BaselWorld Special: 2011 Mens Watches

Here is my first round of new watches seen at BaselWorld. Early days to predict trends but what is coming through loud and clear is the abundance of rose gold, ultra-thin movements and a safe-bet return to classicism. Gone are the whacky watches of the past and even MB&F's normally outrageous timekeeper is sticking to a known format - the HM3 carcass in a new guise. The same goes for De Grisogono's Meccanico ana-digi contraption that had eyes popping five years ago. Today it is dressed in black, not exactly a way out there design gambit. Breitling is looking traditional with its 1950's chic TransOcean chronograph and the more traditional brands are looking well traditional. This is not to say that the industry is stagnant, and I welcome a break from the break-neck speed of change seen at the watch fairs in previous years. The biggest change is that all these watches are very wearable: now that is novel.

VUITTON, Voyagez Tambour Automatic Chronograph watch with a tachymeter. Set in a 44mm wide Tambour style case, the Voyagez is in steel with a gray and red dial with black and white trim. The dial design uses three middle aligned subdials for the 30 minute chronograph and subsidiary seconds.
Breitling Transocean chronograph in rose gold returns to the classic good looks of the Martini days of flying in the 1950's when stewardesses were as glamorous as the passengers and pilots were the heroes of the day.
MB&F's ReBel is designed to be worn on the right wrist and the case is white gold with a black PVD coating. Time is read off the two cones under the bulging glass domes.
Omega Hour Vision Blue is a limited edition watch linked to the eye charity Orbis and will soon be seen on the wrist of brand ambassador Daniel Craig.
Patek Philippe's 5270 new perpetual calendar chronograph maintains a clear dial in spite of the 11 different reading it offers. A white gold case houses the manual winding Caliber CH29-535 PS-Q
Linde Werdelin's SpidoSpeed has a skeletonised case that despite its unusual structure is resilient and also very light. This watch, like all Linde Werdelin models, is designed to receive a computer module that clips on top to monitor conditions.
The Zenith rose gold simple three hand watch with automatic movement represents a clear return to classicism for this brand.
BREMONT, P51 inspired by the WWII P51 Mustang aircraft. The dial and rotor incorporate aluminium from an original plane and the dial echoes the style of the cockpit instruments.
DE GRISOGONO, Meccanico dG gets a new all-black look. This mechanical watch displays time in both analogue and digital mode: an unusual feat of watchmaking.
FABERGE, Alexei rose gold watch with automatic winding Frédéric Piguet movement from the house's first watch collection since its relaunch under new ownership two years ago. The dial is guilloched (engine turned engraving) and the crown is set with a blue spinel.
HERMES, Temps Suspendu is mechanical watch in rose gold with a brand new complication. Push the crown to suspend time at which point the two hands will sit at 12 o'clock until the crown is pushed again to resume timekeeping function.
Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon presents another twist in the winding tale of the tourbillon. This bi-axial tourbillon appears to float as it is anchor is invisible.