The best new watches from BaselWorld 2012

BASELWORLD, held in Basel Switzerland, is an annual watchmakers and jewelers exhibition where over 100,000 buyers from all over the world descend to check out the coming year's new product. Literally hundreds of new watches are launched at the fair from dozens of manufacturers including big-hitters Rolex, Hublot, Breitling, Patek Phillipe, Tissot and Glashutte. We've assembled a gallery of the most notable releases in 2012, which includes the most innovative, most beautiful, most expensive and most ugly ... and the last two categories are embodied by the same watch!

The most obvious design trend was the rise of the two or three sub-dial chronograph - often in the context of a very classic and traditional face. There were also signs of the resurrection of yellow gold as a finish as opposed to the all-conquering rose gold coloration of recent years. Expect to see more of this as nostalgia for the 70s and 80s increases. In contrast there were several examples of the "steampunk" faux-retro style which shows no sign of disappearing. Enjoy the pictures.

Time goes hands-free with QLOCKTWO W watch

Japan’s Tokyoflash has made a name for itself with numerous weird and wonderful – or maybe baffling - ways to tell the time. Now, bringing to mind Homer Simpson’s quote of, “From now on Honey, we'll be spelling everything with letters,” when Marge is impressed by a house that has its street number spelled out with letters, German design agency Biegert & Funk is set to release a wristwatch that fancies things up by telling the time in words. Essentially a shrunk down version of the company’s QLOCKTWO wall and desktop clocks, the QLOCKTWO W features a square face measuring 35 x 35 mm (1.37 in) that contains a grid of 110 letters. Press the button on the right hand side of the watch and the relevant letters will light up to reveal the time in readable text – “It is half past ten” or “It is a quarter to seven”, for example. Additional presses of the button will reveal the calendar day, and then the seconds.

Biegert & Funk will release the QLOCKTWO W in the northern autumn in stainless steel or black with either a rubber or leather strap. The company will also offer the watch in both English and German language versions. They will retail at approximately €550 (approx. US$724) each.

Hybrid Watch Combines the Best of Analog and Digital

If you're a fan of futuristic technology but can't seem to leave your analog watch behind for a digital one, the Tokyoflash Hybrid may be exactly what you've been waiting for. Sure there are plenty of watches that already combine digital and analog displays, but those are mostly just analog faces with a small digital lcd screen inside. Designed by Peter Fletcher, the Tokyoflash Hybrid truly combines both analog and digital displays.

The Hybrid watch features a face with a single arrow that moves clockwise like the hands on an analog watch face. The arrow features 12 backlit LCD bars that light up to represent the hour of the day, while the position of the arrow represents the minutes. The outer-ring features 60 backlit LCD bars that represent the seconds. It may be a little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, the Hybrid is easy to read. As with all of Tokyoflash's concepts, you have a chance to turn this watch into a reality by voting on the Tokyoflash Design Blog. Head on over to the blog for more renders and to cast your vote for the device.

The US$5 million watch

It's been said that nothing exceeds like excess, and Hublot's unique diamond-crusted Big Bang watch certainly fits the bill. The company claims that the watch is the most "precious" timepiece it's ever created in its 32-year history (Hublot, which means porthole in French, was founded by Carlo Crocco in 1980). Indeed, if there's a more expensive watch in existence, we have yet to see it.

So just what goes into a US$5 million watch? For starters, the 1.73-inch (44-mm) diameter 18K white gold case is packed with 302 baguette diamonds. Its 18K white gold dial holds another 179 baguettes and the 18K bracelet that holds it on the lucky owner's wrist is set with a staggering 782 more baguette diamonds, plus an additional six emerald-cut diamonds, all greater than 3 carats each. Throw in the 18K white gold crown's 1.06 carat rose-cut diamond, plus its 12 additional baguettes and you have a market-cornering 1,282 diamonds in total, more than 100 carats in baguettes alone, and all of grade A VVS clarity. The rhodium-plated, diamond-polished hands are driven by a self-winding, 25-jewel, HUB 1100 movement with about 42 hours of power reserve. Nice, but for five mill, would installing a battery have been too much to ask? Perhaps. In some circles, battery-powered watches are considered just another piece of jewelry, not fine timepieces. Also, let's not forget the cost of labor, which was particularly intense because each carefully-selected jewel had to be modified to perfectly fit the watch. After a year spent searching for the largest stones, Hublot, in collaboration with Geneva's Atelier Bunter, spent 14 months total on the Big Bang's construction. This included the efforts of 12 cutters and five setters who worked on it full-time for seven months!

In case you were wondering (like I was), how such massive resources ended up in one watch, a little digging revealed that Hublot was purchased in 2008 by LVMH (Louis Vuitton S.A./Moët Hennessy), a French beverage, accessory and apparel conglomerate, over 40 percent of the shares of which are owned by Christian Dior – yet another luxury product group. No shortage of wealth there. Alas, if you had any designs on acquiring this marvel for yourself, you're too late. The Hour Glass, a luxury watch dealer in Singapore, took that honor and plans to display it in its Asian stores. If you want a look at Hublot's finest, evidently you'll just have to follow the money.

Check out the Hublot video below to see the watch spinning and gyrating in all its glory.