Today we turn our attention to gold models, with two novelties in red gold from IWC and Montblanc.

IWC celebrate 75 years of their pilot’s watches this year and have therefore put a strong emphasis on pilot’s watches for their 2012 collection. The Top Gun line, launched in 2007 and named after the prestigious US Navy Fighter Weapons School, sees five new models with various complications, including an unusual moon phase that shows the phases of the moon in both the northern and southern hemispheres simultaneously.

The Spitfire collection, which was first introduced in 2003 and is named after the legendary British fighter plane, has been given a complete overhaul for 2012 and welcomes a new chronograph model and a perpetual calendar model that shows the date and month digitally.

Montblanc continues its homage to the inventor of the chronograph, Nicolas Rieussec, in the year in which the device celebrates its 120th anniversary. The latest model to bear the inventor’s name on its dial, the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Open Hometime, uses five different rotating discs – two to display the elapsed time, one for the date (3 o’clock), one for a day/night display (9 o’clock) and one to display “home time”.

The Open Hometime chronograph is powered by the Montblanc MBR210 self-winding calibre with twin barrels that offer a 72-hour power reserve. In addition to the rotating discs to display the elapsed time, which are tribute to the design of Rieussec’s original ink chronograph, other features unique to Montblanc on this movement include special toothing on the gear train for more efficient power transmission and a travel function that allows fast setting – forwards or backwards – of the hour hand and date display.

In celebration of the anniversary of the chronograph, Montblanc also have a competition running until 20 January on “The beauty of a second”. To enter, just post a video of your most beautiful second via the special website www.montblanc-onesecond.com. Renowned movie director Wim Wenders will select the winner.