Given the kind of warm-toned, classical opulence that characterises the restaurants, hotels and homes that Mr Martin Brudnizki has designed all over the world – his recent work includes Fortnum & Mason in Hong Kong, Annabel’s in London and Mr Andrew Carmellini’s latest Manhattan restaurant Carne Mare – it’s hardly surprising that his watch choices rather follow suit.

Offered the chance to build a fantasy collection from MR PORTER’s luxury watch selection, rose gold figures in all three selections – as does an attention to detail and versatility. “I like to create something that’s classic,” he says. “You look back to look forward, and classic lasts so much longer than something that’s simply of the moment.”

Brudnizki’s horological pride and joy is a gold Breguet dress watch – highly classical but, as he says, “it works with everything. My work is a lot about layering, building an architectural framework of colour and texture, and a watch is a big part of that. It’s one of the layers and it’s part of everything you wear, so it needs to be right.”

“Cartier as a brand is so special. I gave a Cartier watch to my boyfriend for his birthday, and in some ways it’s something you can just never go wrong with. It’ll never be naff, it’ll always have that classical, elegant feel – if you’re not sure what you want, go for Cartier.

And the Ballon Bleu is this very interesting design that works with everything. There are fascinating little details like the way the winding crown is recessed, which works wonderfully. And on the bracelet, you can dress it up or dress it down – it’s an all day and all night watch.”

“This is another watch that works for everything. It’s a travel watch, with two faces that you can set to different times for different time zones – but that’s not what I like about it. In fact, when I travel, I never change the hands on my watch anyway – it stays on London time, while my phone can give me the local time.

But what I like about this Reverso is the way it changes mood. You have the white background during the day, and then like James Bond you flip it, and you’re dressed smartly at night with the black dial. You can suddenly be formal, and what a way to do it.

I usually prefer round watches, but this one just has so many interesting details. It’s ingenious.”

“This is my nighttime watch, with the moon phase on show to inspire nocturnal pursuits. This shows all the calendar indications, but it’s the gold moon phase that entices me. We moved to the Sussex countryside last year, away from the light pollution, so the moon is so strong there.

This really makes me think of that and also of growing up in Sweden. Another thing there is the fact that brass is the predominant colour in anything decorative or interesting – silver or stainless steel aren’t around in the same way. It’s why I like warm colours, and certainly gold for watches – it has a softness, and that’s very Scandinavian. So the golden glow of the moon in a beautiful gold watch – that’s special to me.”