Subscribe now and get up to 63% off the cover price. Includes access to the digital magazine.
Plus, get the exclusive Robb Report tote bag FREE.
Give the Gift of Luxury
Subscribe to RR1 Live+ for exclusive virtual events all year long (at least 1 per month), conversations with Robb Report editors, special perks, and more.
Watches and Wonders, now the industry’s largest trade show, is back with its first live event following the Covid-19 pandemic. The big takeaway so far is that everyone is aiming for a slice of the high horology pie. The veterans of the genre are attempting ever loftier timepieces, while even the brands typically known for accessible sportswear pieces are turning out increasingly complex timepieces with price tags to match. Earlier this year, we had an off-the-record conversation with a high-end niche watchmaker who told Robb Report that last year, they had sold more pieces in the six-figure category than ever before, eclipsing its lower-priced offerings. Multi-brand retailers have also said they are selling watches (and jewelry) at an increasingly high price point. So, we may see the trend continue well into 2023.
Related Stories The 45 Best Men’s Boots to Get You Through Fall and Winter Hermès Plans to Raise Prices Up to 10 Percent Next Year Ferdinand Berthoud's Beloved Chronomètre Watch Just Got a Makeover
But if there was any watch a VVIP should get their hands on this year, so far at least, the Cartier Masse Mysterieuse will be the must-have collector’s item. In a groundbreaking innovation, the French maison managed to incorporate the entire movement of the piece into the oscillating rotor, which has been skeletonized to show off the components. It comes set within the company’s well-known Mystery design, sandwiched between two sapphire crystal pieces for the dial and caseback, so that it appears to float, mysteriously as its name suggests, on the wrist.
Take a look at everything we’ve seen so far below, and watch this space for more information throughout the week.
There’s no shortage of admirers for Rolex’s new GMT-Master II, the first in the line with a green-and-black bezel. But it’s hard not to be charmed by the Crown’s new Day-Date 40. The case, bracelet and signature fluted bezel are all made from platinum—the bezel, in fact, required the development of a new manufacturing process to complete. It’s also equipped with an icy blue that’ll be sure to please collectors who couldn’t get their hands on one of Patek Philippe’s brightly colored Tiffany Nautilus watches.
You can read more about the rest of Rolex’s new releases below.
Speaking of Patek Philippe, the brand’s newest watches include more than one green dial, but a standout is its olive-hued version of Ref. 5205, an annual calendar watch with a moonphase complication. It’s not a new Nautilus, which many watch-world observers suspected would be among Patek’s new releases, but it’s a stunning thing to look at.
You can see the rest of the brand’s new watches at the link below.
A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Minute Repeater A. Lange & Söhne
A. Lange & Söhne is highlighting the minute repeater by taking it back to its purest form. In 2013, the company debuted a grand complication minute repeater with a chronograph and perpetual calendar—for a three-in-one package combining watchmaking’s most challenging functions to create—and in 2015, there was the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater which offered a digital display accompanying its musical notes. This time around, the Richard Lange iteration is a straightforward presentation of a single minute repeater, striking the hours, quarter hours and minutes in two differently tuned gongs that can strike 720 different sequences—one for every minute in the twelve-hour cycle. To drive home the message of this pared-down chiming watch, the German manufacture opted for a classic dial with black Roman numerals, blued steel hands for the hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds, as well as a white enamel dial topping a solid-gold base encircled in a platinum case.
It tops the new manually-wound L 122.1 movement, visible through the caseback, showing off Lange’s expert-level finishing. The slide on the lefthand side of the case activates the minute repeater, which sounds the hours at a low pitch, the quarter hours at a double tone and minutes at a higher pitch. A series of choreographed racks, snails, levers and wheels power the 191 components that set this piece into action. The wearer can watch it spring into movement as the hammers hit the mirror-polished gongs, which encircle the circumference of the case on the backside.
But Lange didn’t leave out the chance to flex its technical prowess on this very traditional expression of the classic minute repeater. What’s new is the pause elimination feature—that means the brief halt between the striking of the hour and minute when there is no double ton for the quarter hours in the first 14 minutes after the top of the hour, typically found in this complication, has been eradicated. It also features a safety device, so that the minute repeater cannot be activated when the crown is pulled out, preventing damage to the movement. A patent was developed to block the hammer from bouncing back and striking the gongs again. Instead, they stay in their home position for fractions of a second after the gongs have been struck.
These may sound like small improvements, but given the fact that minute repeaters at this level require multiple disassembled, reassemblies, reworking and testing to perfect, this was no small feat. All in all, this is Lange at its best, delivering purity, elegance and refinement to the hilt.
Case Size: 39 mm by 9.7 mm Case Material: Platinum Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Hand-stitched black leather with a platinum deployant buckle Price: Limited to 50, Upon Request
A. Lange & Söhne Grande Lange 1 A. Lange & Söhne
The latest addition to the Grande Lange 1 family, a pillar collection at Lange since 2003, sports a new gray dial available in either 18-karat pink-gold or 18-karat white-gold case. It also comes with a thinner profile with a case thickness that has been slimmed down from 8.8 mm thick to 8.2 mm.
Otherwise, this model remains the same in design with an off-center time display for the hours and minutes on one subsidiary dial between 8 o’clock and 10 o’clock, a smaller sub-seconds dial at 4 o’clock, a power reserve indicator positioned between 1 o’clock and 4 o’clock and an oversize date display just above. It is powered by the manually-wound caliber L095.1, consisting of 397 components, which was first introduced in this collection in 2012.
These are, in fact, relatively small changes but the new dial color offers a stylish take on the Grande Lange 1 and the reduced thickness of the case will be welcome for those looking for a timepiece that will, more comfortably, slip underneath a shirt cuff.
Case Size: 41 mm by 8.2 mm Case Material: 18-karat pink gold or 18-karat white gold Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Hand-stitched black leather or hand-stitched brown leather Price: $48,100
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus A. Lange & Söhne
When the Odysseus launched in 2019, it was Lange’s requisite dip into the steel bracelet sports watch category—a necessary foray to bend to market demands despite the company’s history of making ultra-fine dress watches. So, it’s only natural that a titanium version would soon follow. The lightweight, durable material, which weighs 43 percent less than steel, has become increasingly coveted by collectors who want a barely-there feeling on the wrist—something that barely feels noticeable, in the event they might actually play sports in a $56,500 timepiece.
It features the same L155.1 Datomatic caliber as the original but it now comes in a new dial color. Complementing the new titanium tone on the case and bracelet’s polished, brushed and matte surfaces is a brass dial that, while it appears gray here, is described as ice blue. The kind of muted hue you might find lining the cracks in a glacier. As soon as we get our hands on one in the metal, we’ll update with an on-the-wrist shot for a better look at this new shade, which will no doubt (along with the titanium case), make this the must-have Odysseus model.
Case Size: 40.5 mm by 11.1 mm Case Material: Titanium Power Reserve: 50 hours Straps: Titanium with a deployant buckle Price: Limited to 250, $56,500
Cartier Masse Mysterieuse Cartier
Go big or go home! Cartier came to wow collectors this year with one of the most extraordinary timepieces in the 2022 Watches and Wonders lineup. Just when you think watchmaking had flexed on every possible new take on telling time, the Parisian house has arrived with the new Masse Mysterieuse, which features the entire movement in the oscillating mass. The automatic winding Caliber 9801 MC was eight years in development—a typical new movement averages about two years—and offers a groundbreaking new twist on the maison‘s Mystery clocks (first introduced in 1912) and watches, which are known for hands that appear to float within a transparent body, seemingly with no connection to the movement.
