手
表已经成为有身份或有品味——抑或是身份或品味低下——的新标志。在上世纪80年代的"手表大革命"(Great Watch Revolution)中，机械表的强势回归令廉价粗糙的石英表遭受打击，而且越来越多的古董表开始现身拍卖行。从那时以来，人们为腕表赋予了新的内涵。
John Weber
以劳力士(Rolex)为例。虽然这个品牌现在妇孺皆知，但在上世纪五六十年代，几乎只有确实需要劳力士复杂功能的飞行员和专业潜水夫才知道这个品牌。如今，人们对手表的认知水准有了大幅提高，热播的电视剧《广告狂人》(Mad Men)甚至利用手表来表现男主人公唐•德雷柏(Don Draper)职场升迁的过程。到了第三季，德雷柏戴上了一款"劳力士探险家"(Rolex Explorer)。
在昔日，只有贵族和绅士们才能够理解百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)、爱彼(Audemars Piguet)、江诗丹唐(Vacheron Constantin)，甚至是知名度极高、世人皆知的卡地亚(Cartier)等品牌。没错，这其中也有例外：艾灵顿公爵(Duke Ellington)、迈尔斯•大卫斯(Miles Davis)、吉恩•奥特里(Gene Autry)、霍华德•休斯(Howard Hughes，据称如此)和其他一些巨星佩戴百达翡丽。马龙•白兰度(Marlon Brando)和切•格瓦拉(Che Guevara)青睐劳力士，而史蒂夫•麦奎因(Steve McQueen)则以他的劳力士和豪雅表(TAG Heuers)引领着现代手表热潮。如今，奥斯卡红毯秀成了手表爱好者们的狂欢节。但这并不代表平民主义或平等思想已经让这些高档手表变得平易近人。如今与昔日的不同其实是在于，从计程车司机、门童到牙医到离婚律师的各色人等——特别是离婚律师——都深知名牌手表和卖给平民百姓的手表之间的区别。
这样一来，人们对手表的选择变得与手包品质、西装剪裁、领带图案是否合宜以及鞋跟高度同样重要。如果你注重这些细节，那么你可能会考虑手表是否符合自己的个性和场合的需要。
义大利人认为，一个人至少需要拥有三块手表：一块用于工作场合，一块时装表在穿正式礼服或晚装时佩戴，再有一块运动手表在运动时或者度假时佩戴。至于如何找到一款适合自己个性、甚至能帮助你展现个性的手表，那么请看下文。如果你看完之后还是拿不定主意，那么就买一块"劳力士空中霸王"(Rolex Air-King)吧。
时尚偶像
Dior VIII
尽管首席设计师约翰•加利亚诺(John Galliano)因逞一时之快而遭解雇，迪奥还是接连获得了巨大的成功，特别是迪奥的手表。这是时下人们乐见的一个趋势：时尚珠宝品牌已决意推出配得上自身响亮名号的产品，而不是将品牌标志印到百货中心珠宝店铺销售的劣等货色上。
当然，在时尚界，品牌意味着一切，而且时尚偶像会有自己的喜好：除了迪奥之外，你还可以看到香奈儿(Chanel)、尚美(Chaumet)、卡地亚（绝对是人们永远的最爱）、格拉夫(Graff)、哈利•温斯顿(Harry Winston)以及其他大品牌都正在手表上狠下功夫。除了表链和表框上有多个切面、有镶钻和不镶钻可供选择、两种尺寸（33毫米和38毫米）以及自动机械和石英表之分外，迪奥"8"系列腕表还有一点让时尚偶像们欲罢不能：它是如此新颍，代表着未来的趋势。
旅行者
Vogard Timezoner
旅行者在把握时间方面的需求和那些不常出国的人相比有什么不同呢？对于热衷旅行的人来说，只有配备"全球计时器"才能满足他的需求，因为这样才能确保他不论身处地球的哪个时区，只需一瞥便可了解到当地的时间。几乎所有的手表制造商生产的腕表都可以显示两个或更多时区的时间，Vogard则能显示全球所有时区的时间。
Vogard有两大吸引人的特点。首先它拥有可以迅速便捷地更改所在地或者目的地时间的专利技术，其次是你可以通过表框上印刻的24座城市或时区来进行对时。
银行家
百达翡丽Calatrava系列
考虑到当前的公众情绪，银行家应该学习上世纪80年代以前他们前辈的风格：庄重大方。尽管银行家和金融界的其他高管们曾被鼓励要穿得"专业权威"，但如今这种风格并不可取。在公众眼中，银行家目前所处的位置介于基地组织和律师之间。在当前经济低迷的情况下，银行家必须给人一种有判断力、可以依靠和信任的印象。为了达到这样的目的，唯一适合他们的手表就是百达翡丽Calatrava手表。这款手表诞生于大萧条(Depression)期间的1932年，问世以来一直生产至今，集实用与高雅于一身。在外行人眼中，它什么也证明不了，而对行家来说，它说明佩戴者最为青睐罗曼尼•康帝酒园(Romanée-Conti，法国最顶尖的酒园，甚至被广泛认为是世界最顶级的红葡萄酒园)的葡萄酒。
企业家
Richard Mille RM038
与银行家不同，企业家不得不吸引潜在的投资客户，而且现在的成功并不代表未来也会取得成功。此外，企业家还懂得细节的重要性，比如说手表就可以帮助他们打破僵局。在尖沙咀(Tsim Sha Tsui)的高级酒吧里、波音747飞机的头等舱里，或者是苏格兰圣安德鲁斯(St. Andrews)的高尔夫球场上，对于有野心和抱负的人来说，佩戴一块儿醒目的手表胜过千言万语。
你不需要了解任何关于手表的知识，就可以欣赏Richard Mille手表的卓尔不凡。
