Here at iW headquarters, some of the crew are not only watch geeks, but fans of hit television shows like Game of Thrones and franchises like Harry Potter. Namely me. Alright, its only me. With a little help from some of my colleagues, here is a list of the Top 10 Fantasy Watches, perfect for the Defense Against the Dark Arts…or whatever your inner geek marches to. Explore the composite below with interactive features and read on for additional specs. Enjoy!
-Kate Lawler, iW Web Editor
* Full interactive features on various formats available here.
1. Bulgari Serpenti
A contemporary interpretation of one of the brand’s most iconic series, this jewelry timepiece features a case in pink gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds.The dial is black sapphire crystal with brilliant-cut diamond indexes and is powered by a quartz B031 Bulgari customized movement with five jewels. The bracelet is two-twirl black enamel on pink polished gold set with more brilliant-cut diamonds.
2. De Bethune Dream Watch DW13
This intergalactic-looking piece features a platinum, 42.9mm case with matching platinum lugs. The in-house calibre DB2016 mechanical hand-wound movement powers functions including hours, minutes, spherical moon-phase indication, power reserve indicator and custom used rating. The dial is steel with a mirror-polished finish and silver-tined minute and hour rings. Flame-blued steel hands at sic o’clock highlight the moon-phase function in palladium. Adding contrast and finishing the timepiece, mirror-polished steel hands with flame-blued interiors.
3. Franck Muller Crazy Hours 8880 CH NR
With a reading of its own (see interactive feature above), this piece features a FM 2800 HF automatic movement powering a winding shaft with two positions. The case, 26.6 by 5.20mm, is forged in white gold with a black PVD treatment. The dial is sun-stamped and lacquered black with filigree and luminous Arabic numerals.
4. HYT H2
After its success with the H1, HYT unveiled the H2. Still utilizing both mechanics and liquid, the H2 was built through a partnership with Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi (APRP). The latest installment features the display in a V shape and incorporates the same fluid mechanics. As the hours pass, the liquid advances. This display is achieved through bellows driven by pistons which push and reduce the florescent liquid throughout the day.
5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso et le Dark Knight
Celebrating the release of last summer’s finale of the Batman Series, Dark Knight Rises, Jaeger-LeCoultre created a limited edition in the popular Reverso collection. The special edition Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 timepiece is stainless steel with an engraved and lacquered Batman emblem. A hand-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre 822 movement powers the timepiece with functions including hours and minutes. Finishing the piece, an appropriately-chosen black alligator strap.
6. Louis Moinet Jules Verne Instrument III
Inspired by Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s 1869 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Louis Moinet imagined what the courageous captain would need on his voyages aboard the Nautilus submarine. A monopuher chronograph, the timepiece features a start-stop-resent function indicator, function indicator inspired by the Chadburn telegraph transmitter, central 60-second chronograph seconds, 30-minute chronograph counter, central hours and minute, small seconds and a date window.
7. Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Seconde Mysterieuse
This model is powered by a new Maurice Lacroix Manufacture movement, the ML215 caliber. It features a linear way of reading seconds with a hand alternating from horizontal and vertical in 15-second cycles. The hand turns on its axis, giving the illusion of levitation. Additionally the fuel features off-centered hours and minutes in white lacquer and black print execution with rhodium-plated Arabic numerals. The model is limited to 125 pieces in each version.
8. MB&F JWLRYMACHINE
The perfect companion for a semester at Hogwarts, this piece is a collaboration between MB&F’s mechanics and the Boucheron jewelry house’s flare for haute-joaillerie. The model incorporates the Horological Machine No. 3 (HM3) and white gold with amethyst, diamonds and blue and violet sapphires. The feathered breast of the owl is sculpted and engraved from a single block of amethyst and, combined with the swings of the solid-gold battle-axe- shaped rotor, gives the illusion of a beating heart in the owl.
9. Romain Jerome DeLorean DNA
Channel your inner Marty McFly and jump back (and forth) in time with Doc Brown in this timepiece. Inspired by the iconic DeLorean, the automobile responsible for time travel in the successful Back to the Future franchise, this model utilizes not the Flux-Capacitor, but the comparable RJ001-CH movement. Its functions include central hours and minutes, small seconds and chronograph functionality with a 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter and central seconds. The steel case is 46mm in diameter and features a DeLorean-DNA engraving on the caseback.
10. Ulysse Nardin “The Night’s Watch”
Ideal for Sunday evenings at 9pm / 8pm central when Game of Thrones is on television, this model won’t leave you wondering where your dragons are. It is the collaboration between Ulysse Nardin and HBO, purveyor of the popular series. “The Night’s Watch” marine diver pairs sport and style in a monogrammatic motif. The 45.8mm case is forged from stainless steel and coated with matte black rubber. The case is finished with an exposed sapphire glass case back with the Game of Thrones logo. Finishing the timepiece an engraved strap with “The Night’s Watch” and “I am the Sword in the Darkness.”