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IWC’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar is the undisputed calendar masterpiece of the Schaffhausen-based brand for Watches and Wonders 2024. A colossal technical milestone, the Eternal Calendar marks the brand’s first secular perpetual calendar. Unlike a perpetual calendar that will need a correction in 2100, the Eternal Calendar is fitted with a 400-year gear that overrides the […]

Whether it’s the more elegant and classy Santos-Dumont or the sportier Santos de Cartier, Cartier’s Santos collection continues to be immensely popular. No wonder the French Maison adds a few new references to the lineup every year. Understandably, 2024 is no exception, and there are even a few surprise appearances here. What to think of […] Visit Cartier Introduces The Rewind And Dual Time Versions Of Its Beloved Santos to read the full article.

If you’re new to watches and have noticed the big wave of retro love sweeping the world, the Ulysse Nardin Freak will surely shock your system. And it will stun you even more if you are not privy to the fact that this is an ever-evolving creation that is already over 20 years old. That’s […] Visit Introducing: The Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad - Reinventing Hand-Crafted Avant-Garde to read the full article.

As part of the Watches and Wonders 2024 releases from Grand Seiko, here we have the Grand Seiko SLGW003 and SLGW002. These are two new additions to the Evolution 9 collection. This is Grand Seiko’s newer design language that, while rooted in the 44GS, aims to push the brand forward. Today, Grand Seiko adds two […] Visit Introducing: Grand Seiko SLGW003 And SLGW002 “Birch Bark” Hand-Winders to read the full article.

Cartier is a brand that knows how to manage its hero designs. Few brands have as many iconic designs under their wings as the Parisian Maison. The Tortue is one that you may not be as familiar with as the Tank and the Santos. That could very well be because it hasn’t been in Cartier’s […] Visit Introducing: Cartier Privé Collection Tortue Hours/Minutes And Monopoussoir Chronograph to read the full article.

Amidst the plethora of sports watches with integrated bracelets, the Zenith Defy Skyline stands out for its uncluttered design and relative affordability. Now the lineup is joined by the Defy Skyline Chronograph. The chronograph maintains many of the signature features of the existing models, such as its octagonal case and star-patterned dial. Debuting in three dial colours, Defy chronograph is amongst Zenith’s sportier offerings. Like other recent launches, it is powered by the second-generation El Primero calibre. Initial thoughts The Defy Skyline Chronograph is another option for an enthusiasts seeking a sports chronograph with a contemporary design and integrated bracelet. There are admittedly many, many options in this category, but the Defy chronograph is one of the value-minded offerings. At CHF11,900, the Defy chronograph with its in-house movement is competitively priced compared to other offerings in the sports watch market. The brand has opted for a conservative design while retaining a modern edge. Though the overall design is familiar, it has incorporates a few unusual details, including a polygonal flange around the dial. The watch is being launched in only three colours, all simple, easy shades that are well suited to the design, though not exciting. With the limited colours in mind, some might want to wait for subsequent releases that may adopt the colours found in its time-only counterpart. Zenith’s latest addition The Defy chronograph joins Zenith’...

Amongst Vacheron Constantin’s novelties at Watches & Wonders is the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph Collection Excellence Platine (CEP), the latest model to receive the monochromatic, all-platinum treatment. Coming two years after the Traditionnelle Split-Seconds Chronograph CEP, this utilises platinum extensively throughout the watch, and even the stitching of the strap, while maintaining many of the standard model’s key characteristics. Initial thoughts On its face, the new Tourbillon Chronograph closely resembles the standard model in rose gold. The view from the back is practically identical – which is a good thing given the appeal of the cal. 3200, a recent in-house calibre (and not Lemania based) but one constructed with traditional aesthetics and details. Nevertheless, being a CEP edition, it embraces a primarily grey palette. This is tastefully complemented by the blue accents, including the blued steel hands, and a single blued screw on the tourbillon cage. It’s a straightforward yet effective combination.  The formula is the same one applied to past CEP editions, so the similarity between this and the standard model is understandable. However, varying the design more in order to distinguish this from the regular production model would have made it a bit more special. Nevertheless, the CEP possesses a refined charm and is more appealing than its current standard model, albeit with a price tag that is quite a bit more, as is usually the case for CEP...

