Swatch Audemars Piguet Royal Pop Collection, and the AI Renders Which Fans Prefer.

Much hype preceded the latest Swatch luxury brand collaboration.  Hype which the first image here would suggest was warranted.  This image which shows an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Swatch demonstrates a direct copy of the uber high-end piece, one which would unquestionably recapture the hype of the original Omega Moon Swatch.  Something badly needed, as the second collab, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Swatch, is still very much available on Swatch's own site.  While the Omega Moon Swatch sold out in hours, and resells for many hundreds above retail.  However, the above image is AI generated, and nothing like the real thing.

Indeed, the true face (pun intended) of the collaboration is a pocket watch.  Anyone familiar with the history of Swatch won't be overly surprised by this, the Pop brand was a pocket watch brand, therefore it's entirely expected that it's one of those.  What's less expected is that consumers don't want the pocket watch, they want the AI render version.  What is perhaps even more surprising, and is a stark demonstration of the fact that we truly live in interesting times, is that they are going to get what they want.

In an unprecedented move, Chinese manufacturers are producing the bands and bracelets from the AI renders, and are selling them in absolute barrel-loads.  According to this article in Wired, the demand created by the AI generated images resulted in supply.  We are of the view the chicken laid the egg here, and it was a deliberate, targeted campaign to create demand, with the supply already in place.  Whatever the case, we certainly live in unusual times, where a copy of a thing is more popular than the thing, and results in it being more desired than the original.

Perhaps you disagree, and would love a pocket watch.  If so, they are available now on Swatch's website for £335 a piece.

 

 

Ressence TYPE 3 Marc Newson Edition.

As a concept and word, innovate is grossly overused in marketing speil.  The amount of times a new colour gets called an innovation is cringe inducing.  With Apple being a principal offender on this front.  Therefore when something truly innovate comes along it's a welcome reprieve from mundanity.  The Belgian watch brand Ressence has been innovating repeatedly since its inception, and continues to do so.

Started by a Belgian industrial engineer, the watches eschew all principles of design, and replace the traditional hour and minute hands with a series of dials, and rotating case tracking seconds.  The degree of precision and haute horologie required to create these pieces is remarkable, and the price reflects that, with pieces starting from £12,000m, and most costing well over £20,000.  This is a difficult pill for many to swallow, especially given the design language can be best described as "cutesy", and that they could easily be mistaken for a Casio G Shock to the untrained observer.

Now from this house of marvels comes the TYPE 3 Marc Newson edition.  With the TYPE 3 we have yet another innovation, and more worlds firsts.  These watches are filled with oil, which in conjunction with the full glass front, means they have unbeatable readably from any angle. Which makes them look even more like what they are not, a smartwatch.

The Marc Newson edition ups the special even more, with a colour way that harkens back to Newson's 1990's IkePod designs.  A fitting touch to make ultra high end watchmaking yet more whimsical.  Available now in limited quantities for £44,000.

 

G Shock Bamford Take Three for 2025 With a Hyper-Ironic Launch Venue.

 

Bamford and G Shock have collaborated for the third time, and are releasing a Bamford branded G Shock 5600 for £279.00.

That's it really on the watch front.  We can't fault it frankly, while it forms part of the hyperbolic marketing of this piece, with Bamford saying "every watch collector should have a G Shock", that doesn't detract from the fact it's true.  The reality is G Shock's are by and large relatively inexpensive, last almost forever, are virtually indestructible, and have an exceptional selection of versions to choose from.  They straddle the collectors divide between tool watch, avid collector, and beginner starting their horological journey.  Not to mention they are a great choice for a knockabout watch when in dodgy environments that still has cachet.

What is however particularly interesting about this third release from the duo is the way it is being launched.  The two companies have taken over a small newsagents in Covent Garden, Meera Newsagents, and are launching their new watch from there, alongside "branded" goods.  Meaning everyday items customised with Bamford and G Shock logos.  According to the marketing materials this is inspired by Japanese Konbini, or convenience stores, which sell a variety of everyday items.

We feel there is something so perverse in this as a marketing move, but f you think about it however, it makes so much sense. You have George Bamford, an person born to such extreme wealth an privilege it's difficult to conceive, viewing the small local shop, something which is often frequented at odd hours in search of cash withdrawal, rizlas, and cans of Super T, a thing they would never do other than in the abstract.  Combined with the idealised view of the Japanese Konbini, which western shoppers mistakenly believe are in some way revolutionary or extraordinary due to the highly pedestrian nature of their local shops.  It is accidentally genius, in that it somehow manages to loop round on itself like some sort of hyper-ironic ouroboros, devouring it's own tail in the wash of casual racism, and extreme privilege.   We hope above all else that the owners of Meera Newsagent's are independent, and were well compensated for this experiment in bad taste.

