Is punk dead? Not if these luxury brands have anything to say about it
Given the much-echoed spirit of rebellion that runs through the veins of contained watchmaker Hautlence, we're a little surprised something every bit adventurous every bit the HL2.3 Punk didn't arrive sooner.
Nothing about it is subtle. Not its dramatic spikes, movement design, non even its name. To make doubly sure anyone who looks at it knows that punk isn't dead, information technology even has a circle-A – a well-known symbol for anarchy – printed on the hr indicator. Message received: Hautlence is, by their ain admission, i of few enfants terribles in the manufacture.
But maybe that'due south just what the industry needs right at present. Frail tourbillons, dreamy moon phases, cases so slim they look like they'd shatter under an intense gaze – esteemed brands have spoiled us with elegance and sophistication for years. How nearly some cheekily brazen horology for a change? How virtually some attitude?
Whether or not Hautlence is but marching to the trounce of their own five-piece Tama drums or just trying to make full a niche the industry didn't even know it had is anyone'due south guess. But what isn't up for debate is that the HL2.3 Punk is loud in the all-time way. Once you get over the initial entertainment (or bemusement), y'all'll realise that the watch is still a well-thought out and expertly executed auto.
8-4 studs in fourteen unlike sizes beautify the black PVD-coated titanium case, a wait inspired by the Perfecto brand of studded motorbike jackets. To offer the wearer equally much of a view into the motion every bit possible, three pieces of sapphire crystal had to exist exactingly produced using multi-axis grinding and fit together to create the additional window on the left side of the case.
The endeavor is appreciated because there's a lot to admire. The HL2.3 calibre, based on the existing in-house HL2.0, combines jumping hours, retrograde minutes (an Hautlence signature) and a power reserve indicator. The hours are mounted on a chain, and each numeral jumps one link as the hour changes. This chain is likewise connected to the escapement, which means the latter rotates 60 degrees every time the hour moves, thus compensating for the effects of gravity on the hairspring.
Complications like that are power-hungry though, then the calibre has to run at a more modest 2.5Hz to provide a power reserve of 45 hours. Besides, nitpicking about accuracy in a picket this in-your-face seems impertinent.
Information technology'due south true that independent watchmakers accept more than leeway to create whatever they want, but it's interesting to run across that even established brands – ones that have congenital their empires on the fine art of mass appeal – take been known to show their rebellious streaks once in a while. The Disharmonism de Cartier collection unveiled earlier this yr is a festival of studs and square nails. The 14-slice range includes rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings, with some featuring crimson beads and diamonds. But it's not too surprising when we consider Cartier's history of disruptive design. Amid its many stunning-just-safety pieces are alluring surprises like the Crash watch and Juste un Clou bracelet.
READ: Disruptive blueprint: The Clash de Cartier drove is every punk princess' dream
And speaking of occasional rebels, how can anyone forget Audemars Piguet's trilogy of increasingly aggressive haute joaillerie clandestine watches? It all began in 2022 with the release of the Diamond Punk which, now in hindsight, looks laughably subdued. But it was quite the spectacle at the time with its 56 diamond-encrusted prisms.
It raised the ante a year afterwards with the Diamond Fury, which is set with 4,635 brilliant-cut diamonds. The watch, which looks more like armour than accessory, took designers, engineers and jewellers over i,500 hours to complete.
The Diamond Fury is arguably more sculptural than punk, but Audemars Piguet rectified that with the finale in 2017: The suitably named Diamond Outrage.
The thing is vehement. It took master precious stone setters well-nigh double the time to assemble all that ice, which amounts to 11,043 bright-cut diamonds (or sapphires, in the Diamond Outrage Sapphire) totalling 65.47 carats. The 18K white gold picket features 48 gold spikes in varying heights, inspired by the icicles that course in the Jura Valley in winter, where the make is based. Oddly poetic, merely outrageous nonetheless.
READ: Olivier Audemars on how Audemars Piguet doesn't vest to him
The punk ethos is supposed to oppose conformity and authoritarianism, which is ironic when you come across how mainstream the associated style has become in mode and music. But it seems to fit when luxury brands try it on for size. It's a go-big-or-become-habitation exercise that's cheesy at worst merely downright thrilling when washed well. And seeing as the luxury industry is constantly pushing the extremes – in quality, storytelling and toll – it may be more punk than it thinks.
READ: The 24-yr-onetime watch enthusiast whose collection is worth S$1.4 million
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/punk-watches-240146
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