design choices like these, one element that has also impressed me is the interchangeable strap/bracelet system (each Defy Midnight comes with three additional colourful straps and an interchangeable folding buckle so that the watch can be ‘wardrobed’ in the blink of an eye).
New with the Borealis and Sunset dial variations are Nona Source straps, part of an LVMH-incubated program to recycle leftover materials from the group’s fashion houses, practically upcycling deadstock fabrics to create a capsule strap collection for the Defy Midnight. Zenith is the first to introduce this within LVMH, and it fits the brand – and these watches – so beautifully.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2022 issue.