By Allen Farmelo, Carol Besler, Paige Reddinger, Oren Hartov, Victoria Gomelsky, Cait Bazemore, Nick Scott, Justin Fenner
Watches & Wonders, the world’s largest watch show, is in full swing in Geneva. The highly anticipated cascade of new releases is marked by confident individual brand identities—perhaps a sign that watchmakers are done scrambling through the violent collision of restricted supply and soaring demand for high end watches. All seem to be back on solid footing.
Steady confidence is a good thing. Consider Jaeger-LeCoultre offering up traditionally styled grand complications or Vacheron Constantin revamping the classic Patrimony with smaller cases and vintage-inspired radially brushed dials. Consider TAG Heuer celebrating the 55th anniversary of the square Monaco with a skeletonised flyback confidently priced at US$183,000 (HK$1.4 million), or Moser similarly showing off a fascinating skeletonised tourbillon in its distinctive 40 mm Streamliner at US$86,900 (HK$681,050).
IWC has leaned hard into their traditionally styled Portugieser line, including an astounding Eternal Calendar complication. We find the storied French houses of Cartier, Chanel, and Hermès blurring the lines between jewellery and watchmaking with the technical prowess and artistic whimsy that originally earned these brands their exalted place in the hearts and minds of sophisticated aesthetes. Confidence abounds in 2024.
We could go on and on with examples, but the watches below will demonstrate that for 2024, the big watch brands dared to be themselves, which appears to have given them the confidence to take some seriously compelling horological risks. We have separate coverage of off-show releases and, of course, Patek and Rolex, so keep an eye out for those.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen
Having set benchmarks in horological statecraft and finishing techniques, A. Lange & Söhne proceeded in 2010 to take the concept of illuminating the dial to the next level by introducing Lumen. It has since applied the concept to only five models, all complications, and all made in limited editions, the last one being the Zeitwerk Honeygold in 2021. The new Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen is the sixth in the Lumen series, and only the second in Honeygold, the brand’s proprietary gold alloy (four of the six models have been platinum).
Lumen works by light-powered technology. The dial plate is made of a sapphire crystal that is tinted just enough to allow light to pass through and pre-energise the readings, which are coated in a luminous pigment. A special coating on the crystal filters out most of the visible light, but not the part of the UV spectrum that is needed to charge the luminous compound with enough light energy to keep them glowing uniformly in the dark. The luminous compound is applied to the disks of the day, date, month, and chronograph subdials, and together, those coatings are so intense that the glow is strong enough to cast light onto the minute and tachymeter scales as well. The disks of the date window are also completely coated, and a fun sideshow is that you can see the disks move at midnight because they appear in shadow behind the sapphire. The hour, minute, and seconds hands are also treated with a luminous compound, and in a final flourish, so are the stars and moon in the sky of the moon-phase disk.
This is one of Lange’s most prestigious complications, combining a tourbillon escapement with a hacking seconds, flyback chronograph with jumping minute counter, and perpetual calendar with big date. It contains the manually wound calibre L952.4, decorated on every surface, with black polish, polished gold chatons, blued screws, engraved balance cock, and Glashütte stripes. This movement was introduced in 2016. The Lumen version is limited to 50 pieces.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up Down
It has been 25 years since A. Lange & Söhne introduced its celebrated premium chronograph, the Datograph, and to mark the occasion, the German firm is offering 125 lucky people a chance to own a model in 18-carat white gold with a first-ever blue dial. The original Datograph movement, the L951.1, has served as the basis for the brand’s current catalog of 13 models with a chronograph function. It’s a column-wheel chrono with a flyback function, a jumping hand totalising 30 minutes on the 3 o’clock subdial, and the typical Lange big date at 12 o’clock. The Datograph Up/Down, launched in 2012 with the calibre L951.6, increased the power reserve from 36 to 60 hours.
“Up/Down” refers to the unique power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock. It indicates the fully wound AUF (up) status and AB (down) status of the movement, at which point the hand will pivot to the red section, indicating it’s time to wind the watch. If you can’t get your hands on one of the 125 pieces of this blue Datograph Up Down, it’s good to know the model is still available in a platinum and pink-gold with black dials.
Cartier Tortue Privé Time-Only and Chronograph
For the 8th annual edition of its Cartier Privé collection—an ultra-exclusive line dedicated to the reintroduction of archival heroes—the house has introduced new Tortue models. First introduced at the house in 1912, it was originally referred to as the “tortue à pattes” (tortoise on paws) for its curvy case and lugs. It was revisited decades later in Cartier’s CPCP collection—also a tribute line to past treasured releases that ran roughly from 1998 to 2008. Now the manufacture is bringing back this curvy model in a series of five iterations, two of which are monopusher chronographs.
There are some subtle updates to distinguish the new models from their ancestors, however. The time-only editions have a slimmer profile and are lighter. The monopusher chronograph was first introduced in 1928 and later reintroduced in 1998. Today, it still has the blued-steel apple-shaped hands, a hollowed central seconds hand, and it also features rhodium-plated Roman numerals and bevelled springs and bridges. These are true connoisseur pieces for the rare Cartier savants.
Cartier Santos
Everyone’s favourite Parisian jeweller has prepared an embarrassment of Santos de Cartier references for this year’s edition of Watches & Wonders. First up is the new Dual Time, a large-sized model (40.2mm) in steel on either a matching bracelet or an anthracite-coloured alligator leather strap with the maison’s QuickSwitch interchangeable system and folding buckle. The Santos de Cartier, with its origins as an early-20th century pilot’s watch—albeit an extremely dressy one, by today’s standards—is made even more utilitarian and toolish by the addition of a combination 12-hour dial and day-night indicator above 6 o’clock that indicates a second time zone, plus an obligatory date window at 3 o’clock. Featuring Cartier’s classic faceted, synthetic blue spinel crown, a satin-finish anthracite grey sunray dial, and rhodium-finished, luminescent hands, it’s a handy addition to a collection that’s been around for well over a century.
If you’d prefer a simple time-only variant of the Santos de Cartier, you’ve got a few new options: First, a medium model (35.1mm) in steel with a matching bracelet or a brown alligator leather strap; a synthetic blue spinel crown; and a beautiful, satin-finished, graduated brown sunray dial with polished, luminescent steel sword hands. Want it in a large version? It’s available in a 30.8mm case with the same mix of metal and dial—but then there’s also a two-tone version with a steel case, yellow gold dial, and an anthracite grey dial; plus a fully yellow gold version with a brown sunburst dial and either a matching bracelet or a brown leather alligator strap. All versions feature 100m of water resistance, but the medium versions have no date, whereas the large versions have a date window at 6 o’clock.
Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind
Continuing the Santos theme, we’ve got several beautiful new Santos Dumont references on ours hands, the first of which will no doubt blow your mind: The new Rewind, in the collection’s large size (31.5 mm), is a 200-piece limited edition in platinum with a ruby cabochon crown; a carnelian dial; rhodium-finished, apple-shaped hands; and an inverted set of applied Roman numeral indices that ascend counter-clockwise around the dial. Why? The manually-wound 230 MC movement actually tells the time backwards. Why? Ostensibly, it’s a celebration of Brazilian Santos-Dumont’s pioneering spirit. To us, it’s just dope.
Cartier Santos Arabic Numeral
If reading a watch dial backwards just isn’t your bag, baby, then feast your eyes on these three handsome models with coloured dials and cases. First up is a rose-gold version with striking, peacock blue lacquer, a matching dial, and a semi-matte blue alligator leather strap with a rose-gold buckle. Next is platinum-cased reference with olive green lacquer on the bezel, plus a matching green sunray dial with applied Arabic indices, sword hands, and a green alligator leather strap with a platinum buckle. And lastly, we have a yellow gold version with taupe grey lacquer, a matching, satin-finish grey dial with applied Arabic indices, and a matte grey alligator leather strap with a gold pin buckle. While the green platinum version is limited to 200 pieces, the two gold editions appear to be regular catalogue models… for now.