For those wanting to experience the Meera pop-up, it's there from December 5th 2025, till December 8th 2025, and the watch goes on general sale on December 9th 2025. 

Tissot Re Release Rock Watch for a new Generation.

In the late 1980s Tissot released a number of watches made from natural materials, including the WoodWatch.  The most famous, and most collectible to this day, was the RockWatch in 1985.

Made from a single piece of granite from Switzerland's Jungfrau Mountain, each piece is unique, as it's a result of the variations of the stone, making them special in a way few luxury consumables can be.

We've seen a huge increase in specialised small watchmaking houses creating pieces that sell out.  For example Kurono Tokyo.  This reissue of a classic echoes this, and in 999 limited pieces, it also demonstrates the same ethos of severely limited runs.

Available no for £995.00, this is sure to be another future classic. 

 

Leica ZM1 and ZM2 Urban Green Watches Fail to Inspire.

 

It's an understatement to suggest Leica are known for their lenses, whether on camera's, glasses or optics, their excellence in this puts them only second or equal to Hasselblad dependant upon your preference, meaning either the premier or number two in the world in this specialism.

The problem with being the best at something is it gives you the idea you can be good at everything.  In our view Leica's watch releases are testament to that.  We can't fault the technical excellence of them, but for us they feel like Apple products. Bland and uninspired.

Sadly our view doesn't appear to be widely held.  As companies rarely continue to develop new products unless they have some success. Therefore the new Urban Green edition ZM1 and ZM2 Leica watches appear to demonstrate there is a market for these.

Who knows, maybe Leica is taking a loss-making approach to these, and will give up in a few years.  We hope so.  Too many brands want it all, and while we don't oppose heterodox thinking, nowadays vanilla means having "range's" in the same way every movie is a trilogy.  We say bring back narrow specialism, and profit motive be damned.

In the event you disagree the Leica watches are available from £12,000 now.

Rolex Potentially Destroys Replica Watch Market With Identity Chip and Blockchain Verification.

At a certain point in the history of Rolex watches, the hologram in the image above represented the pinnacle of being able to differentiate genuine Rolex watches from others.  Now it's possible to purchase a hologram for $20.00.  The world has moved on, and Rolex has made numerous changes since then in efforts to make a real watch stand out.  Acid etched crowns in the sapphire crystal, rehaut engraving of the Rolex brand name, however as anyone who has become aware of the modern replica watch world knows, all have been replicated.

The internet has tremendous power to facilitate communication, as is commonly understood.  What human beings do when they communicate is compare notes, and seek to improve what they have.  The application of this to replica watches has created pieces which challenge the originals in every respect.  While Rolex don't mention their view on this, and given their strong sales you would have thought they don't really care, a patent filed in late 2024 suggests they care a great deal, and may be about to introduce the final boss of anti-replica measures.

The patent, registered in August 2024 by Rolex at the Organisation Mandible de la Propriete Intellectuale, proposes the integration of a microchip inside a Rolex, which has a number of functions.  The chip allows the user to register the watch to themselves, to have an app based repair service notification, and chiefly for the purposes of this article, to have in app and blockchain authenticity verification.

This last element is in our view fatal to the replica watch market.  This does present an unusual issue, as referring back to the replica watch market that has exploded, the forums which are inhabited by hundreds of thousands of users get daily enquiries on "how close to gen is it?".  This question is derided by long term users who claim some sort of purity of purpose in respect of replica watch collecting, as if it somehow has a higher calling than wanting to have something that looks like a genuine watch.  This is quite an odd suggestion to make, and has within it an inherent contradiction.  If a person wasn't concerned about whether a replica watch looks identical to a genuine one it copies, why not buy an entirely different watch and why try to ape the output of a luxury watch manufacturer?

The extent to which the conceit these forums suggest is true is set to be put to a real test with this new technology once introduced.  Because if someone can take out their phone and scan your watch and say its not genuine, then no matter how accurate the physical details are, indeed even it the president of Rolex were standing there saying it's genuine, it won't be believed.

