Customization Craze Lands in The Watch Industry

Fashion and personalisation is nothing new, from you Louis Vuitton luggage to Channel bags, everything can be personalised. But what about your watch? Now watchmakers have come to understand that customers want unique watches from their favourite brands – and they want to be personally involved in creating them.

Of course, watches made especially for a person isn’t a new concept in horological history. The 1932 Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, which in 2014 broke the then-record for the world’s most expensive timepiece sold at auction (hammer price, a cool £19.5m). This watch was originally created for  New York financier Henry Graves Jr, who along with car magnate James Ward Packard, was among Patek Philippe’s most legendary clients. This watch had taken seven years into making.

One of the pioneers in the customisation sector was Piaget who in the sixties, created what was known as Style Selector, a personalisation programme for jet-setting VIPs seeking a one-of-a-kind ultra-thin watch.  It gives clients the opportunity to create a truly one-off Altiplano Tourbillon or Altiplano Ultimate Concept watch – two off-centre beauties powered by one of the world’s thinnest movements.

Clients can start by selecting the dial of their own choice and size and go ahead to options like the case, dial, buckle and strap (you’ll come across 25 strap styles to choose from). Dial finishes range from mother-of-pearl, hand-engraved guilloché and grand feu enamel to diamond snow-pavé and an elegant sunburst lacquer. To be spoilt by choices, you’ll also have a  variety of dial colour options to choose from- from pink, blue or white mother-of-pearl to translucent teal or red sunburst.

To enhance the experience, you can also send Piaget a photograph linked to personal memory, and the house will colour-match the shade. Its gem-setting savoir-faire is also up for grabs: baguette-cut emeralds, sapphires or rubies are among the embellishments on offer. The tourbillon ring can either be trimmed in diamonds or, for something subtler, engraved with a personal message.

All that together form more than 195,000 possible configurations for the Altiplano Ultimate Concept. One thing is for sure, there is a rare possibility of running into someone with the same watch!

Cartier is another such brand who offers personal bespoke watches which are of course naturally discreet. Cartier has a programme called Commande Spéciale, a special order service that allows clients to create a unique piece informed with the Maison’s celebrated aesthetic and savoir-faire. With this, only the sky is limit for the money you want to spend and how creative you want to be. Louis Cartier, in 1927, forged a watch for his son that was entirely in gold and etched with handwritten text in black enamel. More recently, watch fans have taken up the service to personalise existing Cartier icons, such as a Tank Cintrée enhanced with a special grey sunburst dial for one Asian client.

The Pasha watch by Cartier is being reissued and comes with a signature chained crown that can be removed to reveal an engraved secret message or drawing. This will be undetectable and known only to the wearer. This intimate feature comes from one of the world’s most recognisable watch brands.

The haute couture brand, Dior introduced a  Created to Measure service which brings the iconic Grand Bal watch to the tables. Famously designed to evoke the swish of a ball gown by placing the oscillating weight front-and-centre on the dial, the rotor has been embellished with all kinds of splendid materials: feathers, mother-of-pearl beads, jade marquetry – even scarab beetle and special adhesive gold dust developed by aerospace engineers.

The client can also choose a motif, such as latticed, draped, feathered, sun-pleated or beribboned. Then come options for the case (gold or steel), bezel (brilliant or baguette-cut diamonds), dial (coloured lacquer and mother-of-pearl, opal and malachite to name a few), plus hands and bracelet options.

Jaeger-LeCoultre, whose iconic Reverso, with its reversible dual face, is also an ideal canvas for customisation. One can have family crests, messages, logo or even your lucky charm or pet engraved on it.

If your luxury brand doesn’t offer you personalisation service, specialist outfitters are on hand to help. Through a partnership with LVMH, Mayfair’s Bamford Watch Department offers a robust online configurator where clients can directly personalise their Tag Heuer, Zenith or Bulgari timepieces.

Gift some love and an iconic watch to the watch lover in your life.