From Rolex and Patek Philippe to Cartier and IWC, timeless timepieces from the world’s biggest watch show.
This year’s edition of Watches and Wonders was a little light on wonders, but there were still plenty of innovative and unforgettable timepieces, including several record-breakers. Piaget debuted the thinnest tourbillon, which clocks in at svelte 2 mm, or about the width of a nickel.
Bulgari broke its own record for the world’s thinnest mechanical watch (0.3 mm thinner than the Piaget). And Vacheron Constantin unveiled the most complicated watch in the world.
Eleven years in the making, the Berkley Grand Complication—which features 2,877 parts and 63 complications, including the first Chinese perpetual calendar—was commissioned by insurance billionaire William Berkley, who also owns the second most complicated timepiece with 57 complications.
Here are some of the most beautiful, imaginative, and talked-about new watches that will stand the test of time.
Rolex Perpetual 1908
A year after Rolex released one of the buzziest timepieces at Watches and Wonders—a whimsical Day-Date with a jigsaw puzzle dial and emojis in the date window—the venerable Swiss brand went back to business this year with quieter releases. (Not counting the yellow gold Deepsea, which would make a fine addition to any pirate’s treasure chest.)
While Rolex fanboys may have been hoping for a new “Batman” GMT-Master II variation—with a black-and-blue bezel—the brand introduced an elegant black-and-gray version (which was immediately dubbed the “Bruce Wayne”).
But the standout this year was an addition to the Perpetual 1908 collection, which was introduced in 2023 to replace the Cellini as Rolex’s dress watch.
The new 1908 comes in a platinum case with a vibrant ice-blue dial and a “rice-grain” guilloché pattern, worn on a black or brown alligator strap. Unlike most Rolexes, the 1908 is not a sports watch or a tool watch—it’s simply elegant.
Vitals
Case: Platinum
Diameter: 39mm
Power reserve: 66 hours
Price: $30,900
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
Each year at Watches and Wonders, IWC tends to focus on a different collection—in 2022, it was the Pilot’s Watch, and last year marked the reimagining of the Gerald Genta-designed Ingenieur.
This year, IWC relaunched its Portugieser collection with new dials and new feats of engineering.
While many watch brands boast about their accuracy over many decades, the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar puts them all to shame—in addition to a 400-year gear system that accounts for leap years and other astronomical anomalies (IWC claims its calendar doesn’t have to be adjusted until 3999), that’s not what makes the watch eternal.
Rather, it’s the innovative moon-phase indicator, which IWC says will be accurate for 45 million years. No need to set a reminder.
Vitals
Case: Platinum
Diameter: 44.4mm
Power reserve: 7 days
Price: Upon request
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”
As part of its 30th anniversary celebration—and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Datograph—A. Lange & Söhne debuted a limited-edition Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon in Honeygold (its patented alloy that’s on the spectrum between yellow and rose gold).
In addition to the perpetual calendar, a tachymeter, and the signature date window at 12 o’clock, the Datograph features Lange’s Lumen technology, which gives the dial a green glow when exposed to UV light.
The only downside? It’s limited to 50 pieces.
Vitals
Case: 18-karat Honeygold
Diameter: 41mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Price: Upon request
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/1R
Launched in 1968, Patek Philippe’s Golden Ellipse collection was inspired by the Golden Ratio—a mystical mathematical proportion equal to approximately 1/1.618 that appears in nature and is used in art and design to convey harmony.
The new Golden Ellipse timepiece is rendered in rose gold with a black sunburst dial and a chain-style bracelet that feels as good as it looks on the wrist.
Vitals
Case: Rose gold
Width: 34.5 mm
Power reserve: 48 hours
Price: $60,100
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillion
As part of its 150th anniversary, Piaget unveiled a yellow gold Polo 79—its iconic sports watch that defined ’80s glamour—but that wasn’t the only surprise the brand had in store.
Soon after Bulgari released the world’s slimmest mechanical watch—the Octo Finissimo Ultra is a carpaccio-thin 1.7 mm—Piaget (which once owned that record) reclaimed its crown in another category: the world’s thinnest tourbillon.
Up close, the 2mm Altiplano Concept Tourbillon defies belief—the movement is integrated with the caseback to achieve that record thinness—and while the price was not revealed, it will undoubtedly lighten your bank account.