Reflection de Cartier
Cartier has long been a lover of illusion. Take for instance its highly collectible Mystère clocks, where the clock face appears to float within its frame, or the groundbreaking Masse Mysterieuse timepiece, where the entire movement, which doubled as a rotor, seemed to spin mid-air on the wrist. Now the maison is delivering the same trompe l’œil effect on its latest jewellery timepiece, Reflection de Cartier—a diamond-accented open cuff with one tip accented with a timepiece and the other with a mirror, so that the time may be viewed either way you put it on. The “body” of the bracelet is decorated with a combination of snow-set and inverted diamonds. While all of the four iterations of this piece are lust-worthy, the pieces set with multiple precious stones and diamonds, however, including the emerald, chrysoprase, and Paraíba version (pictured), are the ultimate collector pieces of the lot.
Cartier Animals
In a departure from its perennial Panthère motif, the house focused on another creature this season, the crocodile, which wrapped around dials in gem-set splendour. But they didn’t forsake their feline friend, which appeared literally perched on top of a multi-coloured dial, while others sported zebra-like stripes in a nod to Jeanne Toussaint’s beloved animal themes.
Chanel Black-and-White
Nobody does updated classics quite like the design teams at Chanel, and the new edition of its Diamond Tourbillon proves it. While the original versions were offered in shiny ceramic, the latest models are rendered in matte black and white styles. This means there’s nothing to compete with the natural brilliance of the diamond solitaire set at the centre or the flying tourbillon cage. You might just lose track of time watching it rotate back with the mechanism.
Chanel Haute Horlogerie Pink Editions
If you asked Gabrielle Chanel what her favourite colour was, she very likely would have said black. but pink was undoubtedly a close second, infused as it was—and is—in so much of her maison’s output. In tribute to that heritage, Chanel is releasing four pink editions—two J12s and two Boyfriend models—decorated liberally with the rosy hue. While all of the designs include the house’s beige gold, three have their bezels set with baguette-cute pink sapphires. The fourth, a take on the Boyfriend Skeleton X-Ray, has a pink sapphire crystal case. All of them are limited editions. Run, don’t walk.
Chanel Bobbin Cuff
Inspired by the various tools Coco Chanel used to make her genre-defining couture garments, these jewellery watches don’t immediately look like they can tell time. The Bobbin Cuff, for example, takes its cues from a spool of thread, and hides its watch underneath a yellow sapphire set in the gold. Three other pieces—a watch, a necklace, and a ring—each resemble pin cushions, albeit ones crafted from gold, diamonds, mother-of-pearl, and onyx.
Chopard Alpine Eagle Frozen 41 and 33
Let’s begin with the 41 mm version: It’s refreshing, not only because of it’s ice cold visage and name, but also because it is a 41 mm watch—that is to say, a watch clearly intended for men’s wrists—covered in 22.56 carats of diamonds. Let’s hear it for the boys! Set into what Chopard calls an “ethical” white-gold case that measures just 9.65 mm tall, the elegant proportions will allow it to hug the wrist.
The mechanical calibre L.U.C. 96.41-L is a self-winding movement with dual stacked barrels that store 65 hours of power, despite the modern beat rate of 28,800 vph (4 Hz). This impressive movement carries the coveted Poinçon de Genève hallmark, indicating both is city of origin and its exceptional level of finishing. The movement measures a remarkable 3.3 mm in height.
It’s refreshing to find a watch that’s large, diamond-encrusted, and mechanically sophisticated all at once, but we wouldn’t expect less from Chopard, which has been on a winning streak in recent years, subtly transgressing traditions by blurring categories.
The 33 mm version is, however, more traditionally aimed at women, but it’s not entirely impossible to imagine a man rocking this watch these days as the small watch trend crawls along among fashionably forward folks. But, the message is probably pretty clear that the large watch is intended for men and the small one for women. Be that as it may, the 33 mm version sports an in-house mechanical self-winding movement with a power reserve of 42 hours, which one doesn’t always find in watches this size. The Roman numerals add legibility and class.
Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono
The Rhône blue dial on the Alpine Eagle is more than just a colour. It symbolises everything the Alpine Eagle collection stands for, namely the preservation of Europe’s Alpine environment. In fact, part of the proceeds from sales of this model will be donated to the Alpine Eagle Foundation, whose latest project supports the Aigles du Léman wildlife park, which reintroduced the white-tailed eagle to the Lake Geneva region. The dial colour was inspired by the palette of natural colours inherent to the Alpine landscape, particularly one of the Alps’ most famous rivers, the Rhône, which originates at the heart of the eponymous glacier in the canton of Valais. The river feeds the waters of Lake Geneva and ends its course in the Mediterranean Sea. The texture and sunburst pattern evoke an eagle’s iris—the signature finish of the Alpine Eagle series. The Alpine Eagle Foundation was founded in 2019 by Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele along with experts and devotees of the Alps, including falconer Jacques-Olivier Travers (creator of the Aigles du Léman park) and Ronald Menzel (managing director of the Freedom Conservation NGO campaigning to protect birds of prey). The new Alpine Eagle XL also sports a new case material: Grade 5 titanium, which should lighten the 44 mm watch considerably compared to previous steel and gold models.
Meanwhile, the “ethical” rose-gold model sports what Chopard calls a Bernina Grey dial, which mimics the appearance of alpine rocks, yet another nod to the region from which these watches take their name and inspiration. The integrated bracelet catches our eye as one of the more unique takes on the ever popular format, the polished centre links creating a sporty stripe that suits the chronography very nicely.
The calibre 03.05-C is a COSC-certified chronometer flyback chronograph with a 60-hour power reserve that will take you for a weekend trek to the Swiss Alps without needing a rewind.
Chopard L.U.C. Qualité Fleurier
While Chopard excels at icing out timepieces, it’s equally as accomplished on the quieter side where elegance and sophistication emerge from minimalist reserve. Some might even argue that achieving horological subtlety is the more difficult design brief, and the L.U.C. Qualité Fleurier excels in this manner. Chopard is the current custodian of the Fleurier Quality Foundation, the famous watchmaking town’s own horological certification programme, and this watch is the first Chopard reference to carry that high distinction. Here’s why.
This is the first L.U.C. model built from Chopard’s brightly shining Lucent Steel, which in person approaches a platinum-like sheen. According to Chopard, Lucent Steel is also at least 80 per cent recycled. The L.U.C. 96.09-L movement is chronometer-certified, uses Chopard’s Twin technology to offer 65 hours of power, measures just 3.3 mm thick, utilises a handsome micro-rotor, and consists of 172 individual parts.
The dial here is every bit as sporty and functional as it is minimalist and reserved. Especially cool is the airy minute track found along the dial’s outer edge, rendered here with abundant white space, which causes the whole dial to appear to float. We should mention that the subdial at 6 o’clock is perfectly located between the central arbor and the bottom of the dial, a must for a classic visage such as this. And just look at those lugs, which mimic the welded-on flourishes of the early 20th century.
Chopard L.U.C. Quattro Spirit
Limited to 100 pieces, this understated watch announces itself with a black Grand Feu dial crafted in-house, a case made from “ethical” 18-carat white gold, and a digital jumping hour display. At 40 mm across, it’s hard to fault the design of this watch; it is highly reserved and yet utterly unique. Chopard has flipped the minute numerals 15 and 45 in what we consider to be the “correct” manner, which helps the eye relax as it reads the time (the other way, while common, is kind of a mess). All told, this dial simply succeeds.
The real show here, however may be behind that dial. Carrying the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark, the movement uses four barrels to store a full eight days of power. The Geneva stripes on the large bridges are classically Swiss, while the exposed swan-neck regulator stretched along the balance cock (seen in the lower right side of the movement) is the epitome of 20th-century wrist watch technology, to which this movement clearly nods. Jumping hour movements are no easy thing to do well, and in total, this movement reminds us just how dedicated Chopard is to the traditional horological arts.
Chopard L.U.C XPS Forest Green
Vintage-style green dials are making their way into the permanent catalogue of many flagship collections these days. Applied to the 40 mm L.U.C XPS and combined with a similarly retro-styled sector dial, the hue transforms what has always been a dress watch into a more sportier affair. The “S” in the XPS acronym refers to the small seconds at 6 o’clock, while the “XP” stands for extra plat (thin). The case is a mere 7.20 mm thick, and it’s made of Lucent steel, Chopard’s proprietary alloy produced with a recycling rate of at least 80 per cent. The precise divisions of the sector dial include two concentric rings that separate the minutes from the hours, with radial lines running between the inner and outer edges of the rings, creating the “sectors.” The in-house automatic chronometer calibre L.U.C 96.12-L powers this classically styled timepiece.
