What is the common denominator between a round watch and a rectangular watch? The answer is symmetry. Whether one nurtures a preference for the circle or for the rigorous lines of the tonneau or barrel shape, symmetry is the name of the game: omnipresent and above all omnipotent, since the vast majority of designers cannot imagine sketching their plans without a clear-cut symmetrical axis.

Asymmetrical timepieces are thus by definition in a class of their own within the watch industry. One that is teetering on the brink of extinction? It would almost seem so… They are in any event zealously sought after by those who enjoy venturing off the beaten track.

Women and diamonds first!

Vacheron Constantin is one of the last remaining manufacturers still firmly attached to this type of design. The 1972 watch, which has been more or less continuously produced ever since its creation, features an extremely unconventional trapeze shape. The Maison now interprets it through no less than eight models. Its feminine versions play with two stretched hour-markers that significantly accentuate the imbalance of its case – a delightful specimen of finely controlled instability!

Ladies’ fake watches are indeed more liable to inspire liberated geometrical interpretations than their masculine counterparts. One need only consider the Crash watch by Cartier, the archetypal asymmetrical model and a veritable icon of watchmaking creativity. There are two main reasons behind this feminine predominance: the potential afforded by the jewellery-type approach; and the unconventional use of the strap or bracelet as a natural extension of the case.

The playful game represented by the Cadenas watch by Van Cleef & Arpels also makes a clean break with any semblance of geometrical regularity. This ‘padlock’ model is graced with a wealth of intertwined curves entirely free of any symmetrical axis. It marries angular and rounded shapes within a creation providing ample proof that aesthetic harmony is entirely possible without symmetry.

Broken lines and the Sixties craze

The strength of these models lies in their enduring ability to hold their own within brand collections despite their atypical lines. Because apart from such standard production lines, concept watches provide scope for all manner of stylistic fantasies, including the most asymmetrical. DeWitt certainly demonstrated this in 2008 with its Concept Watch 1, an haute horlogerie UFO featuring a retractable tourbillon and a convex-concave case that remains unmatched in all its symmetry-free uniqueness.

Some artists have indeed become the champions of asymmetry, largely inspired by Gilbert Albert. Born in 1930 and a jeweller by training, he was appointed workshop manager at Patek Philippe in 1957 and created a collection specifically named “Les Asymétriques”. His works have become rare and much sought after by collectors. Many of them bear the name of the brand distributor (such as Beyer), as was the custom at the time.

Gilbert Albert created many asymmetrical models, but one has attracted more attention than the rest. This is particularly so because its triangular shape is still widely used by Hamilton with its Ventura, the watch favoured by “The King”, singer Elvis Presley, and its many variations such as the Pacer or the vertically oriented Thor. Hamilton was indeed one of the great advocates of asymmetrical watch with its resolutely Sixties-style models that are currently such a great hit among all those with a nostalgic longing for that particularly effervescent period.

Throughout the decade, a number of asymmetrical creations were born and have since inspired whole generations of designers, such as Girard-Perregaux with its “Casquette” style recently picked up by MB&F and also used by Jaz Derby and Amida. Amid the vintage revival wave currently sweeping the industry, one may safely assume that these asymmetrical nuggets will sooner or later resurface.

He didn’t waste any time doing it and the doing is all his. Fifteen months after taking over the presidency of TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver is already reaping what he sowed: a brand new chronograph line called the Carrera Heuer 01. It is one of the fastest-developed products in contemporary Replica Rolex UK watchmaking, thanks to one of Mr. Biver’s secrets. Indeed, the man works fast and has everyone keeping up with the pace. Yet the Heuer 01 is neither botched nor carelessly designed, on the contrary. It is a whole new concept within the TAG Heuer bloodline.

First and foremost, the Heuer 01 looks like no other Carrera before it. It is meaner and not leaner. The 45 mm case is completely black, all twelve parts of it. And that is probably what best defines this new creation : modularity. Lugs, bezel, caseband, caseback, pushers, flange, every single one of these components has a life of its own. It can therefore be made in a different colour, material or shape. The Heuer 01 can be bent to almost any desire the marketing, design or technical department at TAG Heuer have.

The first version to see the light of day is black, all black with red markings. This colour choice is dominant on the whole Carrera Heuer 01. Only the deep grey of the movement visible though the numerous openings on the skeletonised dial seem to change from that red and black theme. Also, with a large crown, a large bezel, large indices and big hands, the Heuer 01 is not built for the fainthearted.

The same goes for the movement. It is the eponymous Heuer 01 caliber, although it is no actual novelty. Its underpinnings are those of the calibre 1887, TAG Heuer’s in-house self-winding chronograph. But taking its cue from the watch’s case, it has been altered beyond recognition. The date disc is skeletonised. The column-wheel is painted red and that changes its looks altogether. The rotor is not a half-disc like it used to be. It is a wheel with a full rim, heavier on its lower half to drive the winding system. Its spokes are wide and skeletonised too.

New leadership, new era, new design, the replica TAG Heuer Carrera 01 is nevertheless a TAG Heuer. By name, it relates to the brand’s identity born in the 1980s, when it changed from just Heuer. Yet it also relates to that original bloodline. As for the 01 name, it is the sign that it is meant to be the first chapter of a new story. By price, which will remain under the 5,000 Swiss franc mark, it defines the brand’s territory and what an attractive one that is!