I believe that no one buys a watch now just to tell time. For most of us, the watch we wear is a fashion statement and represents our personal taste and style. So there are some watchmakers who take watches to a whole new level, offering extra features and designs that you might not expect. The point is, these watches definitely make you feel rare and precious. Let’s see which one have you seen? 
When Junhuang released the Junhuang – C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon in 2008, many believed it heralded the future of high-end watchmaking. It was an era of rapid modernization in the watch industry, both in terms of talent and the perception of what high-end collectors wanted to buy. Traditionally conservative designs have received less attention, while there has been a lot of experimentation with very radical designs in the context of the usually staid high-end watch industry. The Grandmaster C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon helped define an era in many ways.
While the era of “quantum-inspired” superwatches never replaced the preference for traditional designs, projects like the C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon have had a lasting impact on the pursuit of modern luxury watches.
In addition to the overall case design of this watch, the Quantum Gravity movement is a feat in itself. Jun Huang cooperated with the most popular movement manufacturers at the time to develop the mechanism inside the watch. Focused on conceptualization, the movement features a biaxial tourbillon (which rotates on two pivot points simultaneously) connected to the rest of the movement by a micro-suspension bridge-style wire. There is a small cylinder of green liquid on the dial, the emptying and filling of which is a way of indicating the remaining power reserve in the mechanical movement.
Junhuang Watch fully acknowledges that the movement was designed separately from the case, which was common at the time when both elements of the watch had different appeals to collectors. The C1 Quantum Gravity Tourbillon watch mainly uses titanium metal and 18K white gold, and even relies on vulcanized black rubber as case material and design elements. Only 10 pieces were produced.
11, Tourbillon History 3 watch
Case: 18k white gold
Strap: Zalium Strap
Movement: Bi-Axial Double Tourbillon
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: .622 million USD
Harry Winston’s Tourbillon History 3 watch is one of the most unique watches on the planet. In 2009, Harry Winston shocked the watch industry by releasing the Tourbillon History 1 watch. This is the self-proclaimed reinterpretation of the Tourbillon , and with its five final models, the Tourbillon Historical Watch family offers something truly original to the world of ultra-luxury watches.
The Tourbillon History 3 watch starts with a rather large 65mm wide case made of 18k white gold and Harry Winston’s own alloy called Zalium. Shaped like a box, it displays the time via two separate discs that display the hours and minutes. A large opening window provides a view of the movement, as well as a display of the triple tourbillon.
The largest tourbillon for this version is the biaxial double tourbillon, with an inner 40-second tourbillon and an outer 120-second tourbillon. On the right is the third tourbillon, which rotates every 36 seconds. Hold on to the monitor and watch the two balance wheels rotate in unison on each of the three pivot points.
While not a mainstay for every model, the 3 deftly combines what Harry Winston is best known for: gems. The power reserve indicator on the lower right side of the case, used to let you know when to wind the mechanical movement, is set with 11 sapphires and 3 citrines ; when the latter passes the arrow, it is time to wind the chess piece. Only 20 Harry Winston Tourbillon History 3 watches were produced.
10, Hublot – MP-05 Ferrari
Case: smoked sapphire crystal
Strap: rubber
Movement: HUB 9005.H1.PN.1JN Hand-wound
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: .318 million-$1 million
In 2012, Hublot partnered with Italian car manufacturer Ferrari to become their official luxury watch manufacturer and event sponsor. In the watch industry, Ferrari is known for a number of failed high-profile partnerships that never quite produced a watch in high demand, despite the brand's immense value and global popularity. Hublot was committed to making this relationship work, and they did.
Part of Hublot’s Masterpiece Collection, the MP-05 Ferrari coincides with the release of the car of the same name. For car enthusiasts it will be a watch inspired by the engine bay of a Ferrari, while for watch enthusiasts it will be significant that it houses a movement with the longest power reserve in the world.
