Timekeeping has been around long enough to go through various eras. It started as something practical, so that we could roughly measure the time of day. Then it evolved into something necessary, so that various parties around the world could operate on an agreed-upon timeline.
Next came the quartz crisis, where traditional watchmaking almost got pushed into extinction. Today, we are probably in the golden age of watches, thanks to all the advancements we’ve seen in both the quartz and mechanical varieties. We’ve even seen a surge in smartwatches, which have arguably made the wristwatch more common again (because let’s face it, the need for a watch effectively dwindled after the turn of the millennium).
This is why we’ve arrived at yet another juncture in time, and that is the lack of time-telling on our wrist, not through the absence of a watch, but instead through the absence of legibility.
In this day and age, not only are we constantly within arm’s length of a watch of some sort, but we have time that is atomically synced, down to the second, with someone two continents away. It is a miracle that we take for granted now, and as a result, we’re not as critical of the actual timepiece on our wrist. That has opened up a new vacuum for watches to fill, that of self-expression and artistry. Having the time is secondary to what it says about you now. And out of this offshoot, a new genre has grown, and that is of ignoring timekeeping entirely.
Sure, some of the watches here do still keep time, but they do so in a way that suggests that the wearer doesn’t put much emphasis on accuracy in the first place. So this month, let us explore the watches that have gone beyond traditional timekeeping.
If we’re going to talk about watches that don’t tell time, we can’t do so without mentioning Hermès’s Le Temps Suspendu complication which, in today’s feature, relates to the Arceau case.
What the complication does is that it suspends the hands near the 12 o’clock position (a position that does not exist in timekeeping), effectively stopping the watch from telling the time. Even the date hand disappears cleverly into the dial. This does not mean that the watch is not still keeping time, however, as you can go right back to the measured time just with a push of a button.
It may seem simple, but this complication is food for the imagination, because it does boggle the mind how it’s just gears and springs that are making this work.
The concept is a rather romantic one. When you’re truly living in the present, you have no need for time. Who cares if it’s been a minute or an hour when you’re exactly where you want to be? In many ways, we could stand to be more present in our daily lives, and this watch is a constant reminder for us to do so.
Still, we cannot be truly divorced from time, as it’s only practical to know when we need to pick the kids up from school, or to arrive at the restaurant for our dinner date. And this watch can do that, too. But we suspect that you could suspend this watch for the entire day and not have your day affected in the slightest—and still enjoy the presence of a beautiful timepiece on your hand.
If you’ve seen Bell & Ross’s BR-03 Astro last year, then you are probably primed enough to decipher the BR-03 Helipad, which will probably not make sense to the common person.
The concept is straightforward enough: the helicopter’s white-marked blade denotes the seconds, the nose denotes the minute, and the marker on the ‘H’ disc shows the hour.
This watch stays true to the Bell & Ross DNA, so you would easily recognise the cockpit-based design of the watch, and the tool-like nature of the watch. It is the type of timepiece that will draw your attention from a distance, because it is that legible. Or, rather, the illegibility is obvious from a distance.
Come on, take a look at this picture and tell me that you don’t feel the least bit intrigued. Like a puzzle, it will beckon you to stare at it until it makes sense, and it does show the time well once you get used to it, not unlike the BR-03 Astro.
Sure, you’re probably not going to rely on this watch as an airline traffic controller, but you’ll surely have a nice aviation-based talking piece on your wrist.
While all the watches in this story are quirky, you can’t get any quirkier than by wearing a Franck Muller Crazy Hours variation. It is a complication that flies under the radar, since you won’t notice anything particularly weird at first. It’s only after extended examination that you’ll notice how the markers don’t flow in numerological order.
You want to tell time with this watch? Then you’ll have to work for it, and actually observe which digit the hour hand is pointed at. Because instead of sweeping clockwise like in a traditional watch, the hour hand jumps from one digit to another. Sounds exactly like something the ‘Master Of Complications’ would make.
The act of deciphering is made even harder through this limited-edition collaboration between Franck Muller and Jisbar, thanks to the various interpretations of the time.
But just like anything else in life, you’ll probably get used to it once you become more acquainted with this timepiece. Plus, you get the added uniqueness of the tonneau case, which Franck Muller is often known for. This Jisbar piece is a particularly fun expression of the Crazy Hours complication, but fans of the concept who’d prefer something more subdued will undoubtedly find a design that sings to them, thanks to the wealth of variations available for this particular series.
Everything that relates to the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind almost deviates from what we expect from the world of Cartier. You get a fierce red (carnelian) dial, apple-shaped hands, and most importantly, a movement that runs backwards. The word ‘clockwise’ means a totally different thing here, as the hands run the opposite way.
Again, this watch does not announce itself as anything particularly zany, but that’s where it’ll throw you off, because it’s so easy to think nine o’clock when it’s actually three o’clock. It’s not the hours that’ll throw you off, however. It’s the minutes that could trip you up as well. And it’s the traditional design that lulls you in, compelling you to tell time the traditional way instead of the Rewind way. Then again, we’re not here for easy time-telling, are we?
Punctuating this story on this timepiece works well because it’s a reminder of how we can wear a tool that totally warbles our perception of time, yet still not be disconnected from the actual time, thanks to the wonders of technology.
In many ways, traditional watches don’t serve a real purpose anymore, but they do afford us the privilege of emotions, and to some, that is all that matters.
Esquire Malaysia
©2026, Heart Media Pte Ltd