We predict one of two outcomes.  One, this technology will be introduced, and it will be the death knell of the replica watch industry for newer models.  Older "pre-chip" models will still be produced, but nothing after that will attract significant investment from replica factories to produce.  Because blockchain's are pretty immovable, so it just won't be worth it to try.  There will be humorous side effects of this, as those aforementioned purists will no doubt humiliate themselves talking about how they are dedicated to the hobby, and don't care.  They however will be laughed at, and ignored.

The second outcome we suggest is Rolex won't introduce the technology.  The fact is they are not having trouble selling watches because of replicas.  Indeed there is a healthy contingent of replica watch buyers that own genuine watches, and buy replicas to wear in dangerous environments.  Not to mention people who buy them the "try them out" and see if they like the feel on their wrist before committing to a real one.  Rolex know this, and so they are likely to be very cautious about introducing a technology which by it's very nature invalidates part of the promise of a mechanical watch, which is the hand crafted, non tech elegance, while also exposing a customers privacy by virtue of a digital tracker chip on their wrist.  

We will wait to see the path Rolex choose.  We hope it's the latter, as the replica watch market is no threat to the luxury watch industry in reality and makes a great many people quite happy, both the self deluded ones and others.

One of a kind Gerald Charles sells at Christie for $120,000.

We rarely write about auctions, as frankly they're normally pretty dull.  When we do it's only when there's a combination of an unusual piece and record breaking or unreasonable price being met.  The Gerald Charles watch sold at Christies rare Watches auction on May 12 2025 meets both these criteria.

The piece itself is a one of a kind edition of the brands GC39 Remaster.  The watch sells in steel for $38,000, and this version in titanium has a unique opal dial.  Movie fans will remember an opal featured in Uncut Gems a few years ago.  In the film Kevin Garnett was captivated by the way light played through the stone.  This dial demonstrates all this beauty on top of a jumping hours complication.  The real personal touch is the winning buyer will have their initials engraved on the back of the case.

As for the sale price?  The watch was predicted to sell for  $47,000, a bit over the price a steel model goes for, however, the hammer price was $120,000, almost three times the pre-auction estimate.  

The buyer's anonymous, and apparently the proceeds will go to a children's charity that helps children digital lives.  Difficult to know what that means, and obviously if someone really wanted to help they shouldn't need to get a luxury watch in exchange for doing so.  However one things for certain in respect of what this sale shows, at a certain level of the economy the cost of living crisis doesn't appear to exist. 

 

Anti Social Social Club Customised Luxury Goods Capsule Selection.

It's no secret that we like Anti Social Social Club here.  It's irreverant and almost total disregard for the normal conventions that dictate how to run a business, and the fact that it still succeeds, really hits us where we live.  In a world of bland conformity, where every business is desperate to please, Neek Lurk and ASSC take bold moves like, delivering orders incredibly slowly, and then, when people complain, making a limited collection with their complaints printed on it, which sells out immediately.  Genius, although, we might be less enthusiastic if we were customers, but we can admire a good joke.

And in the same slightly outre fashion, they have now released an ultra high-end luxury capsule.  But wait, does this mean they are selling out?  Have they buckled to the pressure to collab with high-end brands and loose their individuality? Will they be bought by LVMH and given to one of Arnault's incompetent offspring and "reimagined"?  No.  To all of these.

In typical Anti Social Social Club fashion, they've done a luxury capsule their way, and no-one else's.  They simply bought luxury goods, Goyard bags and wallets, Rolex watches, Apple Airpods Max, Rimowa classic cabin luggae, customised it, and are selling them for a mark-up.  No compromise, no collaboration, just profit.  Demonstrating once again, they remain one of the few brands that still push the envelope just a little.

Available now, with prices from £1,200 for the Goyard wallet, to £25,000 for the blacked out Rolex Submariner.

Hermes Apple Partnership Continues With Apple No Longer Selling Hermes Leather

 

Contrary to endless speculation, Apple and Hermes are not terminating their partnership, and the brands continue to create their limited edition Apple Watches for luxury tech consumers.  However, thats not the whole story, and there most certainly has been a change in the range offered by Apple.

As of 2023, Apple no longer sell leather Hermes Apple Watch straps.  That's right, you can't purchase an Apple Watch from Apple anymore made from any substance other than fabric, rubber or plastic.  Apparently, this comes from a desire to go carbon neutral, and abandon environmentally unfriendly materials.  However, the Apple Watch Hermes bands can most certainly still be obtained, just not from Apple.

A quick visit to a Hermes store, or their website, will show that the full range of Hermes leather straps in deployant, single tour, double tour, and the entire range of Hermes leather colours are very much still obtainable.  So in effect, nothing has changed, you can get the Apple Watch Hermes from Apple, and the leather bands from Hermes.  Prices start from £1,299.