Most mechanical watches have enough power to run for about two days. Mechanical watches are powered by a tightly wound spring that slowly unwinds over time. You can buy watches with a power reserve of between 3 and 10 days. In addition, there are probably about 3 watches with a power reserve of about 1 month. Hublot’s goal is to do better. After extensive development, the Ferrari watch movement is able to store enough power to provide a total of 50 days of power reserve.
Such a large amount of power requires Hublot to stack 11 mainspring barrels one on top of the other. The tricky part is designing a system that allows them to slowly and continuously relax so that the watch remains accurate. The time is displayed on a moving drum on the right side of the dial, and on the left is a power reserve indicator that lets the wearer know when to wind the movement. Hublot couldn't help but include a tourbillon in the watch - with the tourbillon displayed horizontally through the lower part of the case at the base of a stack of springs, the MP-05 Ferrari is limited to just 50 pieces.
9, Heiseko-Colosso
Case: sapphire crystal and yellow gold
Strap: textured rubber strap
Movement: 62 jewels Manual winding
Waterproof: 30m
Price: .55 million
Things that deviate from the norm can undoubtedly be fun, especially when they can fit in your hand and cost over half a million dollars. At the end of the last golden era of "shock" watches, Heiseko launched the Colosso. The brand was founded by the famous watch designer Jörg Heisek. As one of the rare watchmakers in the industry, he passed down unique, highly avant-garde and practical designs into the products that the brand will continue to produce.
Most people’s first impression of Colosso is probably of a large, full-color 3D model of the Earth. The globe, located under a sapphire crystal dome, rotates once every 24 hours, synchronized with time. It makes a bold first impression. In a nutshell, the Colosso is a multi-time zone watch with a minute repeater housed in a unique case made of sapphire crystal and yellow gold that offers a glimpse into the inner workings of the movement, a 62-jewel hand-wound in-house movement from Hysek.
Travel minute repeaters are rare - mainly because of their limited utility, the point of the watch being for use while traveling so that the wearer can know both their home time and the local time. In the Colosso, the second time zone is represented by two linear displays on the bottom of the case. The pusher moves a disk in the reference city window so that users know where they are relative to the rest of the world where they are reading the time.
The time is displayed on a larger, more traditional display with a large date indicator (using two discs to indicate the date). Underneath it all is a vivid view of the complex mechanical motion contained within the massive mass. There is a minute repeater inside the watch. When activated, it emits a series of tones to tell the time.These are often fragile complications, so it's not common to include them in a watch worn while traveling. Colosso is a rare piece presented in a display box made of fossilized wood .
8, Walker – UR-CC1 King Cobra
Case: 18k white gold
Strap: titanium alloy
Movement: pneumatic shock-absorbing automatic winding
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: .328 million US dollars
As an independent watch brand with tens of millions of dollars, the genius of Volker and boutique Swiss watchmakers lies in their madness. The origins of the UR-CC1 watch are neither a logical evolution of a timekeeping instrument nor a foreseeable work of art combining traditional hand-decorated practices with fine watchmaking. Nicknamed the “King Cobra,” the watch was inspired by relatively mundane old cars, obscure horological experiments that were never commercialized, and the watchmaker’s penchant for being different. The
UR-CC1 watch has the nickname “King Cobra” for no other reason than Volker likes to add the name of the scary animal to each of their new creations. A better way to think about this wild watch is to understand that its goal is to display hours, minutes, and seconds, each on a linear (rather than circular) display.
Despite being worn on the wrist, the UR-CC1 case and dial bear little resemblance to most other watches. The neon green display contrasts beautifully with the 18k white gold case. One version of the King Cobra watch even has a black coating on the white gold, completely hiding it from view, leaving only the true material of the case known to the wearer.
Running from the bottom to the top of the case, three different dials offer hours, minutes and seconds – the latter displayed linearly and numerically. Turn the watch over and the time is displayed more elegantly on the case back. Inside the UR-CC1 is a mechanical movement developed entirely from scratch for this application, and the watch is designed to give you a glimpse of it through a series of sapphire crystal windows in the case. Originally released in 2009, Volker only produced 50 pieces of the UR-CC1 King Cobra.