这款Richard Mille手表应用了尖端技术。它是一款陀飞轮表，可以承受企业家在应用最重要的销售工具——一场高尔夫球——时对手表的振动和损伤。
RM038腕表是专为巴巴•沃森(Bubba Watson)在高尔夫球场上佩戴而设计的，参照的是另一款受到残暴野蛮对待的Richard Mille手表——网球运动员拉斐尔•纳达尔(Rafael Nadal)曾带着那款手表赢取了温布林顿大满贯赛事的冠军。
波希米亚人
iStockphoto
灵感？自由精神伴随着无限的想像力。做工？一整套技术，包括内填珐琅和镶嵌珍珠母贝的工艺，梵克雅宝这个世界上最伟大的珠宝行之一就掌握着这些技术。梵克雅宝一系列限量版手表的设计灵感来自于科幻小说之父儒勒•凡尔纳(Jules Verne)19世纪创作的作品，表盘上描绘了他的四本小说中的图景，其中最著名的是那本《气球上的五星期》(Five Weeks In A Balloon)。
波希米亚人喜欢奇思妙想。在如今这个所谓的波希米亚世纪，有什么交通方式比热气球更能引起人们的兴趣呢？
在表盘的中央，热气球从坦桑尼亚的桑吉巴岛(Zanzibar)上缓缓升起。还有什么比用热气球的锚和一只海鸥作为逆跳分针和时针更绝妙的呢？
白金表壳，积家(Jaeger-LeCoultre)846机械机芯，绝对的限量版——这是一款适合有个性人士的手表。
超胆侠
沛纳海(Panerai)Luminor Base Logo腕表
顾名思义，超胆侠无所畏惧，甚至可能到了某种极端的程度。没有什么挑战能够令他们胆寒，也没有什么风险让他们觉得难以逾越。滑翔、冲浪、越野、滑雪——想想汤姆•克鲁斯(Tom Cruise)在电影《谍中谍2》(Mission Impossible 2)开场时的攀岩场面吧。
能经得住上述各项活动的手表要么特别地物美价廉（卡西欧(Casio)标志性的G-Shock手表的销量高达百万是有原因的），要么技术含量高得让人害怕。
上世纪30年代，沛纳海为义大利海军的水下侦察兵设计了这款手表。从90年代起，它再度流行并成为备受尊崇的潜水表。谁是它的代言人？西尔维斯特•史泰龙(Sylvester Stallone)。史泰龙在多部豪气冲天的影片中佩戴了这款手表，不仅如此，他还送给了阿诺德•施瓦辛格(Arnold Schwarzeneg)一块这样的手表。施瓦辛格在电影《蒸发密令》(Eraser)中佩戴了它。接下来：折腾它吧，看能不能打碎它。
特工人员
Bremont Supermarine 500
虚构人物詹姆士•邦德(James Bond)让人们创造出了嵌入镭射、自动导引装置、吊索、磁铁等玩意儿的手表。当然，这些全都是虚构的。而且，正如任何一名特工不希望人们注意到他或她的存在一样，任何过大或者过于浮华的东西都会使佩戴者引起别人的注意。同样，特工人员的手表必须性能可靠、功能齐全、精确到秒，而且在困难的情况下可以发挥多种作用。因此，既然Bremont新款Supermarine 500潜水表受到了贝尔•格里尔斯(Bear Grylls，英国探险家、"荒野求生秘技"节目主持人)的赏识，能够潜到水下500米并且可以清晰地读数，还具有抗磁性，那么它应该可以符合邦德、杰克•鲍尔(Bauer，美剧《反恐24小时》中的男主人公)和詹森•波尼(Bourne，影片《谍影重重》的男主角)等特工人员的要求。另外，邦德本人还会欣赏它的另一个特点：产自英国。
Ken Kessler
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
As an indicator of one's status or taste -- or lack thereof -- watches have become the new shorthand. Since the Great Watch Revolution of the 1980s, when mechanical timepieces returned in force as a backlash against cheap-and-nasty quartz, and when vintage watches started to appear in auctions in greater numbers, awareness of the wristwatch has acquired a new significance.
Previously, anything more obscure than a Timex or an Accurist was appreciated only by cognoscenti. Watches were far too small to be in-your-face indicators of serious wealth -- not like the Ferrari 212 Barchetta or Maserati 300S that a Porfirio Rubirosa or a Roberto Rossellini might have parked in front of Monaco's Hotel de Paris.