Luxury Watch Brands Begin Officially Certifying Pre-Owned Watches.

 

Whether you noticed it or not, luxury watch brands have just started lowering the metaphorical bar to ownership with certified pre-owned watch programmes.  Rolex is already on the bandwagon, as is Audemar's Piguet, and industry rumours indicate this move will be followed by many other brands also.

The marketing around this move suggests it is an altruistic measure to help those who want a luxury watch but can't get one due to excessive demand.  See Rolex who said it was a "tangible and immediate opportunity to become part of the world of Rolex for consumers".  That's all well and good, but we suspect the true motivations are different.

Most luxury watch brands create artificial scarcity, as do most luxury brands generally.  They restrict the supply to ensure demand always outstrips it, and have devious sales practices like minimum spending thresholds before buyers can easily access a model, and extraordinary wait lists of years in some cases.

This presents a problem for these brands, who no doubt have asked themselves "how can we monetise this army of devotees waiting for our products while also retaining the exclusivity of retail stores"?  the answer we suggest they have come up with is a new racket, certification of pre-owned watches.  They get to charge certain authorised dealers a fee to "certify" the watches, which then allows the dealers to charge more to consumers.  And thus, a new money making scheme is born.

Consumers should take this as a bad sign.  There has always been a second hand market, this will not bolster it, it will challenge it, and seek to extinguish it.  Expect prices to rise, and possibly, at some point in the future, the resale of watches not "certified" to be forbidden.

Girard Perregaux Casquette 2.0 Watch.

 

While in today's luxury swamped, new-gilded age, the idea that the luxury watch industry was ever in strife seems ridiculous, it is in fact true.  In the 1980's the emergence of quartz, digital and disposable watches left many companies gutted.  The dominance of Swatch today and the reason it owns so many watch brands is a direct result of this.  Some companies such as Patek, relied on their peerless reputation and sold less watches for a period but survived.  Others such as Rolex created quartz versions of their watches such as the Oysterquartz.  Others such as Girard Perregaux decided to "join the dark side" and released digital watches, such as the model affectionately known as the casquette for its shape.  Proving how creatively bankrupt the world now is they have re-released the exact same watch.

That's pretty much as there is to say about this release really.  It's an ugly watch, and has lots of stupid features, like "battery saving display that turns off".  Made from titanium, ceramic and rubber for a frankly insulting £3,600, this is one watch you would need to be either a avid collector hoping for a value increase, or a serious nostalgia hound that has some weird fascination with ugly pointless tat.

Available now if you disagree from Perregaux's website.

Omega Swatch MoonSwatch, It’s Not Limited Edition Yet Queues Are Forming.

 

As those not living under rocks, and interested in consumer goods, are aware, Omega and Swatch have collaborated to produce an edition of the Omega Moonwatch.  The new timepiece is manufactured from Bioceramic, a mix of ceramic and material derived from castor-oil.  The smooth casing, and unusual colours, along with functionality of a Omega Moonwatch, in quartz and at a Swatch premium price of £260, make this quite a bargain.

However, we’re not interested in the watch itself, Nor are we interested in the charming array of colours in which it’s available.  Really, if this wasn’t an Omega edition, no-one would bat an eyelid over this new chronograph, and we would most certainly not be discussing it.  The reason we are looking at this is the manner it has caused consumer to behave.

The release has seen consumers camped out as much as two days in advance, police needing to become involved in fights and trampling of other customers when the stores open, and sell-outs of their stock completely.  Understandable perhaps if this were a limited edition release, but it is not.  Indeed, Swatch themselves made a statement that the watch is not limited edition, and that all customers will be able to purchase the models they wish.

Why then has this led to such odd behaviour?  While greed plays a healthy role, it is simply as Swatch did not simultaneously release the watch in store and online, and so resellers are attempting to capitalise on the “gap” in the market, offering those who must have the latest thing right now the chance to acquire it at premium.  An interesting demonstration of the effectiveness of hype marketing, and leaves one wondering if the move was deliberate on Swatch and Omega’s part, or they simply underestimated how popular the watch would become.

Bulgari's Re-released Aluminum Steve Aoki Edition.

