Welcome to Watch-Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly curation of high-end timepieces for the true watch nerds among us. This August, we’ve got a blacked-out version of Piaget’s Polo sports watch; an Urwerk inspired by one of the world’s fastest planes; one of the most insane dials we’ve ever seen on Ming’s newest chronograph; and a Vacheron Constantin with a gorgeous cloisonné enamel depiction of an ancient Chinese motif.
Summer is winding down, but things are only heating up in the watch industry. Geneva Watch Days is set to kick off later this week, only adding to the number of watches worth obsessing over this month. Because, before we even get to GWD, it’s time to spotlight some of our favorite heavy hitters of the past month—the type of watches whose purchase would set off fraud alerts with our banks. The stuff that would positively break our financial advisors’ hearts—but make the watch nerds inside of us very, very happy. That’s right: It’s time for some Watch-Guy Watches.
Are you looking for a sports watch with a left-of-center dial and case material? Then the Piaget Polo Skeleton Ceramic is just the ticket. How about a watch literally made with a piece of the famed SR-71 Blackbird aircraft? Then the Urwerk EMC-SR71 is calling your name. Feast your eyes on the wonder that is the new 20.01 Series 3 from Ming. And if all these futuristic pieces are too avant-garde for you, then Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art Eternal Flow, with its unbelievably beautiful cloisonné enamel dial, will no doubt capture your heart.
Piaget Polo Skeleton Ceramic
Piaget is already one of the hottest brands of the year. It’s already released a refreshed icon drawn from the archives and the thinnest tourbillon watch in the world. Meanwhile, its vintage stone-dialed wares are capturing the attention (and adoration) of a fresh collector generation. The new Polo Skeleton Ceramic catapults the maison’s famed luxury sports watch in a contemporary new direction, adding—for the first time—a black ceramic-and-titanium case, plus the ultra-thin cal. 1200S1 automatic skeleton movement. Measuring 42mm wide and just 7.5mm thick, its dial consists of a flange and hands with a liberal Super-LumiNova coating, giving the watch a functional bent despite its futuristic aesthetic. Paired to black and blue rubber straps, it’s a clear signifier of a bright future ahead at Piaget’s 150th-year mark.
Urwerk EMC-SR71