Five different constructions of the concept were required before its final design could be realized in a prototype with two prototypes following before it could finally be put into production. Every single component that powers the Masse Mysterieuse are integrated in the rotor, which has been skeletonized in order to reveal the interior parts. A differential system has been incorporated into the movement to prevent the hour and minute hands from catching on the rotor/movement. The caliber rotates in both directions with the movement of the wrist in order to power the timepiece.
All components that receive energy from the movement, transmission and regulation are integrated in the rotor. The rotor itself is skeletonized to make this moving spectacle visible. In the centre, an ultra-sophisticated differential system – borrowed from the automotive industry – has been integrated into the movement to prevent the time display from being caught in the mass. A technical feat that comes to life at the slightest touch of the wearer and seamlessly displays the time to the rhythm of the hands in the void. On this piece, the most technical and complex piece ever developed by the Manufacture’s watchmakers, the mysterious rotor uses an innovative principle that ensures the balance wheel always remains in the same vertical position. For this to happen, the rotor rotates in both directions at an irregular speed.
This is the most technically challenging watch ever created at Cartier and is a first in the entire watchmaking industry. It comes as pictured above, but will also be available in a version set with baguette-cut diamonds, also on a leather strap, or a platinum bracelet model with both the bracelet and the case set with baguette-cut diamonds. Only 30 pieces will be made in total. Prospective clients will, no doubt, have to be longtime Cartier loyalists. This is the pièce de resistance for any important collection.
Case Size: 43.5 mm by 12.64 mm Case Material: Platinum Power Reserve: 42 hours Straps: Dark gray or black alligator leather Price: Upon request
Cartier Privé Tank Chinoise Cartier
Cartier’s Privé collection has become a seriously coveted and very hard-to-get array of limited-edition and numbered watches that highlight the company’s heritage pieces with modern updates. In terms of design, few brands have had as many instantly recognizable and perenially desirable models as Cartier. The latest vintage model to get a reboot in the CPCP (Cartier Privé Cartier Paris) collection is the Tank Chinoise, which marks the sixth contemporary chapter targeting Cartier’s top-tier clientele. It follows the Crash, Tank Cintrée, Tonneau, Tank Asymétrique and Cloche Cartier watch updates, which are nearly impossible to score at retail and often go for a serious premium in the secondary market.
There are six versions of the new Tank Chinoise on offer, but the ones with the broadest appeal are the more simplified iterations in 18-karat yellow gold, 18-karat rose gold and platinum with polished horizontal beveled-edge bars topping off brushed platinum or gold cases. Limited to 150 each, they come with traditional Roman numeral hour markers with platinum hands and ruby-tipped crown for the platinum model and blued hands and a blue sapphire-tipped crown for the yellow- and rose-gold editions. Previous editions came in fully polished cases with Breguet-style moon-tipped hands and a square-shaped case design.
Also on offer are three elevated versions that more directly play into traditional Chinese aesthetics. Available in 18-karat yellow gold with black lacquer bars (with a blue sapphire-tipped crown), platinum (with a ruby-tipped crown) or platinum covered in 161 brilliant-cut diamonds (with a diamond-tipped crown), these pieces come with new skeletonized 9627 MC movements highlighted by navy and red lacquer or black and red lacquer designs
First created in 1922, the Tank Chinoise is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and has not seen a redesign since 2004, with the exception of versions that appeared in the Cartier Libre line. Needless to say, these will go fast.
Case Size: 39.49 mm by 6.09 mm for the Roman numeral-dial versions and 39.5 mm by 29.2 mm for the skeletonized models Case Material: 18-karat yellow gold, 18-karat rose gold, platinum or platinum and diamonds Power Reserve: 38 hours Straps: Matte gray, black, red or blue alligator leather Price: Limited to 150 each in the roman numeral-dial versions, limited to 100 in the 18-karat yellow gold and platinum skeletonized models and limited to 50 in the platinum and diamond skeletonized model.
Cartier Métiers d’Art Crash Tigrée Métamorphoses Cartier
The crown jewel of Cartiers Métiers d’Art models is, without a doubt, this diamond-set version with multi-colored enamel. The Crash is already one of the most collectible models in the company’s history and this will be a version that, once all 50 are sold, you won’t likely see again, even on the secondary market, for quite some time. Inspired by a watch disfigured in a car crash, but also reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s famous paintings, the watch was created in 1967 at the height of the swing ’60s in London and marked an innovative new design during the period that still excites both collectors and wishful novices alike.
Here the company has put a new spin on its history by exploring its design through the lens of Cartier’s artisanal craftsmen. The turquoise, sea green, navy blue and enamel elements are the result of masterful hands. If you look closely, you will see that these aren’t straightforward hues, but some are graduated to appear as though they melt into each other like watercolors. The stripes are achieved through champlevé enameling separated by lines of diamonds, all of which are set in 18-karat yellow gold. The enameling requires a firing process in a kiln at 1,292 degrees to 1,382 degrees to achieve the various colors in multiple layers. They must be “cooked” up to 10 times to achieve the variations.
The inspiration was African wildlife—crocodiles, zebras, lions, tortoises, you name it—which is a theme that has served up some of the company’s most revered designs since the first Panthère design was created in 1914.
Case Material: 18-karat yellow gold, enamel and diamonds Power Reserve: 38 hours Straps: Iridescent calf leather Price: Limited to 50, price upon request
Taking its design cues from a rock-crystal and diamond Cartier bracelet once worn by silver-screen siren, Gloria Swanson, in 1930, the latest Cartier Libre creations are like jeweled accordions for the wrist. The piece comes in three unique versions: 18-karat rose gold set with 759 brilliant-cut diamonds (13.28 carats), 58 sapphires, 87 black spinels, 54 chrysoprases and 54 red coral stones; rhodium-finished white gold set with 479 brilliant-cut diamonds (8.23 carats) and 56 black spinels; and 18-karat rose gold set with 418 brilliant-cut diamonds (5.66 cts), 54 gray moonstones, 81 black spinels and 81 red garnets. The latter of which is our personal favorite.
Each is reversible so that you can wear it as a watch on one side or flip it over for a bracelet. In order to create versatility, watchmakers had to develop a spring and integrate the time setting on the side to avoid distorting the triangular domino-effect design. Powered by quartz movements, these pieces are all about Cartier showing off its prowess in jewelry design and these are sure to become icons. But with just three in the world, spotting one in the wild will be rare indeed.
Case Material: 18-karat rose gold or rhodium-finished white gold Case Size: 99.96 x 85.05 mm x 20.32 mm for the version with diamonds, red coral, chrysoprases, and sapphires; 100.53 x 85.55 mm x 20.32 mm in rhodium-finished white gold; 99.96 x 84.75 x 20.32 mm in diamonds, moonstone, black spinel and red garnets Price: Upon request
Chanel J12 Black Star Chanel
Chanel has upped the ante on the popular all-black watch genre by putting a trompe l’oeil spin on the category. While the piece initially looks like a fully black-diamond high jewelry watch it is, in fact, set with a total of 364 baguette-cut ceramic pieces, a material that has long been associated with the J12 watch since its inception. However, the French maison didn’t leave out the bling. The case is also set with 55 white baguette-cut diamonds and the bracelet sports 160 baguette-cut white diamonds—all of which are visible only from the side of the case and bracelet. A non-screw-down crown is also tipped with a brilliant-cut diamond and the rotor of the self-winding COSC-certified caliber 12.1 movement, visible through the caseback, comes adorned with 34 brilliant-cut diamonds.
