Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Best watches of 2022, from Geneva’s Big Show
THE Watches and Wonders expo in Geneva may have ended on April 5, but life for the timepieces that made their official debut is just getting started. The new products from 38 leading watch brands, showcased to an audience of nearly 22 000 visitors, not only signal new directions for the brands – they’ll be showing up in your social media feed, too.
Chanel | J12 Diamond Tourbillon Caliber 5
Building on the success of its J12 ceramic watches, which made their debut in 1999, Chanel offers its first flying tourbillon –a difficult complication that minimises the effects of gravity on timekeeping. Naturally there’s a sizeable 0.18-carat solitaire diamond plopped right on top.
Bulgari | Octo Finissimo Ultra
Not only is this the world’s thinnest watch, at 1.8mm, there are also eight patents pending on it, and it contains a unique QR code on the dial that links to an exclusive nonfungible token. Obviously, it fits great under a sleeve. Only 10 versions of this wisp of sandblasted titanium will be made.
Grand Seiko | Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon
Having made watches with simple dials for 62 years, Grand Seiko’s first mechanical complication combines a tourbillon and a constant-force mechanism (a spring between the mainspring and escapement that helps deliver consistent power). It’s also a watch-making first, period.
Frederique Constant | Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture
Known for making complicated watches at accessible prices, Frederique Constant’s perpetual calendars achieve an almost unheard-of accomplishment: They retail for less than $10 000 (about R150 600). This year, FC is adding a chic slate-grey dial to the line.
Panerai | Submersible QuarantaQuattro ESteel
The brand’s “ESteel” contains as much as 95% pre-consumer recycled steel scraps. This year it’s expanding the material to its Submersible collection with watches at 44mm. (The normal size is either 42mm or a chunky 47mm.) The Verde Smeraldo colour features a beautiful green gradient dial.
Patek Philippe | Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
Owning one of these adjust-oncein-a-lifetime watches is always a statement because of the price and prestige. But the new green version, with its platinum case and deep lacquered dial colour, practically leaps off the wrist – and makes for an even bolder proclamation of style.
H Moser & Cie | Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept
This independent brand is famous for its brightly coloured ombré enamel dials. Here it playfully riffs on the effect with a new hammered texture that seems to glow from within. For a simple watch with no indices – it tells just the time with an automatic movement – there’s a lot going on.
TAG Heuer | Carrera Plasma
As part of chief executive officer Frédéric Arnault’s effort to bring TAG Heuer into a higher tier of luxury, the brand brought out a flashy one-ofa-kind piece: a watch with a “polycristalline” diamond dial that has to be grown in a lab. The watch’s crown is itself one sizable 2.5-carat lab-grown diamond.
Baume & Mercier | Hampton 10666
Sometimes, at a luxe fair such as Watches and Wonders, a small watch that just does what you want it to do at a reasonable price can come as an outsize relief. This handsome slate-grey rectangle shows the date and time in two locations, which is great when you’re trapped at a busy expo far from home.