The Best Co-Designed Timepieces of 2016

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The Paris Motor Show 2016 saw the unveiling of the Zenith El Primero Range Rover Special Edition timepiece which was the result of a collaboration between Zenith and Land Rover. In keeping with this, here’s a look at some outstanding collaborations between brands that led to the creation of a few of the most unique and cool watches this year.

 

Zenith Watches and Land Rover

 

British automaker Land Rover and Swiss watch maker Zenith unveiled a collaborative timepiece at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The watch, named Zenith El Primero Range Rover Special Edition, was introduced to commemorate the year 1969, an important one in the history of both brands. It was in 1969 that the automaker launched its first luxury Range Rover model, the same year that Zenith unveiled the El Primero chronograph.

 

The Zenith El Primero Range Rover Special Edition chronograph has an aluminium body, with Primero 400B automatic movement and a rubber strap coated in ivory or blue, perforated calfskin.

zenith and land rover

For more information, visit Zenith

 

Hublot and Berluti

 

Hublot collaborated with luxury menswear brand Berluti to create two limited edition Classic Fusion watches—Berluti Scritto and Berluti All Black. Since Berluti is famous for using Venezia leather, soft Italian calf leather, this watch was expected to have leather straps. However, Hublot decided to push the envelope by creating a leather dial as well.  Both the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti models were unveiled at the Baselworld 2016. Limited to 250 pieces, The Berluti Scritto is given a tobacco-colour leather dial that comes in an 18k rose gold case. Its leather straps are engraved with 18th century calligraphy. The All Black, on the other hand, sports a black leather dial fitted in a ceramic case. Its strap features Berluti’s signature Gaspard incision. The All Black is limited to 500 models.

Hublot and Berluti

For more information, visit Hublot

 

Jaeger-LeCoultre and Christian Louboutin

 

To celebrate the 85th birthday of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso watch, the brand joined hands with designer Christian Louboutin to design a unique timepiece—the Reverso Classic Duetto watch. The watch, unveiled at the Baselworld earlier this year, is inspired by Louboutin’s design aesthetics. With a swivelling case, (one that rotates on an axis), the front dial resembles Reverso’s typical art-deco one; while the back dial, with warm orange and yellow tones, is given a quirky touch. The back dial’s diamond-studded bezel only adds to its beauty. The strap of this timepiece also reflects Louboutin’s design sensibilities.  With an iridescent rainbow effect, the strap looks like the colours on it alternate between hues of blue, green and violet.

 Jaeger-LeCoultre and Christian Louboutin

 

For more information, visit Jaeger-LeCoultre

 

Ulysse Nardin and Christophe Claret

 

Luxury watchmakers Ulysse Nardin and Christophe Claret teamed up to create a limited edition nautical timepiece for the discerning. The watch, called Ulysse Nardin Grand Deck Marine Tourbillon, is an 18k white gold timepiece inspired by classic yachts. The highlight of the watch is its teak wood pattern dial that looks like the deck of a sailboat. The movement on the dial is truly dramatic, thanks to its mechanism that looks similar to the rigging of a boat.

 

Ulysse Nardin and Christophe Claret

 

 

For more information, visit Ulysse Nardin

 

De Grisogono and Samsung Gear S2 

 

Swiss jeweller De Grisogono joined forces with Samsung to unveil the Samsung Gear S2 by de Grisogono in March this year. The watch features a round black case studded with black diamonds. The timepiece can be fastened with the watchmaker’s signature black galuchat strap (a distinct type of leather made using shark skin or stingray skin). The watch features a rotating bezel decorated with white diamonds. It also has two digital dials fitted inside its 1.2-inch screen.

De Grisogono and Samsung Gear S2