Watch brandsWatch wikiWatch videosVariousWatch calendarSaved articles
PopularRolexOmegaPatek PhilippeAudemars PiguetTudorGrand SeikoCartierSeikoIWCTAG HeuerBreitlingJaeger-LeCoultreA. Lange & SohneZenith

Results for Tourbillon

2,244 articles · 2 videos found · page 57 of 75

Related pages

Wiki · Guide
Flying Tourbillon

Alfred Helwig's 1920 tourbillon variant with no upper bridge; the entire cage is visible.

Wiki · Guide
Tourbillon

Breguet's 1801 rotating-cage escapement, explained.

Exclusive · Guide
Breguet Drops Four Tourbillon Watches to Mark 225 Years Since the Patent

A quartet of new releases, one returning collector favorite, and a date that matters more than most anniversaries in watchmaking.

Dimensions · Guide
Case dimensions: Patek Philippe World Time Flying Tourbillon 5531 Patek Philippe

42.8 mm × 11.4 mm, lug 22 mm, Cal. R 27 HU

Breguet Celebrates 250 Years with a Tribute to a Watch from 1797 (w/ Hands-On Photos) Worn & Wound
Breguet Celebrates 250 Years Apr 24, 2025

Breguet Celebrates 250 Years with a Tribute to a Watch from 1797 (w/ Hands-On Photos)

If you’re into watches, then you’re into Abraham-Louis Breguet. One of the founders of modern horology, his innovations set the course of the industry and remain relevant. Whether that’s in terms of his inventions like the tourbillon, the gong-spring, his signature overcoil, self-winding, or shock protection, to name but a few, or in marketing and selling his timepieces, his contributions set many standards. Of these listed, however, marketing and selling seem the least interesting, and yet, Breguet’s “Souscription” model and the watches created as a result, have served as inspiration for several of the modern Breguet brand’s most iconic timepieces. In 2005, the brand launched the Tradition line, bringing escapements to the dial of a wristwatch, and now, the Classique Souscription 2025, celebrating the company’s 250th anniversary. The Souscription concept is one we are all very familiar with, if a slightly different take that suited the times. Upon ordering one of Breguet’s Souscription pieces, a quarter of the total price was paid to cover the parts. A deposit, if you will. The watch was made, and the remaining three-quarters were sent to acquire it. Sounds familiar, though typically we don’t fund the making of individual watches (though sometimes we do). A highly successful campaign that was advertised via a pamphlet, another innovation, it is said that around 700 watches were produced using this model. The concept wasn’t just a method of payment, b...

Vacheron Constantin Introduces the Most Complicated Wristwatch, Ever Worn & Wound
Vacheron Constantin Introduces Apr 15, 2025

Vacheron Constantin Introduces the Most Complicated Wristwatch, Ever

If you were to sit me down at a desk and ask me to write down 41 watch complications off the top of my head, I think the result would be rather like Ross Geller trying to name the 50 states in that one episode of Friends. There’s just no way I could do it. Forty-one is an absurd number of complications to even conceive of, let alone cram into one surprisingly wearable watch. And yet, that is what Vacheron Constantin’s one-of-a-kind watchmaking department, Les Cabinotiers, has managed to do. Just about a year after introducing the world’s most complicated watch of any kind - a pocket watch containing 63 complications - Vacheron has unveiled the Les Cabinotiers ‘Solaria Ultra Grand Complication.’ It’s hard to know where to start with a watch like this, especially since I haven’t had the opportunity to see it in person, so to begin, I’ll just say this: I am wildly impressed by this watch, and you should be too. It’s a serious step up from their previous most complicated wristwatch - the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600, which housed 23 complications. It’s worth saying here that, even before getting to the Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, Vacheron Constantin had a very good Watches & Wonders. The brand is celebrating its 270th anniversary this year and they’ve done a hell of a job with it. Their new 127-piece limited edition Traditionelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, with its novel movement and ann...

