Elegance in Simplicity: The Best Time-Only Timepieces
Gone are the complicated showpieces of yesteryear. All you need now are simply two or three hands, and perhaps a date.
Coco Chanel posited that simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. In watchmaking, that means having nothing but the time, despite the wondrous feats watchmakers can achieve with calendars, moon phases and tourbillons. Without complications, design can no longer hide behind engineering. Time-only timepieces need to be executed with absolute precision, because with just minimalist dials and basic functions the distinction between treasure and trash walks a very fine edge. Only those that pass muster can ascend to the exalted ranks of purist icons like the Calatrava and Royal Oak.
The Cartier Tank Française embodies this essence of chic. By simplifying its essential lines and stripping off all embellishment, the watch underscores its radical shape inspired by the armoured vehicles of World War I, complete with a track-like metal bracelet. Supple, curved and ergonomic, it is the definition of a modern aesthete. Clean lines and perfect proportions also provide utmost clarity for expressing the time. That has been the driving force behind TAG Heuer’s vaunted Carrera collection, whose obsession with readability culminates in the latest Carrera Three Hands series.
Certainly, there is no shortage of style in the desire for the bare minimum. Already distinguished by classic good looks, the handsome Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M further catches the eye with an array of naturalistic dial colours taken from the land and sea. The Ressence Type 8 pushes discretion to the max by eschewing superfluous elements save a pair of hands and corresponding time scales, which dance across the dial thanks to the brand’s dynamic display mechanism, proving that simplicity need not be prosaic.
Telling time is really straightforward, but we love to make it complicated. We’re so caught up in “bigger and better” that we forget that exceptional elegance exists in the simplest things. Perhaps the most audacious statement we can make in the face of highfalutin horology is to simply declare “Time only, please.”
