Those in the UAE with an appreciation for fine watches now have a new offering that caters to their needs: a bespoke timepiece that celebrates the Emirates.
The luxury Swiss watch manufacturer Perrelet has launched the exclusive UAE Limited Edition Turbine XL, especially for the nation’s 43rd birthday.
It will retail exclusively from Al Sayegh Jewellery in the capital for around Dh30,000. Perrelet, one of the oldest horologists in Switzerland, founded in 1777, has become known for its double-rotar complications. Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented a self-winding mechanism in the 1770s for pocket watches and this limited edition watch harks back to the company’s ancestry.
The Turbine XL is driven by the self-winding P-331 movement – entirely developed and produced in-house at the brand’s production site – and can be admired through a transparent sapphire case back. However, few will be able to appreciate this unique timepiece as only 43 are being produced.
For those who haven’t understood the patriotic fervour embedded in this watch, the dial subtly displays the colours of the national flag. These become visible as the turbine fitted with 12 titanium blades, when set into motion, provides not-quite-there glimpses of the spectacular red, green, white and black under-dial.
The hour-markers on the black inner bezel ring accentuate the optical effect and contribute to the allure of this made-in-the-UAE, totem of time keeping. The horologists have gone out of their way to create a collector’s item placing the luminescent white hour-markers and numerals on the sapphire dial above the turbine. The layered arrangement of the elements gives this watch a distinctive three-dimensional look. The reverse of the watch, the case back, carries the emblem of the state of the union with the number 43 fiercely prominent.
This is a man’s timepiece with its 48mm case available in an all-black PVD-coated stainless steel version. A rubber strap with a pin buckle complements the challenger-style spirit of this watch, while the compact nature of its design is highlighted by the discreet crown merging seamlessly into the case.
Q&A
Why are people so into watches?
Because they are very collectable. They have been around since 1492 when, miraculously, the mechanical watch appeared simultaneously in Italy, Germany and France. Its principle remained dominant for almost five centuries, until the late 1970s and the advent of the electronic watch.
So electronic watches aren’t collectable?
Not yet.
I thought Switzerland was the home of watches?
Well, in 1556 goldsmiths in Calvinist Geneva were forbidden from making jewellery and objects of idolatry, hence they turned their attention to the manufacturing of watch cases instead. It was a battle between England and Switzerland for a long time ... the Swiss won. By the 1700s Switzerland’s economy was thriving driven by watchmaking and all its ancillary industries. In 1760 there were 600 watchmakers in Geneva for a population of about 20,000.
So is there a watch I should look out for if I want to start collecting?
The Breguet No 160 grand complication, more commonly known as the Marie-Antoinette or the Queen. This watch is thought to have been commissioned in 1783 by a count – an admirer and alleged lover of the French queen. She never saw it, it was finished 34 years after she was executed. It was stolen in 1983 - although it was recovered in 2007. As of 2013, the watch was valued at US$30 million.
ascott@thenational.ae
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