Despite being rocked by a number of ongoing upheavals (read our special dossier on this subject in the Business folio of this magazine), the watch industry still offers a vast palette of products. Creativity is alive and kicking, in every field. There’s something for every taste, whether you’re looking for a classic dress watch, something a bit bling-bling, or a more minimalist number; a jewellery watch or a tool watch; a brightly coloured timepiece or a toned-down ticker; mechanical or quartz (yes, they still exist), or even a smartwatch. The current market nevertheless has two salient features: sizes are shrinking, and vintage inspiration remains omnipresent. Here’s a modest selection.
- Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph
- the Capital Edition Launched during the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, the Senator Chronograph – The Capital Edition – gives the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date a striking new look. The dials, with beige, white and blue details, appeal with their specially developed shades “Bourbon Grey” for the models in stainless steel and red gold, and “Dry Silver” for the strictly limited platinum version. This flyback chronograph is equipped with the 4 Hertz Calibre 37 automatic movement and column wheel mechanism.
- Breitling Navitimer 8
- The new Navitimer 8 family resurrects some of the design values of the Huit Aviation Department’s onboard clocks – especially in terms of the dials and bezels – as well as Breitling’s iconic pilot’s watch, Reference 768, with the rotating bezel and distinctive triangular pointer that made it a favourite among pilots. The collection comprises five new models: Navitimer 8 B01, Navitimer Unitime, Navitimer 8 Chronograph, Navitimer 8 Day & Date and Navitimer 8 Automatic.
- Oris Carl Brashear Chronograph Limited Edition
- Defying racial tensions, disability and the weight of history, Carl Brashear became the U.S. Navy’s first African American and first amputee Master Diver. Oris presents the second limited edition watch made in his memory, a bronze-cased, two counter chronograph. Inside the watch is the Oris Calibre 771, a special movement with a two-counter chronograph and a 48-hour power reserve. It’s based on Sellita’s SW 510 and appears in the Oris collection for the first time. The dial’s balanced, symmetrical layout is known as ‘bicompax’ and gives the watch its classic chronograph look, which is further enhanced by the absence of a date indicator.
- Bell & Ross BR V2-92 and BR V2-94 Steel Heritage
- Since 2009, Bell & Ross has paid tribute to pocket watches from the Great War and flight instruments from the 1940s. Today, the Heritage collection is entering its third generation. Inspired by instrument panels from 1960s aircraft, the BR V2-92 and BR V2-94 Steel Heritage cultivate a resolutely retro look. Polished/satin-finished steel case with a slightly smaller diameter of 41 mm, push-buttons and a screwdown crown to reinforce the water-resistance of the case, rounded lugs that match the new metal bracelet with fine links to ensure it sits comfortably on any wrist, and a sapphire crystal with an ultra-curved finish to evoke the style of vintage watches.
- Junghans “max bill line”
- True to the premise of “form follows function”, the artist and Bauhaus alumnus Max Bill created a special kind of timepiece. The logical dial layout of the 1956 kitchen clock, which made design history as the Max Bill wall clock, became the characteristic feature of his timepieces and was incorporated into the design of the first Max Bill wristwatches in 1961. The artist places particular importance on the combination of utility and beauty. With constructive clarity and the pursuit of aesthetic perfection, the design classics of the Junghans max bill line are still produced largely unchanged to this day.
- Movado Museum 1881 Automatic
- Launched in 2015, the Movado 1881 Automatic collection was introduced as a new generation of automatic timepieces. Powered by fine Swiss self-winding movements, these contemporary watches are designed for those with an appreciation for Movado’s modern design aesthetic. Now for 2018, Movado adds three new Swiss market exclusive pieces to the collection for both men and women – designed with a Swiss Cross-patterned dial. Stainless steel bracelet with push-button deployment clasp or textured black calfskin strap with stainless steel buckle.
- Nomos Autobahn
- Designed by Werner Aisslinger, the Autobahn is the new automatic watch from Nomos Glashütte. It is reminiscent of a two-seater sports car — no seatbelts, airbags, or speed limit required. The curve of the dial’s rehaut, inspired by legendary race tracks, is particularly striking, while the elongated date window between five and seven o’clock is three lanes — or numerals — wide. Superluminova markings flank the hour typography, which not only makes the watch legible at night, but is also reminiscent of the speedometer of a classic car.
