The holidays are now approaching and will soon enter our homes even without showing the super green pass. In an age that damages the soul to desecrate the nativity and to create spiritual distancing, we will try to bring the gift back to its deepest dimension.
The gift comes out of the empire of exchange, where everything is fungible, to enter like a comet star in the sky of the irreplaceable, the unforgettable. When you give without asking for anything in return, with the sole purpose of gratifying those you love, you will be in the manger with the donkey and the ox. Whether it's a caress, a hug or a perpetual calendar… and especially if that homage is for yourself. Love your neighbor as yourself, there is no other commandment more important than this. So loving ourselves, the good son of God tells us, is a training ground for Christianity and it is good to practice.
Of course, if you believe in Santa Claus you can ask him to bring you the toy you have in mind to give you, so as to make a good impression and save money; but if you are Santa-skeptical or not-Santa, then you will have to put your hand to your wallet. Let's see how.
Up to 1000 euros: patchs au derrière
If you don't boast a rich aunt, but you still want to put a quality watch between the branches of the crib to mark the arrival of the Three Kings, I recommend the Seiko Prospex Alpinist. In Japan there are no Alps just like in Bethlehem, however it is always useful to move around the jugs with the right equipment.
Beautiful size, beautiful case, beautiful green sunburst dial, beautiful domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal, solid automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve, second crown at 4 o'clock that moves the internal bezel to use as a compass. A well-built and dapper tool watch that even in the Engadine will make you pass for wealthy gentlemen who have no need to show off their shameless substances.
Up to 5 thousand: “pingrerie"
Il Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Bronze at a price of 4.310 euros it is almost irresistible. Splendidly proportioned in its 39 millimeters in diameter, it is enhanced with the riveted bracelet, but also pleases with the strap, supplied without supplements. The COSC-certified MT5400 caliber is the ultimate in reliability in this price range.
If you think that the gold version, with the same caliber and the same aesthetic appeal, costs 16 thousand euros, you really want to make the Riace bronze. The chronographs are also captivating Breitling Top Time, both in the nostalgic “Zorro” version and in the one created with Deus ex Machina. If you want a sporty GMT just under 5 thousand euros, the new one Bell & Ross BR05 has professional charisma and robustness. We saw it live at Linate and the perceived quality is very high. The bracelet is well finished and comfortable.
Up to 10: “pierre angulaire"
Two names above all, to be male, female, genderless, and in any case resolved connoisseurs: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Second and Zenith Chronomaster Revival El Primero A384 among the chronographs. No matter how successful you are the children of emirs or plumbers, these are two essentials for anyone. And they take home with just over 8 thousand euros.
The Reverso is born of steel and in the beautiful Tribute version it then plays with colors. Burgundy is the most seductive, but it can be tiring. The green dial is pleasant, even if a little trendy. You can't go wrong with blue. The A384 will never tire you and is a 69 with the El Primero genesis.
To follow, another renewed classic: IWC Portuguese Automatic with 40.4mm case. The price of 7.250 flies high on the wings of the Pellaton winding system, and is challenging for just one time in steel, but what a charm! Really rewarding too Breitling Premere B09 Chronograph 40, especially in the version with pistachio green dial and gold alligator strap. Plus, for 7.400 euros, classic chronograph enthusiasts will see the hand-wound Manufacture B09 caliber beat from the sapphire crystal caseback.
Up to 30 thousand: “délicatesse"
This is the most sensitive budget. Do not be flattered by the entry level Maison emblazoned. If you wear the Saxonia with the small seconds to point out that you own a Lange, you will understand that you wanted the Langematik, but you were missing the piotte. Better to move in the niches, as true post-conventional enthusiasts. Perhaps you will try to mirror yourself in the incomparable polishing and brushing of the Tsunami signed Hajime Asaoka, but when the master gives you spades as only a Japanese master can give, then you will choose a Venturer Center Seconds di H Moser.
Red Gold Vantablack if you want to get lost in the blackest of whirlpools; Funky blue fumé dial if it's more convenient for you, take a leap from GMT in via della Spiga and pull out the card with an arrogant plafond.
But remember that with 21.400 euros you can put a Cartier Tank Cintrée Grand Modèle in yellow gold and with just over 28 thousand one Tank Asymmetric.
Up to 50 thousand: “pumps"
We remain chez Cartier because the Pasha Complete calendar in limited edition it is one of the most gracefully Sardanapalesque pieces wearable today. It distills the entire pump of the collection in just 38 millimeters in diameter and with rare centering posters. With this on your wrist you will open the sublime door even by ringing the bell.
Cartesian pomp and dreamlike exactness are the cipher of theOcto Finissimo Automatic Blasted Gold by Bulgari, whose sandblasted gold dust finish glides on the skin like a Thomas Edward Lawrence mirage. But when you get close to 50 thousand euros, play against the script and get a steel watch. Nautilus, Royal Oak, Daytona? Leave them to your drivers. You will wear a Vacheron Constantin Corne de vache 1955 as a chronograph and a Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Retro Silvery white dial as Art Deco time only.
Unlimited budget: “splendeur"
We dream. With daring. Because only one thing makes dreams impossible: the fear of failure. And to write this epigram nonsense, Paulo Coelho had evidently never paid attention to the street prices of Richard Mille. Nonetheless, our budget is unlimited. Maybe because it's Santa Claus talking to you, maybe the genie of the lamp, or maybe because you've been trading your body for five years as special masseurs in Fort Lauderdale's luxury living for elderly ladies. It does not matter. Now you can dare.
The high road of uniqueness will lead you to chez Les Cabinotiers, Vacheron Constantin's most exclusive department, where you will have a blank sheet watch forged and colored it with your life. If you don't feel like waiting eight years to see it completed or even just four for one Chronometre à Resonance by FP Journe, you order a Jean Daniel Nicolas Tourbillon 2 Minutes. Thus you will become part of the Roth family without flaunting it. Or aim for the best that human hands can shape in the space and time allowed for a wristwatch. Four hands, to be exact.
Those of Romain Gauthier and Sebastien Berney, that you would not be very far from the truth imagining how a contemporary Abraham-Louis-Breguet and Benvenuto Cellini working in concert. If you want to play with an object of pure contemplation, choosing to chain yourself to the micromechanical hypnosis of large meshes that turn around spiral-shaped cams, order a logical one.
If, on the other hand, you also want to wear Ancien Régime the art of watchmaking in its highest expression - creative and executive - with distinction, choose a Prestige HMS Ten White Gold Limited Edition. The absence of the winding crown on the middle case smooths the lines of the 41mm case and improves its regenerative efficiency as on the ancestor and firstborn HM; but now the arches of the dial split into slits that reveal the sublime finishes of the movement, which are enhanced on the back side, where the original triangulations of the escapement are flanked by manual angles capable of rivaling and perhaps surpassing those of Dufour.
After this short journey through time, in virulent and mean times like ours, if you don't even have the money to make a monkey dance and to get on the carousel at Christmas time, buy a fanciful t-shirt by Perpetual Passion, so they won't rob you on the chairlift.
Because, always remember, true passion is brought to the skin and as close to the heart as possible. Merry Christmas!
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