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In 2009 the strikingly different and innovative Contagiri from Giuliano Mazzuoli won the Dutch Horloges magazine’s ‘Watch of the Year Award’, in one of the men’s watches category. What makes Giuliano Mazzuoli watches so unique is that their design is based on a pressure gauge found on cars and machines. To say that Giuliano Mazzuoli likes auto racing and racing cars is perhaps an understatement. But it is this passion that has been used to help others.

Mazzuoli describes the moment he received the first prototype of the Contagiri: “When I received the first prototype of ‘Contagiri’ I felt a strong desire to show it to someone that I have always admired and that like me, really loves auto racing.”

That person he was referring to is Paul Newman, another man renowned for his passion for cars and racing. Mazzuoli got to meet Newman, and to give Newman his dream watch. Paul Newman wanted to auction the watch for his foundation: Hole in the Wall Camps. Giuliano Mazzuoli went a step further and provided 25 watches for auction.

Hole in the Wall Camps provides children with serious illnesses a medically safe but at the same time a magical environment of fun and adventure away from the realities of hospital beds and doctors’ offices they are often so used to. These camps are the work of Paul Newman, and they are also made possible by thousands of volunteers and generous donors. So far, over 114 000 children from 33 countries have attended 11 of these camps, free of charge.

Individualists demand excellence, exclusivity and choice, and for the very same reason, luxury watchmaking firms are always busy creating some unusual, out of the world wrist watches for the elite individuals. A luxury watch usually says a lot about the monetary and social status of its owner. If you love to spend your hard earned money on an unusual luxury wrist watch, we present to you some of the most extraordinary watches of all time.
• Hublot’s Black Caviar Bang

The $1 million Caviar Bang comes festooned with a 18k white gold case and clasp with hundreds of precision cut black diamonds, totaling to 34.5 total carats. There are 322 diamonds on the case, 179 on the bezel, and 30 on the clasp. The one million dollar watch has only one visible feature, which is the black and deep tones of the diamonds, shining in their harmonious alignment. The watch features a special Hub Solo T tourbillon movement that symbolizes the fusion between watchmaking and jewelry. More
• Day & Night watch

The Day and Night watch, which doesn’t tell the time but just day or night was snapped up within 48 hrs of its launch by watch fanatics. The Day and Night watch uses the complicated tourbillon movement, invented to overcome Earth’s gravity that used to affect the accuracy of watches, which lures watch connoisseurs as well as fashion aficionados. More 

• Maîtres du Temps’ Chapter One

Created by master watchmakers Christophe Claret, Peter Speake-Marin and Roger Dubuis, Chapter One is a world first combination of complications comprising a tourbillion, mono-pusher chronograph, retrograde date, retrograde GMT and two idiosyncratic rolling bars, indicating the day of the week and phase of the moon. The laser-pierced moon and stars on the outer roller of the moon phase indication add to its stellar elegance. More

• MB&F’s Horological Machines

There are two stunning Horological Machines No3 (HM3) watch designs named Sidewinder and Starcruiser. Both the models have some visual distinctiveness and each presents its own angle while telling the time. Hour and day/night indicator is on one sapphire cone and the Minutes indicator is on the second cone. The most striking feature of these two MB&F models is the movement with automatic rotor, which is upside down. It means you don’t have to turn your wristwatch over to boast its most appealing element. More

• Moon Dust-DNA collection

The “Moon Dust-DNA” collection includes watches made from moon dust, parts of the Apollo 11 rocket and bits of spacesuits. The dials of the new watches will feature tiny craters, with dust in them from the moon rock. Steel from the Apollo 11 space shuttle will be used for the case while the strap will use fibers from a spacesuit that was worn during the ISS mission. More

• Hublot’s Big Bang

The $1 million Big Bang boasts a fully invisible setting that makes the material disappear and the only thing revealed are the diamonds. The credit goes to the craftsmen who accomplished the tedious job of making this exclusive watch, which was not feasible a few years ago. Startlingly, the tourbillon movement of the watch is veiled under 493 Top Wesselton baguette diamonds of dissimilar sizes. More

• Titanic-DNA watches

The Titanic-DNA watches have been made from the hull of the doomed Titanic. The metal has been mixed with contemporary shipbuilding steel to make the casing of the timepieces. The black dials have been made by mixing the recovered coal burned in the Titanic’s furnaces with ceramics. More

• Vacheron Constantin’s Quai de I’lle

Dubbed the Quai de I’lle, the watch features invisible UV marking, laser perforations, high-security inks, and other techniques employed to secure passports and currencies. Some of the models available in this watch collection tout tiny text on the dials, which can be read only with the help of a magnifying glass. Wall Street Journal

• Ulysse Nardin Tellurium J. Kepler

Depending on which part of the globe you live, you can order a Ulysse Nardin Tellurium J. Kepler showing Earth as seen from the North or South Pole. Sitting in any part of the world, you can know which part of the Earth has daylight and which is wrapped in darkness. The watch is divided in two parts where one part rotates once in a year and the other shows when there will be a solar or a lunar eclipse. More

• DeWitt Concept No. 1

This gothic pirate spaceship of a watch does set new standards for steampunk artifacts with its expanding riveted case, flying tourbillon, five barrels and a 21 day power reserve. The flying tourbillon has been employed to counteract the force of gravity and keep the watch accurate. More

• Cabestan Winch Tourbillion Vertical Watch

The Steampunk-ish Cabestan Winch Tourbillion Vertical Watch is such a stunning creation that you’ll forget that it actually tells the time. It has 1,352 components all working together, driven by a 450 link chain and nickel silver drums. Two rotating drums indicate the time, while further drums show power reserves. More

• Hysek Colosso

Hysek Colosso watch gives you the liberty to watch the Earth spin right on your wrist. It features a 12mm three dimensional globe that sits at 12 o’clock. The movement is implemented by a cathedral timbre and 62 jewels with a 48 hour power reserve. Featuring a big date at 12 o’clock, it also displays an indication of the cities of the 24 time zones linked to the GMT.

The New Cartier Captive watch model was presented during the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2010.

The model is stunning with the 35 mm to 55 mm (depending on the model size) 18-k white gold dial, covered with rhodium. The smaller version is made with just one blued steel hand (for the hours – you can tell the time within 10 minute precision), while the larger version has two hands.

And as usual, the dial has no lack of diamonds. They are on the Cartier Captive watch bezel and on the dial’s perimeter as well. Moreover, the “numbers” on the dial are made of 3 karat diamonds.

Case aperture serves as a bracelet’s bracing. This affect brings some pocket watch notes to the Cartier Captive design. The light-grey canvas material bracelet is elegant enough the wear it with the 18-k white gold snap.

Sapphire glass will prevent Cartier Captive from mechanic damage. And 30 meter water resistance is a good reason for a pleasant sail sing. Inside the watch you’ll find the quartz movement.