There doesn’t seem to be much in common between Danish-style cosiness and watches. Men’s watches are usually about technology, sports, precision, toughness and money, and women’s watches are often about style and glitter. But there are a few that have a warmer, softer, cosier feel, mostly based on colour and materials that could have something in common with snuggling around a crackling fire in the depth of winter. This is an ongoing selection: the watches are in order of appearance, most recent first.
1. F.P. Journe Chronomètre Holland & Holland
The hygge appearance of the F.P. Journe Chronomètre Holland & Holland is due to the metal used to make the dial, coming from two antique guns by Holland & Holland. The Damascus barrels were cut along their length and then rolled flat, and sent to F.P. Journe’s dial makers, Les Cadraniers de Genève, who cut the blanks. These were sent back to Holland & Holland to be finished by “browning,” a traditional technique that enhances the unique Damascus patterns. The warm colour is enhanced by the brown alligator leather strap, and the rose gold hand-wound movement visible through the sapphire caseback. The watch is priced at €51,500 inclusive of tax. Read more here.
2. Chopard L.U.C Heritage Grand Cru
A glass of fine wine enjoyed direct in a cellar, with the mellow colours of the oak barrels enhanced by the unmissable smell of fermenting wine and Slavonian oak? Definitely hygge. It’s what inspired the L.U.C Heritage Grand Cru by Chopard, whose co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is a wine connoisseur. This tonneau-shaped watch has a lovely porcelain-style dial with antique printed markings in black with three red accents, framed by a pink gold case. There are stacked barrels inside this watch: two of them, holding the twin mainsprings that provide 65 hours power reserve. The lovely 97.01-L calibre is shaped like the watch, and ultra-thin. Price €21,970. Read more here.
3. Carl F. Bucherer Manero Peripheral
This watch by Carl F. Bucherer is hyggelig for the lovely dial made using chocolate-brown mother of pearl, giving it a beautiful mottled tobacco look: you can almost sense the rich tang of a good cigar. Bucherer describe it as a women’s watch, but it is virtually unisex: 40.5 mm diameter makes it OK for just about all wrists. It is enhanced by the alligator strap. Price $9,800. Read more here.
4. Anura Rafael Write Time tourbillon watch and fountain pen
Writing letters is hyggelig in today’s electronically-dominated age, and Write Time by Anura Rafael has enough leather to provide a touch of hygge. Write Time is a tourbillon watch that can be converted into a fountain pen, showing the time on digital displays under the massive sapphire glass pen-top. It costs 245,000 Swiss francs. Read more here.
5. IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII Edition Antoine de Saint Exupéry
This Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII by IWC has a chocolate brown dial and a brown calfskin strap by Santoni, with orange lining and white stitching. Another feature of this watch is the price: this is an IWC entry-level piece at €4,600, low enough to give you a hyggelig feeling at least when compared with most IWC watches. Read more here.
6. Zenith Pilot Type 20 Extra Special 40 mm
This petite 40mm version of the Zenith Pilot Type 20 Extra Special is suitable for all wrists, and most importantly, women’s wrists. It is available in several colour options, and the most hyggelig is this version with burgundy dial, and matching leather strap, It’s practical as well as hyggelig, with a water resistance of 100 metres, and good visibility in low lighting provided by the numerals entirely in SuperLuminova. Price €5,900. Read more here.
7. Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition
The 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter is a piece with a 44mm case in satinated bronze, a material that develops a unique patina over time. This in itself gives it a touch of hygge, enhanced by the design based on the original 1930s Minerva chronograph, with sunray-finish champagne dial, Arabic numerals, and large cathedral hands with beige SuperLuminova. The hyggelig effect is completed by the distinctive crown, with its deep fluting and onion shape, and the monopusher at the centre. The strap is in cognac alligator. Price €27,500. Read more here.
8. Bell & Ross BR-X1 Instrument de Marine Skeleton Chronograph
The Bell & Ross BR-X1 Skeleton Chronograph is based on a marine theme, with a case made of bronze and rosewood. The overall impression is determined by the rich textures of the wood harmonizing with the warm colour of the bronze components and the brown alligator strap. The pushers on the right-hand side of the case are more “rockers” than pushers, mitigating the un-hygge technical, sporty look of chronographs with the usual two piston-type pushers. Price €23,000. Read more here.
9. Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti Limited Edition
This watch, presented in May 2016, is unique for its leather dial, more specifically Berluti’s signature Venezia leather with its famous patina. It’s a cross between Swiss watchmaking and traditional shoe-making. The version shown here has a strap with 18th-century-style calligraphy, tobacco-coloured leather that dial, and a case and bezel with the warm shades of Hublot’s King Gold. Price 27,900 Swiss francs.
