Van Cleef & Arpels has a long-standing tradition when it comes to fairies. Already in the early 1940s did the brand made clips featuring these magical figures, which represent hope and joy. One of the signature features was that a rose-cut diamond formed the head, above which a headdress further marked their magical appearance. Van Cleef & Arpels introduced these fairies on their watches in 2007 with the first Lady Féerie watch, of which now a new model is joining the collection.

If there is one thing that Van Cleef & Arpels excels in, it is in creating classic watches with a twist. Even this twist is often subtle but sets the watch apart from others. An excellent example of this is the legendary 'Pierre Arpels'-model, which is essentially a very classic wristwatch, yet by fitting it with Vendome-lugs, it obtained a timeless appeal that still lasts today. The same can be said of the Midnight Heure d'Ici & Heure d'Ailleurs, yet with this watch, the twist can not only be found in its design but also in its movement.

Rather than a traditional hour center hand that sweeps around the dial pointing to 12 indexes, jump hour watches use a digital display (not to be confused with modern digital watches) to indicate the current hour. This particular mechanical watch complication dates back to 1883 when Josef Pallweber patented his invention using rotating discs for hours and minutes and displayed the time numerically via a pair of windows. Over a century later, Pallweber’s innovation is still alive and well as illustrated by these three brilliant examples of jump hour watches.

With its double-stepped bezel is Blancpain's Villeret collection not only instantly recognizable but also a true classic. Its details are subtle, but because of that, all the more powerful. Such a case also forms the perfect framework for the Tourbillon Heure Sautante Minutes Retrograde, which takes the purity of the Villeret-design to the next level with a tantalizing combination complications.

With the Angelico has Christophe Claret created yet another masterpiece. In his own unique style, he puts the mechanical aspect of the watch on center stage. The result is a watch that is very modern in appearance, although many of the technical ideas behind it are rooted in the history of watchmaking. Christophe Claret often reinvents them, refines them, or gives them an unexpected twist. This avant-garde approach has become his signature and is also clearly visible in the Angelico.

Gérald Genta is a man to who many brands owe a great debt. As a designer, he gave Audemars Piguet the Royal Oak, Patek Philippe their Nautilus, and he worked on the Pasha for Cartier, as well as many iconic designs for other brands. What not everybody knows is that he was next to a designer also a watch manufacturer and, in fact, a pioneering one. It was already in 1969 that he founded his manufacture and as could be expected it turned out innovative watches. With the 'Gefica' did Genta introduced a bronze case before it was cool, but that was not all.

The jump hour is a complication loved by many, yet only a few brands have one in their collection. One of the reasons for this is that it is difficult to make. The jump hour is a volatile complication in which power is build up in a spring during the hour to be released upon the hour. Not only does this require superb power management within the movement, but there is also to challenge to achieve perfect alignment of the hour disc after the jump has taken place.

There is no shortage of complicated watches in the collection of Bovet. Where most brands follow more traditional guidelines regarding design and the composition of the complications, Bovet walks to its own beat, with as a splendid example the Récital 18 Shooting Star!

Father's day is coming up and what better way to surprise that rock in your life than with a watch? Functional, practical and very personal: it is in many ways the perfect gift. But which watch to get him? That depends on the type of dad you have!

It might raise a few eyebrows: using the words "Chanel" and "Watch Connoisseurs" in the same sentence. Yet the Monsieur de Chanel seems to have everything worthy of a watch connoisseur's attention.