Mechanical doesn’t mean medieval: the most advanced traditional watches
You don’t have to make too many circuits of the Silicon Roundabout and its environs to notice that, even at the heart of the tech community, there’s more to wristwatches than those prefixed with the word “smart”. In fact, the traditional wristwatch is one of the most technologically advanced gadgets to have ever appeared, and it continues to evolve with the times. No sign of obsolescence among this tech-friendly quartet.
Ressence Type 3 Blue
Ressence is simply one of the coolest and cleverest boutique watch brands out there. The tactile and satisfying Type 3 features a dial in which all the elements orbit around each other on rotating discs, and appear to be one and the same with the sapphire dome encasing the watch thanks to the insertion of light-refracting oil. Newly available in blue, it looks like a digital gadget, but this is one piece of pure mechanical magic.
£26,500, MrPorter.com
Rolex Air-King
The Air-King was for years the perennial entry-level men’s Rolex, but became too small for modern tastes and vanished. However, it’s suddenly back – upsized, and with a colourful, aeronautical-style dial that’s the freshest and breeziest look we’ve seen from Rolex in years. It’s technically right on the money too (we’d expect nothing less), with anti-magnetic protection and Rolex’s newly-introduced “Superlative Chronometer” specification for accuracy and toughness.
£4,150, Rolex.com
From left: Rolex Air-King, H Moser & Cie Swiss Alps Watch, Nomos Tetra Neomatik
H Moser & Cie Swiss Alps Watch
One of Switzerland’s oldest and most exclusive watchmakers – producing only around 1,000 a year – H Moser & Cie is also a cheeky blighter, and in January announced a hand-wound, ultra-refined model whose, er, “inspiration” is all too easy to discern, with its distinctive square face and prominent crown. It won’t read your heart rate or deliver texts, but with a truly sumptuous in-house movement delivering 100 hours of power, it’ll outlast its Cupertino cousin several times over.
£POA, h-moser.com
Nomos Tetra Neomatik
This German watch company is beloved by designers and coolhunters for its crisp, modernist designs and its impressive value proposition. Its “Tetra” square watches have until now only been available in smaller sizes, but its newest version has been enlarged to be suitable for both sexes, and contains the company’s most sophisticated in-house movement – one of the slimmest and most efficient movements in existence.
£2,590, nomos-glashuette.com