A record number of visitors attended Watches and Wonders Geneva 2023, the largest and most important watch exhibition on the calendar. In the week from 27 March to 2 April, it attracted more than 43,000 unique visitors, almost doubling the number from 2022. Over 5,400 retailers worldwide travelled to Geneva, demonstrating the luxury watch industry’s unwavering popularity. On the two days when the fair was open to the public, one-quarter of the tickets were purchased by individuals under 25, with an average ticket holder age of 35. Further proof that millennials are driving luxury watch sales today.
Without further ado, here are our picks for this year’s chart-toppers, arranged alphabetically.
CARTIER
Santos-Dumont Skeleton micro-rotor watch
Photo: Cartier.
When Louis Cartier created a timepiece for his friend, Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, to read the time mid-flight, he inadvertently created the first pilot’s watch. Featuring a leather strap secured with a buckle, the Cartier Santos-Dumont was also one of the first-ever wristwatches.
Cartier honours this heritage this year with a fresh interpretation of the Santos-Dumont. Offered in steel, rose gold and yellow gold (limited to 150 numbered pieces), it boasts a new 9629 MC automatic skeleton calibre specially developed by the Cartier Manufacture. Its most impressive feature is the 212-part rotor that took two years to build. The functional oscillating weight is shaped after a miniaturised replica of the Demoiselle, the plane designed by Alberto in 1907.
CHANEL
J12 Spatiotemporal
Photo: Chanel.
Journey through time and space with Chanel’s Interstellar capsule collection of 36 exquisite timepieces inspired by science fiction. In the J12 Spatiotemporal watches, a pair of monochromatic watches dazzle with the sparkle of hundreds of baguette diamonds. Dials and bezels are adorned with white baguette diamonds and black ceramic rings meticulously engraved to create the illusion of individual pieces. White and matte black highly resistant ceramic bracelets and cases enhance the perfect interplay between black and white. Limited to 12 pieces each, they are powered by the Calibre 12.1, Chanel’s proprietary self-winding movement.
GRAND SEIKO
SLGC001 Tentagraph
Photo: Grand Seiko.
Grand Seiko’s SLGC001 Tentagraph is the brand’s first mechanical chronograph. It is driven by the self-winding Calibre 9SC5, developed from one of the best mass-produced automatic movements on the market, the high-beat Calibre 9SA5. Thanks to its energy-efficient escapement and two barrels, the watch runs for three days even while the chronograph is in operation, which is very impressive for a 5Hz chronograph.
In place of the standard 17-day test period for all Grand Seiko mechanical movements, the Tentagraph undergoes an additional three days of testing, during which the chronograph’s accuracy is evaluated in three positions as it is running. Aesthetically, this watch has all the trappings of a beautiful luxury sports watch, including a case and bracelet made of high-intensity titanium, a ceramic bezel, prominent indicators for excellent legibility, a curved profile for an ergonomic fit, and an intricately textured dial inspired by Mount Iwate.
HERMÈS
Arceau Petite Lune
Photo: Hermès.
Inspired by the mysteries of the cosmos, Hermès’ Arceau Petite Lune features an astral world sculpted in aventurine, mother-of-pearl, aragonite, opal, and diamonds. Framed by a halo of diamonds, a translucent aventurine dial rests atop an engraved mother-of-pearl dial, whose iridescence recalls the stars. The three other planetary bodies, crafted from different ornamental stones, add texture and relief to the overall design, emphasising the breathtaking effect. The Manufacture Hermès H1837 self-winding movement drives the watch.
HUBLOT
MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde
Photo: Hublot.
Once again, Hublot has ventured where few would dare. Its new MP-13 combines a double-axis tourbillon, a bi-retrograde display, and a whopping four days of power. Making a complete revolution every minute on one axis, and every 30 seconds on the other, the tourbillon’s balletic performance is enhanced by its lightweight and airy construction. To augment the visual effect, the space surrounding the tourbillon has also been enlarged and protected by anti-reflective sapphire crystals on both sides.
This is also the first time Hublot has designed a bi-retrograde movement for both the hours and minutes, with the minute hand moving steadily and the hour hand skipping instantly from one to the next. The 44-mm MP-13 is encased entirely in brushed titanium and limited to 50 numbered pieces.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE
Reverso Secret Necklace
It used to be that secret watches were made for just one purpose: enabling women to discreetly check the time in public, an act deemed socially inappropriate in the early 20th century. Creatively disguised as jewels or accessories, they became the perfect platform for watchmakers like Jaeger-LeCoulture to showcase their ingenuity. It used the swivel case mechanism of its Reverso watch as the ideal canvas to show off its creativity. Among the many variations were models that could be worn on a cordonnet bracelet or transformed into clips or pendants.