Take Rolex. While everyone now recognizes the name, back in the 1950s and 1960s the brand was known almost exclusively by the pilots and professional divers who actually needed the functions the watches offered. Today, watch literacy has soared and the hugely popular television series, Mad Men, even uses watches to trace the ascent of hero Don Draper. By Series Three, Draper is seen wearing a Rolex Explorer.
As for brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and even the ineffably famous and recognizable Cartier, they were only understood by aristocrats and the gentry. Yes, there were exceptions: Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Gene Autry, Howard Hughes (allegedly) and other iconic celebs wore Patek Philippes. Marlon Brando and Che Guevara owned Rolexes, while Steve McQueen foreshadowed the modern watch fanatic with his Rolexes and TAG Heuers. Now, the red carpet at the Oscars is a watch-lover's orgy. But this is not to suggest that populism nor egalitarianism have overtaken the prestigious image such watches impart. What has changed is that now everyone from the cab driver to the doorman, to the dentist to the divorce lawyer -- especially the divorce lawyer -- knows the difference between fine timepieces and those sold to mere mortals.
As a result, one's choice of watch is as important as the quality of the handbag, the cut of one's suit, the appropriateness of a tie's pattern, the height of the heel. If such things matter, you might consider watches fitting both your personality and the occasion.
The Italians advise three timepieces at the very least: One that suits your occupation, a dress watch for sober, formal or evening wear, and a robust watch for sport or holiday. And as for finding a watch to suit your personality, or even the one you wish to project, read on. And if you are still in doubt, just buy a Rolex Air-King.
The Fashion Icon
Dior VIII (from GBP 3,050)
John Galliano's psychotic outbreak notwithstanding, Dior is on a roll, especially with its watches. It is part of a welcome trend wherein the fashion and jewelry houses making watches have decided to offer something worthy of an illustrious name, rather than put their logos on sub-par swill sold through shopping centre jewelry stores.