- Lundis Bleus 1100-OX “Onyx”
- The plain and highly polished black onyx used for the dial gives the whole watch an eye-catching, intense and surreal feeling. The basin-shaped case band design is extended by the radius of the box type crystal on the top and the radius of the case back at the bottom. The lugs, which are a part of the case back and therefore visibly separated from the case band, enhance the basin-shaped design with their subtly curvaceous visual effect. The logo on the case back is emphasised by the inner crystal, giving a stained glass feel to it. Japanese Miyota 9015 movement, automatic unidirectional winding.
- Blancpain Villeret Quantième Complet GMT
- A reinterpretation of the signature piece of 2002, this practical complication is back with a new Quantième Complet GMT, enhanced with Blancpain’s patented under lug correctors. Day of the week and month in windows, date with a blued serpentine hand and moon phase window. Calendar indications are linked to the local time display on the main hands, home time shown with a red tipped hand. In-house movement featuring a silicon balance spring. Two versions: in red gold with an opaline dial and applied red gold Roman indexes, or in stainless steel with a white dial and white gold applied Roman indexes.
- Voutilainen 217QRS
- Uniquely Voutilainen! The 39 mm wide and 11.5 mm thick case is crafted from platinum, white gold or rose gold to create three extremely limited series of just 10 pieces in each material. The dial, hidden behind a double anti-reflective sapphire crystal, has been engine-turned and set with gold applied numerals for toptier quality in execution. The movement, based on the Vingt-8 design, features two escapement wheels that give a direct impulse to the impulse roller. It benefits from a power reserve of 65 hours and the additional functionality of a retrograde date with an easy-set feature integrated into the crown.
- Czapek engine-turned dials
- Aqua Blue, Sea Salt Grey, Black Prince, Havana Brown, Slate Grey, Red Rhubarb, Rainforest Green… Czapek is expanding the subtle range of colours of its beautiful engine-turned dials. Each series is unique and limited to between 10 and 25 pieces, available in the 42.5 mm and 38.5 mm case sizes.
- Grand Seiko Hi-beat 36000 GMT
- With its deep green colour and stamped pattern, the dial of the latest Grand Seiko Hi-beat 36000 is at once striking and yet subtle. The case and movement are the same as in the watch that won the ’’Petite Aiguille” prize at the Grand Prix de Genève in 2014. The hi-beat GMT movement 9S86 is assembled in the Shizukuishi Watch Studio where all Grand Seiko mechanical watches are manufactured and assembled by hand. This calibre has a high accuracy of +5 to -3 seconds a day and a power reserve of 55 hours. The GMT hand can be used as a dual time indicator with the hour hand being adjustable independently as the time of day hands continue to mark time. The case is a contemporary re-interpretation.
- Carl F. Bucherer Manero Peripheral 43 mm
- The Manero Peripheral collection, thus far available exclusively in a 40.6 mm case size, has now been expanded with the Manero Peripheral 43 mm. Crafted from 18kt rose gold and coming in at 43.1 mm in diameter and 11.2mm thick, this latest version represents a grander take on the brand’s highly successful CFB A2050 calibre. This movement is one of the few currently produced calibres that sport a peripheral self-winding rotor, designed to provide ample winding efficiency without adding to the thickness of the movement and consequently the case. Thanks to the peripheral rotor, the case-back of the movement can be appreciated in its entirety at all times. Albeit a bit larger, the Manero Peripheral 43 mm features everything that made the original version a genuine hit for the brand.
- Mido Multifort Datometer Limited Edition
- Mido is celebrating its 100th anniversary by revisiting one of its flagship models, first launched in 1939. The 2018 version borrows the original’s essential features while bringing it firmly up to date. Endowed with a polished and satin-finished steel case with rose PVD treatment, the Multifort Datometer reveals a silvered, sandblasted dial, decorated with black transfers, recreating the 1939 design almost identically. The characteristic detail of this timeless model is the date, indicated by a hand with a red varnished tip. Beneath its vintage exterior, this timepiece houses an automatic movement with exclusive date indicator based on its Caliber 80, which offers up to 80 hours of power reserve. Produced as a limited edition of 1,918 pieces to echo the year in which Mido was founded.
