Ladies and gentlemen, Watches & Wonders 2024 is upon us – the world’s largest watch fair, held in Geneva, Switzerland, ‘the cradle of fine watchmaking’. In its fifth edition, the SIHH-replacement now serves as the premier annual Swiss Watch Show hosting 54 maisons. From April 9th to 13th, Watches & Wonders ’24 will be a vantage point for participating brands, watch journalists, retailers, wholesalers, and VIP clients. In terms of new launches, maisons have not only embraced their heritage philosophies of watchmaking but also found the confidence to explore riskier haute horlogerie paths.
Here are the top 15 best new launches from Watches & Wonders 2024
A. Lange Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen
Marking the 25th anniversary of the Datograph, A. Lange & Söhne combine two of their greatest feats in one watch. The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen is a golden ratio of their maison’s mechanical poetry and Lumen. Being only the sixth in the Lumen Series, it’s cased in 41.5 millimetre 18-carat Honeygold – the brand’s proprietary gold alloy, it houses a sapphire crystal dial plate that’s partially tinted in a luminous pigment, allowing just enough light to pass through. We also see this on the disks of the day, date, month, and chronograph sub-dials. Up top at twelve, the jumping date’s disks are also dipped in the same luminescent paint. All in all, A Lange Söhne has packed this timepiece with their most prestigious statecrafts – tourbillon, flying chronograph with jumping minute counter, perpetual calendar, and big date – all powered by the mighty manually wound calibre L952.4 which delivers a 50-hour power reserve.
Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind
Materializing the intersection of timeless elegance and horological playfulness, this one-of-a-kind Cartier Dumont is limited to just 200 pieces. At first glance, this may seem like your everyday Santos Dumont – iconic case design, cabochon crown, and Roman numeral indexers. But upon closer inspection, you’ll shake your head in confusion – wondering if you’re reading its dial correctly. Cased in glimmery platinum and measuring 31.5 millimetres with a ruby cabochon adorning its crown, it boasts an absolutely regal carnelian dial with Roman numeral indexes running counterclockwise. The manual-winding movement 230MC also operates in the same direction, backwards.
Cartier also unveiled new releases under the Santos Dumont, Panther Jewellery, Crocodile Jewellery, Santos De Cartier, Animal Jewellery, Reflection De Cartier, and Cartier Prive collections.
Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XP Frozen Summit
Chopard rolled out an ice-cold Alpine Eagle, proving that watchmaking and jewellery can perfectly harmonize sport and substance. The 41-millimetre 18-carat ethical white gold case, as well as the entire dial, bezel, and crown, are set with meticulously cut diamonds tallying to 22.56 carats, taking after the celestial beauty of stars reflected on glaciers. Inside, the mechanical calibre L.U.C. 96.41-L is self-wound using dual stacked barrels and delivering a 65-hour power reserve. The making of an Alpine Eagle XP 41 Frozen Summit timepiece requires no less than 800 hours of work.
At Watches & Wonders 2024, Chopard also unveiled new releases under the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono, L.U.C Qualite Fleurier, L.U.C. Quattro Spirit 25, L.U.C Full Strike, Happy Sport, Haute Joaillerie, Imperiale, L’heure Du Diamant, Ice Cube, Happy Hearts, and Happy Diamonds Icons collections.
Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon
Grand Seiko made a roaring entrance into Watches & Wonders in 2022, debuting their first-ever hyper-mechanical complication called the Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon. Taking the world by storm, the Kodo went on to win the Chronometry Prize at the GPHG. While this iteration of the Kodo evoked the spirit of the night, the new Watches & Wonders 2024 iteration embraces daybreak. Slating in at 43.8 millimetres and crafted out of platinum 950 and titanium, it houses the manual-wound Calibre 9ST1 which comprises 340 components – 140 of which are dedicated to the constant force mechanism and tourbillon carriage. Limited to 20 pieces.
Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé
Hermès’ Arceau line has always been a totem of fascinating French horlogerie. Taking a rather intriguing turn this year at Watches & Wonders 2024 with a circular case and unsymmetrical lugs, Hermès has employed a triple-axis tourbillon and a minute repeater. Casing in at 43 millimetres of grade 5 titanium (or 5N Rose Gold), the dial is a floating ring disk,that circles above the triple-axis tourbillon. Two peripheral indicators revolve around the ring disk, marking hours and minutes. Underneath all of this is a wide striped guilloché on the titanium dial plate. At six o’clock, the minute repeater equestrian-shaped hammers peak out. All of this is powered by the Manufacture H1926 which comprises 563 components and offers a 48-hour power reserve. Hermès will only produce 24 pieces.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
IWC Schaffhausen ventures into a rarified league of watches with this one-of-a-kind perpetual calendar. Capable of auto-adjusting for the skipped leap years at the start of each century until 2400, IWC claims this Eternal Calendar will accurately tell time until 3999, perhaps longer. While this is impressive enough, its moonphase indicator can track the moon’s position for 45 million years ahead for both hemispheres. Called a ‘secular perpetual calendar’, only Patek Philippe, Svend Andersen and Frank Muller have attempted crafting this technical marvel. This is cased in 44.4 millimetres of platinum, with mixed brushed and polished surfaces. Its dial boasts a frosted underplate which is lacquered in white while its sub-dials are simply printed glass. This is powered by the automatic-wound Calibre 52640 which offers a seven-day power reserve.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual
Limited to just 20 pieces, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual boasts a case inspired by their 19th-century savonette pocket watches, pairing it with a dose of mechanical mastery via a triple-axis tourbillon, moonphase, and perpetual calendar. In case you’re wondering, ‘savonette’ translates from French to a small, roundly edged soap disk that fits in the palm of a hand, domed by a sapphire crystal. Constructed from 34 unique components, it’s cased in 44-millimetre 18-carat Pink Gold with a mix of brushed, polished, and micro-blasted sections. The main attraction is the Duometer movement, which uses two mainspring barrels, offering dual power sources. One serves the primary timekeeping requirements, the other for complications. The Heliotourbillon is JLC’s reengineered original multi-axis Gyrotourbillon from 2004 – what’s new? a third axis and independent cage. All of this comes to life thanks to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 388 manual-wind movement which delivers a 46-hour power reserve.
H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Double Hairspring
H. Moser & Cie is the Pagani of watchmaking – running their race, audaciously. Challenging the status quo of steel sports watches, the Streamline takes on its premier Tourbillon Skeletal form. Slating in at 40 millimetres of stainless steel, its dial strips off all unnecessary cargo on board – putting its bare bones of horlogerie on display. At six o’clock, we have a one-minute flying tourbillon which appears to be virtually floating. Inside, resides the HMC-814 which is automatic-wound and boasts a 72-hour power reserve.
Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa Ti-Ceramitech
Being the Italian Navy forces’ most trusted wristwear companion, Panerai is no stranger to extreme oceanic endeavours – built to withstand crushing pressures and deliver reliable accuracy and light in abysmal darkness.
As a pioneer of material innovation in this field, they slate in a new material, Ti-Ceramitech, inspired by the passion of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team at the America’s Cup. The 44-millimetre Blue Ti-Ceramitech case demanded seven years of R&D, it is brought to life by the ceramization of titanium using Electrolytic Plasma Oxidation. The result: 44% lighter than steel and 10x fracture toughness as compared to traditional ceramic. Its dial is blue sun-brushed with SuperLuminova® hour markers and indexes, with a date window at three and small seconds at nine o’clock. Underneath the hood, is the automatic-wound P.900 which delivers a three-day power reserve.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon 150th Anniversary
Celebrating their 150th anniversary, they unveil the latest iteration of the AUC at the same hallmark thickness of 2 millimetres, housing a new tourbillon – making it the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch. Completely reengineering the tourbillon, it now rests on its upperside with its cage guided peripherally by ball bearings. The hairspring is flattened and cast in gold. Measuring 41.5 millilitres, its blue PVD-coated cobalt alloy case houses the calibre 970P-UC which is manually wound and employs a one-minute tourbillon at 4 Hz, delivering a 40-hour power reserve.
TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
For me, TAG Heuer is accuracy. In the 1920s and 30s, their Mikrograph which recorded time at 1/110th of a second, became the preferred timekeeping device at the Olympic Games. Followed by the Microsplit, which followed the same hallmark but with the addition of a split-seconds function. As decades passed, TAG watches became staples in motorsport paddocks, and in 1989, a quartz split-seconds chronograph took the world by storm. Last year at Only Watch, anticipation soared when TAG Heuer showed off their one-of-a-kind, mechanical Monaco Split Seconds Chronograph – and finally for 2024, celebrating 55 years of the Monaco, TAG Heuer reignites its Haute Horlogerie d’Avant-Garde with the new Monaco Split Seconds Chronograph.
