Best new men’s watch of 2022? We’ll have to wait and see. But we already know the most talked-about. Almost as soon as Swatch announced that it had collaborated with Omega on a low-cost, quartz version of the latter’s holy Speedmaster, the ‘Bioceramic MoonSwatch’ became the world’s hottest, most-hyped, most-sought-after watch. And not just of this year. Perhaps, and I’d go as far as including the Apple Watch in this, ever.
Indeed, it seems silly now, but when, seven years ago, Apple announced that it was bringing out a smartwatch a quiet clanging began ringing in the ears of traditional watch folk. The industry had managed to survive the quartz crisis of the 1970s and weather the leap of time from the wrist to the smartphone in the noughties. But Apple had a habit of turning traditional industries on their heads. Was that really the death knell of the mechanical watch sector that industry veterans could hear ringing between their ears?
There was a nervousness within the watch world, not that anyone would admit it. The official line, from the many CEOs I interviewed at the time, was that the Apple Watch was a good thing. It would get young people used to wearing watches. From smartwatches to a natural appreciation of watches made of springs and gears, so the thinking went. But no one really knew for sure.
It turns out the optimists were right. The first in line for the MoonSwatch arrived with their sleeping bags. In London, they spent two nights on the cold, hard concrete of Carnaby Street. When the doors of the Swatch store opened on the morning of the 26 March, staff were forced to shut them again after just half an hour. Police had to be called to control the crowds. The story – a story about watches, let’s remember – even made the MailOnline.
It was a scene repeated across the globe. From Melbourne to Taipei to Singapore to Dubai to Rome to Paris to Amsterdam to New York to Toronto. The queues stretched for blocks. Security had to be employed to deal with the crush. What was pretty easy to predict as being the hottest watch drop of the year became the hottest watch drop of, well, ever. The MoonSwatch retails for £207. Three days after launch, bidding for a black dial version (the closest to Omega’s original ‘Moonwatch’) had hit £7,900 on eBay.
Below you’ll find the top-line details of Swatch’s white-hot pow-wow with Omega, the standout timepieces from Watches & Wonders 2022, plus some other headline stories from the horologic year so far. Sleeping bags, for the most part, not required…
Swatch x Omega Bioceramic MoonSwatch
So, that went well. Not in their wildest collective dreams could Swatch Group stablemates Swatch and Omega have predicted the pandemonium that would follow their first collaboration. What’s the story? Working together, the watchmakers created a budget version of Omega’s halo timepiece, the first watch to be worn on the moon, the Speedmaster (aka the Moonwatch). Housing a quartz movement in a ‘bioceramic’ case (a plastic-like material that’s two-thirds ceramic and one-third castor-oil-derivative) and attaching it to a Velcro strap, the new ‘MoonSwatch’ – see what they did there? – landed with a price tag of just £207, a fraction of Omega’s entry-level mechanical ‘Speedie’, which starts at £5,710. The watch dropped in 11 colourways, each dedicated to one of the planets in our solar system. What happened next? Watch brands – not just Swatch and Omega – gained a new appreciation for the immense, global power of social media, and niggling fears about the outlook of the traditional watch industry were, for the foreseeable future, dramatically put to bed.
£207, swatch.com
Omega Speedmaster Calibre 321 Canopus Gold
A reminder: Omega’s original Calibre 321 – a hand-wound column-wheel-controlled chronograph movement – powered the first Speedmasters, and all subsequent Speedies selected by NASA for the Apollo space missions. Three years ago, on the occasion of it being 50 years since the first lunar landings, Omega began re-manufacturing the Calibre 321, placing it in a 42mm Speedmaster in platinum.
To the latest chapter in the 321 story: this year’s Speedmaster Calibre 321 Canopus Gold, launched to mark the chronograph’s 65th birthday. What’s new? A black onyx dial, Grand Feu enamel-infilled numerals on the bezel, and a 38.6mm case (the original Ref. 2915 measured 38mm), which, along with the watch’s bracelet, bezel and hands, is constructed from Omega’s propriety white ‘Canopus Gold’.
