Appeal for Assymetry
Watches from Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, and Vacheron Constantin that delight with their asymmetry.
The first Cartier Crash appeared in the 1960s. Legend has it that a Cartier client brought their damaged Baignoire to the Cartier boutique in London and, in doing so, inspired a new case design and the watch’s name. Since then, Cartier has introduced several variations of the Crash, from mother-of-pearl dials and diamond accents to intricate enamel work and engraving.
The vast majority of watches consist of the conventional round case, the trendy rectangular case, or the geometrically pleasing square case. But there is a subset of watches that surprise and delight with their asymmetry. Watch collectors and makers have rediscovered unique case designs that are bold and different. Some attribute the rise in popularity of asymmetrical watches to the “Crash Effect” caused by the Cartier Crash timepiece that debuted in 1967 but went stratospheric on the preowned market earlier this decade and which is now fuelled by new additions to the range. No matter the reason for the rise in demand for asymmetrical watches, these timepieces are finally getting their time in the spotlight.
As its name suggests, the Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 first appeared in the 1920s. Characterized by its diagonal dial, the watch was designed for the “first gentlemen drivers who needed to check the time without taking their hands off the wheel,” according to the Vacheron Constantin archives. By rotating the dial counterclockwise, the winding crown was placed in the corner, corresponding to 12 o’clock, making the time easily read diagonally.
Watches that wrap around the wrist have been a Bulgari staple since the Roman jewellery house introduced its first Serpenti watch in 1948. While snakes evoke a mixture of fascination and fear, the reptile is a brand signature and the Serpenti Tubogas Double Spiral one of its great successes.
Audemars Piguet is known for its avant-garde designs and fine watchmaking traditions, and the RE[Master]02 is a reinterpretation of Model 5159BA released in the 1960s. The new limited-edition watch of 250 pieces features a 41-millimetre rectangular case in 18-karat sand gold alloy. The watch’s vintage aesthetic is teamed with modern-day advances for a timepiece with extraordinary wrist presence.