7, Van Cleef & Arpels – Poetic Wishes
Case: 18K white gold
Strap: titanium alloy
Movement: gas Shock-absorbing automatic winding
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: .53 million
Paris-based high-end watch and jewelry maker Van Cleef & Arpels knows how to create emotionally charged luxury goods. In fact, in their own words, many of their watch creations contain “poetic complications.”
In 2012, Van Cleef & Arpels upped the ante by launching two watches (men's and women's) that reflect the brand's focus on romance, art and precious materials. The amazing thing about watches is that they don’t tell the time at a glance. In fact, to check the time, the minute repeater inside the watch must be activated. Once activated, it triggers the movement of two animated elements on the dial, which move into position along the hour and minute scales to indicate the time.
Women's Poetic Wish Watch uses Van Cleef & Arpels' traditional case, inlaid with diamonds, depicting the scene of the Eiffel Tower . The female character of the couple stands at the top of the tower, gazing across the river at Notre Dame de Paris . The dial is handmade, combining techniques such as engraved gold, engraved mother-of-pearl and meticulous enamel painting. Most of the work is done under a microscope and takes a lot of time to complete.
The men’s model features a Midnight style case, which logically places our male character on top of Notre Dame Cathedral. As he gazes longingly at his lover, his sight is the Eiffel Tower. Similar decorative techniques were used to create a distinct design for this dial, which includes a pleasant night sky, also decorated with clouds engraved in mother-of-pearl.
The reverse side of the watch opens up to a view of the mechanical movement, which includes innovative features designed to improve the sound of the minute repeater. Often, the ringing sound from such features is masked by the casing.To reduce this effect, the watch is equipped with a minute repeater gong, which is not attached to the case but to the sapphire crystal. Men’s “Midnight Poetic Wish with Diamond Bezel,” $530,000, women’s $470,000
6, MB&F HM4
Case: 5 grade titanium and sapphire
Strap: titanium alloy
Movement: three-dimensional clock movement
waterproof Water: 100 meters
Price: .23 million US dollars
When Bussel founded his own independent watch brand in 2005, he was already regarded as something of a mentor by many contemporary watchmakers. He earned this reputation during his seven-year tenure as Managing Director of Harry Winston, where he created the groundbreaking Opus concept, a series of annual collaborations with master watchmakers – including Journe, Halter and Baumgartner – that resulted in some of the wildest and weirdest watches the world has ever seen.
MB&F’s first watch, the HM1, was a bold three-dimensional design, but it was nothing compared to the anarchic fourth generation it released, the HM4 Thunder Watch.
Less a watch than two tiny jet engines connected by a titanium case and strapped to the wrist, the watch – which displays the time and power reserve on a dial perpendicular to the wearer’s wrist – is unlike anything MB&F has made before, or since.
"Every piece of MB&F's work is more like a work of art than a design." This is an extremely limited watch, with only 8 pieces produced.
5, Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury High Jewelry Watch
Case: 18K white gold
Strap: 18K white gold
Movement: Caliber 2601 quartz movement
waterproof: not waterproof
price: .6378 million US dollars
In 2016, the dazzling Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury high-end jewelry watch was launched, intended to make ladies around the world gasp and wish on a star. Set with an impressive 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds on the case and bracelet, and with 206 brilliant-cut diamonds on the dial alone, this incredible watch is sure to become the dream of every woman. The
watch is made of 18K white gold and equipped with a streamlined 1.8mm thick case. It is a coveted symbol for ladies in formal occasions. This beautiful watch has an angular design and took 1,500 hours to design, engineer and manufacture, which means over 62 days if we convert that into days.
The 40mm model is powered by a slim Caliber 2601 quartz movement, with hands made of “black gold” and a sleek design reminiscent of a jewel-encrusted armored reptile. This unusual design is undoubtedly difficult to achieve, but adds a sense of sophistication to this charming piece.
The new Audemars Piguet Diamond Fury watch is available in two versions, especially the full diamond pavé, priced at US$637,800, and the diamond/onyx combination priced at US$568,300. Which one is your taste?
4, Midnight Planetarium Watch
Case: rose gold
Strap: alligator leather
Movement: self-winding mechanical movement
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: .333 million USD
You will find this unique watch by Van Cleef & Arpels, a boutique watchmaker that designs luxury watches with intricate designs. The Midnight Planetarium watch uses different gemstones to represent all the planets of the solar system, including turquoise, aventurine, agate and jasper. Price: US$333,000.
The dial reproduces a miniature model of the sun and the five planets visible to the naked eye from the earth: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Jupiter - Saturn . Each planet moves on its own disk based on its real-life rotation time.Saturn takes more than 29 years to complete its full rotation of the dial, while Jupiter will take nearly 12 years, Mars 687 days, Earth 365 days, Venus 224 days, and Mercury 88 days.
This watch has a whimsical feature: you can choose a day as your lucky day, then rotate the bezel until the red pointer lines up with that day on the graduated calendar. When that day arrives, the Earth symbol (blue sphere) will be located directly beneath the stars outlined on the watch crystal.
The watch displays the time using a 24-hour indicator located on the outer edge of the dial. The hour scale is further divided into 15-minute intervals. A shooting star made of rose gold revolves around the clock, indicating the correct time. The story continues on the back of the watch, where the oscillating weight is engraved with a starry sky pattern. The day, month and year are set via two buttons and viewed via two windows on the dial. In addition, the watch owner can use the rotating bezel to set a "lucky day". On the red triangle date setting with graduated calendar, the Earth will move to a position directly beneath the stars engraved on the sapphire crystal. The brand says it's a symbol of good luck.
Selected gemstones were used to depict the planets: turquoise for Earth, serpentine for Mercury, green and black stone for Venus, red jasper for Mars, blue agate for Jupiter and sugilite for Saturn. They surround a rose gold sun. Each of these elements, along with the shooting star, is anchored to its own aventurine disk. The dark blue dial is sprinkled with gold to depict stars.
3, Jack Bao Solar Astronomical Watch
Case: 18K rose gold and sapphire
Strap: alligator leather
Movement: manual winding JCAM19
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: 1 million USD
This is a unique watch that combines the flair and creativity of Swiss watchmaking with the decorative arts, making it one of the newest yet most unique watches on our list. The $1 million watch, which made a splash at Baselworld 2014, features a miniature rendering of the celestial world, with every element in constant motion. On three dials, the watch also displays the time, a tourbillon and a small globe representing the earth. Its centerpiece is a 1.5-carat citrine with 288 facets at its center.
takes the celestial concept of an astronomical timepiece and puts it into orbital velocity. It displays the planets of our solar system as half-hemispheric semi-precious stones on a starry blue titanium base that rotate counterclockwise every ten minutes. Above, the iconic astronomical vertical movement rotates clockwise every 10 minutes.
In addition to the three arms equipped with Jacob's unique complex functions, it also has three colored gemstones , each perfect sphere showing the unique 288-faceted Jacob Cut®. At the top of the movement is a fiery gemstone using Jacob Cut® technology, which represents the sun.
movement is an exclusively manufactured Jackpot hand-wound JCAM19, with a diameter of 34.55 mm, a height of 16.50 mm, 447 components, a power reserve of 48 hours, a frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz), a system gravity biaxial tourbillon, surface treatment plywood and bridges , sandblasted and beveled.
Functional hour and minute system, vertical movement of three arms, one revolution around the central axis in 10 minutes, 60-second flying tourbillon cage, rose gold and blue lacquer, earth rotating in 60 seconds, hour and minute dials, patented differential gear system allowing the 12/6 o'clock position to be maintained, movement top set with a yellow Jacob cut® sapphire (288 facets; approx. 1.5 ct). The frame is mounted with 3 Jacob cut® stones in amethyst, topaz and peridot.