£69,500, omegawatches.com
Hublot Square Bang Unico
On the rare occasion that a brand gets ballsy and decides to bring out a right-angled watch, that watch seems to have a disproportionally high chance of developing into something of an icon. See Cartier’s Santos, Tag Heuer’s Monaco, and Bell & Ross’ BR 01. Hoping its foray into four-sided timepieces will garner similar cult-like status is Hublot. Based on the brand’s bread-and-butter Big Bang, the boxy Square Bang Unico features the same sandwich construction as its circular sibling, the same six screws on its bezel and the same screwed-down ‘ears’ at its sides. An icon in the making? Time will tell.
From £19,100, hublot.com
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
If you’re struggling to identify the countries on top of which the dial of Hermès’ Arceau Le Temps Voyageur floats, you’ve not lost the plot. The map is a fantasy, imagined by Parisian graphic designer Jérôme Colliard for the French accessory outfit’s silk (and sold out) ‘Planisphère d’un monde équestre’ scarf. The place names that run around the dial are, however, real, and represent the world’s 24 time zones. The mesmerising timepiece, which has a date window at 12 o’clock, is available in platinum and titanium with a black dial, or in stainless steel with a blue dial.
Rolex GMT-Master II
Given that even the most incremental of dial updates are enough to send the brand’s fanatics into a head spin, news that Rolex had created a GMT-Master II for lefties was positively earth-shattering. Not only does the watch feature a crown flipped to the left-hand side and the Cyclops lens switched from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, it’s also the first GMT-Master II to feature a green-and-black colour scheme on its ceramic bezel.
£8,800, rolex.com
Patek Philippe Ref. 5326G-001 Annual Calendar Travel Time
Having announced its departure from rival watch show Baselworld in 2020, this year marked Patek Philippe’s first appearance at Watches and Wonders. Among 12 new (OK, updated mostly) timepieces was the Ref. 5326G-001 Annual Calendar Travel Time – a show-stealer of a piece that conceals some super-smart mechanics behind its attractive, asphalt-like dial. It’s the first time that Patek has combined an annual calendar with a travel time complication, meaning that the calendar function will remain accurate as you zigzag around the planet – a nifty achievement that took eight patents to pull off.
£59,200, patek.com
Breitling Navitimer BR01 Chronograph
Breitling rings in the 70th anniversary of its flagship chronograph with a contemporary refresh that focuses (mainly) on colour. The defining circular slide rule, triple chronograph counters and notched bezel have all been retained (naturally), but the 2022 Navitimer lands in attention-grabbing shades of blue, green and copper. A slimmer oscillating weight means you can see more of Breitling’s in-house Calibre 01 movement through an exhibition caseback. Choose between stainless steel or 18-karat red gold. Size-wise, it’s 46mm (too big), 43mm (yep) or 41mm (too cluttered). ‘Navitimer’, by the way, is an abbreviation of ‘navigation timer’ – the original watch designed to help pilots time flight calculations.
POA, breitling.com
IWC Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition ‘Lake Tahoe’
IWC continues its adventure into colourful ceramics, this time by partnering with colour-matching company Pantone to register the exact shade of its two new Top Gun Pilot’s Watches. There’s a ‘Woodland Green’ edition for fans of military timepieces, yet it was the white, zeitgeisty, streetwear-dipped ‘Lake Tahoe’ version that burned brightest. As fresh as the snow around the Californian body of water from which it takes its name, the watch’s icy ceramic-and-titanium case contrasts against a jet-black dial with Super-LumiNova-coated hands and hour indices. Just 1,000 examples of each watch will roll off the IWC production lines each year. Expect the red-hot white variant to disappear quicker than Lake Tahoe snow in the sun.
