Whatever we know about poker, we largely learned from watching Casino Royale. That’s not a lot. But the general idea is in wearing a “poker face” to mask emotions like panic, while wearing a watch that gets all the attention to make the former easier to effect. To be a shark, one must look it, at least.

Franck Muller Vanguard Gravity

It’s only conventional looking at first glance. After that, the elliptical tourbillon cage does its magic, the way something a little out of alignment or off-centre compels the viewer to be obsessed about it. One cannot help but stare.

Richard Mille Tourbillon Evil Eye

Richard Mille is an old hand at translating futuristic technologies into its timepieces. For the gambler, it has also gone to the other extreme, into the past, for the “evil eye” that is quite prevalent in ancient times from various cultures. Gambling is heavily shrouded in superstition and luck; the Tourbillon Evil Eye then is a tabletop nuke to spook all opponents held in its dreadful gaze. With a 50-hour power reserve, it is good to play for more than two whole days – are you game?

Zenith Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage II

The myriad displays exert a hypnotic effect; steampunk classy and  sophisticated, one already looks a winner regardless of the hand fate has dealt. An archaic fusée-and-chain mechanism ensures constant force transmission, while a gyroscopic module keeps the escapement permanently in the horizontal position. While the El Primero beating heart moves at a super-fast frequency, make sure yours stays calm as a clam.

U-Boat Flightdeck 925 Elementium

The 50mm sterling silver case alone is eye catching enough, but just in case, fissures have been drilled into the chassis, and 204 diamonds set into the cracks (brown and black). The cracks even extend to the leather strap, to an effect reminiscent of ruptured tarmac. Comes with a carbon fibre dial for even more in-your-face badassery.

Story Credits

Text by Yeo Suan Futt

Styling by Ong Weisheng

Photography by GreenPlasticSoldierS

This story was first published in World of Watches.