At its racing heart, is TAG’s newly launched TH81-00, crafted entirely in titanium in partnership with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. The split-seconds function, also called “rattrapante” in French, allows the wearer to track two separate time intervals concurrently. This is encased in a black DLC-coated titanium 41-millimetre, Monaco-square body which has undergone meticulous brushing, sandblasting, and polishing. The dial, skeletonized, puts its bare bones of mechanical mastery on display. We see a striking, red-lacquered skeletonized central split-seconds hand accompanied by two smaller chronograph counter hands on its sub-dials. They’re each marked with ‘Rattrapante’ and ‘Chronograph’.
TAG Heuer also unveiled new collections under the Carrera Date and Carrera Chronograph collections.
Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers – The Berkley Grand Complication
For nearly a decade, Vacheron Constantin held the title for creating the world’s most complicated watch – the Ref 57260, but today, they shattered their record with the Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication. Housed within a hefty 50.55-millimetre thick, 90.8-millimetre wide, 18-carat white gold case, is the manually wound Calibre 3752, which can perform a staggering 63 functions! It uses 31 hands, 9 discs, a total of 2,877 components, and took 11 years of R&D, and one entire year to assemble. The title, ‘Berkley Grand Complication’ comes from billionaire, W. R. Berkley, who owns an eponymous insurance holding company – who commissioned the watch. As he also owns the Ref 57260, he’s now the owner of the world’s first and second most complicated watches.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC
When we think of ultra-thin horlogerie, three maisons come to mind – Richard Mille’s one-hit-wonder: RM UP-01 Ferrari, Piaget’s Altiplano Ultimate, and the imperial Octo Finissimo Ultra dynasty. Right from the moment RM’s UM-01 Ferrari snatched the throne from Bulgari in 2022 for creating the world’s thinnest watch, by going 0.05 millimetres slimmer, I knew the Romans barged through their R&D lab doors and worked overtime. Today, they’ve reclaimed their throne with the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC. Thinner than ever, the new Ultra is a mere 1.7 millimetres thin, not just with enhanced architecture, but also COSC-certification – making it also, the world’s thinnest chronometer-certified watch. What’s also new is the new Datamatrix, which replaces the NFT QR code of the old-gen Ultra. Limited to 20 pieces, it will be cased in 40-millimetre titanium. The movement inside is the BLV 180 which is manually wound and delivers a 50-hour power reserve.
Bulgari also unveiled the Octo Finissimo Sketch, Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton, new Octo Roma editions, and new Serpenti Tadao Ando editions.
Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Power Reserve 14 Days Water Blue Sapphire
Hublot’s sapphire Big Bang catalogue is a true kaleidoscope of watch cases, now adding a new glacier blue edition. After their first sapphire Big Bang in 2016, we’ve seen a steady flow of sapphire novelties exploring the rainbow: blue, purple, orange, yellow Saxem, and most recently green Saxem. The MP-O1 too, has proven a successful canvas for Hublot’s experimental case materials. The skeletonized blue sapphire case puts the timepiece’s workhorse on display: The seven-barrel calibre HUB9011 is manual-wound and delivers a stunning 14-day power reserve, indicating hours, minutes, and power reserve. Limited to 50 pieces.
Hublot also unveiled new releases under the Big Bang Unico, Big Bang Integrated Time Only, Square Bang, and Spirit of Big Bang collections.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Sunrise Double Tourbillon
Roger Dubuis’ disruptive spirit of Hyper Horology™ creates a head-turner at Watches & Wonders 2024 with Excalibur Sunrise Double Tourbillon. As a paean of Roger Dubuis’ commitment to mechanical mastery, relentless horological innovation, and audacious design, this new Excalibur houses not one, but two tourbillons, while being adorned by 108 baguette-cut gemstones. Crafted out of 18-carat pink gold and measuring 45 millimetres, the yellow and red gemstones around its bezel, evoke the radiance of sunrise while being contrasted by the dial’s skeletal grunge. What’s interesting is that the skeletonized framework is also endorsed by the prestigious Poinçon de Genève certification. Powering this wonder is the RD108SQ calibre, which comprises 319 components and offers a 72-hour power reserve.
Roger Dubuis unveiled new releases under the Excalibur and Orbis In Machina collections.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives