Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin has just taken the covers off the movement inside the Mars Conqueror, a wristwatch that will local time on Mars, as well as the position of the Red Planet relative to Earth, along with a host of other Martian time and calendar displays.

Slated to be officially unveiled at Baselworld 2019, the Mars Conqueror will be powered by an automatic ETA 2836-2 base movement, topped by a 159-part, triangular complications plate that is entirely Mr Chaykin’s own. The Mars Conqueror is not the first wristwatch of its kind, however, having been pipped by the creations of Los Angeles watchmaker Garo Anserlian, who produced simple, low-cost Martian time watches for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover in 2004.

The watch will show local time on Earth, as well as a second, Earthly time zone, on its central dial. Martian time is indicated on one sub-dial, and the relative positions of Mars and Earth are on the other sub-dial.

The watch will also show the Martian date  in sols, a unit of measurement that’s a Martian solar day, or the time it takes the Sun to return to the same position. Fortunately, the date on Earth is also displayed on the watch, along with the terrestrial month.

The calendar functions can be set via pushers, while the crown adjusts both Earth and Martian time, either together or just Martian time individually.

More will be revealed in March next year when Baselworld 2019 opens.

Now the world’s fastest growing label amongst the world’s major luxury brands – revenue in the first half of 2018 was up 44.1% – Gucci’s stellar performance is credited to the quirky and occasionally irreverent aesthetic of its creative director Alessandro Michele. While Mr Michele was part of Gucci’s watch development before, insiders say he is now much more involved with timepiece design.

Mr Michele’s styling, which often has a dose of retro, is evident in the two dual time zone automatics in the line-up. The first is the G-Timeless GMT that was unveiled last year. While the name is somewhat clumsy, the watch is appealingly proportioned and surprisingly elegant, with a case of 40mm that’s relatively slim. The case is steel and simple in form, available either with a polished finish or a matte black PVD coating.

In the metal the case is notably more appealing, and better made, than the first generation G-Timeless automatic watches, though it’s still relatively lightweight.

Overall subtle in style, the watch stands out with its dial detailing. The dial repeats a motif Mr Michele has applied to other watches in the G-Timeless line, with applied hour markers in the form of stars, bees and a single heart at seven. The second time zone hand takes the form of a red, black and white banded coral snake.

While the dial is the best part of the watch, the hands are its biggest weakness. Both the hour and minute hand are shorter than they should be, both falling short of the hour and minute markers.

It’s powered by an ETA 2893, which is an ETA 2892 with the addition of a second hour hand. On the black PVD version the rotor is coated in matte black to match the case.

All G-Timeless GMTs are delivered with a single-fold clasp.

Launched only just this year is the Eryx GMT, named after a species of snake. These feature striking guilloche dial stamped with geometric patterns – reminiscent of De Bethune’s hand-engraved creations – along with the signature serpent second time zone hand.

Fitted to alligator skin “Bund” style cuff straps, the Eryx GMT is also 40mm in diameter, and powered by the ETA 2892, and available with in either yellow gold plate or steel.

Price and availability 

Already available in stores, the G-Timeless GMT in steel (ref. YA126332) is US$2200, while the model in black PVD (ref. YA126333) is US$2430.

The Eryx GMT in gold plate (ref. YA126342) is priced at US$2650, while the steel version (ref. YA126344) is US$2500. Both will only be available later in the year.