Watches that do more than a human being is capable of are nothing new. Rolex, Omega, and others make dive watches that are capable of reaching depths that no man or woman could survive. The Rolex Deepsea Challenge is rated to 11,000 meters (which means it’s tested to even greater depths) while the deepest point in the ocean is about 10,900 meters, give or take. That means this particular dive watch can go deeper than any depth possible on the planet. Even that, somehow, feels more practical than IWC’s big release at Watches & Wonders, the Portugieser Eternal Calendar. This is the brand’s first secular calendar, which accounts for leap-year exception rules in the Gregorian calendar that play out over a 400 year span. A calendar complication that no living human will have a chance to observe do its thing in real time is one thing, but it’s the moonphase on this watch that is truly looking ahead: IWC claims it’s accurate to 45 million years. And just think, it wasn’t even ten years ago that the Apple Watch had many in this industry scared that watchmaking could be killed by smart-gadgets. Talk about confidence.  The concept of a secular calendar will be worth a refresher for many, as it’s a truly rare complication that most brands simply don’t attempt given the incredibly long timeframes involved (the last one we discussed in these pages was from indie Furlan Marri). The gist is this: in addition to a leap year every four years, Gregorian calendar needs an ad...

Watches & Wonders 2024 is here, and with it comes another addition to Hublot’s expanding lineup of colorful sapphire-cased watches. These vibrantly hued sapphire cases have become a bit of a staple for Hublot in the last few years, and I am here for it. As someone whose preferences typically skew towards the sensible and sedate, you might be surprised to learn that, in staunch defiance of my typical taste and common sense, Hublot’s experiments have produced some of my favorite recent watches. I’m a big believer in fun watches and, for all the flack that gets sent Hublot’s way, it’s impossible to deny the smile that creeps across your face when you strap on a giant purple sapphire tourbillon. Today’s addition to the brightly colored lineup is a new limited version of the Big Bang MP-11. The MP-11 was first introduced six years ago (back when Baselworld was still a thing) and is no stranger to transparency. Over the years, the MP-11 has seen releases in clear sapphire, dark blue sapphire, and green SAXEM. This new release brings a different character to the familiar piece, with a brand new icy glacier blue sapphire case and matching rubber strap, complemented by titanium hardware, bezel screws, and crown. The new color, which Hublot is calling ‘Water Blue Sapphire’ and releasing in a limited edition of just 50, is the result of a new chemical formula, and results in a color that seems to change based on the light around the watch from a pale blue to an ocean-...

Zenith returns to the Defy collection this year at Watches & Wonders with the introduction of a Defy Skyline Chronograph. This is a version of the next-gen Defy that Zenith fans have been anticipating since the collection’s debut, given the long line of chronographs that have populated Defy collections past and present. The new Defy Skyline Chronograph follows iterations of the Skyline that have played with materials and skeletonization, so it seems possible (even likely) that eventually the chronograph will get similar treatment. For now, we have a trio of references in stainless steel that feel like a logical extension of the Defy Skyline series.  The 42mm case is effectively unchanged from previous skylines, and is Zenith’s contemporary take on the original 8-sided Defy case first seen in the late 1960s. The Defy, as opposed to the Chronomaster and Pilot lines, has always been Zenith’s playground for the avant-garde and the unusual, and the highly sculptural case design of this watch, that traces a lineage back to the original, underscores the very nature of what the Defy is.  Dial options at launch include metallic black, blue, and silver, and feature the signature star pattern that has been present in the Skyline from the beginning. The subdials are oversized and overlap just slightly (perhaps not as much as on a Chronomaster) and are color matched to the main dial, but do not feature the Skyline stars. As with most other watches running on El Primero movement...

At Watches & Wonders 2024, Parmigiani Fleurier is launching the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date, a concise sports watch clearly catered to those who want just two hands. Featuring a “Golden Siena” (or “salmon”) dial in its inaugural guise, the new Tonda PF barely deviates from the design of the original released in 2021, retaining the same case, proportions, and movement, but eliminates the date. Initial thoughts Among the sports watches launched during the integrated-bracelet-sports-watch fad, the Tonda PF stood out for its unique aesthetics that are neither boring nor flashy. While many of its competitors were often obvious derivatives of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Tonda PF was more original and managed to retain some of the traditional design codes of Parmigiani’s more formal watches. From a distance, it is challenging to tell the difference between the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date and the original. In fact, the only real difference lies in the dial design and colour. Although the differences are minimal, the salmon dial with a no-date layout offers a more refined aesthetic that will appeal to purists. At CHF23,500, the watch is priced the same as the date version and like it, is a decent-enough value proposition. Though it seems expensive when compared to more affordable alternatives like the Louis Vuitton Tambour or Moser Streamliner, the Tonda PF is more affordable than the Royal Oak or a Nautilus (which are mostly unobtaina...

This year at Watches & Wonders, Oris finds itself focusing primarily on a single collection: the Aquis. For years, the Aquis has carried the torch as the brand’s flagship modern sports watch. A capable diver with an integrated bracelet (it had one before they were cool), the Aquis has been made in a dizzying variety of case sizes and dial variants over the years, with complicated models, limited editions, and even diamonds finding their way to the line. But over all that time, the Aquis itself has never really had a proper reset. That changes this year, with a new, more refined Aquis Date that seeks to improve on the old version in all the ways watch collectors care about. The new Aquis is made of a number of subtle changes that add up to a noticeable, if incremental, improvement. This is not a radical rethinking of the Aquis, but feels more like an admission from Oris that certain elements of the tried and true design could be tweaked for a better overall experience. It’s an approach, frankly, that we think more brands should take. When something is generally pretty good, it makes no sense to kill it and start from scratch. Success over a long period means little iterative changes that make your product better as performance expectations shift, and Oris seems to embrace that.  Of the changes made to the new Aquis, the most important is likely the small tweaks to the case. Oris has redefined the Aquis silhouette by making everything a little more balanced, with lugs t...

One part inside your watch makes one complete rotation every 400 years. Let that sink in. This is the case with the new IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar ref. IW505701. The calendar will run flawlessly until the year 3999. A regular perpetual calendar would need three corrections (in 2100, 2200, and 2300). Only those centurial years […] Visit Hot Take: IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar to read the full article.

You might have to look twice, but you’re looking at the updated IWC Portugieser Automatic 42. These models have a completely re-engineered case construction with a more slender side profile. The bezel-less watches feature double-domed box-style glass sapphire crystals for unobstructed views of the sunburst dials or the versions finished with 15 layers of transparent […] Visit The Refined And Reworked IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 - Plus New Dial Colors For The Portugieser Automatic 40 And Chronograph to read the full article.

The two new GMTs bolster an already strong lineup from Grand Seiko.

Vacheron Constantin introduces a host of new timepieces for 2024, including one Haute Joaillerie piece. These novelties include new variations of the Overseas, Traditionelle Tourbillon Chronograph, Patrimony Manual-Winding, Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date and Égérie Moon Phase, as well the Égérie The Pleats of Time concept watch and Haute Joaillerie Grand Lady Kalla. Vacheron ConstantinRead More

Cartier’s suite of Animal Jewellery watches unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2024 includes the striking Pebble “Tigre”. Described by its maker as inspired by “an imaginary encounter between zebra and crocodile that… is both graphic and organic”, the watch is essentially a Pebble with a double-layer bezel decorated in lacquer and precious stones. Watch aficionados will be disappointed that it is a traditional jewellery watch – more jewellery than watch – and the movement inside is quartz. Initial thoughts Thematically, the new Pebble is similar to the Crash Tigre with its abstract, animal-patterned cased. Though it’s in keeping with Cartier’s tradition of animal-inspired jewellery watches, the new Pebble is nonetheless surprising since it’s a striking departure from the traditional Pebble. The watch is slightly larger than the conventional Pebble, particularly in terms of thickness, but it’s still relatively compact. But it has instant presence thanks to the extravagant decoration. It’s unfortunately that the movement is quartz, but that is typical for most of Cartier’s high jewellery watches. This will limit its appeal for mechanical watch enthusiasts, but fans of Cartier’s jewelled form watches will appreciate the design and execution. The Cartier Crash Tigre Wild things The Animal Jewellery collection of 2024 is made up of watches modelled on animals that are a recurring theme in Cartier jewellery, namely panthers, crocodiles, and tigers. Most ...

A. Lange & Söhne is marking 25 years of its landmark chronograph of 1999 with the Datograph Up/Down “25th Anniversary”, a limited edition that’s a subtle but significant variation of the familiar model. The anniversary Datograph sports a dark blue dial matched with a white gold case that contains the much loved L951.6 movement. Limited to 125 pieces, the new model joins the regular production versions in platinum and pink gold (both with black dials) that remain in the catalogue. And it’s the more affordable of the anniversary editions, with the flagship being the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”. Initial thoughts While the anniversary Datograph doesn’t seem like much on the face of it, the colour and material is fairly unique for the model. The Datograph has only ever been offered in platinum, pink or yellow gold, and never before with a blue dial (except on one occasion). Though left unstated in the official announcement, the blue dial is clearly a reference to a unique example of the first-generation Datograph that had a blue dial, something that fans of the brand will appreciate. Moreover, the Datograph is rarely iterated as a limited edition. This is only the third Datograph limited edition (following the Datograph Lumen of 2019), leaving aside gem-set models. Consequently, there’s a lot to like about this, with a big caveat. As comparably-priced alternative to the regular production models, this is a compelling proposition. However, ...