Of course, in fashion, the name is everything, and The Fashion Icon will have her own preferences: For Dior, you could also read Chanel, Chaumet, Cartier (the absolute perennial favourite), Graff, Harry Winston or another great label making serious timepieces. But Dior VIII, a family of watches with heavily faceted bracelets and bezels, available with or without diamonds, in two sizes (33mm and 38mm), and with automatic or quartz movements, offers something else dear to Fashion Icons: It's so new that it's tomorrow.
The Traveller
Vogard Timezoner (from GBP 3,500)
What distinguishes The Traveller's timekeeping needs from those whose forays abroad are less frequent? For one afflicted with wanderlust, nothing less than a 'world-timer' will suffice, for it allows The Traveller to know the time, at a glance, in any time zone on the planet. And while nearly every watch manufacturer produces a wristwatch able to show the time in two or more zones, Vogard makes nothing but world-timers.
Two features in particular make the Vogard so appealing. The first is the watch's patented method of changing the home or destination time so quickly and easily. The second is the option for ordering the watch with any of 24 cities or locations engraved on the bezel.
The Banker
Patek Philippe Calatrava (from £12,980)
Given the current public mood, the banker should err toward the style of his pre-1980s forebears: That of sobriety. Whereas once bankers and other executives in the financial sector were encouraged to 'power dress'. To do so today is inadvisable. Bankers now rate somewhere between al Qaeda and lawyers in the public eye. In these straitened times, The Banker must possess an air of discretion, of solidity, of dependability. To achieve this, there is one, and only one watch: The Patek Philippe Calatrava. In continuous production since 1932, born in the Depression, as it were, the Calatrava combines no-nonsense functionality with elegance. To the untrained eye, it is anonymous. To the individual who knows, it says that the wearer prefers Romanée-Conti to, well, anything else.
The Entrepreneur
Richard Mille RM038 (£380,000)
Unlike The Banker, The Entrepreneur has to inspire potential investors, and nothing suggests pending success like existing success. Better still, The Entrepreneur knows the value of a personal detail, such as a watch, for breaking the ice. Amongst the high-fliers in an exclusive bar in Tsim Sha Tsui, in the nose of the 747 or at the links at St. Andrews, a bold watch speaks volumes.
You don't need to know anything about watches to appreciate that a Richard Mille timepiece is something out of the ordinary.
This particular Richard Mille oozes high tech. It is a tourbillon made to withstand the shocks and abuses of The Entrepreneur's most important selling tool: A round of golf.
Developed for Bubba Watson, to wear on the links, the RM038 follows on from another Richard Mille watch subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment: Rafael Nadal wore one while winning Wimbledon.
The Bohemian
Van Cleef & Arpels (£77,500)
Inspiration? The free spirit with limitless imagination. Execution? A blend of techniques, including champlevé enamel and mother-of-pearl inlay, as mastered by one of the world's greatest jewelry houses. The 19th Century writings of Jules Verne, the father of science fiction, have stirred Van Cleef & Arpels to create a series of limited edition timepieces with dials illustrating four of his novels, but most notably, Five Weeks In A Balloon.
Bohos love whimsy. Is there any mode of transport more evocative of the so-called century of Bohemianism than a hot-air balloon?
At the dial's centre, the balloon rises slowly above Zanzibar. What better than its anchor and a seagull to act as retrograde hands for minutes and hours?
A white gold case, a Jaeger-LeCoultre 846 mechanical movement, severely limited production this is the watch of an individualist.
The Daredevil
Panerai Luminor Base Logo (£3,100)
As the name suggests, The Daredevil is fearless, probably to the point of absurdity. No challenge is too threatening, no risk too great. Hang gliding, surfing, off-roading, snowboarding think Tom Cruise rock climbing at the opening of Mission Impossible 2.
The watch to withstand all that has to be either incredibly cheap-and-cheerful (Casio sells millions of G-Shocks for good reason), or over-engineered and, well, scary.