The J12 Black Star is a sleek proposition that plays up the brand’s specialty in working with both ceramic and diamonds. It also highlights the company’s creative approach to orchestrating the contrast between black and white—a theme seen throughout its categories. Previous examples that played into this motif in a never-done-before approach, include the J12 Paradoxe watches which featured the black and white elements split down the front of the watch in black and white ceramic and black ceramic with white diamonds. Leave it to one of the most iconic fashion houses in existence to breathe new life into design ideas in the watch industry.
Would this be even more of a power statement if it was fully set with black baguette-cut diamonds with white baguette-cut diamonds down the side? Yes, although you would likely take it out of the vault less often. Perhaps, we’ll see that version in the future.
Case Size: 38 mm Case Material: Steel with a black-coated base set with 22 baguette-cut ceramic pieces and 55 baguette-cut diamonds Power Reserve: 70 hours Straps: Steel with black-coated bracelet set with 342 baguette-cut ceramic pieces and 160 baguette-cut diamonds and triple-folding buckle Price: Limited to 12 pieces, TBC
Chanel J12 Baguette Diamond Star Chanel
Not forgoing its clientele that prefers full-on, unadulterated bling, Chanel also has a J12 decked “head to toe” in white baguette diamonds. The 18-karat white gold case comes with 73 baguette-cut diamonds; the fixed bezel is set with 46 baguette-cut diamonds; the dial has 168 baguette-cut diamonds, and the gold bracelet has 566 baguette-cut diamonds. The crown is tipped with 1 brilliant-cut diamond, while the oscillating weight of the self-winding COSC-certified Caliber 12.2 movement is decorated with 52 baguette diamonds. That makes for a grand total of 905 baguette-cut diamonds weighing approximately 35.57 carats and 1 brilliant-cut diamond weighing approximately 0.10 carat.
The only reason anyone will be asking you the time is to catch a glimpse of your jewels.
Case Size: 33 mm Case Material: 18-karat white-gold case set with 73 baguette-cut diamonds Power Reserve: 50 hours Straps: 18-karat white-gold bracelet set with 566 baguette-cut diamonds and triple-folding buckle. Price: Limited to 12, TBC
Chanel J12 Tourbillon Diamant Chanel
If design and high complications are more your bag, then the new Chanel J12 Tourbillon Diamant should make your shopping list. Equipped with the new Caliber 5, the first flying tourbillon made in-house at Chanel’s watchmaking manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, this watch not only shows off the company’s evolving technical skills, but also its enduring commitment to aesthetics. Designed by Arnaud Chastaignt, director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio, the timepiece is beautifully executed front and back.
On the dial side, the modernist hour and minute hands are accented with diamonds within an offset hour and minute indication ring. Just beneath components from the Caliber 5 peek through. Overlaying this architecture is the flying tourbillon topped off with a 0.18-carat solitaire diamond encircled by a ring of smaller diamonds. The non-screw-down crown is tipped with a 0.15-carat diamond. Like the J12 Black Star, what looks like diamonds on the bezel are instead black baguette-cut ceramic pieces.
Chanel J12 Tourbillon Diamant Caliber 5 Chanel
Flip it over and the circular theme continues on the movement, visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback, in an aesthetically-pleasing architecture. Take a closer look and you can spot Madame Chanel’s mascot, the lion just below 9 o’clock. Looks like Chanel is aiming for a bite of the haute-horology market.
Case Size: 38 mm Case Material: Matte black ceramic Power Reserve: 42 hours Straps: Matte black ceramic bracelet and steel triple-folding buckle Price: Limited to 55, 100,000 euros
Chanel J12 Tourbillon Diamant Chanel
Another iteration is available for those that prefer actual diamonds on the bezel. This version comes with 34 baguette-cut diamonds totaling about 3.50 carats and comes on a shiny ceramic case versus matte ceramic.
Case Size: 38 mm Case Material: Black ceramic Power Reserve: 42 hours Straps: Black ceramic with <18-Karat white gold triple-folding buckle Price: Limited to 55, 160,000 euros
Ever seen a minute-repeating wristwatch with a case made entirely from sapphire? Well, there’s a good reason you haven’t—it’s never been done before. The Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire, a limited edition of just five pieces, is the first such wristwatch in the world. Produced in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Chopard L.U.C. collection, it features a 42.5 mm case, crown and dial cut entirely from synthetic sapphire that offers a 360-degree view of the hand-wound Chopard L.U.C 08.01-L movement. The dial features an outer minute railroad track that’s been engraved onto the sapphire crystal and painted, which is complemented by rhodium-plated, herringbone-shaped applied hour-markers, an off-center seconds counter, and a power reserve indicator. Of course, of utmost importance in a repeating watch is the sound, and in this respect, Chopard has taken the utmost care: Experts in acoustics were consulted in the production and design of the watch, resulting in a striking mechanism that is clear and beautiful.
Case Size: 42.5 mm x 11.55 mm Case Material: Corundum crystal (synthetic sapphire) Power Reserve: 60 hours Straps: Hand-sewn gray alligator with folding clasp in 18-carat white gold Price: $TBD
Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon Chopard
This is the first tourbillon version of the Alpine Eagle, Chopard’s flagship sports watch, launched in 2019. It is one of the few flying tourbillons to bear the Geneva Seal hallmark, which means every inch of it is finished according to strict criteria. Previous iterations of the Alpine Eagle have included a flyback chronograph and a high-frequency caliber, which means that the Alpine Eagle is more than just an average sports watch, but also a venue for Chopard’s watchmaking capabilities. The L.U.C caliber 96.24-L, also used in the L.U.C Flying T Twin, is equipped with a stop-seconds function. It’s an ultra-thin movement, keeping the case to a mere 8mm thickness, which, combined with the lumed Roman numerals, textured Aletsch blue dial, and integrated bracelet, makes this one of the most elegant sports watches out there.
Case Size: 41 mm by 8 mm Case Material: Lucent steel A223 Power Reserve: 65 hours Strap: Lucent steel bracelet Price: On request
Chopard Happy Sport Chrono Chopard
Chopard’s signature dancing happy diamonds are at their best when displayed in the Happy Sport watch collection, a pillar of the brand since 1996. This one is pure gold—everything but the index markings and matching alligator strap is rendered in rose gold, including case, bezel, dial, crown and the newly designed pump pushers—as a tribute to Chopard’s commitment to using only ethically sourced gold, mostly from artisanal mines. Despite appearances, this is technically a sports watch so, the gilded hour markers and hands are enhanced with Super-LumiNova, and the watch is water-resistant to 50 meters.
Case Size: 40 mm by 13.90 mm Case Material: Ethical 18-karat rose gold Power Reserve: 54 hours Strap: Alligator Price: $28,600
Grand Seiko Chronograph 15th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGC249 Grand Seiko
This blue-dialed version of the Spring Drive Chronograph GMT 9R96 is a nod to the commencement of a what became a much sportier era for Spring Drive watches with the introduction of its first chronograph caliber. It has been adjusted for an accuracy rating of +10/-10 seconds per month, and is limited to 700 pieces. The central GMT hand records a second time zone on a scale along the flange, and a third using the scale on the bezel. It is one of five new Spring Drive sport watches launching this spring (including a black-dialed, non-limited version of the GMT Chronograph, two GMT-only pieces and a 200-meter diver’s watch). They are part of Grand Seiko’s Evolution 9 collection, with distinctive, low-profile cases that are curved to hug the wrist.