£9,450, iwc.com
Rolex Air-King
Rolex’s left-handed GMT-Master II made so much of a clatter that its new Air-king flew somewhat under the radar. The model has been modernised via a completely redesigned case (now with a crown guard) and straighter sides. There’s also now an ‘0’ before the ‘5’ on the minute scale (it wasn’t there before) and a new movement that increases the power reserve from 48 to 70 hours. Small things. Huge difference.
£5,900, rolex.com
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton
Not only is Vacheron Constantin’s new Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton the first openwork tourbillon within the sport-lux Overseas collection, it’s also available as the brand’s first all-titanium timepiece – with the material used for everything from the crown and bezel to the integrated bracelet and case. An exhibition caseback presents the brand’s reworked, self-winding Calibre 2160 movement, which is now 20 per cent lighter having been skeletonised. Most impressively, given that it contains a tourbillon, the case measures just 5.65mm thick. Not sure about the boutique-only, grey titanium model? Opt for the red gold version, instead.
A Lange & Söhne Grande Lange 1
A Lange & Söhne’s Grand Lange 1 has always boasted drop-dead looks, but, for a dress watch, the 19-year-old timepiece was a chunky piece of kit. Not any longer. Reduced to a diameter of 41 millimetres and, more importantly, a depth of 8.2 millimetres, the slimmed-down Grand Lange 1 will now slip under the French cuff of your Marcella shirt with ease. The proportions of the brand’s defining oversized date windows remain the same, as does the exquisite hand-finishing on display through a sapphire-crystal case-back. Yours in white or pink gold.
Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel
Last year, Panerai announced a concept watch that, if put into production, will be made of 98.6 per cent recycled materials (by weight). Consider the new Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel™ as a stepping stone towards achieving that ambition. More than 50 per cent of the total weight of the watch is comprised of recycled materials – the majority of that bulk accounted for by cases made from recently-developed sustainable-alloy eSteel, which, says the brand, benefits from the same physical structure (i.e. strength) and resistance to corrosion as normal stainless steel. The 44mm, date-equipped watch is available in blue, green and grey (our favourite), with dials deepening in colour from top to bottom.
Rolex Day-Date
Then came a new president’s watch. The Day-Date – the first timepiece to spell out the day of the week on its dial upon launch in 1956 – has been available in 40mm format since 2015. This year, for the first time, Rolex introduced a platinum 40mm version with a fluted bezel. Rolex only makes Day-Date models from precious metals – yellow, white and the manufacturer’s own ‘Everose’ (aka ‘rose’) gold, or platinum. How, then, to identify the new Day-Date from its white-gold sibling? As with all platinum Rolexes, by its gorgeous ice-blue dial.
POA, rolex.com
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept
Most watches are made up of four layers: the bezel and crystal glass, the dial and hands, the movement, and the caseback. With its Altiplano Ultimate Concept, Piaget has removed this four-layer construction, fusing the bridges, dial, and hands on one side of the watch, and the caseback, movement, main plate and bezel on the other. The result is a watch that’s just 2mm thick. The dial of the latest, one-off AUC features stars illuminated with Super-LumiNova, replicating the sky above the brand’s La Côte-aux-Fées HQ at the exact time the original concept watch rolled off the production line in 2017.
Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon
Chopard re-entered the crowded integrated-bracelet sports-watch sector in 2019, with a revival of its athletic ‘St Moritz’ timepiece from the 1980s. Rebranded as the Alpine Eagle – presumably in an effort to signal its robust, go-anywhere credentials, but also because a share of proceeds goes to supporting environmental group, the Eagle Wings Foundation – the rebooted collection launched with 10 initial references, none of which featured anything as fancy as a flying tourbillon. Which is exactly what we got this year, showcased at six o’clock within a 41mm case made of a special type of super-bright, extra scratch-resistant steel. The wildest Alpine Eagle yet.