2, Weap-One
Case: titanium and sapphire
Strap: leather
Movement: manual winding mechanical movement
Waterproof: 10m
Price: ,482,500 USD
Ruibulin continues its pursuit of performance and differentiates its watches with the stunning evolution of the Weap-One launched in 2017.Its asymmetrical 60-second flying tourbillon changes thanks to the use of high-tech materials: synthetic diamonds. This watch sold 10 pieces, and the price was 450,000 Swiss francs.
WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon stands out with its slender structure that combines titanium and sapphire. Two wheel nut crowns close its atypical cylindrical case. titanium on the original model, here it's machined from sapphire crystal. The one on the right winds the movement; the one on the left sets the time. The hours and minutes are displayed using two rollers also machined from sapphire crystal and located at either end of the case. Between the time information, an asymmetric flying tourbillon with a rotation speed of 60 seconds evolves on several axes.
The world's first WEAP-ONE diamond asymmetrical flying tourbillon is equipped with an adjustment mechanism and a frame made of diamonds. But not just any one, as it is a high-tech material used in the aerospace industry with a variety of properties and unbreakable advantages.
The way it is made is spectacular and you have to be patient to get the watch you want. The Japanese company is using a qualitative process called chemical vapor deposition to grow a thin layer a few nanometers thick from the perfectly polished surface of a single crystal of , which takes longer than growing a plant. It takes 40 days to produce one millimeter of this synthetic diamond.
Therefore, it took the equivalent of 280 days to obtain the 7 mm thickness required for the tourbillon component. In addition to 80 days of fine polishing, the production of this unique watch takes a full year, which is hitherto unheard of.
1, Astronomical Art Green Dragon Watch
Case: 18K white gold sapphire aperture
Strap: crocodile leather
Movement: manual winding mechanical machine Core
Waterproof: 30 meters
Price: 1.3 million US dollars
The mythical dragon is a majestic creature that represents strength and power, glory and luck. The creation of the 18K Rose Gold Dragon combines high technology with old world craftsmanship. It starts with detailed drawings. Judging from this rendering, the 18K rose gold casting is ready. This process alone takes more than two months. The craftsmen then spent another three months hand-carving the dragon's details. Every surface is carved, carved and polished. Another craftsman spent about 40 hours hand-painting the 18K rose gold casting using green, red and gold acrylic paints.
Finally, the sculpture is placed inside the movement, taking care to ensure that it does not interfere with the perfect functioning of the watch. Ruby eyes and bright red tongues burned as the dragon raised its head and came to life. The tourbillon was originally invented to improve the timekeeping performance of pocket watches. The Astronomical Tourbillon brings this more than 200-year-old complication to astonishing levels of modern sophistication and sophistication.
With a beautifully decorated cage enclosing the balance wheel, hairspring, escapement wheel and several other important components, this exceptional tourbillon features a skeleton cage that rotates on two axes simultaneously. It consists of a series of finely crafted components, expertly assembled and fine-tuned to enable the movement to maintain accurate time throughout its 60-hour power reserve. A complete rotation on the first axis takes 60 seconds, and in a nod to traditional single-axis tourbillons, a rotation on the second axis takes five minutes to complete.
Globe is made of magnesium, painted with hand-painted blue paint and decorated with rose gold continents. It's done in a way that ensures consistent weight, as all four satellites must have exactly the same weight. The globe rotates once every 60 seconds.
The Astronomical Art Green Dragon Watch 18K white gold case is 50 mm in diameter and 25 mm thick, between the highest point of its specially curved front sapphire crystal and the lowest point of the case. Four sapphire crystal windows are installed around the case, allowing unobstructed viewing of the movement and artwork inside. The bottom of the case is paved with 202 invisible baguette white diamonds (approx. 8.37 carats). The lugs are covered with 80 invisible baguette white diamonds (approx. 6.10 carats).
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