Case Size: 45.3 mm by 15.08 mm Case Material: Titanium Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Titanium bracelet Price: $12,400
Grand Seiko Masterpiece Collection Spring Drive 8 Days White Lion Grand Seiko
We don’t usually associate Grand Seiko with platinum jewelry watches, but it does happen. In 2020, Grand Seiko debuted a similar piece set with a carat of sapphires and just over two carats of diamonds, also in the Masterpiece collection. At 43mm, it was debatable whether it was a men’s piece or a women’s. This year’s model is even bigger, at 44.5mm, which leaves little doubt that it is at least an option for men – let’s just call it a “size large” and let people decide for themselves. It is set with 267 diamonds: 11 on the case, 94 on the dial, 60 tapered baguette stones on the bezel and one in the crown. Twenty-six black spinels represent hour markers. The case is platinum, finished with Grand Seiko’s trademark Zaratsu polish. The Spring Drive Caliber 9R01 has three mainspring barrels for an 8-day power reserve and an accuracy rating of +10/-10 seconds per month. It is limited to five pieces and available only at Grand Seiko boutiques.
Case Size: 44.5 mm by 14.4 mm Case Material: Platinum Power Reserve: 8 days Straps: Crocodile strap Price: $250,000
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur Hermès
After two years of pandemic life, the desire to travel has never been stronger. Hermès acknowledges our collective urge to cross continents with two sophisticated takes on the world time watch, one in blue and the other in black. Encased in the watchmaker’s signature Arceau style, designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, both models feature a stunning “Planisphère d’un monde équestre” fantasy map on the dial, borrowed from a silk scarf designed by Jérôme Colliard. The Hermès H1837 mechanical self-winding movement inside features a 122-component “traveling time” module that powers the hours, minutes and dual-time display with city indication. Bon voyage!
Case Size: 38 mm for blue model; 41 mm for black model Case Material: Steel for blue model; platinum for black model Power Reserve: 40 hours Straps: Navy blue Swift calfskin strap, matte graphite alligator strap, black Barénia calfskin strap or slate gray Swift calfskin strap Price: TBC
H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green H. Moser & Cie
Moser is known for its trademark fume dials, whose ombre effect lends its minimalist Concept timepieces a striking, much-admired quality. With its latest novelty, the Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green, the boutique watchmaker is taking things up a notch—or three. Instead of a smooth enamel dial, the watch features a gold hammered textured face layered with three different pigments that are heated 12 separate times to create the signature look. Beneath that crinkly electric green exterior ticks the brand’s HMC 200 automatic movement, complete with Moser’s celebrated in-house double hairspring.
H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green H. Moser & Cie
Case Size: 40 mm Case Material: Stainless steel Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Gray kudu leather strap Price: $27,600 Drop Date: April
Hublot Square Bang Unico All Black Hublot
The shape of things to come? With Hublot’s Big Bang Unico now available in a brand new square case, the shaped watch trend is clearly a thing. The brand is investing big in the silhouette with five new models in the Square Bang Unico lineup. For connoisseurs, however, the get is the special All Black edition of 250 pieces that pays homage to the brand’s original All Black watch, which scandalized the industry when it was introduced in 2006, only to kick off a trend that’s been going strong ever since. Don’t miss a glimpse of the column-wheel at the heart of the chronograph Unico movement, visible at 6 o’ clock.
Case Size: 43 mm Case Material: Satin-finished black ceramic and titanium Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Black rubber Price: $26,200 Drop Date: May
Hublot Big Bang Integral Ceramic Hublot
When Hublot introduced its signature Big Bang watch on a trendy integrated bracelet in 2020, it one-upped every other maker by fashioning the model entirely in ceramic. Now, Hublot is out with four colorful limited editions in green, beige, blue and sky blue, representing the elements of water, earth and wood, each available in 250 pieces. Equipped with the HUB1280 calibre, whose pared-down design emphasizes enhanced legibility and functionality, the models’ chief draw is the sleek ceramic bracelet, which features three bevelled and chamfered links with polished and satin-finished surfaces.
Case Size: 42 mm Case Material: Satin-finished and polished ceramic in green, blue, beige or sky blue Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Satin-finished and polished ceramic bracelet with titanium deployant buckle clasp Price: $24,100 Drop Date: May
IWC Top Gun “Woodland” and “Lake Tahoe” IWC
Used in components for aircraft turbines and high-performance engines, ceramic has become a go-to case material in the watch industry thanks to its lightweight and extreme durability, as well as a scratch-resistance rivaled only by diamonds. IWC has been working with the stuff since the ’80s, but contemporary models, such as 2019’s sand-colored Top Gun Edition “Mojave Desert,” have reignited demand. Now the company has followed up with two new Top Guns—the “Lake Tahoe” in white and the “Woodland” in green—inspired by the hues of US Navy uniforms and the training grounds of naval aviators.
But ceramic isn’t all about a tough-guy exterior. It’s also employed for its design potential, allowing watchmakers to achieve striking colors that would otherwise typically be executed on the dial. The “Woodland” is an almost entirely monochromatic presentation, extending the colorway throughout the watch, save for the off-white dial markers and a black crown and pushers, while the “Lake Tahoe” is outfitted with a black dial, for legibility, and a stainless-steel crown and pushers.
Creating the case hues is a surprisingly technical process, one that necessitates collaborating with engineers through multiple pigment tests, each of which requires mixing the ceramic zirconium oxide with metallic oxides to achieve the perfect shade. The material is then fired in a furnace, though each iteration also requires its own specific temperature and heating duration. Even more challenging, IWC strove to match the case colors precisely with their straps—and consider the Woodland a triple threat, since those two components also had to match the dial. The final result is a pair of timepieces, limited to 1,000 each per year, that make IWC’s Top Gun line what some might call a “target-rich environment.”
Case Size: 45.5 mm by 15.7 mm Case Material: Ceramic with titanium caseback Power Reserve: 46 hours Straps: Green or white rubber strap with folding clasp Price: Limited to 1,000 per year, $10,700 each
IWC Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium IWC
As you can see, the Top Gun range is a big focus for IWC this year which is no coincidence since the modern sequel to the movie, with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer reprising their roles, is set to debut in May of this year. The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium marks the first 41 mm chronograph in the collection and comes in a handsome all-black colorway in keeping with the monochrome theme. The case, pushers and crown are all made from Ceratanium—a proprietary matte black material with high scratch resistance and an ultra-lightweight feel. The color was developed in partnership with Pantone and is achieved by firing the case components at high temperatures in a kiln.
Rather than opt for white indications, IWC instead chose a more subdued approach to the color for a sleeker look. The piece is outfitted with the manufacture automatic-wining 69385 caliber chronograph movement, visible through the caseback, which is equipped with the chronograph functions, date and day display and small hacking seconds.
So far, IWC’s monochrome approach is a stylish hit that feels simultaneously modern and classic.
Case Size: 41 mm Case Material: Ceratanium Power Reserve: 46 hours Straps: Black textile strap Price: $12,600
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Caliber 945 Jaeger-LeCoultre
A great movement deserves a great habillage, and caliber 945, being a grande complication with minute repeater, orbital tourbillon, sidereal time, and a zodiacal calendar, has been thus far fittingly dressed. The movement was last used in 2020’s Master Grand Tradition Grande Complication, decorated with a sky chart surrounded by an elaborate 18-karat gold lattice dome that echoed the form of the constellations. The bezel of the white gold version was set with baguette diamonds. This year, the lattice dome returns on the Hybris Artistica Atomium in 18k white gold, with planets and constellations depicted using grisaille, an enameling technique rendered in subtle shades of gray using white over black or blue enamel. An 18k rose gold version, the Galaxia, has more extensive grisaille instead of a lattice grid. Each is limited to five pieces.
Case Size: 45 mm by 16.05 mm Case Material: 18-karat white gold (Atomium); 18-karat rose gold (Galaxia) Power Reserve: 40 hours Straps: Alligator Price: Five pieces in 18-karat white gold, $535,000; five pieces in 18-karat rose gold, $515,000
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Caliber 948 Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s newest world timer is a rarefied version of the classic universal time complication. Take the intricate dial, for starters. It features a map of the world as seen from the North Pole with continents outlined in white gold and decorated with champlevé enamel, landscape details highlighted by miniature painting and oceans depicted on a dial bed of translucent blue lacquer applied over a wavy guilloche pattern meant to evoke the movement of the sea. That all of these features float alongside a domed skeleton of latitude and longitude lines and still make room for a flying tourbillon in a circular aperture at 6 o’clock is a testament to the watchmaker’s twin mastery of art and mechanics.
Case Size: 43 mm Case Material: White gold Power Reserve: 48 hours Straps: Alligator leather with deployant buckle Price: $227,000
Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Perpetual Calendar Jaeger-LeCoultre
Since introducing the Polaris collection, a modern take on its celebrated 1968 Memovox Polaris dive model, in 2018, Jaeger-LeCoultre has steadily expanded the line to cover a broad range of sport-elegant styles. But a perpetual calendar was still missing from the collection — until now. Caliber 868AA is an updated version of the perpetual calendar movement the watchmaker introduced in 2013, now featuring a retrograde display of Southern Hemisphere moon phases — a nod to the brand’s 2022 theme, “Stellar Odyssey.” With its deep gradient blue lacquer dial and mix of brushed and polished surfaces, the Polaris is as handsome as it is complicated.
Case Size: 42 mm Case Material: Steel or pink gold Power Reserve: 70 hours Straps: For the steel model, an interchangeable steel bracelet and rubber strap; for the pink gold model, interchangeable rubber and alligator leather straps Price: $29,600 for steel; $44,300 for pink gold Drop Date: May 15 (via e-commerce)
Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos Tellurium Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 2022 theme, “Stellar Odyssey,” finds its most majestic expression in the latest edition of the Atmos, the watchmaker’s famed Art Deco pendulum clock. Thanks to the addition of a tellurion—a mechanism that reproduces with precision the diurnal rotation of the earth, as well as the orbits of the moon around the earth and the earth’s annual orbit around the sun—the new in-house Calibre 590 seems, at first glance, more cosmic map than timekeeping device. But study every one of the clock’s graceful angles through the elegant cylindrical glass display, and what you’ll see amounts to far more than a tally of complications. This edition of the Atmos is a complex, deeply esoteric work of horological art.
Case Size: 215 mm diameter x 253 mm height Cabinet: Cylindrical crystal glass hand-painted with the constellations Price: $570,000
Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Dazzling Star Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre created a new movement for this ladies’ watch, a complication that simulates a shooting star. The inner dial is made in three layers – a triple-decker sandwich. There’s an upper disk made of aventurine, another aventurine disk below that with a shooting star cutout, and below that is a layer of gold metal that highlights the star cutout as it rotates. The middle disk, with the shooting star cutout, is activated by the movement of the wrist, like a rotor, and the star appears at random moments – usually four to six times per hour, or on-demand by using the crown. The numeral ring is bordered by a single row of diamonds on the inside and two rows on the bezel for a total of 3.48 carats. A fully set bracelet version contains a dazzling 8.26 carats.
Case Size: 36 mm Case Material: 18-karat pink gold Power Reserve: 70 hours Straps: Alligator or 18k gold bracelet fully set with diamonds Price: $75,500 or $182,000 for the fully set version
Panerai Luminor Goldtech Calendario Perpetuo Panerai
Perpetual calendars are notoriously difficult complications—not only to manufacture but also to set if you’re the end client. Panerai is making it easy in its new Luminor Goldtech Calendario Perpetuo which requires no corrector or tools. Adjustments to the day, date, month and year are made through the bi-directional rotating crown. (A typical perpetual calendar multiple pushers, and in some cases tools, to reset each of the functions as a result of the complication using separate sets of wheels, gears, levers and discs to reset the various indications if the watch stops.) The date, as well as the day (here shown in French with “Lun” standing for “Lundi” or “Monday” in English) are read at 3 o’clock, while the year, month, leap year and power reserve are indicated on the back of the watch, visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. A day/night function with a small seconds hand is located at 9 o’clock on the dial side. The GMT function for the second time zone, meanwhile operates from the center with the hour and minute hands.
The 44 mm timepiece comes in Goldtech, Panerai’s proprietary alloy that is a combination of gold and platinum, which encircles a smoked sapphire crystal glass dial allowing for a hint of visibility of the day and date discs beneath. But the real hidden gem behind this timepiece is the experience attached. Each of the 33 clients that purchase the watch will be invited on a trip to Florence and Tuscany (the price of which is incorporated in the price of the Luminor Goldtech Calendario Perpetuo) to partake in cultural activities and historical tours. For Panerai clients that didn’t feel they were quite cut out for the brand’s previous experience watches, which came attached with high-octane adventures such as a hardcore training experience with the Royal Italian Navy or rock climbing in the Grand Tetons with Jimmy Chin, it sounds like this trip will cater to tastes that veer more towards relaxed luxury.
Case Size: 44 mm Case Material: Goldtech Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Black alligator leather with a trapezoidal brushed Goldtech clasp Price: Limited to 33, $83,700
Panerai Submersible QuarantoQuattro e-Steel Panerai
Last year, Panerai introduced e-Steel, an alloy made of recycled steel scrap from various industries, to its Luminor Marina collection. This year, the ecologically friendly metal is introduced for the first time in the Submersible line. That means 72 grams or 52% of the total weight of each Subermsible e-Steel is made from recycled materials. And, according to Panerai, it’s not any less sturdy—e-Steel is said to have the same properties, chemical behavior, physical structure and resistance to corrosion as brand new steel.
But what’s more, is that these new Submersibles also mark the first time Panerai has ever created a high-gloss finish on its rotating bezels and it’s a marked difference. The polished ceramic bezel contrasts nicely with the gradient gray, green and blue dials, offering a new depth to the company’s highly-recognizable diver.
Water-resistant to 300 meters (984 feet) and powered by the automatic P.900 caliber, these watches are offering not only a new look but a new way of watchmaking, entirely. Panerai has been forging the long-overdue conversation around sustainability and environmental best practices in the watch industry and these are just further proof that it’s planning to drive the conversation for the long haul. On that note, the company has announced 30% of its collections will be produced using recycled materials.
