SINGAPORE - This is a regular series featuring the latest news in watches and all things horological.

A Cartier x Singapore Watch Club collaboration

The Singapore Watch Club (SWC) is turning six in October. To mark the occasion, it has collaborated with French luxury house Cartier to release 18 special-edition timepieces.

This is a departure from SWC's usual practice of working with luxury watchmakers - which include Hublot and Ulysse Nardin - to produce just one special-edition model a year.

Besides timeless designs, Cartier timepieces are well-known for their unique shapes.

This collaboration hones in on six of the brand's icons: Cloche (bell), Tonneau (barrel), Santos Dumont (square), Tank Asymetrique (parallelogram), Tank Cintree (curved) and Tank Louis Cartier (rectangle). Together, they represent the six years of SWC, which now boasts about 150 members and associates.

There are three models - representing SWC's core values of passion, sincerity and humility - for each shape.

SWC founder Tom Chng, 32, says: "We wanted to have a range of different shapes, at different price points and for different purposes. Some shapes are more artistic than others, some are more wearable for day to day. Every piece is unique."

Talks for the collaboration started two years ago. "Brainstorming started in April 2020, with the first design draft rendered four months later. The watches went into production in February last year," Mr Chng says.

All the models have a unifying design element: a classic Cartier Roman layout, set against a vintage-inspired brushed dial. The silver dial and the blue minute track don the SWC's colours.

The club's signature is discreetly tucked within the minute track, just above the six o'clock numeral - a wink to Cartier's penchant for and tradition of hidden features.

To mark SWC's sixth anniversary, the VI numeral has also been rotated upright.

Prices range from $20,000 to $50,000, depending on the shape and material. The cheapest is the Tank Louis Cartier in gold, and the most expensive is the Cloche in platinum. All the models have been snapped up by SWC members.

Bvlgari's Octo Finissimo is world's thinnest watch

Oops, they did it again.

The watchmaking team at Bvlgari has set yet another world record - its eighth in as many years - in ultra-thin watchmaking for the Octo Finissimo.

The latest incarnation - the Octo Finissimo Ultra - is officially the thinnest mechanical timepiece in the world, with the entire cased watch measuring just 1.8mm thick. It has snatched the title from the 2mm-thick Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept watch launched four years ago.

The triumph caps the Octo Finissimo's previous record-breaking feats, which include the thinnest minute repeater, tourbillon and perpetual calendar.

Bvlgari's chief watch designer Fabrizio Buonamassa said the brand pulled out all the stops to create the Octo Finissimo Ultra.

Sandblasted titanium was used to fashion the case middle and bezel, while tungsten carbide - a potently resistant alloy of carbon and tungsten - was used for the caseback and main plate assembly.

Developing the watch - which boasts an open worked dial and holds eight patent applications - took three years.

Its many unique features include a QR code engraved on the barrel's ratchet wheel, which is linked to an exclusive non-fungible token artwork, and running seconds driven by a rotating disk.

The 40mm timepiece sports a monochromatic grey look and integrated bracelet. Measuring just 1.5mm in height, the movement comprises 170 components offering 50 hours of power reserve.

Released just in time for the 10th anniversary of the Octo range, the Octo Finissimo Ultra is limited to 10 pieces and costs a cool €400,000 (S$598,000).

Longines launches the Spirit Zulu Time

Longines, which has a storied history making aviation timepieces, has added a new watch to its Spirit collection - one featuring multiple time zones.

The Longines Spirit Zulu Time is inspired by the brand's first dual time-zone wristwatch, manufactured in 1925. That watch featured the Zulu flag on its dial (Zulu for the letter Z, which is used to designate universal time for the aviation community).

There are six models, with all the watches boasting a jumping local 12-hour hand. In horological parlance, this feature marks the collection's pieces as "true" GMT watches.

The movement for the 42mm Longines Spirit Zulu Time is the L844.4, which is chronometer-certified and has a power reserve of 72 hours.

It is a handsome watch, with a bezel enhanced with a coloured ceramic insert and SuperLumiNova-coated hands and numerals.

Dial colour options include matte black, sandblasted anthracite and sunray blue. The steel case comes with an interchangeable steel bracelet or leather strap in brown, beige or blue.

Price: $4,260 to $4,420

Documentary about watchmaking and time

Home-grown watch retailer The Hour Glass is the executive producer of Keeper Of Time, the first feature documentary about mechanical watchmaking, the history of horology and the very concept of time.

The film, directed by Michael Culyba, chronicles the stories of four of the most influential independent watchmakers today - Philippe Dufour, Francois-Paul Journe, Roger W. Smith and Max Busser.

Culyba is a New York-based documentary editor and Keeper Of Time is his directorial debut. To maintain creative control, he raised funds for the film through crowd-funding website Kickstarter.

The documentary will premiere on April 28 at the SVA Theatre in New York and is available for streaming worldwide the day after.

Tickets for the virtual screenings are on sale here.