Approx. £95,000, chopard.com
Tag Heuer Carrera Plasma D’Avant Garde
Weird one, this. A tourbillon-equipped Carrera festooned with 48 lab-grown diamonds. The sparklers have been set into the case, sprinkled over the dial and used as hour indices. The crown is one massive synthetic gem. What’s so weird about that? Well, let’s not forget that the Carrera was conceived as a hard-as-nails chronograph with which to time motor races. It took its name from the Carrera Panamericana, a car rally so brutal that it claimed 27 lives in its first five editions, before the Mexican government was forced to can it in 1962.
So maybe the tourbillon makes sense, given that the rotating cage might improve the reliability of the Plasma’s stop-watch function. But the diamonds? The timepiece was unveiled on 30 March. Had it dropped two days later, you’d be forgiven for questioning whether Tag’s Frankenstein’s monster was an April Fool’s gag. The brand has said it will make less than 10 examples. Perhaps we should think of the Plasma as a concept watch, then. A springboard for experimentation. You just can’t help wondering whether the brand’s ultramodern Connected smartwatch might have offered a more natural testing ground for such space-age gem exploration.
POA, tagheuer.com
Ulysse Nardin Freak S
In a car, the function of a differential is to allow the driving wheels to turn at different speeds when going around a corner (the wheels on the outside of the curve have to turn faster). In watchmaking, a differential is used to regulate two or more balance wheels so as to average out their oscillating rates – thus, a watch that keeps more accurate time. Think of the Freak S’s two, extra-large balance wheels as turboprops powering an engine that looks like a mini-spaceship, which tells the time (there are no hands, dials or crown, you’ll notice) by rotating once around the case every 60 minutes. ‘But how do you set the time?’ you ask. By rotating the Freak S’s rose-gold bezel. Duh.
£114,040, ulysse-nardin.com
Seiko Presage Sharp Edged GMT
Five of the new watches Seiko unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2022 fell within the brand’s Presage Sharp Edged series: two time-only pieces with open-heart dials; two six-hand sports watches with day, date and power reserve indicators; and the pick of the quintet, a limited-edition GMT with a dial decorated with a hemp-leaf pattern and coloured to match the exact same shade of blue as seen in Katsushika Hokusai’s famous woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Fine art meets high horology.
£1,300, seikoboutique.co.uk
Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Reference 5205R
You’ve seen this watch before. You’ll recognise the day, date and month apertures at 10, 12 and two o’clock. You’re familiar with that 24-hour indicator, and the moon-phase display within it. You’re au fait with all of this because since its 2010 launch, the Annual Calendar 5205 has become a mainstay within the Patek Philippe portfolio, already bolstered by an array of white, grey and blue dial options. You’ve not seen this olive green version, though, have you?
The latest 5205, you see, features a fumé, or gradient, dial. Meaning that its smoky face pitches from radiant jade at its centre to almost black at its edge. Thus, the watch looks completely different depending on the amount, and type, of light bouncing off of it. Wear the watch daily, and the date only needs correcting once every year on 1 March – forward by two days in leap years and by three days in non-leap years. The moon-phase needs correcting just once every 122 years. You never actually own a Patek Philippe… etc. etc.
£44,760, patek.com
Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept
No brand name. No date window. No indices. No numerals. Just a highly-polished 40mm stainless steel case, three hands and a green dial so electric and bright and deep and textured that you wonder how exactly Moser pulled it off. With three different types of pigments, a hammer, a very hot furnace, and some industry-leading enamelling wizardry, that’s how. Moser at its most Moser.
Approx. £21,500, h-moser.com
Bulgari Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon
Bulgari’s Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon features an open-worked titanium middle-case and hollowed-out case-back to maximise the clarity of its chiming function. Activate a side pusher and the skeletonised Roma’s three hammers will chime a C note for the hours, an E,D,C for the quarter-hours, and an E for the minutes. Melodic.
Approx. £240,000, bulgari.com
Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar
We’ve seen Saxon-based watchmaker Glashütte Original demonstrate its horologic brawn in recent years with some clever chronographs, plenty of elegant moon-phase watches and a couple of tourbillions. Yet no calendar watches… Until now. The German brand’s first annual calendar sports a brand-new in-house calibre, which, on this limited-edition version, can be viewed through a semi-skeletonised dial. Good things come to those who wait. Just don’t wait too long. Only 150 of this stealthy black edition are being made.