Case Size: 44 mm Case Material: e-Steel, comprised of recycled materials Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Recycled PET or recycled rubber (both are interchangeable using a tool) with a brushed steel buckle Price: $11,300
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Parmigiani Fleurier
Don’t let its simple façade fool you: Beneath the minimalist Milano Blue dial of Parmgiani Fleurier’s new Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante ticks an incredibly complex world-premiere automatic movement, one that allows for the simultaneous tracking of two different time zones—that is, a GMT—paired with a split-seconds chronograph function, aka a rattrapante.
One of watchmaking’s most difficult to construct (and therefore rarest) complications, a rattrapante model is typically equipped with an extra seconds hand that sits atop the first, as well as an additional pusher, essentially creating two chronographs from one and allowing for the simultaneous timing of separate events. In the case of the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, though, Parmigiani has repurposed the rattrapante as a flyback accessory to the GMT. Its two skeletonized, delta-shaped hour hands—the upper in rhodium-plated 18-karat gold, the lower in 18-karat rose gold—remain superimposed until a press of the rose gold pusher at 8 o’clock sends the top hand, indicating local time, one hour forward while revealing the rose gold “home time” hand, below. Another push of the button resets the hands.
“What makes it special is that never before has the rattrapante function been used outside chronographs,” says Guido Terreni, Parmigiani’s chief executive.
In combining rattrapante with GMT, the watchmaker has actually embraced the former’s literal translation. “In French, rattraper means ‘to catch up,’ to reunite,” Terreni says. “In the pandemic, the GMT reinvented its role—it was not anymore linked to traveling, but to being connected to someone living in a different time zone. Now that we are exiting the pandemic, we all want to travel, discover places and culture and be reunited again.”
The 40 mm stainless-steel model belongs to the Tonda PF collection of pared-down timepieces on integrated steel bracelets that the brand introduced in September. In addition to a knurled bezel fashioned from platinum, the watch features a dial adorned with Grain d’Orge guilloché and hand-applied, rhodium-plated 18-karat gold indices.
Case Size: 40 mm Case Material: Stainless-steel Power Reserve: 48 hours Straps: Stainless steel bracelet Price:CHF 26,000 (about $28,000)
Piaget One-of-a-Kind Altiplano Ultimate Concept Piaget
Piaget’s AUC held the record as the world’s thinnest (2mm) watch starting in 2017 right up until last month when Bulgari’s 1.8mm Octo Finissimo Ultra took the title. But Piaget was, after all, the first, and it celebrates that accomplishment with this unique piece. Two enlarged circles among the dots on the minute ring mark the time (7:47) when the AUC first came to life. Its original launch date—the 7th of February 2017—is inscribed in a small window at 2:30, and Piaget’s headquarters, “La Côte-aux-Fées,” in Switzerland, is engraved on the movement’s ratchet wheel, along with its GPS coordinates. The dial plate is decorated with stars illuminated by Super-LumiNova, arranged to replicate the sky above La Côte-aux-Fées on the date of the AUC’s birth.
Case Size: 41 mm by 2 mm Case Material: Cobalt-based alloy Power Reserve: 40 hours Strap: Alligator Price: One-of-a-kind, upon request
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monobalancier Roger Dubuis
The latest addition to Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur range—known for its skeletonized movements featuring the brand’s star motif in various positions—comes with a new caliber, the RD 720SQ. The star has been reshaped to hover above the movement’s barrel, while its components have been finished in a mix of sandblasting, satin-brushed applications, and polished angles. The 18-karat pink gold and Tungsten micro-rotor has been optimized to minimize vibrations and comes engraved with the company’s monogram.
Other improvements include a doubling of the balance wheel inertia for improved stability and shock resistance, while the escapement wheel and pallets are now constructed of diamond-coated silicon for better optimization of energy and efficiency with increased precision to 4Hz.
Aside from the new movement, there isn’t anything wildly new about this already wild design, but this version comes housed in Roger Dubuis’ proprietary EON Gold, which is worth noting as it is said to be a pink-gold alloy that has a special makeup reducing the tendency to tarnish over time.
Case Size: 42 mm Case Material: EON Gold or EON Gold with diamonds Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Embossed black calf leather with a quick-release system. Also available on a purple calf-leather strap with 60 white diamonds on the case bezel. Price: Limited to 178 each, $75,000 in EON Gold and $81,500 in EON Gold with diamonds
Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer is taking it to the top. The sports watch brand has entered the high horology echelons with a six-figure sports watch decked to the hilt in lab-grown diamonds. Priced at CHF 350,000 ($377,767 at current exchange), the Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma, is the most expensive piece the company has ever created.
“The vision we have is not to take an established design with natural diamonds and replace these diamonds with synthetic diamonds, but to take the advantage of this technology and the process of production to create new shapes, new designs,” CEO, Frédéric Arnault told Robb Report. “That would be almost impossible to do with natural diamonds. But that this is possible to do due to the production technique of the lab-grown diamonds.”
It has a spectacular effect with the diamonds bending over the edge of the sandblasted anodized aluminum case—a material Arnault said was more conducive to the innovative setting of the diamond blocks.
The use of lab-grown diamonds was not just reserved for the case, however. The material touches nearly every surface of the watch. The dial is made from a single block—a sum of crystals grown as one—while the chronograph counters are made from a black polycrystalline diamond plate. The crown is solid diamond contrasted by black DLC pushers on either side. Even the H 02 Tourbillon Nanograph movement is rooted in the stone. “The hairspring is a carbon nanotube. So, there’s storytelling around the carbon because the base element for diamonds is, of course, carbon.”
Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma Caseback Tag Heuer
To create the piece, TAG Heuer partnered with a network of lab-grown diamond manufacturers including Lusix, Capsoul and Diamaze.
“It’s the first piece we launched with such exceptional technology and it’s the beginning of a new story for TAG Heuer,” said Arnault. When asked whether that meant the company would be consistently producing pieces in a higher price category Arnault responded, “It’s possible, yes.”
That doesn’t mean TAG Heuer will abandon its core accessibly price sports watches, but it does mean the company has dipped its toes into a new category, setting the bar high not only for itself but also challenging the rest of the industry to start thinking about what is possible aesthetically with lab-grown diamonds.
Case Material: Sandblasted anodized aluminum Case Size: 44 mm Power Reserve: 65 hours Straps: Black calfskin with black lining with black sandblasted ardillon clasp in titanium grade 2 with ADLC treatment Price: CHF 350,000 ($377,767 at current exchange); one-of-a-kind
TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition Tag Heuer
Last year, TAG Heuer announced its partnership with Porsche to bring watches inspired by the two companies’ shared history in automotive racing. A steel bracelet Tag Heuer Carrera x Porsche chronograph was debuted to herald the news of the collaboration. This time around, an all-black TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche Limited Edition model in DLC continues the joint effort.
“It’s in line with the first Porsche edition that we launched but in a more sporty feel, with a black matte dial and the asphalt that’s in the counters,” Frédéric Arnault told Robb Report. “That used to be on the full dial, but now we’ll see just it in the counters.” This watch also sports Porsche’s signature yellow color in its branding on the bezel, along with hints of the hue on the counters, chronograph hand, crown, strap, movement wheels and its oscillating rotor, which is visible through the caseback and is modeled after a Porsche steering wheel. The Pantone color is often seen on the company’s sportiest racing vehicles.
Like its predecessor, this limited edition also comes powered by the Heuer 02, which boasts 80 hours of power reserve and is comprised of 168 parts including a column wheel and vertical clutch. Design-wise, however, this piece makes a stronger statement and if you happen to be the owner of a snazzy Porsche Carrera GT, considered to be the brand’s most collectible 21st-century sports car, then it’s an absolute must-have.
