Luxury watches inspired by cartoon and comic book characters – Robb Report

If you’ve studied the luxury watch market for the past few years, you may have noticed an unexpected, rather playful, trend taking hold: some of the industry’s most prestigious brands pay homage to cartoon characters. animated and comic books on the dials of their timepieces. , reflecting not only a collective nostalgia for the icons of their youth, but also a newfound willingness to take risks that in the past could have been considered shameful (like the scandalized reaction to Gerald’s first Mickey Mouse watch Genta in 1984). There is of course another factor at play in the rise of these whimsical, albeit somewhat polarizing, timepieces: rarity. Almost all of the wristwatches featured below were produced in extremely limited editions and are officially sold out, not to mention Genta’s latest ode to Mickey (but only because it’s only released in January!).

Omega Speedmaster anniversary series “Silver Snoopy Award”

Almost exactly one year ago, Omega released the Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award”, a 50^e anniversary nod to the price it was received by NASA astronauts on October 5, 1970 in recognition of the brand’s contributions to the space flight program. The 42mm stainless steel chronograph is rich in details that pay homage to the Speedmaster’s role in the Apollo 13 rescue, including a blue nylon fabric strap that features the trajectory of the Apollo 13 mission on its embossed liner. , a silver dial with blue PVD index and angle-shaped hands, and a resistance piece, a silver Snoopy medallion embossed on the blue sub-dial at 9 o’clock. But that’s not all: the back of the case represents the hidden face of the moon with the help of a microstructured metallization, an animated Snoopy in its command and service module (CSM) as well as a terrestrial disc which rotates once a minute in synchronization with the small seconds of the hand watch. The best part? The unrestricted watch is now part of Omega series production (but good luck getting one). $ 9,600; Omega.com Watches

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon

When Audemars Piguet unveiled a limited edition of 250 pieces dedicated to Marvel’s Black Panther Character Last spring at an event in Los Angeles, the online reaction went from one extreme to the other, with some followers declaring the watch (and, presumably, the entire collaboration) “trash!” And others proclaiming it a treasure. The Royal Oak Concept “Black Panther” Flying Tourbillon features a meticulously hand-painted 3D representation of the superhero on the dial, the first in a series of AP models honoring Marvel characters. The futuristic design features a bright purple rubber strap attached to a 42mm sandblasted titanium case. (It’s not Vibranium, but it will be fine!) $ 162,000, Audemarspiguet.com

Gerald Genta Arena Retro Mickey Mouse Disney

From Seiko to Swatch, Mickey Mouse has appeared on the dials of many watch models over the past century, but among luxury watch aficionados the only collaboration that matters is that of Gerald Genta. Considered the greatest watchmaker of the 20^e century, Genta created his first horological tribute to Mickey in 1984 (scandalizing the participants of the Basel fair that year). Last month, the brand that bears its name – owned by Bulgari since 2000 – introduced an automatic retrograde watch in a 41mm stainless steel Arena case with Disney’s beloved mouse appearing to jump onto the rhodium-plated sunray dial. The left arm of the smiling figure indicates the minutes on a 210-degree retrograde sector while the jumping hour appears at 5 o’clock. Available online in January, the model is limited to 150 pieces. $ 19,500; Bulgari.com

TAG Heuer Connected x Nintendo

In July, TAG Heuer presented a limited edition of its Connected Watch produced in partnership with Nintendo. Featuring the company’s fan-favorite Super Mario character in his red cap and blue overalls on the front and center of the dial, the model is the first in a series of watches to emerge from the long-term collaboration. of the brand with Nintendo. “We thought the Mario character was super iconic and had a lot of brand connections,” said Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer. Robb Report. “He’s super active, always hitting a goal.” As users increase their step count, Mario will appear on the dial to mark and reward their progress (as well as animations that become more animated as the activity level increases). Luxury-loving gamers, this one is for you! $ 2,100; Tagheuer.com

SUF Sarpaneva x Moomin

Last August, Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva delighted fans of the Moomins, an adorable family of troll-like characters created by Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson, when he made a limited edition of 75 timepieces celebrating 75 years of comics^e birthday. The automatic models (a series of three with slight variations in color, in editions of 25 pieces each) feature a three-layered skeleton dial depicting the Moomintroll figure curled up at the edge of a pond. In the background, eight hand-painted Super-LumiNova colors in different combinations create a kaleidoscopic nocturnal glow. 6,200 euros (approximately $ 7,280); SUFhelsinki.com