£36,900, glashuette-original.com
Hublot Integral Time Only Yellow Gold
In the beginning there was Carlo Crocco. Formerly of the Italian Binda Group (best known for its Breil sports watches), in 1980 Crocco created a timepiece of his own inspired by the porthole of a ship. Featuring a heavy-set bezel with exposed screws, the original ‘Hublot’ (French for ‘porthole’) borrowed from Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak – Gérald Genta’s octagonal masterpiece that had launched eight years earlier. Crocco’s timepiece differentiated itself by pairing an 18kt yellow gold case with a strap made of natural rubber – a first in the history of luxury watchmaking.
Now, in the year the company will act as official timing partner to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Hublot looks forward by looking back. The watchmaker utilised LVMH Watch Week to announce a collection of six timepieces that pay homage to the timepiece that started it all through the fusion of yellow-gold and rubber.
The Big Bang Integral Pavê and Big Bang Integral Joaillerie – caked in various degrees of diamonds – both feature rubber-protected crowns with 18kt yellow gold cases and bracelets. Elsewhere, the Big Bang Integral Time Only (seen here), Classic Fusion Chronograph, Spirit of Big Bang and Big Bang Unico all pair 18kt yellow-gold cases with black rubber straps. Look out for the watches later this year on the wrists of players and commentators at the Qatar World Cup.
£40,900, hublot.com
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton
Until 2020, Vacheron Constantin had never paired a blue-lacquered dial with a pink-gold case. The first time it did so was on the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin of that year. The big-hitting colour combo makes a return this year, although with significantly less blue – the watch having been almost completely skeletonised. As a perpetual calendar, the Ultra-Thin will indicate the date, day, week, month and whether or not it’s a leap year. It won’t need correcting until 2100 – the next secular year that’s divisible by four but not by 400, and hence a leap year.
Approx. £117,500, vacheron-constantin.com
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42
Like the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar featured above, the green dial of IWC’s latest perpetual calendar will take on a different appearance in different light, thanks to a radial sunray finish. Like Vacheron Constantin’s Perpetual Calendar, also above, it too won’t need correcting until 2100. Where this IWC trumps both the Patek and the VC is with its moon-phase indicator, which, the brand reliably informs us, will only need correcting once every 577.5 years. I guess we’ll have to take their word for that.
£21,600, iwc.com
Hublot Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu II
Six years ago, Maxime Plescia-Buchi, the Swiss tattoo artist behind creative agency Sang Bleu, swapped his usual medium – human flesh – for something a little more resilient: Hublot’s propriety ceramic-gold alloy, Magic Gold. Since then, the tattooist has collaborated with the watchmaker on six geometrically-engraved timepieces. The seventh collaboration between the pair, the Big Bang Sang Bleu II, sees Plescia-Buchi work with the toughest three materials within Hublot’s arsenal; Magic Gold, Black Magic (that’s black ceramic, in Hublot speak) and Green Ceramic (which, for some reason, Hublot doesn’t call Green Magic).
£22,600, hublot.com
Zenith DEFY 21 Chroma
Executed in matte-finished white ceramic, with rainbow-coloured accents on its hour markers and 1/100th second scale, we’ll sure you’ll agree that Zenith’s new DEFY 21 Chroma is a pretty fresh-looking piece of kit. Powered by the brand’s high-frequency El Primero 21 movement, the new DEFY is capable of recording passages of time to an accuracy of 1/100th of a second. What, exactly, you’d need to time to that level of accuracy we’re not quite sure, but that’s beside the point.
