We continue to introduce our Qlekta.com experts' pick of the most promising nominees.
 

MEN'S WATCHES

You could say that there's one star in this category: Voutilainen's KV20i Reversed, which we discussed a month ago. The watchmaker has entered a platinum version that retails for CHF 134,900. We'll just give you one quick reminder: the model's main allure is the new KV20i movement that Kari Voutilainen has housed in it.

It has a balance frequency of 18,000 vph, a 60-hour power reserve, and was entirely assembled and finished by hand at his workshop, constructed with the mainplate "back-to-front". This has been done so that the beautifully decorated movement can be admired while reading the time.

It exhibits a huge balance wheel, a unique balance-spring system with an exterior Phillips overcoil and internal Grossmann curve on the spring, and two escape wheels that provide a direct impulse. But we are still adamant that the steel version retailing for CHF 118,800 holds way more potential for collectors and investors than the platinum version, but far less steel versions will be made than the platinum and gold ones.

And we definitely have to highlight the model entered in this category by the Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka. Especially given the fact that his Hajime Asaoka Tsunami "Art Deco" model has been launched as a limited edition of just six pieces, as the legendary independent Japanese watchmaker still makes almost all components for his watches single-handedly, by hand.

No model will be an exact repeat because each one will be personally configured, so the price for the Tsunami fluctuates between CHF 50,000 and CHF 100,000. You have to admit that the two watches we've picked in this category are stunning!

Some might ask what a model like the Fears Brunswick 40 Topper Edition Series II "Snowed In" is doing in the same category. The “Snowed In” is the fruit of a collaboration between the English Fears Watch Company and the American luxury watch and jewelry dealer Topper Jewelers. 

The partners have all but presented a copy of the great Panerai Radiomir California model. And the near copy's main attraction is that it houses "the first-ever La Joux-Perret movement in a Fears watch: the Swiss-made G101." Well, and the fact that it's a limited edition of 25 pieces.

The only thing that will be interesting about this model is the jury's reaction: surely they won't consider this fair play. Or will they turn a blind eye and encourage another major watchmaker to stop entering for good?

MEN’S COMPLICATION WATCHES

Even with a wealth of choice, no other entrant comes close to De Bethune and the Kind of Grande Complication (Ref. DBK2TV2). The brand's master watchmaker Denis Flageollet has been reined in by the marketing imperative of being closer to the people in recent years, but he pulled out all the shots in this model.

Looking at this piece, it's easy to see why De Bethune's watches have been compared to Ettore Bugatti's cars 20 years ago. The legendary automobile designer and manufacturer created a car in the 1930s that F1 GOAT Michael Schumacher sat in at the end of the 20th century and experienced the most profound shock and greatest pleasure driving.

The experts experienced more or less the same feeling when they held a watch by De Bethune in their hands at the beginning of the new millennium. One day, when busy simplifying another model, Flageollet must have taken up a pencil and sketched the watch that embodied all of De Bethune's achievements over the 20 years since its inception.

Then the sketch ended up in front of the eyes of shareholders somehow, who thought: why not? It'll even be beneficial to remind the public what the small yet proud De Bethune manufacture was really made to do. In a nutshell, this watch has the fastest 30-second tourbillon, comprising 63 components, yet it only weighs 0.18 grams — the world's lightest.

It has a balance frequency of 36,000 vph, and a central jumping seconds mechanism driven by an original double pallet-lever with four pallets. At the same time, the watch has a fully silicon-based escapement, and unlike Patek Philippe Ulysse Nardin and Swatch Group, De Bethune has never experienced any problems with it.

The bridges and plate in the movement, which comprises 751 components, are made of mirror-polished titanium. It offers a magnificent view and has a captivating appearance. And that's only the caseback side. The main dial side displays the perpetual calendar indications with a moon-phase display.

Oh, and the 43.3-mm case made of polished titanium can swivel on its floating lugs, which follow the curves of the wrist to ensure a very comfortable fit. This is the most beautiful, comfortable, and wearable grand-complication class watch on the market. The model retails for CHF 400,000, and the series is only limited by the natural complexity of its construction.

ICONIC WATCHES

In the battle between living icons of haute horlogerie, IWC and Urwerk should be the last ones standing. Schaffhausen-based IWC has entered a version of their most iconic model: the Big Pilot's Watch 43 Tourbillon Markus Bühler (Ref. IW329901).

For fans of IWC, the launch of any Big Pilot's Watch is an event to celebrate. The watchmakers at IWC are hoping to repeat the success of the regular Big Pilot’s Watch Edition "Markus Bühler", which was launched in 2008 and is now the Holy Grail for collectors of creations by the masters in Schaffhausen.

We doubt that this model can repeat its success. At the end of the day, the Big Pilot's Watch and Big Pilot's Watch Tourbillon are too different. The platinum 43-mm tourbillon costs CHF 125,000, but the price isn't the only difference here.

And even the fact that availability of the tourbillon is limited to 51 pieces doesn't spell blue skies. We'll have to wait and see. But there are far more contenders looking to buy Urwerk's iconic UR-102 Reloaded (Ref. 102) than the limited edition of 25 available.

The familiar model which one of the Urwerk co-founders Felix Baumgartner began his career with when he entered the Academy of Independent Creators in Watchmaking (AHCI) has grown 3 mm bigger.

Now its titanium case measures 41 mm in diameter, and all the indications, scales, and the movement have gotten bigger, better, and brighter too. The model is priced at CHF 30,268.

TOURBILLON WATCHES

Entries to this prestigious category were submitted by 20 companies, but again, even with a wealth of choice, we found it easy to choose one favorite: Voutilainen's Tourbillon 20th Anniversary. The name says it all here.

The maestro is celebrating his company's 20th anniversary, and the anniversary of the first timepiece he created — a one-minute tourbillon pocket watch he made ten years earlier in 1994. The present model houses Voutilainen's new manually wound TBL22 movement.

It has two mainspring barrels, a balance frequency of 18,000 vph, and a three-day power reserve. The hand-finished dial and movement are of stunning quality. The model is limited to 61 pieces: 20 in platinum, white-gold, or rose-gold cases measuring 39.5mm in diameter, and just one piece in steel.

For the GPHG, Voutilainen entered his platinum version that retails for CHF 300,518. Needless to say, the one-of-a-kind steel piece will be worth ten times what it is now in due time, but the platinum edition won't depreciate either.

Previosly (part I)

Credits provided by the manufacturers: 
www.voutilainen.ch, www.hajimeasaoka.com, www.debethune.ch, www.iwc.com, www.urwerk.com and www.gphg.org