While there are quite a few watches that command the status of an icon, there are fewer movements that can do the same. Even when they can do that, the vast majority is only known among a group of very dedicated collectors and no so much to the mainstream consumers. There is, however, an exception to this rule. A name that is often used synonymously for both the movement, as well as the watch that it powers: Zenith's El Primero!

When people hear the name Graff, many minds wander immediately towards the most stunning diamonds ever seen. While this is rightly so the brand also has a collection of highly technical watches, in which no gemstone can be found. Well, except one, as the Graff logo is represented by an emerald.

For a watch connoisseur, few things hold as much pleasure as a well-executed watch. A watch in which all details have been taken into consideration, not only as a single part but also as a part of the whole. Where every detail has been carefully crafted and finished, and put together with patience and care. When all this happens it results in a watch like the Girard Perregaux Neo-Tourbillon Skeleton with Three Bridges.

They both struggle for attention, with neither one achieving to become in this case the sole interest of their mother who is enjoying the shade of a large tree. What goes for these two lion cubs also applies for Namibia and the Richard Mille RM 58-01 Tourbillon World Timer Jean Todt: both are beautiful and impressive, both have the power to take your breath away, and combined they made for one of the most memorable trips I have ever had.

Imposing yet practical: that is probably the best way to describe the Graff Grand Date Dual Time Tourbillon, and mind you, we are talking here about even about the version without the signature diamond setting of the brand. With its 43 millimeters faceted case, the Grand Date Dual Time Tourbillon is an eyecatcher, but by no means a poser, as it backs up its good looks by a complex movement featuring some very practical, and pleasing, complications.

Blancpain has been a very fortunate brand. As one of the pioneers in the field of diving watches and that of automatic watches, they have a tremendously rich history. Even when the quartz crisis almost made an end to the brand, there was Jean-Claude Biver, who together with Jacques Piguet, son of Frédéric Piguet, took the company to new heights. Since 2002 the brand is in the capable hands of Marc A. Hayek, who has carefully build upon the history of the brand, yet with a keen eye to what modern consumers are looking for. While their current collection is vast, these are our Haute Time favorites.

It is hard to believe but the Richard Mille RM 022 Tourbillon Aerodyne Dual Time has already been on the market since 2010. Even among the progressive and impressive line-up of Richard Mille, it is a model that gets noticed. As is always the case the brand, the reason for this is the complications in combination with unusual high-tech materials and a futuristic and flawless execution.

Colors play an important role in watchmaking. Often not so much on the technical side but for sure on the visual one. They greatly contribute to the character of a timepiece. While paints and lacquers can relatively easily be made in any color desired, other materials are much harder color, but that didn't stop some brands from pursuing it anyway!

Some watches are big for the sake of being big. Other then a large diameter they have very little to offer. There is, however, a category of watches that not only uses all the real estate they have available, but they also need it! They feature movements that fill the case and require large dials to show a multitude of complications in a fashionable order. They are the behemoths of the Haute Horlogerie, and they are large for a good reason!

Recently we already discussed how the tourbillon turned from a relatively obscure device to increase the precision of a watch or clock, to the favorite complication of collectors. Nowadays there is a wide variety of different tourbillons, but in this article, we are exploring the most traditional configuration, the one in which the back of the tourbillon is secured on the main plate, with a bridge securing the front.

Let's be honest, with most ladies watches the focus is on the way they look, not on the way they function. A pity because it is a misconception that women don't care about the movements that power their watches. Many are equally enticed by the front of their watch, as what they find at the back.

Few brands have a following so loyal that they even have a name of their own, yet Panerai does. For many people owning one of their watches is a love-affair. They are large and robust, yet also radiate a flair that you would not expect from such a generously sized watch. They often make you wonder if the form is following function or that it is, in fact, the other way around? At Haute Time these are our favourite watches from the brand:

The tourbillon is one of the most highly regarded complications you can buy in a wristwatch. The reasons for this are usually a combination of its perceived technical difficulty together with its aesthetic beauty. The contribution of a tourbillon to the precision of a wristwatch is always a heavily debated topic.

When you mention the name Omega, many people will think of the Speedmaster, co-axial escapements and James Bond. Tourbillons are usually not the first things that come to mind, yet it was Omega who surprised by introducing in 1994 the world's first watch with a central tourbillon.

Diamond set watches have a terrible disadvantage. Most people are so impressed by their visual impact and the price tag that comes along, that they forget how complicated it is to create such a marvel. The following watches are therefore first and foremost unique masterpieces that combine the noble art of watchmaking with that of diamond cutting and setting!

Ultra-thin watches: not too long ago this was the exclusive territory of dress watches. Brands like Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe and Piaget, ruled in this domain. Yet as many things in the watch industry change, so also this. In more recent times having the world's thinnest mechanical watch (with or without a complication) seems to have turned into a showdown between Piaget and Bulgari, who put a distinctly different spin on things!