Say 'Audemars Piguet' and the first thing that comes to mind is the Royal Oak - or if you own a pair of faded jeans, the Royal Oak Offshore. As is well-documented, the Royal Oak was Audemars Piguet's final lifeline, its saviour from the onslaught of cheap Japanese watches in the early 1970s. Fairly or unfairly, it has become the brand's flagship piece, an iconic design penned by an iconic designer for the iconic watchmaker.

If there's one thing watch enthusiasts share a love for, it's the supercar. Whether powerful or beautiful, designed to stick to a track or swoop through the French Riviera, a supercar is—like watchmaking—engineering with soul, passion and excitement. We take a visit to the headquarters of VVS sports and prestige automobiles to sample three of recent history's finest.

When you’re looking for the watch that’s right for you, it’s easy to be swept up in the hype of those top few default choices. Say you’ve set your heart on a chronograph; chances are your shortlist may contain a Speedmaster or a Daytona. Both superb watches, no doubt about that, but there are others that you might not know about—and they’re equally worth consideration.

It seems that there’s a new high-end luxury company emerging every day, making diamond-covered mobile phones or clothes made out of crocodile faces or perhaps even yachts that turn into helicopters. It’s the clock-radio industry of the modern elite, creating desirability by combing two things that already exist to invent something that doesn’t—and more importantly, that you don’t already have. It’s no wonder, then, that so many of these brands disappear almost as fast as they materialise, so what does it take to stick around?