- Tissot Ballade
- The Tissot Ballade is equipped with the new Powermatic 80 automatic movement, offering up to 80 hours of power reserve. This officially certified chronometer (COSC) is regulated by a silicon balance spring allowing for even greater precision and assured longevity, a technology only seen at the top end of the market. Smart enough for evening wear, the Tissot Ballade rose gold bicolour version will also look sophisticated when teamed with jeans. Polished finishes produce a gleaming satiny effect and a clean, pure dial lets the design speak for itself. Dimensions: Gent 41 mm – 39 mm / Lady 32 mm – 30.6 mm.
- Anonimo Epurato
- With its cushion case, its Swiss automatic movement and its dial displaying the traditional reading triangle, Epurato, the third line of Anonimo displays the main identity elements of the brand, but with a diameter smaller than its big sisters. Eminently contemporary, this first model of a new and large family is of course in bronze, historical material at Anonimo, for the first time polished, with alternate satin and shiny surfaces. Equipped with a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, endowed with a skeleton and Côtes de Genève decorated rotor. The applique indexes and the numerals alternate among 12h, 04h and 08h with the characteristic triangle reading of the brand. This ensures a perfect readability of the date placed at 06h.
- Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Magic
- The Hublot R&D department and Metallurgy & Materials laboratory have succeeded in inventing a formula for the creation of vibrantly coloured ceramics. It took Hublot four years to master the formula and successfully industrialise it, a process that has been patented. This newly developed ceramic is very dense, boasting a hardness of 1500 HVI compared to the 1200 HV2 of conventional ceramics. The colour is achieved through a major innovation whereby a combination of pressure and heat sinters the ceramic without burning the pigments. Having mastered the basic hues with this method, Hublot is now ready to introduce a whole new world of coloured ceramics to its watch collections. The first colour release is vibrant red.
- TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf 2018 Special Edition
- The colours of the Monaco Gulf are a tribute to Steve McQueen, who insisted on wearing it throughout filming of “Le Mans” in 1971 when he drove the famous Gulf-Porsche 917K. This Gulf special edition is 39 mm, has the crown on the left, the petroleum blue dial with two white counters, the date window at 6 o’clock, the diamond-polished horizontal hour indices, the inscribed vintage Heuer logo, the calibre 11 automatic chronograph with date and water-resistance to 100 metres – all the attributes of the Monaco. As a reminder of its origins and sporting pedigree, light blue and orange stripes –Gulf’s famous racing colours – have been added to the dial. The Gulf logo also appears at 6 o’clock.
- Rado True Thinline Green
- Following last year’s introduction of four high-tech ceramic colours to the True Thinline collection, Rado presents this green timepiece. The tone-on-tone dial is crafted from green mother-of-pearl with a delicate leaf structure printed onto its underside. Gold-coloured indexes are metallised on the sapphire crystal, appearing to float above the dial. Entirely constructed from green ceramic, this floral-themed wristwatch dazzles without being flashy, conveying a mood of down-toearth luxury. ETA 282.002 boosted, quartz.
- Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Blue
- The newly upgraded movement of the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Blue boasts a frequency of 360,000 A/H (50 Hz), ten times that of its world-famous El Primero predecessor, providing 1/100th of a second precision: the inner bezel bears a scale graduated from 1 to 100 around which a 1/100th of a second hand sweeps at a lightning speed of one turn per second. Framed by a 44 mm case made of grade 5 titanium, the openworked dial of the watch offers a resolutely contemporary background for the key identifying characteristics of the legendary original: a startipped sweep-seconds hand, large luminescent baton-type hands and faceted hour-markers. 50-hour power reserve and water-resistant to 100 metres.
