SS18 MEN'S LUXURY WATCH EDIT

The Royal Oak Offshore may be celebrating 25 years of oversized beefy bling, out-muscling all other Audemars launches by virtue of sheer audacity, but look closer and you’ll find equally big-ticket, star players on the teamsheet. In this case, in similarly pumped-up proportions – the Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is actually 2mm wider than the Offshore original of 1993 and the titanium case is pure stealth bomber. The skeletonised mechanics framed by all of that bulk, however? Purist haute horlogerie at its finest, executed laboriously by Switzerland’s most experienced hands.

£POA

On one side, an exceptionally refined hand-guilloché dial, engraved using antique lathes on which just a handful of Swiss artisans are trained to operate. On the other, an equally guilloché officer-type back cover that opens to reveal the ultra-thin L.U.C 96.01-L movement. ‘Officer’ casebacks are so-named because they were used on the pocket watches of military men to protect the glass on the back. Other than adding theatrical flourish to the spectacle of a display caseback, it gives manufacturers another canvas on which to show off. In this case, a honeycomb motif, presumably in allusion to the busy-bee workmanship required.

70092 | £24,500

The unflagging love for a blue dial – be it midnight, navy or cobalt – is as understandable as Yves Saint-Laurent’s famous maxim when it comes to a men’s suit: blue will always flatter. But green? The opposite; notoriously tricky to pull off when it comes to clothes, yet still surprisingly versatile in watch form. Admittedly, it’s a trend in its infancy, but it’s also difficult to imagine a beauty like this ever looking wrong. The fact it complements the pink gold where almost every other colour won’t (apart from blue, of course) says it all. And if you still can’t pull it off? Don’t worry – it’s a Hublot chronograph, and no one can argue with that.

70093 | £25,500

As you’ll read from this issue’s special Bell & Ross feature, the French watchmaker was founded on the firm principles of no-nonsense military practicality. As such, its normally monochromatic and robust designs have earned ‘essential kit’ status for many of the world’s professional hardmen (and plenty of amateur ones). Which would normally qualify a dalliance in fancy tourbillons like this as sheer frippery. But trust Bell & Ross to get away with it – the signature stripped-back style extends to losing the dial altogether, placing the delicate whirligig carrousel centre stage, rather than pretending it’s about anything else. Bravo! (Two Zero.)

70090 | £49,900

As well as Heuer in the same year (with a little help from Büren and Breitling), Zenith singlehandedly broke ground in 1969 with not only a world-first self-winding chronograph, but one that ticked at 5Hz rather than the usual 4Hz, allowing a timing precision of a tenth of a second. The new Defy 21’s chronograph mechanism now ticks ten times faster than that thanks to a separate powertrain, the central seconds hand flying around the dial every second in a mesmerising spectacle of urgency and sportiness. The recently rejuvenated Zenith has wasted no time in having fun with its new posterboy too, now rendering its intricate mechanics in cobalt blue.

70095 | £10,600

When people talk of watershed chronograph designs, Breitling’s Navitimer, the Omega Speedmaster, Rolex Daytona, even Heuer’s own Monaco all come to mind first – but connoisseurs will tell you that the 1962’s Autavia was the original, sporty monochrome groundbreaker. In 2016, TAG brilliantly masterminded the ‘Autavia Cup’ to decide which model would be revived and after 55,000 votes, it was a 1966 model famously worn by another driver, Jochen Rindt, that made the grade. To celebrate Jack Heuer’s 85th birthday in November, this special edition reverses out the subdials’ monochrome design – a ‘steel panda’ facelift if you like.

70091 | £4,850

With four North Pole expeditions under his belt, Ben Saunders is one of three people in history to ski solo to the North Pole. On 28th December, 52 days and 1,086km into his latest TransAntarcticSolo expedition, he reached the South Pole too, making him the first in the world to have skied solo to both poles. Ferocious white-out conditions may have forced him to abandon the expedition there and then with just 576km to go, but needless to say, his other British companion, the newly launched S500 GMT chronometer from Bremont never failed him, invaluable in determining longitude in an environment far too cold for any battery-operated device.

69961 | £4,795

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Step into a world of Diamonds & Thrills with the latest edition of ROX Magazine.

Not afraid to stand out from the crowd the modern ROX Man expects the unexpected and is always prepared.

Welcome to the spring/summer 2018 issue of ROX Man.