Case Size: 44 mm Case Material: Black DLC Power Reserve: 80 hours Straps: Textile textured black calfskin strap with yellow stitchings and racing yellow lining with black DLC steel-folding clasp with double safety push-buttons Price: $7,050 Drop Date: April
TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Special Edition Tag Heuer
“We used to have a Monaco Heuer category 11 gulf edition and now we are streamlining this reference with the Heuer 02 movement,” says Arnault of the new TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Special Edition. “It has the TAG Heuer logo and it has an even more elegant and refined design, where you can see the lines behind the circle of the dial and also in the counters. This is a very loved watch among collectors.” This marks the first time that the in-house Heuer 02 movement, with a column wheel and vertical clutch, has been incorporated into this timepiece. It is also the first time the Monaco Gulf Edition sports “TAG Heuer” branding versus just “Heuer.”
But updates to the layout go beyond the brand name. The turquoise and orange stripes, signatures of the Gulf brand’s racing cars, have been slimmed down and no longer run the full length of the dial. The colors are also now present on the minute sub counter between 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock and the hands of both sub counters now come in orange versus black. And the navy dial now comes in a shinier sunray brushed opaline. The Gulf logo, meanwhile, was executed in all-white versus orange and navy. The hour markers now fan out from the center in a more traditional representation, whereas they were previously positioned horizontally extending from the minute track. The 12 o’clock indice has been replaced with a “60” topped with two dots (a tribute to the number on Porsche Gulf racing cars), the hands are now steel with white Super-Luminova coating and the orange lines that used to extend from the dots above the hour markers have been nixed. Finally, another seconds counter has been added below the Gulf logo.
Oh wait, but there’s more beyond the dial. The new Heuer 02 movement, visible through the caseback, has a hint of orange on a wheel and a black rotor with an engraving indicating the new caliber. The navy straps perforation holes now come in varying sizes, which is a nod to the early Monaco models of the’70s.
If you need to ask if this is a collector’s item, you probably shouldn’t own one. But for those that already have older versions of the Monaco Gulf, they have probably just increased in value.
Case Size: 39 mm Case Material: Steel Power Reserve: 80 hours Straps: Blue calfskin strap with orange lining and polished-steel folding clasp with double-safety push-buttons Price: TBC Drop Date: May
Ulysse Nardin Freak S Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin is getting its freak on again! When it was first introduced in 2001, the Freak was, as its name suggests, a wildly weird and cool new approach to time unlike anything seen before. Designed by industry veteran Carole Forestier-Kasapi (who has developed movements in-house for everyone from Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels to Cartier and, most recently, Tag Heuer) and executed by Ludwig Oechslin, it tells time via a carousel movement that indicates the hours and minutes, rather than traditional hands and a movement that lies beneath the dial. The white “arrow,” coated in Super-LumiNova, indicates the hour while the “nose,” indicates the minutes (in the picture above the time reads 10:20). Time is set by rotating the bezel clockwise or counterclockwise.
In the Freak S, Ulysse Nardin is coming to the table with some major updates. The biggie is the brand’s first double oscillator with a differential with automatic winding, via a “Grinder” system, which is twice as efficient as a traditional automatic winding system. The two blued XXL silicium oscillators (the Freak was the first watch to use silicon in a movement and both oscillators use the material, which has been coated in synthetic diamond to improve performance and reduce wear and tear), both inclined at 20 degrees, are visible above: one between 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock and the other positioned between 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock. They come with inertia blocks and are linked by a differential that draws an average of their two rates, beating at a frequency of 2.4 Hz, in order to evenly distribute the barrel’s energy and improve the regulation of the movement’s running rate. Typically, this kind of differential is used in an automobile’s transition, allowing for the wheels to turn at different speeds.
The Freak’s new engine now comes housed in an updated case design inspired by the 2001 original but outfitted in a mix of black ceramic, titanium with black DLC and 5N rose gold. The UN-251 caliber comes set, appropriately, against an aventurine backdrop—a starry, sparkly surface that highlights the Freak’s space-age aesthetic, which still looks as futuristic today as it did when it debuted over two decades ago.
Case Size: 45 mm Case Material: Black ceramic, titanium with black DLC and 5N rose gold Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Black alligator & golden calf strap or black alligator strap Price: Limited to 75 with only 40 produced in 2022, $137,200
Ulysse Nardin Freak X Aventurine Ulysse Nardin
Here you have a more standard version of the Freak with a single oscillating wheel, which, as its name suggests, also comes against an aventurine backdrop. The Freak X debuted in 2019 offering a, relatively speaking, more accessible price point for collectors who wanted the horological creativity of the concept without the six-figure cost. Previous versions went for $21,000 but with the rose gold and titanium casing and the stone backdrop, the price has been upped by $17,000, which is certainly a leap but is still nowhere close to the cost of the new Freak S.
The simplified construction of the UN-230 movement is a blend of the UN-118 and UN-150 calibers featuring a carousel acting as the hour hand attached to a wheel in the center of the dial. The hour is told via the shorter Super-Luminova four-sided hand, while the minutes are indicated by the second elongated Super-Luminova-coated pointer which circles around the dial with the movement (pictured, the time reads 10:20). The Freak X Aventurine offers the interstellar appeal of the Freak S but with pared-down mechanics for clients who want a taste of this exceptional invention without forking over an astronomical investment.
Case Size: 43 mm Case Material: Blue PVD titanium and 5N rose gold Power Reserve: 72 hours Straps: Blue alligator strap with light gray ”points de bride” stitches Price: $38,000
Everybody and their mother is familiar with the AP Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the progenitors of the “luxury sports watch” category from the mind of Gérald Genta. But not everyone knows about the Vacheron Constantin 222, and that’s a shame. Released in 1977, the year Vacheron celebrated its 222nd anniversary, the 222 was designed by then-24-year-old Jorg Hysek. Available in steel, gold, or a two-tone combination, it featured an integrated bracelet and an original production run of fewer than 1,000 pieces, making it highly desirable on the secondary market and auction circuit.
This year, Vacheron brought back the 222 in the form of the new Historiques 222, which will only be available at its boutiques. Like the original, it features the iconic hexagonal-link bracelet but is now powered by an in-house movement, the 3.6mm-thick 2455/2. (The original 222 used the Caliber 1121, based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 920 that was used in both the Royal Oak and the Nautilus.) Housed in a 37mm 18-karat yellow gold case with a Maltese cross emblem at 5 o’clock, it features a gold-toned dial with applied gold hour markers, a matching baton handset, and a date wheel at 3 o’clock. And in a very 2022 update, the watch features a sapphire case back—the better to admire the beautiful movement beating away within.
Case Size: 37mm x 7.95mm Case Material: 18-karat yellow gold Power Reserve: 40 hours Straps: Integrated 18-karat yellow gold bracelet Price: $TBD
Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Vacheron Constantin
The salmon dial, once considered avant-garde, rare and exotic, is, well, still all of those things, and it’s enjoying a major revival. The salmon/platinum combination emerged as a thing in the 1940s and, vintage or new, remains highly collectible and ultra rare. The Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Perpetual Calendar Chrono is a new high watermark for the genre. It contains the Geneva Hallmarked caliber 1142 QP, with a classic dial layout similar to the coveted Patek Philippe 5270P, with day/month windows under the 12, small seconds at 9 o’clock, minute totalizer at 3 and moon phase/date at 6. The model is a limited but not numbered edition, and is available in Vacheron Constantin boutiques only.
