Watchmaking legend Christophe Claret has released another addition to his supremely successful gaming themed wristwatches. The Poker Watch is the third and most likely final installment in this series. To own a fully functional timepiece where you and up to two other friends can play Texas Hold ’em represents a cool factor that, to be honest, will be incredibly difficult to match. The Christophe Claret Poker Watch is the most complicated gaming themed timepiece bar none.
Its predecessor the Black Jack 21is based on a simpler game and was released first. The Poker Watch on the other hand offers the players a total of 98,304 possible combinations. Its closest rival, the GP Jackpot Watch, was equipped with a fully functional slot machine, which was capable of displaying only 125 possible outcomes (not bad for 2006).
The game is played on the dial and the cards are dealt by pressing one of the three actuators on the left hand side of the watch. The actuator at the 8 position releases the flop or the first three cards. The pusher at 9 reveals the 4th card or what is called the turn in Texas Hold ‘em parlance. Finally, the pushpiece at 10 delivers the river card or the 5th card, thus completing the game. At the positions where the players view their cards is a series of slats, which act as blinders for private viewing of the hand.
The case of the Christophe Claret Poker Watch is crafted from either 18kt white and titanium or rose gold and titanium. Like the previous releases in this series, the Poker Watch comes in a very masculine case size of 45mm. As a bit of an extra, Claret fits the poker mechanism with a chiming feature activated whenever the pushers controlling the game are pressed.
Powering this gent’s watch is the self-winding PCK05. This movement features a full 72 hours of reserve energy when fully wound. One of the nicest things about this timepiece is the style of the oscillating weight. The weight is in the form of a Roulette wheel. As the rotor loses momentum, it slows until it comes to rest at a number. As if that wasn’t enough, Christophe Claret imprints the sapphire crystal dial window with a depiction of a Las Vegas showgirl that is only visible when the wearer breathes heavily onto the crystal.
TAGS: Automatic Watches, Christophe Claret, Exhibition Case Back, Haute Horlogerie, Leather, Mechanical Watches, Men's Watches, Poker Watch, Power Reserve, Rose Gold, Sapphire Crystal, Selfwinding Watches, Swiss Made, Titanium Watches, White Gold