Model Parliament 001 (Stainless Steel)
Price 22,990 USD
Available Al Manara, Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi
2. 51 year old Frenchman, François-Paul Journe, is regarded as one of the most capable Master Watchmakers in the industry. His eponymous brand, launched in 1999, produces only about 800 incredibly sophisticated watches a year. But Journe has a dedicated following of astute and demanding collectors for whom he often makes one-off creations. Second hand examples of these usually command six figure prices when sold at auction.
Model Centigraphe Souverain (World’s most capable tachymeter)
Price n/a
Available Tufenkjian, Charles Malek Ave., Beirut
Ghadah Jewellery, Salhiya Complex, Kuwait
Seddiqi & Sons, BurJuman, Dubai
3. Following the success of the Titanic-DNA comes the Moon Dust-DNA timepiece by Geneva-based watchmaker, Romain Jerome. The cratered dial is based on a mineral deposit that includes Moon dust. The case is made from titanium and steel taken from Apollo XI, with rusted steel paws that incorporate fragments of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Lastly the strap is composed from fibres of a spacesuit.
Model Moon Dust
Price 75,000 USD
Available RJ Watches S.A, Rue Robert Céard, Geneva
4. After eight years of restoring antique clocks and watches and a further eight years of designing, developing and making complicated watches for various famous Swiss brands (like the Opus 3 for Harry Winston); Frenchman Vianney Halter has been producing under his own brand name since 1998. His haut de gamme sculptural timepieces are particularly distinctive, combining traditional high-complication internals with avant-garde exteriors.
Model Antiqua
Price 140,000 USD
Available L’Heure Asch, Rue de la Cite, Geneva
5. 36-year old Spaniard Franc Vila founded his company in 2005 in the Old Town of Geneva. Since then he has stayed true to his original ‘Unique Spirit’ figure-eight shaped dials and each of the 1,000 or so yearly Vila releases features a variation of this design. This model, featuring a flying tourbillon, is made from a coloured alloy based on lithium that is both lightweight and strong.
Model Blue Lightnium SuperLigero Skeleton Tourbillon.
Price 300,000 USD
Available Amiri Gems, Al Saad Street, Doha
Al Kooheji & Partners, KSA
BinHendi, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai
6. Greubel Forsey, based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, specialises in very high-end complicated timepieces. It was launched in 2004 by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey two years before they were asked to design the Opus 6 for Harry Winston. The watch shown above pioneers a new performance in single axis, high velocity tourbillons through the use of a complex inclined satellite pinion gearing combined with an ultra-light cage.
Model Tourbillon 24 Secondes Incliné (T24Si)
Price n/a
Available Seddiqi & Sons, BurJuman, Dubai