Case Size: 43 mm by 12.94 mm Case Material: Platinum Power Reserve: 48 hours Strap: Blue alligator Price: On request
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Skeleton Vacheron Constantin
This is the first skeletonized tourbillon in the Overseas collection and serves as something of a showcase for the level finishing this brand routinely applies to every one of its movements. The skeletonized version of the caliber 2160 SQ includes hand-drawn flanks, hand chamfered and polished bevels, a finely grooved mainplate and bridges treated with an NAC (N-acetylcysteine) surface tint in anthracite gray. There are two versions, one in 18k rose gold, and a titanium model that represents Vacheron’s first all-titanium watch including case, bezel and bracelet. The skeletonization process eliminated 20% of the movement’s weight, and together with a peripheral rotor, that results in a slim 10.39-mm, elegant tourbillon.
Case Size: 42.5 mm by 10.39mm Case Material: Titanium or 18-karat rose gold Power Reserve: 72 hours Strap: Titanium or gold bracelet and with two extra straps in calfskin and rubber Price: On request
Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin is introducing its first-ever ladies’ perpetual calendar, which is surprising considering the brand’s 265-year history as a maker of high complications. The watch employs the same movement that drives men’s tourbillons in the Overseas and Patrimony collections, the 1120 QP, an ultra-thin caliber that enables a ladies-size watch—The Traditionelle PC is a very wearable 36.5mm by 8.43mm. The dials are feminine but minimalist—a balance that has been elusive when it comes to ladies’ watch design—with pale blue or rosy beige mother-of-pearl with tone-on-tone subdials and subtle markings. Cases are 18-karat white or pink gold. Straps, with a slight iridescent glow, are interchangeable, another must-have in the current world of ladies’ watches.
Case Size: 36.5 mm by 8.43 mm Case Material: 18k pink gold or 18k white gold Power Reserve: 40 hours Straps: Alligator with iridescent satin finish Price: $87,500 in both pink and white gold
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales Van Cleef & Arpels
Always thinking of romantic new ways to tell time, Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest high horology creations looked to nature to inform two of its most complicated timepieces to date. The hours are read by flowers that bloom in a seemingly random sequence for a garden theater for the wrist, while minutes are read via a side window on the edge of the case. Read more about the entire process step by step here.
Case Material: 18-karat yellow gold or 18-karat white gold with diamonds Case Size: 38 mm Straps: Shiny navy or pink alligator leather Price: Upon request
Van Cleef & Arpels Planétarium Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels has created a series of exceptional automaton clocks to highlight its ongoing “poetry of time” theme. You may remember the Parisian house’s exceptional Planétarium wristwatches, the first of which debuted in 2018 (a Robb Report Best of the Best Winner) and depicted the trajectory of the planets in the solar system—this table clock recreates the theme in a beautiful object for the home. It animates the sun and its orbiting planets, which are visible from Earth—Mars, Jupiter and Saturn—as well as its satellite, the moon as they move in real-time. Mercury (moonstone surrounded by white gold, sapphires and diamonds) completes one orbit in 88 days, Venus (agate with rose gold and purple and yellow sapphires) in 224 days, Earth (chrysocolla with white gold, emeralds and Paraíba-like tourmalines) in 365 days, Mars (carnelian, rose gold, pink sapphires and diamonds) in 687 days, Jupiter (chalcedony and a border in yellow gold, spessartite garnets and diamonds) in 11.86 years, Saturn (jasper with rings blending white gold with sapphires and diamonds) in 29.5 years and the moon (opal surrounded by white gold, yellow gold and diamonds) which circles Earth in 29.5 days.
Beneath the glass case, which was crafted at the Fluid workshop in Belle-Île, France, a shooting star in gold, diamonds and rubies indicates the time on a 24-hour dial. On the base are indications for the hours and minutes, day/night, power reserve and a perpetual calendar. The Planétarium can be activated on-demand to make the orbs dance at will—a complication Van Cleef & Arpels developed with CompliTime. When the animation is set in motion, the sun, which has a core of diamond set on more than 500 gold stems, quivers via a trembleur in the mechanisms, bringing its sparkling diamonds, yellow sapphire and spessartite garnets to life.
Case Size: 50 cm high by 66.5 cm wide Base Material: Yellow gold, white gold, diamonds, blue aventurine glass, ebony, white holly, glass, miniature painting, aluminum, brass, black and blue PVD, goat leather Price: Upon request
Van Cleef & Arpels Fontaine aux Oiseaux Van Cleef & Arpels
Another beautiful example of Van Cleef & Arpels’ automaton artistry is the Fontaine aux Oiseaux (Bird Fountain). Here, time is displayed via a retrograde function at the fountain’s base on a 12-hour scale with a sliding feather indicator. The piece can be activated up to five times in a row and when it is set in motion the water, made from chalcedony, rock crystal and aluminum, begins to move for a ripple effect. A yellow-gold and lacquer water lily begins to bloom and a dragonfly— constructed in white gold, sapphires, diamonds, mother-of-pearl inlaid with white gold, plique-à-jour enamel, and a steel mechanism rises and beats its wings while taking a slight twirl.
Two exquisite birds serve as the centerpiece. Perched on the edge of the basin, the companions sing a song (via bellows and a clicking box) as they raise their heads and open their wings, moving closer together with their legs rising, in a display of courtship. The male is constructed in yellow gold, white gold, sapphires, emeralds, tsavorite garnets, diamonds and lapis lazuli, while the female is adorned in yellow gold, white gold, sapphires, mandarin garnets, amethysts, diamonds and turquoise.
Fontaine aux oiseaux took 4,300 hours to construct within Van Cleef & Arpels workshop and 25,200 hours total from concept to creation, including design work done in collaboration with specialty ateliers, Meilleur Ouvrier de France and Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, and Swiss automaton maker, François Junod. It also required the work of lapidaries, jewelers, stone setters, enamelers and cabinet-makers.
Pieces like these were once made for the kings and queens of Europe. Many of them are now found in museums and few are still made today, so it is wonderful to see Van Cleef & Arpels continue to pursue this ancient and extraordinary craft well into the 21st century.
Case Size: 44.15 cm high by 41.3 cm wide Base Material: White gold, yellow gold, vegetal lacquer, hen eggshell marquetry, ebony, glass, purple sapphires, emeralds, tsavorite garnets, diamonds, aluminum, steel, black PVD and goat leather Price: Upon request
Zenith Chronomaster Open Zenith
Zenith combines the glory of its 1969 icon, the El Primero, with a page from its more recent past, namely the early 2000s, when certain models included dial openings to reveal the inner workings of the movement. The Chronomaster Open was first introduced in 2003, and in this revival, the signature tri-color dial includes an openworked interpretation of the small seconds indicator at 9 o’clock. A hesalite crystal element serves as a readable seconds subdial while allowing a view of the silicon, star-shaped escape wheel of the El Primero caliber 3604. The movement is a variation of the 3600, which times to 1/10th of a second. The case is a trim 39.5 mm, compared to the standard 42 mm model.
Case Size: 39.5 mm Case Material: Stainless steel or 18-karat rose gold Power Reserve: 60 hours Strap: Steel bracelet or cordura-effect rubber strap Price: $10,000 for a steel bracelet and $21,300 for the 18-karat gold on a strap
Subscribe now and save. Includes digital magazine access + a free gift.
Give the Gift of Luxury