Watches & Wonders: The Latest Releases From The World’s Top Watchmakers
It’s an exciting time for watchmakers and horological enthusiasts. Watches & Wonders, taking place digitally from Geneva from April 7 – 13 and in person at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai from April 14 – 18, is a chance for the world’s leading watchmakers to show off their latest feats of innovation, precision, design and craftsmanship. The event has been adapted for the times, allowing digital participation for #luxurywatches connoisseurs across the globe as watchmakers reveal their 2021 creations live online.
From Swiss watchmakers to French luxury houses, the most storied names in horology are releasing exceptional timepieces to mark the event. Think A. Lange & Söhne, Bvlgari, Cartier, Chanel Fine Jewelry, IWC Schaffhausen, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Panerai, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin and more. Some 40 brands in total will participate online. Daily broadcasts, live streams and live chats will allow the members of the international watch community to network and celebrate the tradition and future of watchmaking.
Lucky for you, we have the scoop on some of the special works of horological art being released. From a watch with good bones to dials that are alive with dancing diamonds, read on to discover the stories behind the latest exclusive timepieces by A. Lange & Söhne, Bvlgari, Chanel Fine Jewelry, Chopard, Hermès, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget and Tag Heuer.
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Every watch movement produced in the Glashütte, Germany workshops of A. Lange & Söhne is assembled not once, but twice. This exacting level of perfection and a forward-thinking design promise are distilled in modern-day founder Walter Lange’s ethos for the brand: “There is something that you demand not only of your watch, but also of yourself: never stand still.” True to form, Lange is moving into 2021 with three impressive new releases. The Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar features the recognizable oversized date, but also a retrograde day-of-the-week display, leap year indication, peripheral month ring and moonphase display. The Little Lange Moonphase 1 is a heavenly take on the lunar complication, with a solid white gold moon moving through its phases on a dark blue gold-flux dial studded with 56 brilliant-cut diamonds. The Triple Split, in a limited edition of 100, now comes in pink gold and boasts the singular distinction of being the only mechanical watch that can measure comparative lap times up to 12 hours
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The Serpenti Tubogas is the ultimate combination of BVLGARI signatures. The timeless symbol of the snake gets its wrist-wrapping curves from a flexible, modern bracelet inspired by industrial piping design. Exactly 38 diamonds adorn the 35 mm serpent-shaped case of the two-twirl model in stainless steel, giving it both brilliance and bite.
Unless you’re planning to time travel to the future, with the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar you will literally never have to adjust the functions of your watch for accuracy. Designed to keep time until the year 2100, Bvlgari’s new release also boasts a superlatively slim case, clocking in at just 5.80 mm. Inside are 408 components, intricately designed and miniaturized to maximize the use of so little space. Together they work to power the retrograde-display date, day, month and retrograde-display leap years. Add this piece to your collection for a truly timeless investment in the present and the future.
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The latest fine watches from Chanel are an “ode to color and uninhibited style.” Discover the immersive, electronic music-inspired capsule collection.
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Jump start your collection with Chopard Manufacture’s very limited edition L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25. The first watch with a jumping hour complication in Chopard Manufacture’s collection is a special piece to mark its 25th anniversary, with only 100 produced. Its sleek exterior, featuring ethical 18-carat rose gold and a meticulously artisan-crafted white Grand Feu enamel dial, belies a powerful, four-barrel movement that generates an eight-day power reserve.
With its latest Haute Joaillerie creations, Chopard is giving us a reason to dance again, with diamonds that is. Five of the maison’s iconic dancing diamonds float effortlessly across the dials of diamond, pink sapphire and blue sapphire embellished watches that marry the exquisite heights of fine jewelry with the precision of timekeeping.
A look to the heavens inspires another of Chopard’s latest designs. Diamonds sparkle as stars in the night sky of the Imperiale Moonphase’s dial. There, a moonphase complication powered by the Chopard 96.25-C movement tracks lunar phases as well as the positions of constellations including the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, Cepheus and Draco. Fittingly for depicting the night sky, the dial is made of aventurine glass, known for its shimmering inclusions.
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Hermès is known for its time-honored heritage craftsmanship, but the renowned luxury house is certainly no stranger to innovation. The new Hermès H08 timepiece is a bold case in point. Introducing an all-new shape into the brand’s horological lexicon, its abstract, geometric design plays with proportion, making it a daily driver that feels anything but everyday. The result of a collaboration among Men’s Artistic Director Véronique Nichanian, Artistic Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas and Hermès Horloger Artistic Director Philippe Delhotal, the H08 is a completely in-house creation, down to the manufacture H1837 movement. Find your perfect style match with options in Titanium, Black DLC coated Titanium and Graphene with black ceramic accents.
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There are two sides to every story when it comes to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. Originally designed with a reversible case to protect the dial during polo matches, for 2021 the style’s original blank metal sides have transformed into breathtaking, bejeweled art pieces crafted by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares® (Rare Handcrafts ™) workshop. The 1920s meet the 2020s in art-deco inspired floral designs rendered in hand-engraving and enameling, and embellished with painstakingly set diamonds. Seamlessly hugging the curves of the Reverso’s case, the carefully placed gems require a total of 95 hours to set. Beauty on this level is rare, indeed. Production of each sublime timepiece in the collection is limited to 10, placing them among the ultimate collectors’ pieces.
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For 2021, Panerai’s Laboratorio di Idee, its innovative research and development arm, has restarted the clock on chronography. Building on prototypes made for the Italian Navy in the 1940s, the new Luminor Chrono comes in three models, PAM01109, PAM01218 and PAM01110. Blue hands indicate the chronograph controls, and a “base 1000” tachymeter scale provides accurate measurement of average speed over a predetermined number of kilometers or miles. Quickly moving from sporty to polished, the Luminor Chrono features interchangeable straps made from metal, alligator leather and rubber. The Luminor Chrono Luna Rossa is a double dose of Italian design. Celebrating the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, the limited edition reference PAM01303 embodies the spirit of racing. A new self-winding P.9200 Calibre powers the uniquely designed chronograph functions and provides a 42-hour power reserve, while two bi-material bracelets ensure durability and, of course, style.
Talk about a timepiece with good bones. The marvels of the Piaget Polo Skeleton’s ultra-thin inner workings are on display for all to see through its sapphire glass and case back, including the skeleton 1200S movement. Measuring just 6.5mm thick, it necessitated an entirely new case design — an exercise in less-is-more precision. Technical prowess is matched with distinct styling options, including dials in Piaget blue or grey, and a sporty satin-brushed steel bracelet or polished leather strap.
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Tag Heuer
Opening Summer
The Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 is a bold new timepiece that’s also based on a deep dive into the watchmaker’s history. Based on Heuer Ref. 844, a collector’s favorite dive watch released in 1978, the new generation of Aquaracers feature design updates that have renewed this classic for the 21st century. Refinements to the 12-faceted bezel make it even easier to set, and a date magnifier and Super-LumiNova® hour and minute hands ensure visibility even in the most extreme underwater conditions. With water-resistance to 300 meters, it’s equipped for any deep-sea adventure, but the new Aquaracer has surface appeal, too. A slimmed-down profile and lighter weight make it even more at-home paired with a dive suit or a business suit.
