It has been a long time since Patek Philippe gave us a skeletonized watch, and the Ref. 5180/1 showcased at this year’s Baselworld is definitely well worth the wait.

Featuring an ultra-thin self-winding caliber 240 movement with a 22K gold mini-rotor integrated into the plate, this watch is simply a joy to behold.

To fully appreciate a skeletonized watch, try imagining the number of days, hours, and minutes it takes to painstakingly chip away the dial, plates, bridges, and cocks to their bare minimun, and still achieve a fully functional timepiece.

Luxury watchmakers are well positioned to escape a possible slowdown in consumer spending as they target wealthy customers who are increasingly willing to splash out on extravagant and unique watches.

Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome’s “Day&Night” watch — which does not tell the time, only whether it is night or day — sold out within 48 hours of its launch earlier this year as watch fanatics snapped up the $300,000 timepiece.

GIORGIO ARMANI is among the designers who will be launching limited edition watches to celebrate the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 later this month. Designed exclusively for the launch, the designer is unveiling three new designs that will be sold at the terminal’s World Duty Free store.

The designs, which include an Emporio Armani Gentleman’s stainless steel watch and two Emporio Armani ladies watches, will sit alongside five new watches from Burberry Endurance and Michael Kors, as well as designsfrom Breil, Sekonda, Toy Watch and Casio G-shock.