Designed for the Italian Navy's underwater saboteurs in the 1930s, Panerai's Luminor re-surfaced to become THE cult diving watch of the 1990s and onward. Its patron saint? Sylvester Stallone, who wore them in a number of his more macho films. Not only that, but he gave one to Arnie, who featured it in Eraser. Go on: Try breaking one.
The Spy
Bremont Supermarine 500 (from £2,995)
Imaginative James Bond inspired watches with built-in lasers, homing devices, suspension cables, magnets and the like are, alas, pure fiction. And, as any real spy would not want to call attention to his or her presence, anything too large or too flashy would call attention to the wearer. Equally, a spy's watch must be dependable, functional, accurate to the second and able to serve a number of roles in difficult situations. So, if the Bremont Supermarine 500 is rugged enough for Bear Grylls, precise enough for chronometer certification, legible underwater, secure to 500m and resistant to magnetism, it should survive Messrs Bond, Bauer, Bourne and the like. And Bond himself would appreciate one other feature: It's British.
Ken Kessler
本文涉及股票或公司
Previously, anything more obscure than a Timex or an Accurist was appreciated only by cognoscenti. Watches were far too small to be in-your-face indicators of serious wealth -- not like the Ferrari 212 Barchetta or Maserati 300S that a Porfirio Rubirosa or a Roberto Rossellini might have parked in front of Monaco's Hotel de Paris.
Take Rolex. While everyone now recognizes the name, back in the 1950s and 1960s the brand was known almost exclusively by the pilots and professional divers who actually needed the functions the watches offered. Today, watch literacy has soared and the hugely popular television series, Mad Men, even uses watches to trace the ascent of hero Don Draper. By Series Three, Draper is seen wearing a Rolex Explorer.
As for brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and even the ineffably famous and recognizable Cartier, they were only understood by aristocrats and the gentry. Yes, there were exceptions: Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Gene Autry, Howard Hughes (allegedly) and other iconic celebs wore Patek Philippes. Marlon Brando and Che Guevara owned Rolexes, while Steve McQueen foreshadowed the modern watch fanatic with his Rolexes and TAG Heuers. Now, the red carpet at the Oscars is a watch-lover's orgy. But this is not to suggest that populism nor egalitarianism have overtaken the prestigious image such watches impart. What has changed is that now everyone from the cab driver to the doorman, to the dentist to the divorce lawyer -- especially the divorce lawyer -- knows the difference between fine timepieces and those sold to mere mortals.
As a result, one's choice of watch is as important as the quality of the handbag, the cut of one's suit, the appropriateness of a tie's pattern, the height of the heel. If such things matter, you might consider watches fitting both your personality and the occasion.
The Italians advise three timepieces at the very least: One that suits your occupation, a dress watch for sober, formal or evening wear, and a robust watch for sport or holiday. And as for finding a watch to suit your personality, or even the one you wish to project, read on. And if you are still in doubt, just buy a Rolex Air-King.
The Fashion Icon
Dior VIII (from GBP 3,050)
John Galliano's psychotic outbreak notwithstanding, Dior is on a roll, especially with its watches. It is part of a welcome trend wherein the fashion and jewelry houses making watches have decided to offer something worthy of an illustrious name, rather than put their logos on sub-par swill sold through shopping centre jewelry stores.
Of course, in fashion, the name is everything, and The Fashion Icon will have her own preferences: For Dior, you could also read Chanel, Chaumet, Cartier (the absolute perennial favourite), Graff, Harry Winston or another great label making serious timepieces. But Dior VIII, a family of watches with heavily faceted bracelets and bezels, available with or without diamonds, in two sizes (33mm and 38mm), and with automatic or quartz movements, offers something else dear to Fashion Icons: It's so new that it's tomorrow.
The Traveller
Vogard Timezoner (from GBP 3,500)
What distinguishes The Traveller's timekeeping needs from those whose forays abroad are less frequent? For one afflicted with wanderlust, nothing less than a 'world-timer' will suffice, for it allows The Traveller to know the time, at a glance, in any time zone on the planet. And while nearly every watch manufacturer produces a wristwatch able to show the time in two or more zones, Vogard makes nothing but world-timers.
