10 crushworthy watches at Baselworld 2013
If you fancy gorgeous designs, intricate movements, or off-the-wall concepts, there's something for all tastes at the annual Swiss watch fair.
Don't you just love looking at luxury items you'll never be able to afford? The timepieces on display at Swiss watch fiesta Baselworld can carry price tags that will give you a nosebleed, but they also showcase stunning feats of craftsmanship.
Baselworld 2013 opens to the public Thursday, and aside from the oodles of gorgeous timepieces, the 41st edition of the fair is showing a glittering new exhibition hall redesigned by architects Herzog & de Meuron, who did Beijing's famous "Bird's Nest" arena.
Luxury brands from Hermes to TAG Heuer have swanky booths designed by prominent architects such as Japan's Toyo Ito, winner of the 2013 Pritzker Prize.
It's all to present the world's greatest watches in their best light.
Some of the most intriguing pieces unveiled at Baselworld 2013 include the liquid-filled Ressence Type 3, above, which encloses rotating hour, minute, second, and day displays under a sapphire crystal. There are no hands per se, and no crown.
The discs orbit in a bubble of clear synthetic oil. The stuff refracts light like air, so the indicators appear to be part of the crystal itself, which seems to be moving.
"The face of the watch is constantly changing in the same way that a human face is transformed by each passing emotion," Ressence says of its design.
Check out other craveworthy creations from Baselworld in the gallery below.
