Luxury Watches

Material World: Exquisite Timepieces & Divine Décor

Today’s most innovative watches are crafted in remarkable materials — showcased here against beautiful furniture using the finest stone, metals, leather and timber.

By Christian Barker
Watch photography by Kevin Khng
Interiors photography by Jin Cheng Wong

Shot on location at Royal Interiors Singapore

Up until the 20th century, quality watches were primarily encased in silver or gold. Over the past 100 years, however, we have witnessed immense advances in the types of materials used to keep mechanical movements safe from the elements. 

Walk into a luxury watch boutique today, and you’ll find timekeeping devices in cases of countless compositions: colourful, near-indestructible ceramic materials; light yet tough carbon fibre or titanium; innovative gold alloys designed to resist tarnishing and loss of vibrancy; bronzes developed to take on a handsome patina; and perhaps, incredible materials such as zirconium, often found aboard NASA spacecraft. 

In addition to noble precious metals like platinum and white gold, you may also encounter cases in silver, which has latterly been experiencing a renaissance, following many decades in which this oh-so-easily discoloured metal was firmly out of favour. 

Here, against some of the world’s most luxurious handcrafted furnishings in the finest materials — superb quality leathers and plush cloth, gorgeous marbles, timbers, metals and so forth, from marques such as Fendi Casa, Trussardi, Walter Knoll and Riva 1920 — we present some of the most outstanding watches presently available. The array features creations from maisons including Breguet, MB&F, Bulgari, Piaget, Hermès and IWC, each distinguished by the use of remarkable materials. 

Royal Interiors
Breguet Tradition Fusée Tourbillon 7047PT in platinum case, with power reserve indication. This remarkably accurate timepiece is photographed on a Chi Wing Lo ‘Isto’ table in natural stone and sucupira (Brazilian chestnut) wood.
MB&F LM Sequential EVO dual chronograph, with a case in zirconium — an ultra-hard, heat- and corrosion-resistant metal often used in medical devices and the aerospace industry. Shot atop a Fendi Casa ‘Prisme’ rectangle coffee table in Verde Alpi marble.
Royal Interiors
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon in innovative non-tarnishing ‘Eon gold’ case. As the background to this metallurgical and horological wonder, a Fendi Casa ‘Artu II’ small armchair in tan leather.
Royal Interiors
Bulgari Aluminium Sorayama Special Edition watch with black rubber bezel and bracelet. Created in collaboration with Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama (famed for his ‘sexy robots’), production is limited to 1,000 pieces. Photographed on Cornelio Cappellini ‘Adone’ table, in invisible grey marble.
Royal Interiors
Piaget Limelight Gala Precious watch, with white-gold case and ‘Palace Décor’ bracelet, set with diamonds and tsavorites, featuring a malachite base plate and an automatic mechanical movement — quite remarkable, for a ladies’ watch of this daintiness. Photographed nestling on a Trussardi armchair in teal velvet.
Royal Interiors
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph, Top Gun edition ‘Lake Tahoe’ in white ceramic case with titanium caseback. Photographed against a clothespeg-shaped Riva 1920 ‘Mollettina’ bench in solid cedar wood, finished in ‘vulcano’, iron spring in red gloss.
Royal Interiors
Hermès H08 in titanium case with blue PVD coating. This chic future classic is photographed in unison with a Walter Knoll ‘Cuoio’ saddle leather lounge chair.
Royal Interiors
Omega Constellation Co-axial Master Chronometer, in 29mm steel case with diamond-embellished Sedna gold bezel. Shot atop Catalan Italia ‘Cocoon Trousseau Ceramic’ dressing table.
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