Chopard Imperiale
Chopard’s Imperiale collection was launched in 2010 to showcase the company’s in-house metiers capabilities, combined with in-house premium mechanical movements. The dial of the edition is covered with a blue-green enamel background, dotted with a perfectly uniform pattern of white enamel and pink mother-of-pearl marquetry flowers. The centre of each white flower is set with an orange padparadscha sapphire and each pink flower with a diamond. The flowers and centre gems are surrounded by rims of 18-carat white gold, raised slightly above the dial. The resulting pattern mimics the quatrefoil floral motif in Venetian architecture, particularly in the Doges Palace. The movement is the Chopard calibre 96.17-C, equipped with a double barrel that delivers a 65-hour power reserve. This Imperiale is only available at Chopard boutiques.
Chopard Happy Sport
The Happy Sport’s familiar bezel-set diamonds have been dancing happily between two sapphire crystals since 1993, but over the years, this watch has continued to look fresh in its various iterations. This year, two of the five mobile diamonds are replaced by aquamarines in one model and pink tourmalines in the other, though Chopard breezily refers to these colours as “flamboyant pink” and “luminous blue.” Each model has straps, hands, and stylised Roman numerals coloured to match the gems, and there is also a complimentary gemstone in the crown. The centre of the dial is decorated in a swirling guilloché pattern that adds a dressy touch to the sporty style, as does the diamond-set bezel. The Happy Sport contains the in-house automatic calibre 09.01-C. Each colour is limited to 250 pieces, for a total of 500.
Chopard Happy Sport 30 and 36 mm Quartz
Feminine elegance doesn’t have to be relegated to pastels and flowery jewels, as is evidenced by these two black Happy Sport models. Chopard has been dropping some subtly transgressive timepieces this year (see the iced-out Eagle above), and it’s refreshing if only because we’re seeing unique designs. Build from Chopard’s bright Lucent steel and “ethical” rose gold (we’ve not fully sleuthed this claim, so know that it’s Chopard’s label), the two-tone accents are cleverly reserved for the crown, the strap hinges, hands, and markers. This subtle use of gold is just begging for a night out in black dress or tie. The floating diamonds are a nod to the fact that Chopard was the first maison to combine steel and diamonds back in 1993.
Chopard L’Heure Du Diamont
A fine array of new L’Heure Du Diamont models in both round and octagonal cases offers up more of Chopard’s frosty jewel setting prowess, but also the brand’s uncompromising commitment to mechanical watchmaking. Each of these models sports the in-house 09.01-C self-winding mechanical movement and offers a full 42 hours of power reserve. For a movement measuring just 20.4 mm by 3.65 mm, that’s impressive. So is the fact that this movement uses 148 individual parts.
These watches are offered in various precious metals, with an array of dial colours, straps, and bracelets. We are especially fond of the octagonal bezels, which are overflowing with diamonds, but it would be hard to pass on the bark-textured five-link bracelet that adorns the round models.
Grand Seiko Sport Collection Calibre 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGC275
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Grand Seiko’s 9R Spring Drive movement—a unique calibre that marries the best of mechanical and battery-powered technology—the Japanese watchmaker is releasing the Sport Collection Calibre 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGC275. An edition of 700 pieces, the 44.5mm titanium watch combines GMT functionality with an equally useful chronograph in a sporty but beautifully finished package. Paired to a matching H-link bracelet with a three-fold clasp, it makes for an excellent traveller’s or everyday watch, though its larger dimensions are certainly better suited for bigger wrists.
What differentiates this GMT-chronograph entry in the brand’s catalogue is its special dial: Inspired by the Hotaka mountain range in Japan’s Shinshu region, its striking red-orange hue is meant to represent the sun reflecting off the local landscape at dawn. Never a company to simply apply a layer of colourful paint and call it a day, Grand Seiko utilised a patented process called “Optical Multilayer Coating,” which uses PVD to apply a nanoscale film that changes colours depending upon the viewing angle. Equipped with its shimmering dial and impressive Calibre 9R96—which offers accuracy to within +/- 10 seconds per month—the SBGC275 is proof positive of Grand Seiko’s artful yet high tech approach to fine watchmaking.
Grand Seiko SLGH021 Limited Edition
The wide variety of styles available within the Grand Seiko catalogue make it an ideal place to shop for an everyday watch—something robust enough to stand up to the rigours of life’s bangs and scratches, but elegant enough to make it through a business lunch or an important event. The new SLGH021 is just such a timepiece: With its 40mm case in Ever-Brilliant Stainless Steel—a highly corrosion-resistant alloy—it’s well-poised to survive day-to-day wear. But set within its smooth bezel is a mesmerisingly beautiful dial in a vivid blue-green. Inspired by the Genbi Valley in Iwate Prefecture, it uses an incredible “moulded” pattern that deserves to be studied up close.
Meanwhile, within the watch is Grand Seiko’s Calibre 9SA5, an automatic hi-beat calibre that brings together numerous Grand Seiko technologies: Boasting twin barrels, 47 jewels, and the brand’s Dual-Impulse Escapement, it offers 80 hours of power reserve despite an unusually high beat-rate of 36,000 vph. Excellent movement, special stainless-steel formula, and beautiful dial aside, the SLGH021, like many Grand Seiko models, makes use of the Zaratsu polishing, which lends everything from the case to the handset a delicate balance of brushed and mirror polished surfaces, much like a samurai’s blade. Limited to 1,000 pieces, this is one release you’ll want to nab fast.
Grand Seiko SBGW314
Sometimes a faithful recreation of a beloved vintage model really is all you need. Grand Seiko’s new SBGW314 is a contemporary 18-carat rose-gold take on the brand’s very first watch from 1960. Measuring 38 mm wide, it features a navy blue “starry night” dial with applied, rose-gold indices, and the brand’s famously sharp feuille handset. The manually-wound Calibre 9S64 movement keeps the vintage theme alive but offers modern features like three days of power reserve and +5/-3 seconds per day precision. Water resistant to 30 metres, the package is finished with a box-shaped sapphire crystal and two straps: a blue crocodile leather model and an additional brown model, both of which feature three-fold clasps.
There’s something about a sub-40mm dress watch in precious metals—particularly a hand-wound one—that never goes out of style. The SBGW314, for those who are lucky enough to nab one of this limited edition of 50 pieces, are sure to end up with a true “forever watch.”
Grand Seiko SBGD215
If you like your watch to really knock peoples’ socks off but you also value a horologically impressive movement, then the SBDG215 is the watch for you. (As long as you have US$300,000 / HK$2.3 million to burn on a watch—if you don’t, this is actually not the watch for you. Feel free to window-shop, however.) Housed in a 950 platinum case with sweepingly wide facets, it features an array of baguette-cut sapphires and diamonds set into the case, bezel, and dial. Meant to evoke the most noble of beats sitting atop a snowy mountain, it certainly has the capacity to completely knock your socks off.
Comprising 293 precious stones, the blue sapphires and diamonds are arranged in a five-level gradation within the bezel and a three-level gradation on the lugs, making for a shimmering display of hand-crafted artistry. And the insides are no less impressive—Grand Seiko’s Calibre 9R01 is a Spring Drive movement with triple barrels, offering 192 hours of power reserve. Finally, a blue crocodile leather strap with a three-fold clasp completes the picture.
With a width of 44.5 mm and a case depth of 14.4 mm, this is certainly not a conventional dress watch that will easily disappear under a cuff. However, hours upon hours of stunning, handmade craftsmanship have resulted in a timepiece that, should you throw down US$300,000 (HK$2.3 million) for one, you’ll be sure to want to show off.
Grand Seiko SLGW003 and SLGW002
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Grand Seiko was already developing and releasing manually-wound, hi-beat calibres that promised increased precision via higher frequencies. During Watches & Wonders, the brand is releasing two new references housing the first new Grand Seiko hand-wound, hi-beat movement in over 50 years. Part of the Calibre 9S family that launched in 2020, the 9SA4 beats 10 times per second while offering a power reserve of 80 hours via a Dual Impulse Escapement and twin barrels. Tested in six positions at three temperatures over 17 days, this is a true modern expression of a classic movement type beloved by collectors for the satisfying interaction between watch and wearer.