H. Moser Goes “Pop” with their New Stone Dial Collection Worn & Wound
H. Moser Goes “Pop” Apr 4, 2025

H. Moser Goes “Pop” with their New Stone Dial Collection

It’s well understood at this point that stone dials are experiencing a renaissance in all corners of the watch market. In fact, it might almost be kind of boring to point this out as we continue to see new spins on these dials released on an almost weekly basis. So it would be tempting to say that H. Moser is jumping on the stone dial bandwagon with their new Pop collection, the centerpiece of their Watches & Wonders 2025 strategy. But I don’t think that’s quite fair. Moser, for their part, has been ahead of the curve on stone dials. They’ve released a handful of extremely limited watches with dials crafted from jade, falcon’s eye, and other stones in recent years. And with the Pop collection watches, they’ve done something genuinely creative, combining multiple stones in each dial in unexpected ways across three different models.  The Pop collection exists in the Endeavour line, and makes use of all three watches on the platform: the Endeavour Small Seconds, Endeavour Tourbillon, and Endeavour Minute Repeater Tourbillon Concept. There are six groups of three watches, each making use of a combination of two stones. The stone pairings are Burmese jade and pink opal, lapis lazuli and lemon chrysoprase, and turquoise and coral. Each pairing is executed in two ways, with one stone being dominant in each. So, for example, there’s a Small Seconds model with Burmese jade in the main dial and pink opal in the sub seconds, and another with the opposite. For the tourb...

Hublot Drops a Set of Unique Pieces to Celebrate the Big Bang Anniversary Worn & Wound
Hublot Drops Apr 2, 2025

Hublot Drops a Set of Unique Pieces to Celebrate the Big Bang Anniversary

If $1 million were dropped in your lap tomorrow, what would you do with it? It’s an age-old question (okay, maybe not age-old), one that has driven endless late-night discussion and at least one surprisingly popular ‘90s Canadian rock song. Most of us have some version of an answer to the question, and Hublot has come along to offer up one solution for one lucky Big Bang enthusiast. As part of their celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Big Bang, Hublot has produced a hell of a collector’s set - the Hublot Big Bang 20th Anniversary “Materials and High Complications” Unique Set. What does that mean? Well, it’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Hublot has, through a collection of five piece unique watches, built a collection of Big Bangs that does a pretty cohesive job of summing up the last two decades of Big Bang into one illuminated case. And for the very reasonable price of - cue Doctor Evil - $1 million dollars (well, really 1 million CHF, so about $1,099,000 US) it can all be yours. Inside this extreme collector’s set, you’ll find five Hublot Big Bangs, each of which combines a ‘high complication’ feature set with a case executed in some modern material or another. Moving through the collection, you’ll find a Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic in a red and black ceramic case, a Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic in a transparent sapphire case, a Big Bang Tourbillon Chronograph in a Water Blue Sapphire case, a Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon Ca...

Vacheron Constantin Celebrates Its 270th Anniversary With Three Traditionnelle Openface Models Fratello
Vacheron Constantin Celebrates Apr 2, 2025

Vacheron Constantin Celebrates Its 270th Anniversary With Three Traditionnelle Openface Models

Vacheron Constantin’s anniversary celebrations do not go unnoticed. The 270-year-old horology house kicked things off in January with the stainless steel version of the Historiques 222. Yesterday, it unveiled a high-end follow-up to that release with the stunning new Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, the most complicated wristwatch ever created. Add the Traditionnelle Tourbillon […] Visit Vacheron Constantin Celebrates Its 270th Anniversary With Three Traditionnelle Openface Models to read the full article.

[VIDEO] Grand Seiko Redefines Accuracy - Again: Introducing the 9RB2 U.F.A. Spring Drive Caliber Worn & Wound
Grand Seiko Redefines Accuracy – Again Apr 1, 2025

[VIDEO] Grand Seiko Redefines Accuracy - Again: Introducing the 9RB2 U.F.A. Spring Drive Caliber

2022: the Kodo constant force tourbillon. 2023: the Tentagraph hi-beat mechanical chronograph. 2024: the 9SA4 manual wound, hi-beat, dual-impulse escapement caliber, and Kodo Daybreak. It’s easy to forget that Grand Seiko has brought the proverbial heat to Watches & Wonders every year since the fair started, unveiling something that one could call “revolutionary” for the brand, if on varying scales. Well, it’s looking like 2025 will continue the trend with the introduction of Spring Drive Caliber 9RB2, the first caliber with U.F.A., or Ultra Fine Accuracy, designation. Before proceeding, there are two important concepts to understand: Spring Drive and Grand Seiko’s history with acronyms (which, if you know, feel free to jump two paragraphs ahead). Starting with the former, the elevator pitch, which I will take from our article dedicated to the topic is “Spring Drive combines the best of mechanical watchmaking and the best of quartz timekeeping to create a state-of-the-art caliber that lacks the weaknesses inherent to both of these movements.” A bit deeper, Spring Drive movements use the energy stored in a traditional mainspring to drive their proprietary “Tri-synchro” regulator, which replaces the classic lever escapement. It consists of a glide wheel, the rate of which is controlled by an electromagnetic brake, and is essentially regulated by an integrated circuit with a quartz oscillator. The result is a mechanical movement with quartz-like accuracy and...

First Look - The New Frozen Editions of the H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Monochrome
H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Apr 1, 2025

First Look - The New Frozen Editions of the H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic

The Streamliner collection was introduced by H. Moser & Cie in 2020 and was an overnight success. Its groovy integrated cushion design was fresh, original and brilliantly executed. Since its inception, we’ve seen a wide range of time-only, perpetual calendar, tourbillon and chronograph models, and even several fascinating skeletonised iterations. Moser also loves to play […]

Christie’s to Sell Single-Owner Collection of 21st Century High Horology SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin are well represented but Mar 27, 2025

Christie’s to Sell Single-Owner Collection of 21st Century High Horology

Christie’s is continuing with its streak of single-owner watch collections into the 2025 season with Stories in Time. Made up of 160 watches – including a sizeable number of independents – the sale is the culmination of three decades of collecting by one collector. Representing 47 brands from A. Lange & Söhne to Voutilainen, the collection represents 21st century horology in all its diversity, capturing the evolution of contemporary watchmaking as it developed from the 1990s onwards. The watchmaking landscape Establishment brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin are well represented, but equally the independent watchmakers and brands out of the mainstream. While the brand with the largest number of pieces in the collection is Patek Philippe at 20, the second most numerous brand is De Bethune at 18. The line-up also includes nine watches by Greubel Forsey and seven from MB&F;, as well as a few examples of the Harry Winston Opus series. One of the nine Greubel Forsey watches in the sale, the Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique in platinum with an estimate of US$120,000-220,000 Almost every watch in the collection is in pristine condition and accompanied by the original boxes and paperwork, reflecting the collector’s meticulous approach. This collection will be offered at Christie’s sales across the world over the course of 2025, in Hong Kong, Dubai, Geneva, and New York in the eight auctions during the spring and autumn sales.  

Horage Debuts the K3, an All New Antimagnetic Caliber, and the Decaflux, an Affordable Everyday Sports Watch Worn & Wound
Mar 24, 2025

Horage Debuts the K3, an All New Antimagnetic Caliber, and the Decaflux, an Affordable Everyday Sports Watch

The independent brand Horage has produced some of the most genuinely interesting watches of the last several years. They’re a bit of a tough brand to pin down. Depending on how you discover them, you could mistake them for a brand obsessed with links between watches and photography, or one of a handful of small indies doing interesting things with tourbillons and other watchmaking tech for quite a bit less money than you’d typically expect. But the thing that links all of their products together is a desire to come up with creative solutions to long standing watchmaking problems and to do so in a way that doesn’t leave anyone out of the experience. Accessibility and approachability are as vital to Horage as their love-it-or-hate-it design language, often embracing an ultra contemporary sensibility.  Two new announcements from Horage over the last week or so perfectly illustrate their commitment to quietly pushing horological boundaries. First came the introduction of their new K3 movement. Over the last several years, most of Horage’s big movement developments have come with some high end features and represent big swings for the brand. The tourbillon, of course, is arguably the centerpiece, but they’ve also introduced a micro-rotor caliber as well as a fascinating tool that allows for the periodic electronic regulating of that very movement. But the K3 is a comparatively simple idea, a high quality movement made from advanced materials at a relatively low cost....

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept KAWS “Companion” SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept KAWS Mar 10, 2025

Hands On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept KAWS “Companion”

Launched a few months ago, the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” 43 mm is Audemars Piguet’s first collaboration with Kaws, the contemporary artist best known for work inspired by Mickey Mouse and The Simpsons. While the Kaws edition is not the first AP pop culture collab, it is arguably the best. Initial thoughts I like the Royal Oak Concept Kaws, more than any of AP’s other pop culture collaborations. I like the aesthetic, feel, and execution (though not the oversized case), which put this amongst the best contemporary art crossovers in watchmaking. The Hublot-Murakami series is another outstanding artist-watchmaker collab, but the AP-Kaws watch is executed to a much higher level of quality (and price). Visually, the Kaws is big and bold, but rendered in muted, monochromatic grey – a paradoxical but complementary combination. At a distance the watch seems like yet another oversized Royal Oak, but up close it gets more interesting, starting with the fact that it has no hands in the traditional sense. The lack of hands (which are replaced with peripheral pointers) make this a little more interesting, since the cal. 2979 is a new movement that’s a variant of AP’s more conventional tourbillon calibre. I appreciate the fact that the movement was developed for this watch, both in order to accommodate the figure on the dial and to incorporate the “padded” Kaws aesthetic into the movement bridges on the back. Adding a mechanical complication to the Kaws s...

Introducing: The BA111OD Chapter 7 Certified Chronometer Fratello
Feb 19, 2025

Introducing: The BA111OD Chapter 7 Certified Chronometer

Since 2019, BA111OD has offered edgy, affordable Swiss timepieces. The brand from Neuchatel offers a tourbillon, manufacture complications, and several avant-garde mechanical watches. The models even have chapter names, and today’s piece, the Chapter 7, is the first to receive a chronometer certification. With rising prices from many traditional “high street” brands, smaller independent watch […] Visit Introducing: The BA111OD Chapter 7 Certified Chronometer to read the full article.

Introducing - Grönefeld Releases its First Ladies’ Watch, the 1944 Tanfana Monochrome
Grönefeld Releases Feb 19, 2025

Introducing - Grönefeld Releases its First Ladies’ Watch, the 1944 Tanfana

Accomplished third-generation Dutch watchmakers Tim and Bart Grönefeld released their first watch in 2008, a complex minute repeater and tourbillon that set the tone for the brand’s trajectory. Trained in Switzerland, the Horological Brothers set up their atelier in their hometown, Oldenzaal, and are renowned for their reduced but horologically rich offering of exquisite handmade […]

Price of Admission: What Are The Least Expensive Breguet Watches? Teddy Baldassarre
Vacheron Constantin Jan 31, 2025

Price of Admission: What Are The Least Expensive Breguet Watches?

For those in the know, Breguet is a name in the history of watchmaking that commands instant respect, and even reverence. The brand’s legendary founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, is rightfully lauded as the inventor of the tourbillon, but his lifetime horological resumé goes far beyond even that: he made the first self-winding movement, the first watch that was wound by a crown rather than a key, the pare-chute shock protection system, and the gong system for repeater watches, among other innovations. His customers included historical figures like King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and Napoleon Bonaparte. He even invented a style of hands that many other watchmakers other than Breguet still use today. The modern brand that bears his name is one of the undisputed, upper-echelon Swiss watch maisons, alongside names like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet, and the jewel in the crown of the Swatch Group.  All that said and acknowledged, a newcomer to Breguet, especially the prospective owner of his or her first Breguet watch, may find all of this background intimidating. And make no mistake, Breguet is unapologetic in both its embrace of historical renown and its timepieces’ exalted level of luxury. The brand’s modern-day stewards harbor no illusion that they offer anything that would be any aficionado’s “first watch.” The whole concept of “entry level” must be stretched a bit at this venerated tier of watchmaking: like Patek Philippe, A. Lan...

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription Review Teddy Baldassarre
Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription Review Jan 29, 2025

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription Review

Back in 2023, LVMH and its high watchmaking workshop La Fabrique du Temps revived the Daniel Roth brand, which had been owned by Bulgari since 2000. Roth was a towering name in independent watchmaking, having been a peer of Philippe Dufour and Francois-Paul Journe. Though the brand only lasted from 1988 to 1995, its resurrection in 2023 was only made more glorious due to the long gap. The resurrected brand debuted with the Tourbillon Souscription, which has been followed up with the new Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription, a faithful remake of the original from the 1990s that was released at LVMH Watch Week 2025. The “Neo-vintage” craze has only gotten more popular in recent years, with the generation of watches sandwiched between vintage and modern gaining the respect and appreciation of collectors and newcomers alike. The Chopard L.U.C 1860 reissue from 2023 was one of the most celebrated neo-vintage reissues in recent years and I’d venture to say that this Roth will join the ranks. Staying true to the original aesthetics — with contemporary concessions for things like movement development — is a recipe for success in these small-batch, high-visibility watches. Small production numbers for relative rarity are helping to keep neo-vintage from becoming overexposed, but for how long? We’ll have to wait and see on that end, but for now let’s get back to the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription. The simple, two-hand dress watch comes in that recognizable double-e...

Explained: The Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Jan 22, 2025

Explained: The Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time

Perhaps Louis Vuitton’s most famous complication, the Spin Time is a three-dimensional jump hour that was historically synonymous with the original, chunky Tambour case. Now Louis Vuitton has revamped both the complication and case to create the Tambour Taiko Spin Time. More compact and elegant than its predecessor, the Tambour Taiko is an expertly detailed case matched with restrained “dolphin grey” livery. Also employed in the new Convergence, the new case is home to an equally new family of in-house movements that will be the foundation of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking. All of the Tambour Taiko Spin Time models – there are four in all, plus two gem-set variants – are equipped with movements from this family. The line-up starts with the 39.5 mm base model, while the rest are all 42.5 mm. They include the Spin Time Antipode with a novel world time function, and the top-of-the-line Tambour Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon combining the jumping hours complication with a central tourbillon. All feature the signature Spin Time display of jumping cubes that indicate the current hour with a contrast-colour face. From left: Spin Time, Spin Time Air, Spin Time Antipode, and Spin Time Flying Tourbillon (not to scale) Initial thoughts Though I like very much the original, chunky Tambour, the redesigned case has a more subtle, refined appeal. The Tambour Taiko is far more wearable and boasts a noticeably higher level of finishing and detail, though it does lose some of th...

A Hands-On Introduction To The Daniel Roth Extra-Plat Souscription Fratello
Daniel Roth Extra-Plat Souscription Just about Jan 22, 2025

A Hands-On Introduction To The Daniel Roth Extra-Plat Souscription

Just about one year ago, Daniel Roth presented the finished Tourbillon Souscription watch in yellow gold. After announcing the return of the Daniel Roth brand in March 2023, the Tourbillon Souscription was the first project and a nod to the debut model (Tourbillon ref. C187) from Daniel Roth’s watch brand in 1989. Now, after releasing […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Daniel Roth Extra-Plat Souscription to read the full article.

Daniel Roth Unveils Extra Plat Souscription SJX Watches
Blancpain Jan 21, 2025

Daniel Roth Unveils Extra Plat Souscription

Continuing with its revival, Daniel Roth debuts its second modern-day timepiece, the Extra Plat Souscription. Hewing to the formula established by the Tourbillon Souscription, the Extra Plat Souscription stays faithful to the 1990s original in size and style, but is equipped with an all-new calibre developed from the ground up. Like the Tourbillon Souscription, the Extra Plat Souscription debuts as a 20-piece limited edition in 18k yellow gold, matched with a guilloche dial in solid 18k yellow gold. Initial thoughts As with the Tourbillon before it, the Extra Plat Souscription looks and feels like the original at a distance, but reveals a higher degree of refinement up close. This is especially evident on the dial that is covered in finely grained guilloche, done with a hand-operated straight-line engine. In fact, the Extra Plat is arguably more sophisticated than the equivalent original, more so than the Tourbillon. The 1990s-era model was fitted with Frederic Piguet movements, either manual-wind or automatic depending on the variant, which were fine calibres but relatively industrial and widely used by higher-end brands like Blancpain. The DR002 in the new Extra Plat, on the other hand, is a new construction with the refinements expected in a watch of this calibre (and price). It’s shame that the movement is concealed behind a solid back, but that will become an open back with the subsequent, regular-production version. While the new Extra Plat is a beautiful homage th...

Hands On: Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 SJX Watches
Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2 Jan 21, 2025

Hands On: Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2

In a fortuitous turn of events, Mark Zuckerberg was spotted with the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1 just a week ago – just in time for the debut of the Hand Made 2. Unlike its predecessor that was equipped with a tourbillon, the Hand Made 2 is “merely” a three-hander with a power reserve indicator, presented in a more compact case that’s just under 41 mm. But like the first model, the Hand Made 2 is mostly made with traditional, hand-operated tools – specifically, 96% of the watch is made this way, an endeavour that requires 5,000 hours of work according to Greubel Forsey. (NB: The watch pictured is a prototype and is not perfectly clean.) Initial thoughts The Hand Made 2 is essentially the Hand Made 1 scaled down in every respect – dimensions, complexity, and price – except for the manual production methods and fine finishing, which remain impressive and outstanding. Even at arm’s length the quality of the Hand Made 2 is obvious. Up close, it is evident all of the details have been properly taken care of. As it was with the Hand Made 1, the second edition is also impressive for what cannot be seen – tolerances and precision that are equivalent to Greubel Forsey’s serial-production watches made with automated equipment. Achieving that with manual equipment is impressive and no doubt explains a good deal of the price. Surprisingly, the Hand Made 2 looks more complicated than its predecessor, despite doing away with the tourbillon. That’s because the archit...

First Look - The Forest Green Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin Perpetual is a Dress Watch to Kill For Monochrome
Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin Jan 20, 2025

First Look - The Forest Green Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin Perpetual is a Dress Watch to Kill For

A Chopard L.U.C watch offering a perpetual calendar complication with a tourbillon regulator is not new to the series. In 2013, Chopard presented its L.U.C Perpetual T model, which was then followed by two extraordinary unique pieces in 2018, the “La Santa Muerte” decorated with the Mexican motifs and “Spirit of the Chinese Zodiac” in […]

My Year in Watches: Evolving as a Watch Writer Worn & Wound
Dec 27, 2024

My Year in Watches: Evolving as a Watch Writer

Just over a year and a half ago, I began writing for Worn & Wound. According to my author’s page, that has amassed a total of 14 pages worth of content – totalling, by my best estimation, around 110 articles I have done for the site. It’s hard to believe that I have that sort of library to look back upon. This is mostly due to the fact that, in June of 2023, I would have told you I didn’t know a damn thing about watches. Just a short eighteen months ago, if you would have asked me what a tourbillon was, I would have answered a fish that pairs well with citrus. Other than thinking of a watch as an accessory, I never gave them much thought – let alone the entire industry. I think, if you were to read back on those early articles, you could see this. I was, at best, timid – afraid to offend a brand or the Worn & Wound community. And, at worst, I was a fraud. And sidling in between those two poles of my own self-doubt, I would sit at my desk to parse a press release and convey whatever information I could gather to you, the reader, in the hope that you would believe in me as a watch writer.  It wasn’t until this last year that that began to change. Practice makes perfect, they say, and I think if you do anything long enough you can get a handle on it. For me, the shift came when I stopped writing about what I thought readers would want to know and actually began paying attention to the market, and by extension the community, at large. I began to think of the wat...

Best of 2024: Surprises and Unexpected Developments SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Cubitus leaving aside Dec 24, 2024

Best of 2024: Surprises and Unexpected Developments

There were relatively fewer surprises in 2024, perhaps because of the overall slowdown in demand for luxury watches. There were a few big surprises though, including the biggest one of all, the Patek Philippe Cubitus, leaving aside the leak thanks to a premature publication of Fortune magazine. Perhaps even more surprising and even bigger, both figuratively and literally, was the Bugatti Tourbillon, a hypercar inspired by a watch. Also notable was the fact that there was little unexpected from independent watchmakers, which perhaps underlines the still-robust demand for watches by the indies, which stick to safe bets that are easy to sell. Here’s a look at our team’s take on the unexpected launches of the year. Biver Automatique – SJX The first Biver watch was a carillon minute repeater with tourbillon that was finely finished, inside and out, but it was big, thick, and expensive. The follow-up, in contrast, was almost the opposite. The Automatique is compact and elegantly wearable, with a clean design that has just the right amount of vintage flavour. The only aspect where the Automatique stays true to its predecessor is in the finishing, which is outstanding, inside and out. The surprising bit about the Automatique is the movement. For one, it was developed by Dubois Depraz, better known as a maker of chronograph- and perpetual calendar modules mounted on ETA movements. Second, it arguably exceeds the movement of the Carillon Tourbillon in terms of design and decor...

Best of 2024: Complications SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin Dec 23, 2024

Best of 2024: Complications

Perhaps echoing the paucity of highlights in indie watchmaking, the best complications of 2024 were not numerous, but those that stood out were outstanding. Vacheron Constantin, for instance, unveiled the most complicated watch ever, while Bovet solved the longstanding problem of summer time across continents in an enormous (and enormously expensive) wristwatch. Here’s the team’s take on the best complications of the year. A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Handwerkskunst – Brandon Moore The iconic Datograph turned 25 this year, and collectors were treated to three different limited edition variants to mark the occasion. We were first introduced to the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” and the Datograph Up/Down 25th Anniversary at Watches & Wonders, but Lange was arguably saving the best for last: the first Datograph to receive the brand’s artisanal Handwerkskunst treatment. Featuring a hand-engraved tremblage dial and limited to just 25 pieces, the Datograph Handwerkskunst is a fitting way to celebrate a quarter-century of being best-in-class. While not particularly creative, this very-limited edition captures both the magic of Lange and its Datograph perfectly. Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 – SJX The introduction to our story on the watch sums it up best: “The Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 is an ingenious solution to an age-old problem: accounting for daylight saving time (also known as summer time) in a multi-timezone wristwatch… the solution is e...