New Year’s Gifts: Top 6 Collectible Watches to Make this Holiday Season Unforgettable

New year’s celebrations aren’t quite complete without gifts. Since it’s the beginning of a brand new year, you can consider investing in timeless luxury watches as gifts for your loved ones. Timepieces are revered not only because of their functionalities and complexities, but also because of the fact that they are wearable art. This holiday season, to help you decide on the perfect watches for your near and dear ones, GMT India presents a curated list that features a wide variety of luxury timepieces from leading brands. 

TAG Carrera Chronograph Extreme Sport

This 44 mm rose gold model has a crown at 3 o'clock and the chronograph pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock are made of Grade 5 titanium that has been heavily brushed and polished; the orange-lacquered ring contributes to the watch's bold, sporty appearance. The openworked dial, with a fine brushed and rhodium-plated finish and bright orange highlights, underlines the technical aspects of motor racing. 

The flange is black with an orange outline and features a minutes/seconds track separated by rhodium-plated, faceted, and polished appliqué indexes with a black centre design. The black openworked azure subdials use the classic chronograph configuration; the 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock and the 12-hour counter at 9 o'clock are bordered by rhodium-plated rings. The hands are rhodium-plated, polished, and openworked, with orange-lacquered tips to facilitate reading. Powering the watch is in-house automatic Calibre TH20-00, featuring a column wheel and vertical clutch, and delivering an 80-hour power reserve. The movement is visible through the sapphire titanium screwed sapphire caseback. All in all, a perfect gift for motorsports enthusiasts.

Price: Rs. 11,00,000 (approx.)

Tudor Black Bay 58 18K

A satin finish covers the entire 39 mm 18 ct yellow gold case watch. At 3 o'clock are an 18 ct yellow gold winding crown with the TUDOR rose in relief as well as a circular 18 ct yellow gold winding crown tube that is satin-brushed. The 18 ct yellow gold 60-minute unidirectional rotatable bezel features a matte green anodised aluminium inlay. The matte green domed dial features 18 ct gold applied hour markings and 18 ct yellow gold 'Snowflake' hands as well as Grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®, which was first used in Tudor divers' watches in 1969. 

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The watch is powered by the Manufacture Calibre MT5400, a self-winding mechanical movement with a power reserve of 70 hours. Turning the watch over reveals a sapphire open caseback with a bidirectional rotor system. What’s more, it is finished on a 3-link 18 ct yellow gold bracelet with satin finish and an 18 ct yellow gold T-fit clasp.

Price: Rs. 28,00,000 (approx.)

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback

This timepiece is housed in a sturdy 43 mm 18 ct rose gold casing with a crown and two chronograph pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock. The unidirectional rotating bezel includes a satin-brushed blue ceramic inlay and a diamond-shaped orientation indication at 12 o'clock. The dial's rectangular hands are based on elements from vintage Bathyscaphe models. The sunburst-patterned dial features chronograph counters at 3 o'clock (30-minute counter) and 9 o'clock (12-hour counter), which are snailed for added depth.

A white number marks the date window at 4:30 and there’s a little seconds counter at 6 o'clock. Blancpain calibre F385, a high-frequency automated chronograph movement that beats at a rate of 5Hz (36,000vph), runs the watch whose chronograph hands can be stopped, reset, and restarted with a single press of the 4 o'clock pusher. It can provide up to 50 hours of power backup. The watch is presented on a red gold bracelet with a folding clasp.

Price: Rs. 30,00,000 (approx.)

Breguet Type XX 2067

The new Breguet Type XX Chronograph comes in a 42 mm rose gold case with lugs, two pushers, and a crown. The pusher at 2 o'clock activates and deactivates the chronograph function, while the one at 4 o'clock resets and restarts it immediately. The straight-line crown can be set in three positions: (i) neutral, winding, (ii) date-setting, and (iii) time-setting. The graded bidirectional rotating bezel is fluted and covered with a white luminous coating. It has a blue ceramic ring and a gold 12-hour scale. This model's sunburst blue dial has a 15-minute counter at 3 o'clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock, and running seconds at 9 o'clock. The subdials are recessed with a snailed pattern; the date window appears at 4:30. 

The watch is powered by the in-house calibre 728, which is an automatic integrated chronograph movement with a flyback feature. This movement features a column wheel and a vertical clutch. The power reserve lasts 60 hours and beats at a frequency of 5 Hz. In addition to the sunburst motif, snailing, chamfering, circular graining and other visible decorations on the components, the column wheel has been treated with black to increase tribology (which deals with the science behind wear and tear, friction, lubrication, and how interacting surfaces and tribo-elements behave in relative motion), while also adding contrast.

Price: Rs. 37,55,000 (approx.)

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Breitling Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar

This 44 mm 18 ct red gold model has a unique design with increased rider tabs at 15-minute increments, an onion crown, and a rubber replica of the original Rouleaux bracelet. Ceramic inserts enhance its appearance. In addition, it features a striking skeletonised dial, a first for Breitling. This variant has a tachymeter scale on its outer periphery, a moonphase complication at 12 o’clock, a date and 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, a month and leap year counter at 6 o’clock, and day and small seconds at 9 o’clock with a central chronograph seconds hand.

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The watch is powered by Breitling Manufacture Caliber B19, a self-winding mechanical bidirectional movement, with a ball bearing, a 22 ct red gold rotor, and a power reserve of 96 hours. The model is finished on a black alligator leather strap with an 18 ct red gold folding buckle.

Price: Rs. 51,15,000 (approx.)

JLC Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds

This 18 ct pink gold watch features a glossy, inky blue lacquer front dial, a redesigned reverse dial with double indexes applied to the silver sunrays background, and a refined 24-hour (night-day) display. On the front dial are matching indexes and hands; its deep, inky blue was achieved by applying no fewer than 20 layers of lacquer, each of which had to be dried before applying the next layer. In all, the creation of the dial needed 50 steps. It also displays the hours, minutes and small seconds.

On the reverse dial, one can spot a second time-zone and a 24-hour indicator. Like all Jaeger-LeCoultre movements, the manually wound Calibre 854 was entirely conceived, developed, and produced within the Manufacture with a 42-hour power reserve. 

Price: Rs. 2,390,000 (approx.)‍