£12,000, zenith-watches.com
TAG Heuer Autavia 60th Anniversary Flyback Chronograph
TAG Heuer’s new Autavia 60th Anniversary Flyback Chronograph is available with either a silver dial and fine-brushed stainless-steel case, or a black dial and DLC-coated stainless-steel case. Given its stealthy styling and punchy green Super-LumiNova® hour indices, we’d plump for the latter. The brace of chronographs, with their extra-large crowns and quick-change leather straps, represent the first time an Autavia has been equipped with a flyback function – where a chronograph hand can be reset and restarted with a single push of a side button. Some watch history trivia: the word ‘Autavia’ was coined six decades ago as a portmanteau of ‘automobile’ and ‘aviation’, celebrating Heuer’s early history as a manufacturer of dashboard clocks for planes and cars.
£5,250, tagheuer.com
Girard-Perregaux Casquette 2.0
How cool is this? In 1976, Girard-Perregaux released the sci-fi-looking Reference 9931, a quirky, quartz-powered contraption that was subsequently nicknamed ‘the Casquette’. Only produced until 1978, just 8,200 units rolled off the production line – a pretty unique piece of horologic history if you can find an example on the pre-owned market. Half a century later, GP has released the retro-futuristic Casquette 2.0. Now in a ceramic case with Grade 5 titanium pushers – but still fresh as hell.
Approx. £3,500, girard-perregaux.com
Oris Big Crown X Cervo Volante
Oris has partnered with sustainable Swiss accessories company Cervo Volante on three new Big Crown Pointer Date watches, each featuring a gradient dial inspired by colours of an Alpine forest. Cervo Volante was founded four years ago in order to make use of the by-products of Switzerland’s tightly-regulated annual red deer cull. The company turns previously-discarded deer skins into hard-wearing footwear and leather accessories – like the three, differently-finished straps available with the new Big Crown Pointer Dates.
£1,350, oris.ch
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante
Gone is the date window and in comes a second hour hand. Last year’s Tonda PF Micro-Rotor signalled a new direction for Parmigiani Fleurier, the steel watch representing the Neuchâtel brand’s entry into the increasingly-crowded integrated sports watch sector. This year’s Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante achieves a watchmaking first by displaying the time in two time zones using a ‘rattrapante’ (or split-hand) function. Press a pusher a seven o’clock and a white gold hour hand will jump forward one hour with every push. A rose-gold hour hand will remain in the original position, representing home time. Once you’re back from your travels, push a second pusher at three o’clock and the white hand will fly around the dial until it returns to sit above the rose gold hand. And voilà, you’re home.
Approx. £22,250, parmigiani.com
Chanel J12 Diamond Tourbillon Calibre 5
Above anything else, Chanel’s J12 Diamond Tourbillon Calibre 5 is simply a beautiful thing at which to look. Two versions are available. One with a knobbly black ceramic bezel, the other with a white-gold bezel set with 34 diamonds. Inside both is the first flying tourbillon to, err, fly out of the London-headquartered brand’s Switzerland-based watchmaking division. You can see the tourbillon doing its thing at six o’clock, topped by a glitter-ball solitaire diamond and encircled within a ring of other sparklers. Form follows function, Chanel style.
£132,000/£82,500, chanel.com
Cartier’s Masse Mystérieuse
It has two hands, Roman numerals, and a crown at three o’clock. Yet that’s about where convention ends with Cartier’s Masse Mystérieuse. The transparent timepiece combines a ‘mystery’ dial (a mystery, in this case, because there is no dial) and a skeletonised movement. That, we’ve seen before. What we haven’t seen before is an entire movement integrated into an oscillating weight. Don’t bet against it picking up the top prize at the industry’s most prestigious awards show, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, which takes place towards the end of the year.
POA, cartier.com
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus
Lange & Söhne’s reputation as a watchmaker’s watchmaker is the upshot of an unwavering commitment to manufacturing meticulously-finished timepieces from precious metals in limited-run numbers. So, big news back in 2019 when the rarefied horologist announced the Odysseus – its first ever series-produced timepiece in very secular stainless steel. New for 2022, an Odysseus in another non-precious material – gun-metal-grey titanium. Lighter, sportier and now with a two-tone silvery-blue dial. This one, however, is limited. Only 250 pieces will be produced.