This year, the watchmaker raises the bar on creativity with a new interpretation of the Reverso. The sautoir-styled Reverso Secret Necklace is held together by a chain of diamond-set links and polished onyx beads, from which a gem-set Reverso is suspended. In a nod to the Art Deco origins of the Reverso, the pink gold case bears a geometrical motif embellished with diamonds and onyx. A pair of onyx pendants dangle below the case, adding a refined flourish to this elegant new way of wearing a timepiece. Featuring more than 3,000 diamonds, the gem-setting alone on this work of art requires over 300 hours of meticulous work. Concealed within the case is the manually-wound Calibre 846 that was created specifically for the Reverso.
PATEK PHILIPPE
Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar Ref 5261R
Photo: Patek Philippe.
Patek Philippe adds its patented Annual Calendar complication to the Aquanaut collection for the first time since 1997. It makes its debut within the Aquanaut Luce line, the feminine expression of the Aquanaut collection usually defined by its diamond-set bezel. With a 39.9-mm diameter, the case houses the new self-winding 26-330 S QA LU calibre, featuring a central rotor in 21k gold and the additional Annual Calendar module with moon phases.
Due to the inversion of the Annual Calendar module, the calendar indications in this watch are displayed differently from other Patek Philippe Annual Calendar timepieces. The date is displayed in an aperture at 6 o’clock, the moon phases in an aperture at 12 o’clock, and the day and month in subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock. Offered in rose gold, the dial and strap are hued in the beloved blue-grey colour that has appealed to many since 2018
ROGER DUBUIS
Monovortex Split-Seconds Chronograph
Photo: Roger Dubuis.
Serving as a test bed for Roger Dubuis’ radical “Hyper Horology” moves is the new concept watch, Monovortex Split-Seconds Chronograph. It premieres the Conical Monovortex tourbillon and Turborotor cylindrical oscillating weight—modern reinventions of the tourbillon and the oscillating mass. The former has a 360-degree trajectory to ensure the watch’s precision, regardless of the position of the wearer’s wrist. At the same time, the latter makes winding more efficient by incorporating the force of gravity.
These two essential components are associated with one of the most iconic complications for the maison: the split-seconds chronograph. Cleverly constructed with a double-column wheel system, it is enhanced with a rotating minute counter in an isotoxal shape, with a patent-pending display that comes complete with a tripartite hand. The 47-mm ticker is presented in red hyper-tech MCF (Mineral Composite Fibre) for the first time. Exclusively developed by Roger Dubuis, this ingenious material is 2.5 times lighter than ceramic and 13 percent lighter than carbon.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN
Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication
Vacheron Constantin’s new horological masterpiece is a unique creation by its Les Cabinotiers department. The double-sided watch features 11 time-related and astronomical complications regulated by a tourbillon and enhanced by a minute repeater. On the front, a precision double moon-phase display takes centre stage, offering a vision of the Earth’s satellite as it appears in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is complemented by the hours, minutes and perpetual calendar indicators, most notably distinguished by the retrograde date. A sky chart showing the constellations in real time appears on the reverse side of the watch, along with the time of the sidereal day. It also reveals the tourbillon and its Maltese cross-shaped carriage. Incorporating a minute repeater with a centripetal strike regulator, the model is powered by the 774-part manual-winding 2755 TMRCC QP calibre, a derivative of the emblematic calibre 2755.
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton
Van Cleef & Arpels has introduced three more jaw-dropping objects of art that show off its poetic philosophy of time. The Éveil du Cyclamen automaton is a tribute to nature, one of its most beloved themes. On a magnificent base of green aventurine and purple jade sits a bouquet of cyclamen that blooms on demand, accompanied by crystalline music specifically composed for this automaton. Within this garland, a gem-set butterfly with diamonds, emeralds, lapis lazuli, and plique-à-jour enamel flutters with a natural rhythm, batting its wings a few seconds at a time. After the butterfly returns to the pistil, the flower’s airbrush-lacquered petals close simultaneously and gently. As a final detail, a stalk of cyclamen made of rose gold, lacquer, and diamonds tracks the hours above a rotating ring at the base.
