Swiss luxury watchmaker Christophe Claret and its eponymous founder have long been known for their playful, avant-garde timepieces, and the tradition continues this year as the brand unveils two new watches, both draped in blue. The first of these is a new iteration of Claret’s X-TREM-1, while the second is an update to its original Poker watch.
The first X-TREM-1 (pictured above) was unveiled in 2016 and known for its very unconventional, rectangular-style design, complete with a front-facing openwork movement; magnetically floating hour and minute indicators on its side; and a massive tourbillon, among a number of other features. Claret revisits the model by casting its case in blue damascened steel, and limiting the new model to only eight editions. The Poker (seen below) was unveiled in 2014 as part of Claret’s collection of casino-game-themed pieces that also includes Blackjack and Roulette. As per its name, the Poker watch is best known for its unique “Texas Holdem” complication, which enables a wearer to play the namesake game with two other players.
X-TREM-1
The X-TREM-1 features one of Christophe Claret’s most innovative efforts in the haute horologerie space. The fascinating watch uses a large 26.6 mm x 46.4 mm x 11.94 mm “curvex” steel case, produced primarily with damascene steel and using a polished PVD titanium for its accents. The top and bottom of the watch are integrated into a matching blue alligator bracelet via hooded lugs. On either side of the case we see the magnetic timekeeping mechanisms. The hours and minutes are mysteriously displayed via the two orange, hollowed steel spheres moving up and down the two 23-mm, cylindrical, ring-bound tubes, pulled by magnetic carriages following a thread. The seconds are the indicated via the flying tourbillon at the bottom of the watch, which rotates once every 30 seconds within its 30-degree angled cage.
While each of the timekeeping aspects of the watch are on the outer elements of the design, underneath a sapphire crystal at the center we find an openwork “dial” which showcases the FLY11 mechanical, hand-wound movement that makes this watch’s unique functionality possible. The movement is also visible behind a partially sapphire caseback, which also features the winding and time-setting mechanisms. The complex caliber features a 50-hour power reserve in a dual-barrel system.
The X-TREM-1 will be limited to eight pieces, and is priced at 278,000 CHF, or about $288,270.
Poker
The new Poker model has a familiar look to fans of Christophe Claret’s previous gambling-inspired pieces. This model uses a 45-mm, black PVD titanium case, standing prominently on the wrist at 15.95 mm thick. On its right side you can find the time-setting crown, while on the left side are the top and bottom pushers that the wearer can use to play Texas Hold ’em on the front of the watch, along with a middle pusher to operate the miniaturized roulette wheel inconspicuously found on the back of the model behind a sapphire caseback. On this limited edition, the dial uses a blue PVD titanium as its background, while the various aspects of Poker needed for three people to play are displayed throughout, such as the three individual “hands,” flop, and turn river. Even considering all these gaming functions, the model still tells the time, here with two red-outlined black hands for the hour and minute. (For details on how the watch’s game was devised and how it’s played, check out our detailed report on the original Poker watch here.
The Christophe Claret Poker is powered by the in-house automatic PCK05 movement, which is comprised of 655 individual components and allows the poker game to offer 98,304 potential outcomes. The movement, like that in the X-TREM-1, also uses double mainspring barrels, while here allowing for a slightly longer reserve of 72 hours.
The Christopher Claret Poker will be limited to 12 editions, and slated to retail for 164,000 CHF or about $170,105.
