For the first time in years, the watch industry calendar may unfold as planned. The 3rd annual LVMH Watch Week was held in Singapore last week. Watches and Wonders Hainan, which opened on the Chinese resort island in early December, is scheduled to close on February 28. Watches & Wonders Geneva, the only major trade fair for the Swiss industry, is scheduled for March. But fairs are no longer the only platform for new releases for brands. The constant cycle of releases seems to have become permanent, with watches appearing all year round. Still, maybe you shouldn’t look to the industry just yet.
wind from the east
The four dial names of the massive LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Empire (Bvlgari, Hublot, TAG Heuer and Zenith) gathered in Singapore on January 10th to bring the curtain down on some of this year’s lineup. Here are the highlights.
Bvlgari Serpenti Tubogas Infinity
It’s been 75 years since Bvlgari’s craftsmen were first inspired to design a watch by a snake, or Serpenti in Italian. The Roman jeweler-turned-Swiss luxury watchmaker is playing with one of his favorite themes this anniversary, but for the first time ever, the watch’s snow-set dial, bezel, and case are adorned with diamonds. I let the trail slip. Tubogas undulating along his bracelet. One of the two models goes around his forearm twice, requiring 486 diamonds totaling 5.85 carats. The snake-in-the-snake motif that this produces is superbly graphic, another sign that the watch and jewelery maison has tight control over its creations. $66,000
TAG Heuer Monza Flyback Chronometer
Now celebrating the 60th anniversary of TAG Heuer’s era and category-defining Carrera chronograph, there’s no doubt that the Swiss company will eventually offer a full grid for the anniversary model. But now the brand is turning its attention to the more esoteric Monza, named after the Italian Formula 1 racetrack. This version of the cushion-shaped watch is powered by the Heuer 02 Flyback (a flyback is a stopwatch that can simultaneously reset to zero by pressing the reset button once). Perhaps more striking is the watch’s punchy color scheme. The red and blue elements, including the glow-in-the-dark blue date wheel, are brighter against the dark charred case. $13,850
Hublot Big Bang Unico SORAI
This is the third installment of the energetic Swiss watch brand’s collaboration with Save Our Rhinos Africa and India (SORAI). SORAI is a social his platform founded by former England his cricketer Kevin Petersen, one of the most famous figures in world cricket. He has become an avid conservationist, an organization that uses his profile and the profiles of his sponsors to fight to protect rhinos whose numbers are said to have declined by 90% of his in the last decade. provides funding to Rhino numbers are largely the result of poaching. The limited edition of 100 pieces is a colorful sunset spin on Hublot’s familiar Big Bang Chronograph with a so-called “Rhino Gray” ceramic case. Purchased with a purpose. $24,100
Zenith Defy Skyline 36 mm
Zenith’s evolution in what part of the fashion world might be labeled a “must-have” probably comes as no surprise to longtime fans. We were squeezed into a group of ‘exhibition only’ brands that couldn’t keep up with the intense demand. It remains to be seen what his second run of this Defy Skyline watch means in a market that has suddenly lost a bit of confidence. But this model uses his 36mm slightly brutal brushed steel. Icy Blue, Sea Foam Green or (here) Whiplash Pink dials, and powered by Zenith’s own automatics — are satisfying propositions with the emotional fairness the brand always deserves. It continues to exist. $12,000
Around the world with 8 watches
Notable anniversaries, old favorites reimagined, watches that could have been an April Fool’s joke (but somehow not). Here are some of the most memorable recent watch releases.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was the original modern diver’s watch (not the Rolex Submariner). However, she sank without a trace a few years after its introduction in 1953, so when she was revived in 2003 to mark her 50th anniversary, the story was in the news for many. Twenty years later, the process of reoxygenation continues with her three series, limited to 70 bottles. There isn’t much new to report, aesthetically or mechanically, but history makes this anniversary noteworthy. $17,400
Piaget Altiplano Zodiac Watch, Year of the Rabbit
There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, but Piaget began celebrating the Lunar New Year just 11 years ago, and this is the first time the rabbit has been added to a watch. For the festival, which begins on Sunday, the brand’s longtime enamel collaborator, Anita Porsche, has created 38 rabbit-motif dials in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, each with 78 dials. It is surrounded by a brilliant-set 38mm white gold Altiplano case. -Cut diamonds. $71,000
Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton
Luxury watch companies are so confident in the resilience of mechanical movements that watches once labeled ‘handle with care’ are being fitted to watches designed for adventure. more and more. This model is a perfect example. It’s water-resistant to 200 meters (656 feet), sealed in durable titanium and set on a white rubber strap, but the mechanical movement is skeletonized, meaning most of the weight and structure. I’m here. It was erased. Inexplicable but wonderful. $26,400