- Epos 3435 Verso
- To create the 3435 Verso, the engineers of Epos have taken the historical and renowned ETA 6497 hand-wound calibre and modified in a way that it now exposes all its mechanical secrets on the dial side of the timepiece. The tick-tocking of the large golden balance wheel at the lower left of the dial along with the tirelessly turning wheels above it make for a remarkable spectacle. Wrapped in a 42.5mm wide stainless steel case that is 50 metres water resistant, the Epos 3435 Verso promises to provide a timelessly elegant, yet unique way of telling the time. The pulsometer on the case-back is a rare added functionality that neatly supplements the lavishly decorated aesthetic.
- Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Skeleton
- Into a freshly restyled and reshaped Aikon case, Maurice Lacroix has fitted its new manufacture, openworked, automatic calibre ML234. The case in steel, both brushed and polished, is 45 mm wide, yet only 13 mm thick. The harmoniously proportioned bezel is marked by six arms, an Aikon signature. The visible movement is structured around a series of five concentric circles radiating diagonally. “As its affordable watchmaking brand guidelines command, this timepiece delivers a uniquely high perceived value," declares Maurice Lacroix.
- Schwarz Etienne Roswell 08
- This unique-looking watch displays its innovative date mechanism on the left of the dial. The date operates through a drive system equipped with a quick date setting feature as well as a safety mechanism. The tobacco-brown dial has been largely open-worked to reveal the ISE-100.11 “irreversible” manufacture calibre with micro-rotor and 4 days of power reserve. 45 mm stainless steel case and matching brown structured leather strap. A highly technical, yet refreshing-looking watch.
- Claude Meylan Tortue Black
- Claude Meylan calls his Tortue watches “sculptures”. He’s right. Openworked to the extreme, light, transparent, the Tortue Black “represents formality, dignity, force, convention, stability, and zero-tolerance,” according to the watchmaker. Blackened by ruthenium treatment, the hand-wound movement has an autonomy of 42 hours. Stainless steel case, sapphire crystals.
- Chanel J12 Collector
- White ceramic and steel limited edition of 1,200 pieces. Pink mother-of-pearl dial set with 12 diamond indicators. Rhodiumplated hands. Unidirectional rotating bezel. White high-tech ceramic bracelet with steel triple folding buckle. Screw-down crown with white ceramic cabochon. Automatic movement. 42-hour power reserve. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds. Water-resistance: 200 metres.
- Omega De Ville Trésor
- A classic design with a truly modern edge. Each model is distinguished by its thin case, available in either 39 mm or 36 mm sizes, with diamond paving that curves along each side. A single diamond is also set within the crown, decorated with a radiant flower, in red liquid ceramic. Roman numerals encircle the lacquered dial. Mirrored caseback with a “Her Time” design concealing the Omega calibre 4061.
- de Grisogono Allegra 25
- The Allegra jewellery design celebrates its 25th anniversary with a “Jewellery Timepiece”. A woven gold ribbon and interlacing circles create a flowing visual effect. 29 polished or diamond-set rings are entwined around the mother-of-pearl or diamond-paved dial.
- Bulgari Diva’s Dream Minute Repeater
- Nestled inside a slender 18kt pink gold 37 mm case flowing into flared lugs, enhanced by a brilliant-cut diamond setting and under the deep brown gold-specked Urushi lacquer dial, beats and chimes the Manufacture Bulgari Finissimo movement, the thinnest in the world. An uncommon creation issued in an exclusive five-piece limited edition.
- Bell & Ross BR V2-92 and BR V2-94 Steel Heritage
- Since 2009, Bell & Ross has paid tribute to pocket watches from the Great War and flight instruments from the 1940s. Today, the Heritage collection is entering its third generation. Inspired by instrument panels from 1960s aircraft, the BR V2-92 and BR V2-94 Steel Heritage cultivate a resolutely retro look. Polished/satin-finished steel case with a slightly smaller diameter of 41 mm, push-buttons and a screwdown crown to reinforce the water-resistance of the case, rounded lugs that match the new metal bracelet with fine links to ensure it sits comfortably on any wrist, and a sapphire crystal with an ultra-curved finish to evoke the style of vintage watches.