POA, alange-soehne.com
Baume & Mercier Hampton 10666
Baume & Mercier stuck to what it does best at Watches and Wonders 2022, bringing out a slew of well-made, attractive-to-look-at watches that punch above their price point. The pick of the bunch was the Hampton 10666, a self-winding dual-time watch with a big date at 12 o’clock and a day-night indicator at 6 o’clock. Yours for under £4,000. Bargain.
£3,650, baume-et-mercier.com
Vacheron Constantin Les Historiques 222
Fun fact. Three of the svelte 70s timepieces that laid the foundations for the integrated luxury sports watch – Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak (’72), Patek Philippe’s Nautilus (’76) and Vacheron Constantin’s 222 (’77) – were all powered by an ultra-thin base calibre by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Needless to say, when VC decided to revive one of its most worshipped models 45 years later, no outsourcing was required. The new Les Historiques 222 is powered by an in-house movement visible through a sapphire crystal case-back (the original featured a solid case-back). Otherwise, the case size (37mm), baton hour markers (now filled with Super-LumiNova) and date window at three o’clock remain unchanged. Available in boutiques only.
£60,500, vacheron-constantin.com
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 945
Sure, your watch can tell the time. Maybe even the day of the week and the date of the month. But can it track the movement of the constellations across the night sky? Can it indicate how far, precisely, we are into the zodiac year? Can it do both of these things while chiming the time – to the nearest minute – at the push of a button? Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 945 can. It can do all of these things while its hypnotic flying tourbillon completes a lap of its hand-enamelled dial once every sidereal day. That, to you and I, is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds. Now you know.
POA, jaeger-lecoultre.com
Bamford Bad Form GMT
Romaric André, aka seconde/ seconde/, shot to (horologic) fame by pimping watch hands. He’d twist vintage watches by swapping their hands, adding vivid colours and quirky shapes. An appropriate fit, then, for the king of collaborations, Mr George Bamford. The Bad Form GMT sees seconde/ seconde/ reconfigure the Bamford logo into an anagram by switching the ‘m’ and ‘d’. Smart. In the middle of the dial, a white hand giving the two-fingered salute. “There was no better symbolism for that English cliché: the anti-social, the rock, the punk, all that urge for irreverence in a society where you must wear uniforms at schools,” said André. “Blending Englishness and disrespect made sense to me.” We presume he meant that in an affectionate way.
£1,600, bamfordlondon.com
Bremont Supernova
Described by the brand as the most important launch in its history, Bremont has introduced its in-house movement into three new core collections, including its first integrated bracelet watch, the Supernova. Like all Bremont watches, the Supernova promises to be as tough as old boots, featuring a hardened top bezel, anti-shock technology and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Bremont’s entry into the increasingly overcrowded stainless-steel, integrated-bracelet sports watch arena features a mix of brushed and polished facets, in order to catch the light, and an exhibition case-back, so as to reveal the fruits of two decades of hard horologic labour. Hats off.
£7,995, bremont.com
Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Bronze Series 2
One of only five global watch brands officially approved by His Majesty’s Ministry of Defence, Christopher Ward’s latest chronometer is inspired by the historic Smiths W10 field watch of 1969. Like the W10, the Sandhurst Bronze Series 2 is understated and ultra-legible. Both watches feature a 38mm case, but Christopher Ward’s version features arrowed, full-brushed hands. The bronze edition, seen here, sports matching gold hands and a caseback engraved with the insignia of the British Army. Mid-century military field watches rarely carried the name of the company that manufactured them. Appropriately, the black dial of the Sandhurst 2 hosts Christopher Ward’s twin-flags emblem, rather than the brand’s name. Inside, a COSC-certified self-winding movement. An honest amount of watch for less than a grand.
£995, christopherward.com