Ralph Lauren 867
When a collaboration with Ralph Lauren and Richemont fell through five years ago, the preppy American outfitter’s watch efforts faltered. But in the last 18 months, I’ve started building my collection again. This spring, the focus will be on the 867 line, art deco her style watches in her square case, named after the location of her Avenue in Madison, the brand’s flagship store. This 32mm watch with a rare sterling silver case is one of his four models powered by an ultra-thin hand-wound caliber made by the Swiss manufacturer Piaget for Ralph his Lauren. It’s one. Starting at $8,350
Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Starwheel
A mechanical masterpiece, no doubt, but the cloverleaf-like “wandering hour” dial on this latest Code 11.59 model takes some time to decipher. The time is indicated by three rotating subdials representing the hour and an accompanying black triangle aligned with the 120-degree minute scale. Although the system dates back to his 17th century, this model is very avant-garde as it is surrounded by a white gold and black ceramic skeleton case, combined with a sparkling blue aventurine dial. $57,900
IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar
In the 1980s, when Swiss watchmaking was busy battling the quartz wave, brands had little interest in experimenting. That is why the Kurt He Klaus perpetual calendar movement, released in 1985, has a special place in history. Although designed to track the date perfectly to 2100, the moon phase only needed to be adjusted by one day every 577.5 years, all operated by a single crown. A modernized version of the movement. is making a return to IWC’s classic Portofino in steel for the first time and (like here) in rose gold. $33,500
H. Moser & Cie Endeavor Center Second Genesis
Contrary to what it looks like, Moser’s latest watch is a real watch, not a fancy leg-pull. Behind its (dismaying) pixelated aesthetic is what the emerging independent brand calls a “new immersive luxury experience” that “combines physical, digital, and virtual dimensions.” I have. Translation: Each of his 50 pieces in this limited edition is engraved with his QR code to what they call a “digital and virtual ecosystem.” This includes blockchain proof of ownership and priority access to Moser’s upcoming trio of his upcoming Web 3.0 inspired trio. Pieces. There is also a hand that tells the time somewhere. $29,900
Gerald Charles Maestro GC3.0-TN Chronograph
Small, family-run, independent watch makers with high volumes and low volumes have been doing quite a bit lately. Of course, it helps if your backstory includes Gerald his Genta, the great designer of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. Gerald Genta gave the brand his first two names in 2000. The idiosyncratic Maestro is his design and signature of the Maison, issued in Mirror this week. -Made of polished titanium and equipped with a bespoke automatic chronograph by Swiss movement master Vaucher his Manufacture Fleurier caliber. $25,400
Lace Inspires Two Secret Watches from La Di de Dior
Needless to say, one of the most dramatic developments in watchmaking in the last 20 years has been the foray of high-end fashion houses into fine watchmaking. Think Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès, Ralph Lauren.
Add to that list the Dior Maison, which 20 years ago breathed fresh ideas into the old world of women’s watches. Radi de Dior helped revive the category with her two-hand round watch.
Behind La D de Dior was Victoire de Castellane, Dior Joaillerie’s renowned artistic director, both in 2003 and today. What are her big post-millennium ideas? “At the time, I wasn’t happy with women’s watches,” she said in a video call from her Paris office. “The inspiration was to have a men’s watch that women could build themselves.”
She had a particular eye for men’s watches from the 1970s. This was a far-sighted move, as it has proven to be a period that has had a tremendous impact on watch design this century.
“In the 1970s there were a lot of watches with hard stone dials that could be worn by both men and women, and it turned out to be very liberating,” she explains. “And when I arrived at Place Vendôme, I realized that those watches were no longer available and that none of the design or fashion houses had revived them. They want a precious fashion accessory, but their approach is more relaxed.”
Since the debut of La Die de Dior, the basic form has remained the same, but the topic of watch design has changed. “I don’t often create watches based on the gender of the person wearing that watch, male or female,” she says. I want to tell.
De Castellane says the fluid, uncompromising simplicity of La Die de Dior has given her endless creative possibilities. Over the years she has added a myriad of splendor: colors, artistic embellishments, hard stones and gems. “It’s always fun to dress up the watch like a Stockmann doll,” she says, referring to the New York City-based mannequin brand.
This month, the La Di de Dior collection expands with two new unique secret watches inspired by racing and set with precious stones. Both were designed by de Castellane. (A secret watch is an industry term for a watch whose dial is covered in some way.)
And March will see the debut of a new watch collection she has created called La D My Dior that highlights the Maison’s signature cannage motif.
Christian Dior died in 1957, said de Castellane:
