Christophe Claret Masters Battle Scenes

The new model coincides with the bicentenary of Napoleon Bonaparte's death.

The occasion is marked most clearly in the detailed battle scenes on each watch dial. Every last one of these details has been faithfully recreated. Eagle-eyed history buffs will recognize that the epaulettes worn by the standard bearer carrying the flag are only fringed on the left shoulder. They'll notice the 1812 shako military cap with a tricolor cockade and red pompom, the color of which was used to determine the company number within the line infantry's battalion.

They'll see the bearskin caps with a red plume worn by the Grenadiers. Christophe Claret engaged in a form of historical reenactment, paying great attention to detail. You can glean a great deal of information about the soldiers who fought in each battle by examining these details. But there's more to this watch in the bigger picture.

The lower half of the Christophe Claret Napoleon watch is reserved for the flying tourbillon in the shape of the Order of the Legion of Honor — an order of merit established by Napoleon in 1802. The reverse side of the medal with the French Imperial Eagle is displayed. Christophe Claret has also brought the Napoleonic army's soldiers to life with another of this model's complications.

Some of the figures begin to move when the minute repeater is activated. These animated jaquemart automata move in time with an exquisite melody. There's a different combination of notes for each quarter (CDEG, GDEC, EGDC). The Napoleon model with its hand-painted and embossed figures is limited to 16 pieces: eight in a titanium case and eight in red gold. Each of the eight titanium pieces depicts a different campaign led by the famous military leader.

The glass caseback offers a view of the manually wound NBC98 caliber movement assembled from 511 components. The engravers have etched the Napoleonic "N" crowned in a triumphant laurel wreath onto it. The caseback also features a famous remark Napoleon is said to have made: L'imagination Gouverne Le Monde (trans. Imagination Rules the World). The watch's single-barrel movement provides a power reserve of 60 hours. That's plenty of time to admire the battle scene on the dial.