Rolex was one of the first to think about the bracelet as an element of watch design. In the 1930s, the brand introduced (and patented in 1947) a massive metal Oyster bracelet with three rows of flat links, which was later equipped with both professional watches and classic models. In 1956, a "presidential" bracelet was developed especially for the Day-Date watch: the links of a semicircular shape were in three rows in order. From the very beginning, Rolex made the decision to make such bracelets only from precious metals, gold or platinum. Actually, the Rolex President bracelet until recently was considered one of the few branded designer bracelets.
Another example is the recognizable link pattern in the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch - it is still used in both the men's and women's models of the brand.
1 of 3 President Bracelet, Rolex © Press Service Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, Rolex © Press Service Royal Oak Selfwinding 34 mm, Audemars Piguet © Press Service
This year, several watch brands presented new items with an original pattern of links, positioning the bracelet as a design feature, no less important than the shape of the bezel or the inscription of the indices. Breitling has renewed the line of popular sports watches Chronomat - the original of 1984 was released in the year of the centenary of the brand under the leadership of the then new owner Ernest Schneider. Not only the onion crown and digital bezel inserts were borrowed from the historical example, but also a rouleaux bracelet (from the French “roll, roller, rolling pin”), made up of round steel rods. Someone sees a similarity with the links-cartridges, packed in a kind of machine-gun belt. However, the look of the new watch cannot be called militaristic. “This is somewhat reminiscent of the Porsche 911,” says the current head of the company Georges Kern, “classic design,which develops over time, but retains its essence and recognition. If you draw parallels from music, then The Beatles and The Rolling Stones come to mind.
1 of 4 New Breitling bracelet © press service Chronomat B01 42mm, Breitling © press service Breitling Chronomat B01 42mm watch © press service Breitling Chronomat B01 42mm watch © press service
Montblanc also came up with a new bracelet. The company - the owner of its own tannery in Florence - generally pays a lot of attention to the appearance of belts. However, this time we are not talking about special leather in the sfumato shade or Nato-belts, handcrafted at the French manufacture Julien Faure. Undoubtedly, they lent incredible retro charm to the entire 1858 line, but in essence they did not quite fit the watch's serious research mission as a measuring instrument.
The new Geosphere 1858 in cold blue is equipped with a bimetallic bracelet, in which outer rectangles in satin-brushed titanium frame an action of "rice-grain" links made of polished steel. This is the first time Montblanc has seen this combination of design and materials. The one-button chronograph 1858 features a new bracelet pattern in steel.
1 of 3 New Montblanc Bracelet © Press Service Montblanc Geosphere 1858, Montblanc © Press Service Montblanc 1858 Monopusher Chronograph, Montblanc © Press Service
And a few more novelties with metal bracelets:
1 of 6 Santos de Cartier Watches, Cartier © Press Service Overseas QP Watches, Vacheron Constantin © Press Service Big Bang Integral Watches, Hublot © Press Service Octo Finissimo Steel, Bvlgari © Press Service Portugieser Yacht Club Moon Tide Chronograph, IWC © press service BR05 Automatic watches, Bell & Ross © press service>