Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/111120
of the brand���s timeless Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph, a made to order sports watch updated in a 44mm titanium and ceramic case and now incorporating a split-second complication, a perpetual calendar and a minute repeater that chimes the hours, quarters and minutes on demand. ���We���ve been making the Royal Oak Grande Complication watch in some form since 1882, so it���s really the top of the pyramid for us. But when you think of a high end complication you don���t think of a sport watch,��� says Jasmine Bapic, manager of Audemars Piguet���s U.S. shops. Bapic says this is the first time the Grand Complication mechanism with its 684 parts has been incorporated into the company���s iconic Offshore sport design. Each watch is a limited edition of three, requires six months to make and sells upward of $700,000, so Bapic concedes it���s not for everyone. ���But some styles in some colors are sold out so there is obviously a market for the collector who is willing to step up and want that kind of complexity in a sport watch,��� she says. aren���t produced in the same quantities and tend to be much more expensive to start with,��� he says. One example might be the watch designs of relative newcomer Francois-Paul Journe, the Swiss watchmaker who launched his signature label in 1999 using only brass movements before subsequently switching to 18kt rose gold five years later. Limited to fewer than 900 watches (total production) per year, those early brass designs���the Tourbillon Souveraine, the Chronom��tre Resonance, the Octa Reserve de Marche���are hard to come by, hence more desirable. This season watch collectors are clamoring for F.P. Journe���s new Chronometre Optimum, a hybrid of technical watchmaking. ���Francois actually came up with the idea 10 years ago and started talking about it but he only just released it last year and so collectors went crazy,��� says Michelle Yeterian, director of F.P. Journe���s New York boutique. The company recently opened a second shop at Bal Harbour. ���What he did was take parts of old complications and put them into one case; so it comes with a double barrel, a constant-force F.P. Journe Chronom��tre Optimum If you���re in search of an heirloom you can pass down, look first at rare or limited-edition pieces. Meanwhile Officine Panerai continues to develop both its historic Luminor and Radiomir series, including the company���s PAM372 Luminor 1950 3 Days, an oversized 47mm case inspired by those of the 1950s (hence the name) encapsulating an in-house mechanical movement; and its PAM513 Radiomir 1940 Oro Rosso, a smaller 42mm hand-wound mechanical design in polished red gold, both designed to be a part of the company���s ongoing Classics collection. Of course one doesn���t have to have a pedigree in horology or travel the watchmaker���s circuit��� Geneva, Basel, New York, Hong Kong���to assemble an important watch collection. Experts advise if you���re in search of an heirloom you can pass down from generations, look first at rare or limited-edition pieces, often sold online or in local stores, that incorporate the largest number of complications. ���Like all collectibles if you���re buying for investment, the first thing you want to do is buy the best you can afford,��� explains J. Steven Humphrey, executive director of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors. ���If something is produced in the millions it���s probably not going up in price that dramatically. A real watch aficionado is probably looking at brands like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet because those watches remontoire (weights or springs that provide a secondary source of power) and it also has a bi-axial escapement with no oils, so it���s truly a beautiful watch,��� says Yeterian. Veteran jewelers like Harry Winston, which does about 25 percent of its business in collectible watches, have nothing to worry about, however. Among the house���s collectible offerings (since being acquired by The Swatch Group for approximately $1 billion in January) is the brand���s Ocean Tourbillon Big Date, an exceptional 45mm timepiece with the first ���floating tourbillon��� design visible from all angles. The 18kt white or rose gold watch is a limited edition of only 25 worldwide. Regardless of a watch���s provenance or rarity, most experts believe it���s better to buy for love of the design rather than the investment potential. While there is no guarantee when it comes to investment potential, one contributing factor is how well the timepiece has been maintained. Wearing a watch too often, for instance, can cause sweat to get into the case or deteriorate the face, both of which can seriously undercut the watch���s value. Be that as it may, ���there are still a lot of people who don���t collect for the investment; they collect because they like something,��� says Humphrey, adding how ���there is certainly nothing wrong with that either.��� BH Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication Breguet Classique Chronograph in 18kt rose gold 202 BAL HARBOUR