At Arnold & Son, 'TB' stands for 'true beat', which is a rather peculiar way of referencing an interesting mechanical complication known as a 'dead beat' seconds hand. The notion began long ago, but was mostly forgotten by the general public until it was revived by the quartz watch in the late 1960s, as people became accustomed to the fact that quartz watches have seconds hands that 'tick', and mechanical watches have seconds hands that 'sweep'. That is not universally true.

It has been our pleasure in the past to discuss Breguet’s historic Reine de Naples watch for women – based on what many people agree was the very first wristwatch design. The iconic egg-shaped timepiece spans a unique space between jewellery and horology that always appears unmistakably regal. If there was ever an “un-casual” women’s watch, it is the Reine de Naples.

Still young brand, Laurent Ferrier has many of the hallmarks we would attribute to an old name watch maker, and yet it is a name we would never hesitated to recommend. Mr. Ferrier himself is a purist watch maker with a penchant for elegance – his timepieces seem to fit snugly into the same aesthetic category as the hand-made coaches that consistently win Concors d'Elegances the world over. It is a beauty most recognised by aficionados, but easily appreciated by everyone else. 

Fashion house, cosmetics maker, timepiece producer and artisan atelier are among Chanel's many hats. Now, the powerful Parisian brand has produced an extremely limited set of hand-decorated timepieces for 2013 in its classy Mademoiselle Privé collection, inspired by the art and scenery of Asia. Among these watches are the Mademoiselle Privé Coromandel hand-painted pieces, as well as the flower-inspired Petals Camelia and Origami models.

The Panerai Reference PAM00446 (PAM446) is a rare pocket watch creation from the Italian luxury watchmaker (in fact, it’s the very first pocket watch they’ve released). Famous for their larger, elegantly styled dive watches based on historic designs made for the Italian Navy, Panerai is a cult watch favourite now with a new complicated pocket with tourbillon movement available for the brand’s most dedicated collectors.

Unlike in the past, jewels and gold are no longer the recipe to producing the most interesting watches. Now, brands must impress by including exotic materials, techniques and complications in their most exclusive timepieces – and such embellishments were everywhere at premier watch and jewellery show Baselworld this April. Here are the top five we spotted.

The traditional pilot watch is an extremely distinct form of vintage timepiece given its utility-driven purpose: typically worn in-flight (usually over a jacket) as a primary or secondary timekeeper. Continuing the celebration of their aviation history, for 2013 Swiss Zenith watches tops their Pilot collection with a tourbillon chronograph version of the Monte d’Aéronef Type 20.