This year, the retailer Watches of Switzerland has been celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of collaborative watch launches. These collaborations have covered a huge spectrum of the industry from the bombastic and modern Hublot to the refined and elegant Cartier. Now though they’re rounding out the celebrations by championing independent watchmakers through a Centenary Piece Unique produced in partnership with Craig and Rebecca Struthers.
The Struthers, if you are unfamiliar, are a British watchmaking duo renowned as some of the best in their generation. Rebecca Struthers is also the author of Hands of Time, a book we highly recommend to veteran watch collectors and new enthusiasts alike. For the Watches of Switzerland Centenary Piece Unique they wanted to pay tribute to the historic legacy of the brand, which they achieve through utilising traditional techniques.
For example, the 36mm yellow gold case is produced using traditional boxwood turning, an extremely rare and almost extinct method of crafting precise cases. Focussing inward to the dial, it features a triple calendar and moonphase display in a gorgeous black and gold colourway that perfectly complements the case. A lovely touch is that the typography and font used here is based on the original logo that Watches of Switzerland used 100 years ago, back when it was called G. M. Lane.
Beneath the lovely dial is housed a modified Valjoux 90 movement, a calibre that was originally launched in 1945. It’s a movement with historic significance, having been popular with high end brands like Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe. For the Watches of Switzerland Centenary Piece Unique it has been hand engraved in the manner of a 19th century English watch, heightening the class and elegance of the piece even further.
Interestingly the watch is being made available for sale rather than preserved in an archive or put up for auction. It has a price of £72,000, which for a watch this elegant and stylish (plus the amazing work of the Struthers as well as a host of additional artisans) seems like a bargain. Although I imagine a buyer was found well before the watch was made public, that’s just how these things tend to go.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Watches
of Switzerland x Rebecca Struthers Special Edition Centenary Watch
Case:
36mm
diameter, 18k yellow gold
Dial:
Black
Movement:
Valjoux
calibre 90e, modified, automatic, 22 jewels
Frequency:
18,800
vph (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve:
48h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, triple calendar, moonphase
Strap:
Leather
Price:
£72,000,
unique piece
More details at Watches of Switzerland.
Oracle Time