Available in a dress-watch format based upon the 44GS of 1967, the new Calibre 9SA4 is housed in a 38.6mm titanium or 18-carat rose-gold case boasting a sapphire box crystal, a sapphire caseback, 30 metres of water resistance, and a thickness of just 9.95 mm. Both expressions come paired to a crocodile strap with a three-fold clasp featuring a push-button release system, and both feature a white birch tree-inspired dial. Limited to 80 pieces, the gold version carries a price of US$45,000 (HK$352,640), while the titanium iteration will set you back US$10,700 (HK$83,850).
Hermès Arceau Chorus Stellarum
Inspired by the Chorus Stellarum silk scarf designed by the Japanese illustrator Daiske Nomura, the new artistic edition of the round-cased Arceau is a cosmic equestrian scene come to life—literally. A pusher at 9 o’clock activates an animation in which the skeleton horse and rider—embodied in mobile yellow gold appliqués, engraved and painted by hand—prance around the champlevé enamel dial whose colourful lacquer-coated motifs are adorned with applied rhodium-plated stars. Reminiscent of the automata that captivated royalty of the European Enlightenment, the Chorus Stellarum is sure to captivate all who see it in action.
Available in masculine and feminine versions (the one featuring a horsewoman has a case encircled by diamonds), each comes in a numbered limited edition of six.
Hermès Duc Attelé
Hermès’s new hand-wound grand complication is a world first that combines a central triple-axis tourbillon and “tuning-fork” minute repeater with a high-frequency Manufacture Hermès H1926 movement. Arguably even more impressive is the unique design of the timepiece, which takes its name, Duc Attelé, from the maison’s defining image: a canopy-top four-wheeled carriage drawn by two horses, itself inspired by a drawing by 19th-century French animal painter and master of equestrian art Alfred Dreux.
At the centre of the dial, beneath a sapphire dome, whirls a triple-axis tourbillon inside a triple mirror-polished titanium carriage. With three separate axes and rotation speeds (completing one full turn in 300, 60, and 25 seconds), the tourbillon operates within a curved, eccentric hour-circle.
Various aesthetic details celebrate the maison’s equestrian heritage, including the Arabic numerals of the hours-minutes display, which are inclined to evoke a galloping horse, and, at 6 o’clock, minute repeater hammers sculpted in the shape of horses.
To hear the chime of the hours, quarters, and minutes, simply engage the dedicated slide on the side of the case. Once you do, hammers will strike the elongated U-shaped branches of the steel gong visible around the edge of the dial, a “tuning fork” structure designed to ensure optimal resonance.
Hermès Cut
With a case made up of “a circle within a round shape” and a crown positioned at 1 o’clock, the new Hermès Cut collection offers a playful commentary on silhouettes. Featuring concentric, and slightly irregular, shapes as a nod to sculpture and hewn marble, the model boasts subtle details, such as a bevel-cut bezel framing an opaline, silver-toned dial. These details punctuate the Cut’s minimalist design.
Available in steel or an elegant two-tone combination of steel and rose gold—with or without diamonds—the Cut is equipped with an in-house H1912 self-winding mechanical movement visible through the sapphire crystal caseback.
Alternating finishes on the integrated metal bracelet echo the case design. The watch also comes with an interchangeable rubber strap available in a range of eight colours drawn from the Hermès palette: white, orange, gris perle, gris étain, glycine, vert criquet, bleu jean, and capucine.
Hublot Square Big Bang Unico
In 2022, Hublot introduced the first square Big Bang. The collection marked the first new case design we had seen within the Big Bang family of watches since the tonneau-shaped model released more than a decade prior. The inaugural square collection consisted of five models in an array of materials from ceramic to titanium and King Gold. Now, two years later, we get two new versions of the Square Bang Unico in Magic Gold. The new models retain much of the original design with a square case, a bezel punctuated with the six signature Big Bang screws, and a skeletonised dial. Of course, the major update comes in the form of a new material prominently featured on the bezel of both models: Hublot’s patented Magic Gold, the first and only 18-carat gold alloy in the world to claim complete scratch resistance.
Big Bang Unico Ceramic 42 mm
Though there’s some debate about which firm created the first ceramic watch, the material didn’t begin growing in popularity in watchmaking until the new millennium. Hublot has long been at the forefront of experimentation with cutting-edge materials, so it comes as no surprise that ceramic quickly became a part of the brand’s repertoire in collections like its beloved Big Bang. In early iterations, we saw classic black and white colour schemes, but over the years, Hublot has grown bold with its use of colour. We’ve seen blue, grey, red, yellow, and now orange and green.
Developing new ceramic colours in watchmaking is no small feat. The chemical recipe and firing temperature must be exact to achieve a particular colour. The new orange and green hues are the result of much research and development. Offering a 42 mm build and housing Hublot’s latest generation automatic flyback chronograph movement with column wheel actuator, the new Big Bang is a modern marvel.
Hublot Big Bang E Gen 3
Hublot was the first watch brand to team up with the sport of football (soccer for those in the US) back in 2006. Since then, its work has taken many forms as the official timekeeper of major competitions and the official watch of prestigious clubs. Then, in 2018, the brand notched another first by developing a special connected edition of its Big Bang E optimised specifically for referees to use on the field. As an extension, Hublot also created a version of the Big Bang E for fans that provides play by play updates on the action, and it can be customised with their team’s colours. This summer, the final phase of the UEFA European Football Championship will take place in Germany. In celebration, Hublot has unveiled a new generation of its Big Bang E Gen 3. The brand first debuted the model in 2022 in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This updated version will allow its wearer to follow the final phase of the next UEFA 2024 European Championship in real time as 24 teams battle for the win, including France led by Hublot ambassador Kylian Mbappé.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
Perpetual? So yesterday! The future—when it comes to mechanical complications which accommodate the quirks of the Gregorian calendar—is eternal. Or so one might have concluded, listening to IWC (and, via a pre-recorded video, British celebrity physicist Brian Cox) present the hero piece of their new novelties, at a pre-Watches & Wonders reveal event in Zurich back in March (which Robb Report attended).
Perpetual calendar watches adjust for leap years every fourth February. The Portugieser Eternal Calendar piece before you, thanks to a newly engineered 400-years gear, accurately takes leap-year exception rules into account and skips three leap years over four centuries (in the years 2100, 2300, and 2400). And if that doesn’t offer a new definition of the phrase “built to last,” how about this: the moon-phase display here, thanks to a specially engineered reduction gear, will only deviate from the lunar orbit by one day every 45 million years.
The platinum case, white lacquer dial, rhodium-plated hands and appliqués, and black alligator leather strap make for an unfussy yet imperious aesthetic. But it’s this piece’s cred as a feat of micro-engineering—the two-micrometre precision achieved “thanks to semiconductors and computer chips”—that enthuses IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr, when he chats with Robb Report in his Schaffhausen office the day after the reveal.
That, and the watch’s broader philosophical implications: “There’s this really poetic sub-level to it, one that speaks to us as humans: I have something on my wrist, a personal object, that will outlast me,” he says. “It will tick for many more years than my heart will. I can pass it on. It’s a time capsule—something you’d send to another planet to show what humans can do.”
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44
For all their dabbling with the eternal, IWC were never going to neglect a complication first patented in wristwatch form by Patek Philippe in 1889 (IWC’s own in-house iteration, consisting of less than 100 arranged parts, was developed in the 1980s by former head watchmaker Kurt Klaus). The four new versions here—two in 18-carat white gold with Horizon Blue and Dune dials, two in 18-carat Armour Gold with Obsidian or Silver Moon dial—have a renewed aesthetic thanks to refined case construction, a slender case ring, and the use of double box-glass sapphire crystals.
Finished with 15 layers of transparent lacquer and polished to a high gloss, the dials emanate tremendous visual depth (more on which below). All new models are powered by the IWC-manufactured calibre 52616 with a Pellaton winding system, and each packs a power reserve of seven days. The provision of an additional century slider—IWC will happily fit it for whomever owns the watch in 2099, meaning it will then display years up to 2499—is a proud wink to the pieces’ inherent heirloom factor.
IWC Portugieser Hand Wound Tourbillon Day & Night
An anachronistic indulgence modern tourbillons may well be, but the aesthetics of this new addition to the Portugieser canon could not be more contemporary, thanks to how an 18-carat Armour Gold case interacts visually with an obsidian lacquered dial, gold-plated hands, and gold appliqués.
The flying minute tourbillon itself consists of 56 parts and weighs only 0.675 grams (roughly two corn kernels, in case you were wondering). The globe-shaped day and night indicator at 9 o’clock is visible both from the dial and the movement sides of the watch, while the movement’s gold-plated works can be observed through the sapphire caseback.
IWC Portugieser Chronograph
A huge amount of R&D has gone into the dial colours in all the new Portugiesers unveiled (Horizon Blue, Obsidian, and Dune, to capture the atmospheres of different times of day and night, in the case of the Chronograph), according to Grainger-Herr. “Dial colour is one of the most subjective and difficult sciences out there,” he tells Robb Report.
“Colours are polarising; colours are tricky; colours are inconsistently perceived. So with the Portugieser, we’ve really taken a look at potential longevity and timelessness very carefully, just playing with layers, depth, contrast, subtlety. The difference a champagne colour dial what now is ‘Dune’: it’s a huge process. But in the end, it just pops at you. Same with Obsidian—I could show you 10 black prototypes on the route to get to this.”
With these three new Chronographs, the beguiling results of all this chromatic experimentation are complemented by a vertical subdial arrangement, and an inner flange printed with a quarter-second scale which facilitates high-precision stop-time readings. The Horizon Blue dial version’s blue leather strap is a neat aesthetic sub-plot.
IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 & 40
The new additions to the Portugieser Automatic 42 and 40 lines—which have a re-engineered case construction and a more slender side profile—are, IWC CEO Grainger-Herr says, a perfect example of designers nailing the “evolution not revolution” approach: a philosophy whereby the horological world ensures a steady, consistent trickle of surprise factor.
“I can see immediately it’s a Portugieser Automatic 42,” he says, “But then you put it right next to its predecessor and look at the case, the lugs, the geometry, the dial print, the graphics, the colour scheme, the boldness, the elegance, and it’s so different. Side by side, every element has changed. That’s a real skill, from a design perspective. It’s much easier to make a completely different watch.”
Both the 42 and its slightly smaller sibling have even wider sapphire crystals on the back, showcasing in-house movements with Pellaton winding systems featuring ceramic components.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon
The Duometre Chronograph Moon combines two contrasting complications—a speed-tracking chronograph with 1/6-of-a-second readings, plus the slow march of a 29.53-day moon cycle. Jaeger developed a new movement for the piece, calibre 391, and you can see some of it through the partially open-worked dial at 5 and 7 o’clock. Jaeger-LeCoultre claims these openings are not just for aesthetic effect, but also make it easier for the watchmakers to assemble the movement. Dual barrels are wound by a single crown: forwards for the mainspring that provides power for the timekeeping function and backwards for the second mainspring that powers the complications. This timepiece is offered in platinum with a copper-coloured dial and in pink gold with a silver dial.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Quantieme Lunaire in Stainless Steel
The Duometre Quantieme Lunaire was introduced in 2007 when the Duometre system debuted. But this is the first time it, or any other Duometre complication, has been offered in stainless steel. Combined with a monotone blue dial that is not, like its predecessor, open-worked at 5 and 7 o’clock, this watch casts very different vibe than the original 18-carat gold model. The steel/blue Quantieme Lunaire sportier, but remains clean and classic, despite conveying a lot of information: two power reserve indicators for each barrel, a fast-moving foudroyante seconds subdial that tracks 1/6 of a second, as well as the hours, minutes, seconds, date, and moon phase. A complication like this cased in steel is a collector’s dream, and although it is not a limited edition, demand will be high and quantities likely scarce.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual
The Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual unites Jaeger-LeCoultre’s groundbreaking work in multi-axis tourbillons with the Duometre concept. A triple-axis tourbillon consumes a lot of power, so pairing it with the Duometre’s double power source concept makes perfect horological sense. The tourbillon in the new calibre 388 sets three concentric rotating cages into a dazzling display of watchmaking’s oldest attempt to defy gravity. The first cage is set at a 90-degree angle to the balance wheel, the second at 90 degrees to the first cage, and the third is at 90 degrees to the second cage. The first two cages rotate together every 30 seconds, and the third every 60 seconds.
The tourbillon is built with 163 components and weighs 0.7 grams, which tells you three things: the components are very small, tolerances are incredibly tight, and, because the cages are titanium, it’s especially resistant to gravitational forces. For good measure, the calibre 388 also incorporates a perpetual calendar with a large date display, and it still maintains a 50-hour power reserve for both barrels. The caseback puts on a show of its own with sunrayed Geneva stripes (a.k.a. Côtes de Genève soleillées) radiating seamlessly across the entire expanse of the adjacent bridges.
Laurent Ferrier Classic Moon
There are brands—Bulgari comes to mind—that are wildly adept at taking a classical complication and reimagining it for a modern audience by totally revamping its architecture and aesthetic. Then there are brands that simply reissue vintage references in a nearly one-for-one manner. Laurent Ferrier arguably takes the most difficult route: The ex-technical director for Patek Philippe, sometimes-race car driver (he finished third in Le Mans in 1979, just behind Paul Newman) and first-rate watchmaker designs watches that would be intimately familiar to someone time traveling to 2024 from 1954, but that include just enough modern spin to render them utterly fresh. This is not easy to do.
To wit, witness the new Classic Moon. Housed in a 40 mm stainless steel or 18-carat red-gold case, it combines an annual calendar with a moon-phase complication while adding thoughtful, contemporary touches: Gently curving lugs; a fluted, pebble-like crown; a recessed frame housing the day and month windows; and elongated Roman numerals that mimic batons. This is to say nothing of the moon phase itself: positioned above 6 o’clock, it makes use of aventurine glass, engraved Super-LumiNova, and translucent enamel. Indeed, if there is a more elegant annual calendar/moon phase on the market today—one that isn’t simply a one-for-one copy of some vintage watch—then we certainly haven’t seen it.
Montblanc 1858 Unveiled Minerva Monopusher Chronograph
Montblanc’s watchmaking artistry is on full display in the new 1858 Unveiled Minerva Monopusher Chronograph, but rather than featuring a skeletonised movement, the watch’s new monopusher chronograph Calibre MB M17.26 has been flipped so the display appears on the dial side. That’s not the only detail designed to appeal to devotees of mechanical watchmaking. Five apertures appear in the case band of the new limited edition, allowing light to flood into the hand-finished manually wound movement’s 291 components.
A product of Montblanc’s historic Minerva workshop in Villeret, Switzerland, the timepiece is adorned with the distinctive Minerva arrow and the watchmaker’s signature “V”-shaped bridge. The arrow is a tribute to the Roman goddess Minerva with her arrow-tipped staff, and the “V” suggests a view of the mountains as seen from Villeret.
Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxy Deep
How deep can the new Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep go? The watch is guaranteed to be water-resistant to approximately 481 bar (about 4,810 metres, or 15,781 feet, the inverse of the height of Mont-Blanc, the mountain for which the brand is named). That’s another way of saying the model is designed for serious explorers of the deep. This overbuilt diver belongs to the maison’s “Zero Oxygen” series, referring to timepieces whose cases have been engineered to ensure the absence of oxygen, thereby eliminating fogging and oxidisation under extreme pressure and at extreme temperatures.
The watch’s design amplifies its adventurous message: The blue dial matches the tone of ice found in the ocean, while the caseback features a 3D engraving created in a three-dimensional blue-green relief depicting a view of the sea beneath the ice.
Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date Bronze
In 2022, Montblanc introduced a range of watches called Iced Sea, featuring dials created by a special technique designed to mimic the glacial ice on the Mont-Blanc massif. The collection expands this year with the introduction of a new bronze-toned edition encased in cupro aluminium, a special alloy of aluminium and copper that’s highly resistant to corrosion and rust yet will still obtain a patina over time.
In addition to its new bi-colour unidirectional anodised aluminium bezel, the edition boasts a new Montblanc Iced Sea logo inspired by a vintage Minerva export seal, and a 3D engraving of a scuba diver on the bronze-coated titanium caseback.
Moser Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton 40 mm
It is perhaps odd to begin by noting the bracelet on this mechanically piece of high horology, but the bracelet on Moser’s Streamliner is among the very best in the world. It is reptilian yet elegant, brushed yet with mirror polished bevels that shimmer between links, cuff-like in appearance yet sensually comfortable. After all, if a steel integrated bracelet watch costing US$86,900 (HK$680,220) doesn’t offer an exceptional bracelet, well… you get the point.
Despite the dazzling bracelet, it is the skeletonised works that so obviously steals the show here. The calibre HMC 814 uses a bi-directional winding pawl; pawls are clever spring-loaded wedges that latch onto gears in one direction and collapse in the other direction. The flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock rotates once per minute and incorporates an in-house dual hairspring (Moser uniquely makes its own hairsprings). Moser claims the dual hairspring helps to counteract the effects of gravity—which was the original intention of the tourbillon hundreds of years ago—so one might think of this as an improvement on an improvement.
Remarkably, all of this mechanical ingenuity is accomplished with just 167 components. This creates a spacious movement in which the gear train cascades from 2 o’clock down toward 7 o’clock in an arc traced by the curvaceous black skeletonised plates. Gold accents provide a perfect dose of warmth and elegance.
Panerai Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition
If Abraham-Louis Breguet, inventor of the tourbillon, were to get a load of this watch, the poor guy would probably have a heart attack. The Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition is a tourbillon-equipped diver, constructed from black Carbotech, water resistant to 300 metres, and the purchase includes a trip to Barcelona to hang behind-the-scenes at the America’s Cup. (To be fair, at US$176,500 / HK$1.3 million, the thing should pretty much do my taxes for me, too.) This is not exactly the intended use case for Breguet’s original tourbillon, but that’s what makes this watch so darn cool.
The Submersible collection is where Panerai, a brand whose original remit included making equipment for Italy’s naval forces, parks its modern dive watches. (The Luminor and Radiomir lines, while beautiful, are better suited to everyday wear than modern diving.) This particular Submersible packs quite a wallop: Measuring 45 mm in diameter, it features an incredible, hand-wound movement with not only a 30-minute tourbillon, but also a second time zone, a day-night indicator and a power reserve indicator. Marry all that functionality to a futuristic black-red-white colours scheme, an advanced case material based on carbon fibre, and an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience in Barcelona, and you’ve got yourself one heck of a dive watch.
Panerai Submersible GMT Luna Rossa Titanio
If you like the idea of proudly sporting Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli colours but want something more complicated than a standard diver and less involved than a tourbillon-equipped watch, then the Submersible GMT Luna Rossa Titanio is just the ticket. Made from titanium and measuring 42 mm, this model is smaller and more wearable than its cousins, but it still offers a useful GMT function—perfect for the traveller on the go or parked at a seaside resort.
Equipped with a sun-brushed blue dial, it’s illuminated with Super-LumiNova X2, a new grade of the luminescent material that glows 10 times brighter than previous grades. Powered by the automatic Panerai P.900 movement and paired to a rubber and textile composited strap in red and blue, this is an excellent looking, sporty release that’s sure to get plenty of wrist time amongst the jet set. This boutique-only release drops in September.
Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech
In accordance with the norms of today’s watch industry, the new Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech will likely cause you to forget which watch you walked into the boutique to purchase because its name is so darn long. Let’s break this one down: It’s part of the Submersible line, meaning it’s a hard-wearing dive watch water-resistant to, in this case, 500 metres. “Quarranta-Quattro” is for 44, its width in mm. (Panerai is an Italian-founded marque, after all.) “Luna Rossa” is for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team, which is set to compete in the America’s Cup in Barcelona later this year. And “Ti-Ceramitech” is for a brand new, high-tech ceramicised titanium that took Panerai seven years to develop and patent.
Unlike the aforementioned Submersible Tourbillon GMT Luna Rossa Experience Edition, the Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech does not contain a tourbillon, a dual-time complication, or a power reserve indicator. However, it does feature a highly legible dial in blue or white with applied, lume-filled indices; a date window at 3 o’clock; running seconds at 9 o’clock; and an oversized, skeletonised sword handset. A Ti-Ceramitech bezel in a unique shade of blue makes tracking bottom time or decompression stops a cinch. (The non-divers, of course, can simply admire its cool colour.) Outfitted with Panerai’s unique crown protection device and paired to a rubber and textile strap, the Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech is a beautiful watch for skippers and divers—even if its 18-syllable name may take 10 minutes to pronounce.
Panerai Submersible Luna Rossa PAM01565
The Submersible PAM01565 is a time-and-date diver done up in Luna Rossa livery, with a dark blue, sun-brushed dial, red and white accents, and a bi-colour, rubber and textile strap in the sailing team’s signature dark grey and red. This time, however, the case measures 42 mm and is machined from stainless steel. Its water resistance is 300 metres, as opposed to 500 metres, but still many hundreds more metres than any normal diver will ever require. Inside beats the non-GMT version of the maison’s P.9000 automatic movement, while the crown is protected by the same device found in the Luminor collections. With its subdued, matte-like appearance accentuated by tasteful pops of colour, this is the summer watch for someone who doesn’t want to call attention to themselves.
Parmigiani Tonda PF Skeleton Platinum Blue
The skeletons are out of the closet this year at Watches & Wonders, and Parmigiani’s Tonda PF Skeleton Platinum Blue is among the most expensive and impressive of them all. Made from high-grade platinum 950 and sporting a deep “Milano” blue skeletonised dial, this watch exudes a commanding presence, but without overstating itself. The calibre PF777 is an in-house works with self-winding rotor made from 187 parts and offering 60 hours of power on tap. Add in the 100 metres of water resistance and a sleek 8.3 mm case height, and it’s easy to see how this watch could serve as an ideal high-end, go-everywhere, do-anything timepiece.
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor
Minimalists, this one’s for you. The 2024 edition of the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor, introduced in 2021, lacks a date feature, or any superfluous aesthetic details. “Every element of this timepiece reflects our vision of discreet and timeless refinement,” says CEO Guido Terreni. “From the deliberate absence of visual complications to the meticulous selection of ‘Golden Siena’ dial nuances, each choice is guided by an unwavering commitment to aesthetic purity.”
The watch’s namesake function, the micro-rotor, is a small yet thick oscillating weight in platinum set deeply into the movement. A micro-rotor is very much unlike a classic, large central rotor that sits on top of the works. Appreciated by connoisseurs as a more sophisticated auto-winding construction, the micro-rotor allows for a thinner timepiece—in this case, just 7.8 mm on the wrist.
Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde & Chronograph
The minimalist Toric series from Parmigiani Fleurier has always embodied a quiet elegance so often missing from other luxury brands’ catalogs. The Petite Seconde in rose gold or platinum is pure class, and the pale green dial against the bright platinum may be one of the most distinctive colourways of this year’s edition of Watches & Wonders. The Toric Chronograph Rattrapante, or split-seconds chrono, uses a high-frequency integrated mechanism crafted entirely from 18-carat rose gold, making it the only such movement we are aware of. If rarity and elegance are your thing, look no further.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon 150th Anniversary
A tourbillon is a suspended balance-wheel system that rotates in order to distribute the effects of gravity and improve isochronism. So how did Piaget get a tourbillon into a watch that measures exactly 2 mm thick? Once again pushing the boundaries of thinness, Piaget uses a peripheral tourbillon, meaning that a wheel meshes with the edge of the cage in order to rotate it. Requiring 25 per cent more power than a movement without a tourbillon, Piaget has developed a skeletonised ultra-thin mainspring that stores 40 hours of power while still beating at a modern 28,800 vibrations per hour. As if that weren’t enough to pack into this minuscule case, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon also offers up 20 metres of water resistance. Not exactly a dive watch, but incredibly robust for a 2 mm tall watch. A deep blue cobalt alloy contrasts with gold accents for a sophisticated yet sporty visage.
Piaget Polo 36 and 42 mm on Rubber Straps
Piaget is celebrating not only its 150th anniversary but also the 45th anniversary of the flagship Polo collection. Festivities began earlier this year with the launch of the weighty, all-gold Polo 79—with an equally weighty price tag (US$73,000 / HK$571,465). Now Piaget is following up with a duo of Polo Date watches that are more accessible in terms of price, though limited to only 300 pieces each. One is a 42 mm model with a brown strap, and the other is a 36 mm version on a beige rubber strap with a bezel containing 91 brilliant-cut diamonds. Piaget doesn’t specify the gender of the 36 mm piece and is in fact careful to imply its gender-neutrality: “The most precious model can be worn by both women and men, with this versatility being standard practice in the world today.” But the brand also notes that the duo of Polos pays homage to the idea of “his and her” watches, popular in the early 1980s. Yves Piaget, great-grandson of the founder, was fond of the his-and-hers concept and applied it to the Piaget Polo. On both models, rose-gold-coloured hands brighten the steel case, with the second hand’s counter weight bearing the inscription “150.” This is the first time the 36 mm model wears a rubber strap. These watches are available only at Piaget boutiques.
TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
The legacy of TAG Heuer’s split-seconds chrono dates back over a century. Since the early 1900s, the brand has proven itself as a premier developer of stopwatches and dashboard timers for prestigious institutions like the Olympic Games and Ferrari. Alongside these technical developments, Heuer was responsible for creating one of the most instantly recognisable square watch designs: the Monaco. The year 2024 marks the monumental 55th anniversary of the Monaco, and in celebration TAG has unveiled a watch that’s emblematic of its technical prowess and aesthetic codes. Here, we have the iconic square design rendered in lightweight grade 5 titanium weighing just 85 grams in red and blue colourways. In addition, the new Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph houses a brand-new movement: the TH81-00 mechanical split-seconds chronograph calibre.
TAG Heuer Skipper in Rose Gold
One of the most exciting releases of 2023 was the return of the legendary Skipper to TAG Heuer’s catalogue. The original debuted in 1968, drawing inspiration from chronographs provided by Heuer for a team competing in the 1967 America’s Cup. The Reference 7754 notably combined a sea-blue dial with two sharply contrasting sub-dials—a 12-hour counter in Intrepid Teal and a 15-minute regatta counter divided into three five–minute segments of different colours: Lagoon Green (inspired by Intrepid’s rigging); Intrepid Teal (the colour of her deck) and, for the final five-minute “get ready” sector, Regatta Orange—orange originally being adopted by the sailors because it contrasts with the sea. The Skipper disappeared from Heuer’s line-up in 1983 just ahead of Heuer’s acquisition by Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG). In 2017, Hodinkee issued a limited edition interpretation to great acclaim. Noting that success, in 2023 TAG Heuer reprised the Skipper in the new Carrera Glassbox design. A year later, we get the Glassbox version in rose gold. Ahoy!
TAG Heuer SN Chronograph
In 2023, the beloved Carrera notched its 60th anniversary, perpetuating decades of TAG Heuer’s noted expertise in chronograph development. The Carrera was the brainchild of the legendary Jack Heuer. Inspired by the famous border-to-border race called the Carrera Panamericana and first launched in 1963, the Carrera has seen many significant iterations over the years. The 7754 SN from the late 1960s served as the inspiration for this new Carrera Chronograph. The 7753 SN—standing for silver and noir—notably featured a panda design with a silver dial and black registers. In addition, the reference was marked by improvements in legibility, from the design of the hour markers and hands to the addition of double stops at 12 o’clock so it was clear when the chronograph was zeroed. For the modern interpretation, TAG has adapted these principles into its innovative Glassbox construction, which imitates a vintage crystal but feels entirely modern, too. Notably, this watch includes a stainless steel bracelet for the first time.
TAG Heuer Carrera Date 36mm
We know the Carrera as a sport watch. Yet, more and more, the lines are blurring within the category, and new Carreras are towing the line between retaining their sporty roots and upping the ante on elegance with gems and precious metals. TAG Heuer shows us its approach to this more modernised sport watch with three iterations of the Carrera that bring a sophisticated edge to the collection. The new 36 mm Carrera Date offers highly accessible sizing, reprising the proportions of the original model from 1963. It’s available in both two-tone and stainless-steel versions. For the two-tone versions, we get a combination of stainless steel and rose gold with the option of a mother-of-pearl dial and diamond-set bezel and indices or a salmon-adjacent copper dial that echoes the warm hue of the rose gold. The classic steel variant also gets a mother of pearl dial as well as a diamond-set flange and rose-gold hands and indices.
Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad
The Freak, released in 2001, was a watch ahead of its time. Doing away with a conventional dial, hands, and crown, The Freak instead proposed a new system built around a one-hour, orbiting carousel containing parts of the automatic movement—a movement that, in a watch-industry first, featured a silicon escapement. Now, Ulysse Nardin is continuing the Freak’s history of innovation with the Freak S Nomad, a sand-coloured riff on the famously futuristic watch. Within the 45 mm titanium and carbon-fibre case sits a dial showing off its unique complication. A diamond guilloché decoration adorns the rotating hour disc, which has received a sand-coloured OVT coating. This decoration is painstakingly applied by hand using an 18th-century rose engine over the course of three hours without break, and without the use of electronics or computers. As a result, each of the 99 limited-edition watches is unique.
Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Chronograph Tourbillon Collection Excellence Platine
Platinum Excellence is a capsule collection, produced occasionally and only in limited editions, always in platinum, including the dial, crown, pushers, and buckle. Even the stitches of the leather strap are a mix of silk and platinum. The platinum version of the Chrono Tourbillon, which was first unveiled in 2020 with a movement launched in 2015, is limited to 50 pieces. Vacheron often locates its traditional complications in untraditional positions, and on this model, the tourbillon is at 12 o’clock, rather than the usual 6 o’clock position. It’s also a monopoussoir chronograph, with a subtle 45-minute totaliser at 3 o’clock. As you would expect with a premium platinum complication limited edition, the movement is meticulously hand finished, with circular graining, Vacheron’s exceptional plate and bridge chamfering, lush Geneva stripes, hand-bevelling of both interior and exterior angles, and mirror polish on the upper tourbillon bridge. Each movement requires 11 hours of hand decoration.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium
Vacheron, being a classic watchmaker, has made very few titanium-cased watches. The first titanium cases appeared on two limited-edition Overseas Everest watches in 2021 in honour of ambassador Cory Richards, a photographer and mountaineer (he wore a titanium prototype on a 2019 expedition). In 2022, Vacheron applied titanium to the Overseas Tourbillon in a skeletonised version. This year’s offering cases a new Overseas Tourbillon with a closed dial. The watch is made entirely of titanium, including case, bracelet, bezel, and crown, which makes the watch lightweight despite the size (42.5 mm x 10.39 mm). The dial is lacquered in the collection’s signature brilliant blue, and it comes with two extra straps—calfskin or rubber—also in blue. The ingenious quick-release system makes swapping bracelets a breeze. For good measure, the white-gold hands and hour makers are highlighted in blue Super-LumiNova. The movement, automatic calibre 2160, has an 80-hour power reserve, using a peripheral rotor made of 22-carat gold, which can be seen through the sapphire caseback. This is a boutique-only piece.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas—Pink Gold, Green Dial
Vacheron Constantin is latching onto the green this year, not just with new olive green straps on its Patrimony collection, but also on the dials of four new models in the Overseas collection. All have lacquered green dials with solid pink gold cases and bracelets. The colour combination is a knockout, and a nice change from seeing green dials on only steel or white gold watches. As Vacheron’s style and heritage director Christian Selmoni said in a presentation about the new all-green look, “It could well be that this new colour will become as iconic as blue within the collection.” There are three models, one of them in two different sizes: the Chronograph is 42mm; the Dual Time is 41 mm; and the Self-winding with Date comes in a 41 mm men’s model and a 35 mm ladies’ model with a diamond bezel. For added drama, the solid gold bracelet can be removed and replaced with matching green calfskin or rubber straps.
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Manual-Wind
The Patrimony, Vacheron’s flagship dress watch, is shrinking down slightly this year, and collectors with smaller wrists (women) are celebrating. The Patrimony, introduced in 2004, was inspired by Vacheron’s minimalist dress watches of the 1940s and 1950s, and it has always been slim and embellishment-free. The new one is 39 mm, just a millimetre smaller than the next size up, and it is only 7.7 mm thick. It also sports a new dial in sunburst antique silver, and, best of all, two bold new strap colours—azure blue paired with a pink-gold case and olive green for the white-gold case. These subtle changes transform the Patrimony into one of the best gender-neutral watches out there. It’s the perfect size with just the right infusion of colour, and the straps are fashion-forward without being strictly feminine. The caseback is closed, as a vintage watch’s would be, and Vacheron leaves it unmarked to make way for personalised engraving.