Two features in particular make the Vogard so appealing. The first is the watch's patented method of changing the home or destination time so quickly and easily. The second is the option for ordering the watch with any of 24 cities or locations engraved on the bezel.
The Banker
Patek Philippe Calatrava (from £12,980)
Given the current public mood, the banker should err toward the style of his pre-1980s forebears: That of sobriety. Whereas once bankers and other executives in the financial sector were encouraged to 'power dress'. To do so today is inadvisable. Bankers now rate somewhere between al Qaeda and lawyers in the public eye. In these straitened times, The Banker must possess an air of discretion, of solidity, of dependability. To achieve this, there is one, and only one watch: The Patek Philippe Calatrava. In continuous production since 1932, born in the Depression, as it were, the Calatrava combines no-nonsense functionality with elegance. To the untrained eye, it is anonymous. To the individual who knows, it says that the wearer prefers Romanée-Conti to, well, anything else.
The Entrepreneur
Richard Mille RM038 (£380,000)
Unlike The Banker, The Entrepreneur has to inspire potential investors, and nothing suggests pending success like existing success. Better still, The Entrepreneur knows the value of a personal detail, such as a watch, for breaking the ice. Amongst the high-fliers in an exclusive bar in Tsim Sha Tsui, in the nose of the 747 or at the links at St. Andrews, a bold watch speaks volumes.
You don't need to know anything about watches to appreciate that a Richard Mille timepiece is something out of the ordinary.
This particular Richard Mille oozes high tech. It is a tourbillon made to withstand the shocks and abuses of The Entrepreneur's most important selling tool: A round of golf.
Developed for Bubba Watson, to wear on the links, the RM038 follows on from another Richard Mille watch subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment: Rafael Nadal wore one while winning Wimbledon.
The Bohemian
Van Cleef & Arpels (£77,500)
Inspiration? The free spirit with limitless imagination. Execution? A blend of techniques, including champlevé enamel and mother-of-pearl inlay, as mastered by one of the world's greatest jewelry houses. The 19th Century writings of Jules Verne, the father of science fiction, have stirred Van Cleef & Arpels to create a series of limited edition timepieces with dials illustrating four of his novels, but most notably, Five Weeks In A Balloon.
Bohos love whimsy. Is there any mode of transport more evocative of the so-called century of Bohemianism than a hot-air balloon?
At the dial's centre, the balloon rises slowly above Zanzibar. What better than its anchor and a seagull to act as retrograde hands for minutes and hours?
A white gold case, a Jaeger-LeCoultre 846 mechanical movement, severely limited production this is the watch of an individualist.
The Daredevil
Panerai Luminor Base Logo (£3,100)
As the name suggests, The Daredevil is fearless, probably to the point of absurdity. No challenge is too threatening, no risk too great. Hang gliding, surfing, off-roading, snowboarding think Tom Cruise rock climbing at the opening of Mission Impossible 2.
The watch to withstand all that has to be either incredibly cheap-and-cheerful (Casio sells millions of G-Shocks for good reason), or over-engineered and, well, scary.
Designed for the Italian Navy's underwater saboteurs in the 1930s, Panerai's Luminor re-surfaced to become THE cult diving watch of the 1990s and onward. Its patron saint? Sylvester Stallone, who wore them in a number of his more macho films. Not only that, but he gave one to Arnie, who featured it in Eraser. Go on: Try breaking one.
The Spy
Bremont Supermarine 500 (from £2,995)
Imaginative James Bond inspired watches with built-in lasers, homing devices, suspension cables, magnets and the like are, alas, pure fiction. And, as any real spy would not want to call attention to his or her presence, anything too large or too flashy would call attention to the wearer. Equally, a spy's watch must be dependable, functional, accurate to the second and able to serve a number of roles in difficult situations. So, if the Bremont Supermarine 500 is rugged enough for Bear Grylls, precise enough for chronometer certification, legible underwater, secure to 500m and resistant to magnetism, it should survive Messrs Bond, Bauer, Bourne and the like. And Bond himself would appreciate one other feature: It's British.
Ken Kessler
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