Victoria Beckham once said in an interview that she fell in love with watches when she got her first Flik Flak. Later, the gifts she received (mainly from her husband) became more and more expensive and today she boasts a truly impressive collection.

She recently had the opportunity to refresh the Breitling Chronomat 36 series. The unisex Chronomat 36 fits perfectly into the style of Victoria Beckham’s designs, which combine feminine and masculine patterns. This aesthetic can be seen in each of the six models in the Chronomat 36 Victoria Beckham collection. What attracts your attention most are the colours proposed by the designer: the shades of the dials (peppermint, midnight blue, dove grey and sand) were created by Breitling exclusively for this series. They were inspired by the colour palette of Victoria Beckham Spring-Summer 2024 collection.

The Chronomat 36 Victoria Beckham was created in a limited edition of 1500 pieces and is available in stainless steel or yellow gold – the latter being used for the first time in this collection. Each of the six variants retains the same recognisable Chronomat features, i.e. a 36mm case with raised rider tabs at the 15-minute marks and an integrated, unique bracelet with links that look like metal shutters. The automatic calibre 10 (based on the ETA calibre 2892) also remains unchanged, with hours, minutes, seconds and a date display at 6 o’clock.

So what has changed, apart from the colour? A few details: for example, Victoria Beckham’s initials are on the counterweight of the seconds hand, and on the lower part of the dial there is an inscription to show the number of pieces in the limited series (“One of 400” for the steel versions, and “One of 100” for the gold versions). In addition, the VB logo and Victoria Beckham’s name can also be found on the bracelet clasp.

The Chronomat 36 Victoria Beckham is associated with the world of fashion like no other Breitling watch. That’s why the photos for the advertising campaign were taken by the famous Italian fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti, and featured Annemary Aderibigbe, an up-and-coming star in the world of modelling.

Spectacular Yellow Diamonds

TAG Heuer, which is most often associated with sports models, offers women a combination of jewellery craftsmanship and sophisticated style. The new Carrera Date Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde looks truly phenomenal. In actual fact, it has a classic 36mm case made of polished white gold, but several details turn it into an extremely spectacular watch, starting from the crown and ending with the dial. The crown, like the large brand logo visible under the Carrera inscription, was cut from a yellow diamond (1.3ct). Moreover, the polycrystalline diamond dial consists of countless cultivated diamonds – together they form a porous surface which creates thousands of reflections when exposed to light.

And that’s not all, because the dial also features wide hour markers using twelve baguette-cut synthetic diamonds including the double hour index at 12 o’clock, which is characteristic of Carrera models. There is a date display on the opposite side of the dial at 6 o’clock and this is the only matte element of the dial.

The dazzling Carrera Date Plasma Diamant d’Avant-Garde is set with diamonds with a total weight of as much as 4.8ct and it comes with a white alligator strap and a white gold pin buckle. The watch is powered by the automatic calibre 7 (based on the Sellita calibre SW300) which is visible under the transparent caseback and gives the watch a 56-hour power reserve.

Ceramics in play

There is no denying that Cécile Guenat, the Creative Director of Richard Mille, has a sense of humour. Do you remember the Bon Bon collection or the Smiley model? Those were her designs. It’s the same fantasy, nonchalance and ease that we saw from the Italian designers who belonged to the Memphis Group in the 1980s. Their crazy designs were characterised by asymmetric shapes, strongly contrasting colours and bold prints. To put it simply, they looked like one big experiment.

Inspired by this aesthetic, Cécile Guenat created the RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics series for women, playing with patterns and unusual combinations of colours and textures. The collection consists of three watches in characteristic tonneau-shaped cases measuring 31.4 x 45.23mm (water-resistant to 50m). Their central section is made of sandblasted and hand-polished white gold, while the bezel and caseback are made of colourful TZP ceramics. The cases of the RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics watches are available in shades of blush pink, lavender pink or powder blue. However, it is not the cases that attract the most attention, but the dials, which are inspired by the pop-art aesthetics associated with the style of the Memphis Group. Here you can see geometric forms amidst apparent chaos, as well as various juxtaposed colours and textures. The base of the dial is a rose gold skeleton with a dark grey PVD coating, on which colourful elements have been applied (they are covered with ceramics, rubber and finished with traditional hand guilloché or set with diamonds).

Underneath the semi-skeleton dial we find the skeletonised automatic calibre CRMA2 with a 50-hour power reserve. As with most Richard Mille movements, the main plate and bridges are made of titanium. The movement is powered by a rose gold rotor with adjustable geometry, mounted on ceramic bearings. What does that mean? It means the special adjustment of the rotor allows the watch to adapt to the level of activity of the wearer, so even people who are not very active do not have to wind it too often.

The RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics watches have leather straps in contrasting colours with Velcro-type fastenings. For example, the version with a blush pink case has a turquoise strap, the one with a lavender pink case has a yellow strap, and the powder blue version has a pale red strap. Additionally, at the end of each strap there is a pattern in a different colour. Both ends are connected by a loop made of sandblasted and polished white gold, engraved with the “Richard Mille” inscription.

The RM 07-01 Coloured Ceramics series is not “limited” in the strictest sense, but the complicated manufacturing process means that the actual number of pieces produced remains limited.

A Slender Classic

The most delicate of the new products is the Mini Trésor, a smaller version of the De Ville Trésor, one of Omega’s bestsellers. Its slim case with a characteristic, streamlined shape has a diameter of 26mm and is decorated with two rows of diamonds which create fanciful arcs. The diamonds are all of different sizes, so together with the slender hands and enlarged Roman numerals on the dial, they visually lengthen the case.

Five new versions have recently been added to the collection: three with steel cases, and two with cases made of Moonshine gold (an alloy developed by Omega that resembles yellow gold but is lighter in colour). The most impressive among them is that with the gold dial, decorated with a pattern imitating the texture of silk. To simultaneously balance out and accentuate the large amount of gold, the watch comes with an elegant black satin strap. In the remaining versions, the dial is an off-white shade – the intended effect of using the Grand Feu enamel, a traditional enamelling technique.

In addition to the large Roman numerals, there are also two delicate hands on the dial for hours and minutes, which are powered by a quartz movement. A unique detail in all versions is the flower-shaped crown, decorated with a floral motif made of red ceramics, the centre of which is filled with a small embedded diamond. The floral motif is also found on the mirrored caseback, which features a metallised “Her Time” pattern.

An important element of the Mini Trésor is the strap, which in each version highlights the colours of the dial and case. In the first gold variant, the silk textured pattern on its surface, paired with a black satin strap makes the gold shine even more. In the second, the red alligator leather enhances the effect of the red Roman numerals on the white dial, especially since the strap is long and wraps around the wrist twice.

The two stainless-steel models also have elongated straps: one is made of lacquered black calfskin leather with a quilted diamond-shaped pattern, and the other is made of golden Novonappa leather, which adds warmth to the austerity of the dial. The last version has a grey, slightly shiny alligator leather strap, which makes it look even more discreet.

Omega also offers jewellery that matches the new models from the Mini Trésor series. Made from a variety of materials and decorated with openwork floral designs or sparkling stars, the bracelets add a definite charm to the watches.