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date
Last year, this combination of complications was delivered with a salmon dial, and sold out quickly. Now it bears a more neutral shade, the same new sunburst antique silver that appears on the new time-only Patrimony. It comes on an olive-green alligator strap as well, paired with an 18-carat white gold case. The dial is subtle and minimalist, in the Patrimony tradition, with 18-carat gold pearl minute markers (48 altogether), slim hands, and stretched-out hash marks on the lower half of the dial.
Vacheron Constantin Egerie Concept—The Pleats of Time
This concept watch falls into that rare, whimsical watchmaking genre known as “just because.” It combines haute horlogerie with haute couture and haute parfumerie… yes, perfume. In what has to be a “first” in watchmaking, the Egerie Pleats of Time features a strap fitted with specially developed nano-capsules that release a scent, randomly, as the wearer moves. It’s a collaboration between Vacheron, Paris couture fashion designer Yiqing Yin, and French perfumer Dominique Ropion. The dial is lilac-coloured mother-of-pearl, carved in a pleated shape like a dress skirt. Shards of mother-of-pearl are woven into the strap alongside the perfume capsules. The bezel and subdial ring for the moon phase are set with diamonds. The watch is concept-only, and not for sale.
Vacheron Constantin Egerie Moonphase
The Egerie Moon Phase was also designed in collaboration with Yiqing Yin, but this one will actually go into production. It comes with three interchangeable straps in shades developed by the designer: lilac alligator; night-blue satin-effect calfskin; and powder-pink calfskin. The dial is designed according to a distinctive symmetry: the crown and moon phase align at the one o’clock position, forming a subtle diagonal line that ends with the subdued Vacheron Constantin logo between 7 and 9 o’clock. The index is composed of individually hand-applied fine gold pearls just inside the edge of the pleated mother-of-pearl. The Egerie Moonphase is set with a total of 1.10 carats of diamonds, and limited to 100 pieces.
Van Cleef Arpels Brise d’Été
On the Brise d’Ete automaton, one merely presses the actuator at 7:30 and two butterflies rendered in plique-à-jour enamel flutter around the dial while the surrounding flowers sway slightly as if caught by a summer breeze. At the end of the 12-second animation, the butterflies float back into place to indicate the hour on a retrograde scale. An orange butterfly clocks the hours during the first half of the day, and a blue one takes over during the second half—a quirky flex that easily outdazzles the traditional, more prosaic day-night indicators out there.
Van Cleef Arpels Jour and Nuit Enchanté
On the Jour (day) dial, a delicate fairy gathers flowers in the summer sunshine, and on the Nuit (night), she uses them as a bed as she slumbers in an enchanted cave. The flowers are made using a technique called façonné, which involves firing enamel to a temperature that makes it malleable yet stable enough to sculpt into a three-dimensional form, in this case, flowers. “You have to get just the right amount of heat to be able to model it easily,” says Van Cleef’s timepieces director Pascal Narbeburu. “If you don’t have the exact temperature, for the exact amount of time, it’s impossible. You have to start over. Like a lot of things in our workshop, there is a recipe, and for this, it took us about two years of development to find the right one. Now that we have it, the capacity for expression is huge.”
The second patented technique, called serti dans l’email (setting in enamel) involves setting diamonds directly into plique-à-jour enamel—picture a tiny stained-glass window with diamonds floating in the middle without any metal holding them in place. The gems are placed into an indentation carved into the enamel, and the whole piece is fired in a kiln at a temperature that falls just short of damaging the gem, for exactly the right amount time. The diamond emerges magically sealed in the enamel, surrounded only by light.
The third patent covers another gem-setting technique called the “lifted setting,” in which a stone is set higher above the surface than usual where it can absorb and reflect more light. It differs from invisible setting, another Van Cleef speciality, in that instead of cutting grooves in the diamond to fit a metal grid, the metal is grooved in order to grip the gem from underneath.
Add to this spectacle a sky rendered in three shades of turquoise, a sun of yellow spessartite garnets and yellow sapphires, a cave carved out of rough sapphire in shades of purple, and a moon and stars painted in grisaille enamel, and it makes sense that each dial takes 180 hours to assemble. “By creating our own in-house enamelling and engraving studios, we have been able to innovate,” says Narbeburu. “We have succeeded in raising the level of traditional metiers techniques.”
Van Cleef Arpels Lady & Lady Arpels Jour Nuit
The watches in Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complications collection draw you into a dream world of fairies, flowers, butterflies, and ballerinas. It’s about as far away from the mainstream world of steel tool watches as you can get. And that is the point. The focus is on metiers, the decorative arts of watchmaking, with complications present only to serve the narratives on the dials. The Lady Jour Nuit and Lady Arpels Jour Nuit, for example, contain a movement that, unlike a chronograph with its short sprints to the 1/10th of a second, languorously tracks the slow passage of the day without a seconds hand in sight. The movement drives a disk that rotates once every 24 hours, and as it does, a diamond-studded moon and yellow sapphire sun rise and set accordingly over a backdrop of aventurine.
Zenith Defy Extreme Diver
It’s been argued that Zenith’s octagonal Defy sport watches of 1969 were the real genesis of the celebrated integrated bracelet watch. Indeed, the also-octagonal Audemars Piguet Royal Oak didn’t appear until 1972. Origin stories aside, today’s Defy Extreme Diver is an ultra-tough titanium diver with an integrated bracelet, or, if you prefer rubber or fabric straps, you can use the quick-change system to swap them out.
The heritage of the Defy diver may date to 1969, but this watch is up-to-the-minute in every way. Aesthetically, this watch is clearly of the 21st century, and it achieves its vibe though the use of cutting-edge materials. The titanium case is not only lightweight, but also exceptionally resistant to corrosion in salt water. The ceramic timing bezel is virtually scratch-proof, and with 600 metres (that’s a hair below 2,000 feet for the imperially-oriented among us), as well as a helium escape valve, it’s hard to imagine what any civilian could do to hurt this watch. But the story deepens when we consider the El Primero calibre 3620 SC auto-winding hi-beat movement with date complication. Beating at 36,000 vph, or 5 Hz, while still providing 60 hours of power on a full wind, the machine inside is a real runner.
Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph
Realistically, it was only a matter of time before Zenith outfitted its newer Defy Skyline collection with a chronograph—and, more importantly, its storied high-beat, automatic chronograph movement, the El Primero. Available in three dial colours, the new Defy Skyline Chronograph will debut in a 42 mm stainless steel case with the collection’s well-known octagonal bezel, a matching integrated stainless steel bracelet (with an additional rubber strap included), and 100 metres of water resistance. A blue, silver, or black sunray dial houses a triple-register chronograph offering elapsed seconds, minutes, and running seconds, while the central seconds hand zooms around the dial every six seconds ready to stop and mark time within 1/10th of a second. This feat of precision is possible due to the maison’s El Primero Calibre 36000 movement beating at 5 Hz.
With its 4:30 date window, multiple strap options, and hard-wearing, stainless-steel construction, the Defy Skyline Chronograph, despite its good looks, is a serious sports/tool watch. With each new expression, Zenith creeps up to the luxury sports watch classics such as the Royal Oak and Nautilus and seems to tap them on the shoulder. Though at US$13,400 (HK$105,015), this is a much more accessible entrée into the category.
Zenith Defy Revival
This fun and funky 37 mm octagonal watch from Zenith harkens straight back to the late 1960s, when Zenith introduced the youthful Defy series. Zenith has been treating us with various iterations of this watch over the past few years, but this may be the most fun the Swiss brand has had yet with the format. Key features here are a rotating timing bezel, boldly legible hands with funky-yet-functional shapes, Zenith’s signature date window at 4:30 and—obviously—the bright orange colourway. Add in the impressive 600 metres of water resistance, the stainless steel bracelet, as well as the in-house Elite calibre 670 auto-winding movement, and this mid-sized retro watch turns out to be a monster of a modern diver in disguise.