 

In late 2020 Bulgari re-released the  Aluminum  model wristwatch.  This was a surprise move, as the insanely popular "weekend watch" which was discontinued over 10 years ago was not expected to see a return.  For the uninitiated, the Aluminum was originally released in 1998, and created the sort of stir in the luxury goods industry that was not seen since the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.  Made from a combination of aluminium, ceramic, titanium, steel and rubber, there was a similar reaction to the Royal Oak in reporting, with many saying it was ridiculous to charge over £1,000 for a watch made of aluminium, in the same way the steel of the royal oak was criticised.  The watch became a sensation however, partly due to its design, partly celebrity endorsements of usage in everyday life.

The marketplace in 2021 is somewhat different however, and now collaborations are the norm, so here we have the Steke Aoki edition.  What is encouraging is the limited Aoki model is quite good.  Nothin of the Aluminum's design has been touched, merely the addition of super-luminova on the dial, and Aoki's logo back and front.  Considering the celebrity partner is a DJ, granting the ability to see the dial in the dark is appropriate, and is done relatively tastefully.

The marketing could have been improved however, a press release statement from Bulgari had Steve Aoki saying on the watch:

“Time is one of our most valuable currencies, that is why together we mindfully and meticulously designed a beautiful timepiece that upholds the strong standards of quality and craftsmanship that both Bulgari and I stand for. I’m beaming with pride and excitement to share this new timepiece with the world and cannot wait to share what else we have coming together”.

Such inane effusive blurb is hopefully from an over-enthusiastic marketing department copyrighter.  But fortunately the strength of Bulgari's outstanding Aluminum watch, with the useful addition of super-luminova in this edition, is enough to mean this can be safely ignored and the piece itself enjoyed.

Available now, in what is perhaps the best feature of this limited edition, a mere £90 over the standard edition at £2,510

New Rolex Explorer 124273 Rolesor 36mm And Steel Model Cheaper Than Old One.

 

Rolex announced a slew of exciting changes to their range, however the Explorer watches have seen the most interesting selection of new features.  While most attention has been drawn to the Explorer II which received its first update in more than three decades, we have focused on the Explorer model.  This is because Rolex has shaken up its Explorer wristwatch this year by making two moves which are simultaneously fresh and extremely regressive.  It has downsized the tool watch, and released it in a bi-metal version.

These changes are new, as the trend has been towards larger watches for the last decade, and Rolex rarely leads the pack on changes, so acknowledging that the big watch trend is stale moving towards smaller watches is a bold move, as contradictory as that may sound.  And as new as a bi-metal or "Rolesor" Explorer may seem, in fact it has been done before, the model 5170 to name but one example, however the Explorer has been very much defined as a "steel sports luxury watch" for so long, seeing it in yellow metal is unusual and feels new.

Under the hood sits a caliber 3230, with Chronergy escapment, blue Parachrom hairspring, self winding, 70 hour power reserve, and the Oyster Perpetual Explorer is covered by the Superlative Chronometer certification in force since 2015.  And all of this excellence will cost £8,150.

However, what is most surprising of all comes not from this bi-metal version, but rather from the all-steel model.  The new all steel 36mm Explorer will cost £5,150, which means the new model is 4% cheaper than the old model, something which we can't remember happening in the luxury watch market for some time.

Franck Mueller "Free the Money, Free the World" Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Wallet Watch.

 

Frank Mueller has created a wrist watch that doubles as a cold-storage wallet for Bitcoin.  Created in collaboration with Bitcoin.com, a cryptocurrency exchange known for being quite limited in it's outlook in that it only offers Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the watch contains a hardware version of your Bitcoin.com wallet on your wrist.

By pointing your phone at the dial with a device containing the corresponding app, you can link straight to you balance, and trade, sending further coins to the watches wallet.

On the watch side, there are versions in black DLC-coated brushed titanium, gold, and diamond encrusted, and the movement is classified as a "Swiss automatic movement, Caliber FM 0800, 42 hr power reserve", and little other information is given, presumably the focus here is on the novelty of the cryptocurrency wallet on board, not on horology.  Prices range from £8,000 up to £40,000, including one with green accents reminiscent of the touches given to any and all "gaming" edition devices, and with about the same level of substance.

The reality is this is not an original idea.  The "CRYPTOMAT" watch from Cryptomatic was launched in 2014, and it has had several iterations since.  all of which sported an onboard cold storage wallet, and none of which cost more than £1,000. 

The fact that Franck Mueller have attempted to jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon is no surprise, they have long released tacky poorly conceived money-grabbing pieces, and this is no exception.  It's a sad excuse for a watch, and seeing it on the Bitcoin.com website alongside banner adverts for "casino games" should crystallise in the minds of all who see it that this is one to steer clear of. 