Vitals
Case: Cobalt
Diameter: 41.5mm
Power reserve: 40 hours
Price: Upon request
Grand Seiko SLGW003
Part of the Evolution 9 collection, the Grand Seiko SLGW003 features a titanium case with a white birch dial and new high-beat movement. But the real appeal of this dress watch is that it’s not an automatic.
For those who love the pleasure of manually winding a watch, the SLGW003 (which also comes in a limited-edition rose gold version) has a satisfying feel and sound as it is wound.
Vitals
Case: Titanium
Diameter: 38.6 mm
Power reserve: 80 hours
Price: $10,700
Chanel J12 Automaton Caliber 6
Chanel’s beloved J12 collection got a chic upgrade this year with a Couture O’Clock capsule collection inspired by the dressmakers at Coco Chanel’s maison on rue Cambon in Paris.
The ceramic case (surrounded by 48 baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel) features an automaton on the dial. With the press of a button, Mademoiselle herself starts using the scissors in her workshop filled with Chanel signatures, including tweed and camellias.
Vitals
Case: Ceramic
Diameter: 38mm
Power reserve: 72 hours
Price: Upon request
Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT
Tudor’s Black Bay collection continues to expand in ways its considerable fanbase dreams of. This year, the brand introduced the highly anticipated Black Bay 58 GMT—a slimmed-down version of the Black Bay GMT that Tudor debuted in 2018.
With a black-and-burgundy “Coke” bezel (with a splash of ginger ale in the gold numbers), the Black Bay 58 GMT comes on a stainless steel bracelet or a rubber strap, both of which feature Tudor’s T-fit clasp for easy adjustments.
This is an ideal watch for travellers with a jumping local-hour complication and a 24-hour hand that can be used with the bi-directional 24-hour bezel.
Vitals
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 39 mm
Power reserve: 65 hours
Price: $4,600
Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir
One of the anchor brands of Watches and Wonders—carried over from the days when the show was known as SIHH—Cartier released a wild new bejeweled animal collection this year in addition to the innovative Santos-Dumont Rewind that tells time backwards.
But it’s the inclusion of the Tortue—a tonneau-shaped watch that Cartier first introduced in 1912—in the Cartier Privé collection that feels the most timeless.
The Tortue monopusher chronograph—which is available in limited editions of yellow gold or platinum—features a new movement, but otherwise the watch looks like it could have been worn a century ago. Or in the ’70s. Or the ’90s. Or the next time Cartier mines its considerable watch archive.
Vitals
Case: Platinum
Width: 41.4mm
Power reserve: 44 hours
Price: $59,000
Bremont Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph
Under the direction of new CEO Davide Cerrato—who took over the British watch brand last May after a $59 million investment from private equity firm Hellcat LP and billionaire Bill Ackman—Bremont unveiled a rugged new design identity, evolving its military-inspired timepieces from the world aviation to models for land, sea, and air adventures.
This new territory is exemplified by Bremont’s Terra Nova collection, which elevates the 20th century field watch with a cushion case and retro numbers in Super-LumiNova for greater visibility.
Vitals
Case: Stainless Steel
Diameter: 42.5 mm
Power reserve: 56 hours
Price: $5,400
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Jour Nuit
Every year, Van Cleef & Arpels unveils new Poetic Complications that combine that art of fine jewelry making with the science of haute horology.
The Lady Arpels Jour Nuit, first introduced in 2008, tells the story of the Sun (made from yellow sapphires) and the diamond-set Moon chasing one another across the Aventurine sky. Alas, they never meet.
Vitals
Case: 18-karat white gold
Diameter: 38 mm
Power reserve: 36 hours
Price: $91,000
Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde
Parmigiani Fleurier was already renowned for its minimalist dials, but under CEO Guido Terreni, the dress watches have (somehow) become even more understated. This year, the brand reimagined Michel Parmigiani’s first watch, the Toric, with elegant updates in gold and platinum.
The Toric Petite Seconde now has indices instead of numerals with knurling on the bezel that evokes fluted Doric columns. And the timepiece is equally sophisticated on the inside: It features a new manual-winding gold movement.
