The size, case shape, and polished hands and numerals all hearken back to a simpler time in watchmaking when everything didn't have to look like a robot's goiter or a pie plate.
Last year, the independent Swiss watchmaker Philippe Dufour and Philippe Wurtz, a German manufacturer of pendulum clocks, nominated Masahiro Kikuno to the academy, set up in 1984 to maintain standards and promote excellence in mechanical watchmaking at a time when the industry was under threat from the quartz revolution.
The company founded by Mr. Winston set the standard for a successful transition from diamonds into watchmaking when it entered the business in 1989 — with Mr. Pitteloud at its helm.
Most recently, in 2015, Mr. Dordet reapplied his considerable experience to the singular world of Swiss watchmaking when he was appointed chief executive of La Montre Hermès, the company's watchmaking division.
It's an automatic watch with a twist: the power reserve is actually on the rotor, a feat (at least in watchmaking) akin to riding a horse backwards while juggling plates.
In this way, the two Sherpas would be able to escape their dangerous job while at the same time bringing watchmaking to Nepal.
In the automatic category, B.R.M introduced a racing-car-inspired model this year, the V6 Record, touted as the world's lightest automatic watch at 31 grams without its wristband, an example of filigree in watchmaking.
When used in watchmaking, carbon and its derivative coatings like ADLC (amorphous diamondlike carbon) give cases a durable, scratch-resistant finish as well as a striking, moody look.
Mr. Kikuno, 29, graduated in 2005 from the Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry in Tokyo, which offers a three-year master course in watchmaking, and he has been working as a teaching assistant at the college ever since.