Rolex Defies Shrinking Luxury Watch Market With 2020 Price Increases.

2019 has seen a global slowdown in the luxury goods industry, something predicted by Forbes in this article in 2018, when it was said that luxury goods companies would need to focus on factors such as the ''human aspect'' to continue luring consumers.

Forbes was right, and Goldman Sachs prediction of growth shrinking from 7% to 5% was found to be accurate.  The luxury watch market was hit worst, with apparent signs of growth hiding unpleasant facts about the nature of the industry beginning to move towards scale, rather than the art of Manufacture, as these statistics indicate.

It may surprise some therefore, that the predicted slow-down in Rolex price increases for 2020, on then back of this news, will not be happening.  Rather, Rolex will be increasing its prices yet again on stainless steel models, by between 3 and 6%, an increase greater than the growth in the luxury watch market.

Rolex continues to shine as a peerless example of master marketing and brand image management.  While they continue to be the some of the most in demand wristwatches, having 3 year wait lists for models such as the Daytona, they are also, paradoxically, the largest manufacturer, producing 1 million units in 2019,

StockX Rolex Daytona 116500 For "Only" Retail Price Sweepstake.

Hot on the heels of yesterdays flash Saatch Boxing Day sale comes another limited offer that is only going to be in existence for the next 24 hours.  Stockx are offering the chance to enter a sweepstake that can let you win the Rolex Daytona 116500 model for the retail price.

Now, to some this may seem a bit odd, Rolex's are not cheap after all, and "winning" the chance to pay full retail, which is $12,400, seems somewhat, mean?  Bit when you consider that the is a waiting list of 3 years, and that the resale value is a whopping 60% more than the asking price, the value of this prize begins to become a little clearer.

Those who are desperate to get their hand on one will praise the heavens for the chance to not need to wait 3 years, and those who are interested in money, well, they will have made themselves a cool $7,500, as resale prices are well in excess of $20,000.

The catch? it's only open to legal residents of the United States to the District of Columbia.  If that's you, and you're reading this before 11:59PM EDT on December 28th 2019, get over to stockx for the chance to either save time, or make money.

Bell & Ross BR 01 Laughing Skull.

Taking inspiration from the warrior pirates of old, and historically long before that, the skull has been a symbol of bravery in the face of death.  We all return to bone after death, so what better way to laugh in the face of death than by wearing his grinning visage on your body as a emblem, or better still, as a tattoo?

Bell & Ross know and understand this, and have four times released Laughing Skull edition watches, nodding the military roots and inspiration of the brand.  The fifth generation model of this wrist-watch repeats the tourbillon movement of the previous generations, but adds an animated surprise, the previously static skull, this one "laughs" as it's wound, and extremely clever addition.

A crossbones type face, croc strap, BR-CAL.206 In-House movement, and a light diamond and full diamond edition and priced from £7,000 this is a real statement piece.

Tom Ford 001 Wristwatch.

Announced in 2017, Tom Ford's first foray into the world of horology has finally been put to market, and all things considered, it's pretty mediocre.  The watch itself is fairly inoffensive, rectangular casing, black Arabic numerals.  And the choice of materials, gold, steel, DLC, is nice.  The ability to have a range of 62 interchangeable straps to choose from is a lovely little touch.  All in all seems great, its just that Tom Ford's clothing and accessories ranges are so stratospherically high-end, a timepiece so frankly ordinary seems somehow, well, a little incongruous.

And the way it has been produced is also a bit odd.  It's been made by Bedrock Manufacturing, a company which makes Shinola and Filson.  This means it's likely to be along the lines of a quartz movement.  This is something we would expect from D&G watches, or Gucci, but Tom Ford, who is famously an avid watch collector, should in our opinion have gone the route of a high end manufacture.

The price point similarly is a bit off.  A brand that sells cashmere sweaters for £2,000 should not be starting it's watches off at £1,600, very odd.

Gucci Padlock Quartz Watch In Leather Case

On top of Gucci's remarkable runway show which saw models walking down the runway clutching replicas of their own heads, and baby dragon models, Gucci have released a simple little version of an accessory they have long had in their line-up.  The padlock watch, in classic green and red, without the belt strap style wrist strap.

The fun little piece now comes with a little leather pouch, which means that the original purpose of the accessory, to use on bags etc, can be effected without damaging the body of the watch.  Other than this change, the mother-of-pearl dial is there, sapphire crystal glass, gold tone accents, and Swiss-made quartz movement.

The watch costs £500, and is available now.