The Best Luxury Avant-garde Watches
These timepieces push the boundaries of watch design with their unorthodox dials and experimental ways of telling time.
Avant-garde is a French term that means “advance guard,” which is the first part of an advancing army, frequently a reconnaissance unit. In the arts, avant-garde is used to describe experimental, unusual, boundary-pushing creations. Frequently, avant-garde works are considered radical and shocking, but they can become accepted as great art over time. Think of Edouard Manet’s painting Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe from 1863, which is considered today to be a great Realist-Impressionist work and a highlight of any trip to the Musée d’Orsay, but was so shocking at the time of its creation that it was refused by the Paris Salon.
In horology, avant-garde frequently refers to unusual dials, radical ways of telling time, or watches with an unconventional mechanical look. When Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet launched the steel Nautilus and Royal Oak watches, they were considered shocking, but now they are two of the most sought-after watches on the market and have spawned countless watches with similar aesthetics. Our selection of the best luxury avant-garde watches today features some watches that might look unusual now but could become the next cult classics alongside exceptional timepieces with industrial yet refined looks.
Greubel Forsey Double Balencier Convexe
Harry Winston Midnight Big Date Automatic
Hublot MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Blue 3D Carbon
Louis Moinet Ultravox
Ressence Type 1 Grail Watch
HYT Moon Runner Supernova Blue
De Bethune DB28XP Steel Wheels
Speake-Marin Dual Time Lime
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Flying Hours
Richard Mille RM 74-02
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