Vitals
Case: Platinum
Diameter: 40.6 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Price: $55,900
Ulysse Nardin Freak S Nomad
For watch lovers who love to let their freak flag fly, the Ulysse Nardin Freak collection has been marrying the traditions of the past with designs that look as if they were sent from the distant future.
The latest model, the Freak S Nomad, is limited to 99 pieces and features a carousel that resembles the Millennium Falcon (it functions as the minute hand), which sits above a guilloché hour plate. Then again, you don’t wear one to tell the time.
Vitals
Case: Titanium and carbon fibre
Diameter: 45mm
Power reserve: 72 hours
Price: Upon request
Hermès Cut
Hermès introduced the new Cut Collection, featuring a unique geometric case—part square, part circle—with a crown placement at 1:30 and a slim 36 mm case that’s available in stainless steel, rose gold, or both metals.
For added everyday elegance, the bezel is also available in diamonds.
Vitals
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 36mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Price: $21,900
Chopard L.U.C. Spirit Quattro 25
Known for its high-jewelry pieces, Chopard debuted several sports and dress watches this year. The most refined is the L.U.C Spirit Quattro 25 featuring a white gold case with a Grand Feu enamel black dial and a large jumping hour window at six o’clock.
The black-tie-ready watch is limited to 100 pieces.
Vitals
Case: 18-karat white gold
Diameter: 31.8mm
Power reserve: 8 days
Price: $50,200
Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Water Blue Sapphire
Since it first introduced the sapphire Big Bang in 2016, Hublot has developed a kaleidoscopic range of colors, including orange, yellow, and green. This year, Hublot debuted an icy blue MP-11 with an impressive 14-day power reserve.
The upper half of the skeletonized dial features a small disc displaying the time, while the lower half shows the horizontal barrels and an easy-to-read power reserve indicator.
Vitals
Case: Sapphire
Diameter: 45 mm
Power reserve: 14 days
Price: $171,000
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph
In addition to releasing the most complicated watch ever made this year—the Berkley Grand Complication—Vacheron Constantin added a new color combination to its Overseas collection and it’s so money: green and gold. (Or in this case, pink gold.)
The new collection comes in several variations, including a diamond-set bezel, a dual-time complication, and a chronograph.
Vitals
Case: Pink gold
Diameter: 42.5mm
Power reserve: 52 hours
Price: Upon request
Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810
Montblanc may draw its inspiration from the Alps, but this year the brand headed in the opposite direction—to the depths of the ocean.
The Montblanc Iced Sea 0 Oxygen Deep 4810 is a dive watch designed to be water resistant to an astonishing 4,810 meters—or the height of Mont Blanc above sea level.
The “zero oxygen” in its name refers to the absence of oxygen in the case, which helps reduce fogging at extreme depths.
Vitals
Case: Titanium
Diameter: 43mm
Power reserve: 5 days
Price: $9,100
H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Seconds Concept Citrus Green
Last year at Watches and Wonders, Oris launched a vibrant green watch inspired by Kermit himself. This year, H. Moser leapfrogs over that model with an acid green dial featuring three minimalist hands and no logo.
But this isn’t just another pretty face—the watch provides 120 meters of water resistance and features a 72-hour power reserve.
Vitals
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 42.8 mm
Power reserve: 72 hours
Price: $15,900
Zenith Defy Revival A3648
In the past decade Zenith has mined its considerable archive by staying faithful to its 1960s designs with 21st century updates.
The Defy Revival A3648 faithfully reimagines the first Defy diver from 1969—the same year Zenith debuted its famed El Primero movement—with a 37 mm case, a crown and date window at 4:30, and an Elite 670 movement with 50 hours of power reserve.
Vitals
Case: Stainless steel
Diameter: 37 mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Price: $7,700
TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
A year after celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Carrera—which continues to roll on this year—Tag Heuer had automotive watch lovers’ hearts revving with the debut of the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph, which brings the iconic Monaco collection into the world of haute horology.
The movement, which is made of titanium is housed in a sapphire case, which keeps it as light as it is sleek. But Steve McQueen would still recognize it as a super-cool Monaco.
Vitals
Case: Titanium
Diameter: 41 mm
Power reserve: 65 hours
Price: $138,000
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
