BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI & HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Words by Harlan Chapman-Green
It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of another year, isn’t it? 2024 seems to have flown by, although all around the world, lots of events have occurred to keep us occupied. From elections in the US and the UK to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Ukraine to events further afield, it’s fair to say that this truly has been one of the most interesting on record.
Anyway, there have been lots of watches coming out this year from brand new models and brand new brands to revived favourites and classics being relaunched. There’s been something for everyone, but some watches have stood out more than others so we’ve put those in a list. I’ll say that it’s possible that we’ve overlooked something, it’s simply impossible to consider all watches ever in a year. I should also add that this list is in order of our preferences.
The honourable mentions:
We really wanted to include these watches somewhere on our list, so we put them into the honourable mentions category. These would make fine additions to any collection.
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Datograph Handwerkskunst
To mark 30 years of A. Lange & Söhne as we know them today, and 25 years of their most iconic chronograph watch, the Saxon brand released this Datograph Handwerkskunst edition of the watch featuring a tremblage guilloché dial with raised numerals and lettering in 18k yellow gold. One of our readers commented that it brought a tear to their eye and, frankly, we agree.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon
Oh, to dream. This watch is groundbreaking; it’s currently the thinnest tourbillon watch (2mm thick) by a long way. Bulgari’s nearest competing watch is nearly double the thickness. I was honoured to see it in person at Watches & Wonders Geneva this year, it’s a testament to what can be done if we put our minds to it. That said, its high price and impracticality mean it’s something to be admired from a distance.
The top 10:
10 – Bremont Supermarine 300M GMT
Bremont’s rebranding changes under current CEO Davide Cerrato have been, er, unpopular with their audience. They were confused by the logo change and felt it ‘blandified’ the brand. However, the 300M GMT watch caught Jovan’s attention and has remained on his mind ever since with its modern, attractive looks and stylish bracelet.
9 – Audemars Piguet [re]Master02 Selfwinding
This one was an oddball choice because they’re quite expensive, they only made a few and they’re based on an even more obscure model from 1960. However, I couldn’t get this one out of my head thanks to its offset design which is just so weird and cool. It would never be a core collection model for Audemars Piguet, but I liked it. I wonder if they have any left.
8 – Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Blue”
Tudor is always a solid contender in the world of luxury watches, and their Black Bay Chrono “Blue” is an impressive piece with their signature bi-compax chronograph layout. This watch garnered much less discussion than its pink-dialled sibling did, but that works to its advantage as it flies steadily under the radar.
I’ll bet you were expecting the GMT-Master II GRNR to turn up here, right? As interesting as it is to see Rolex increasing its colour range on the GMT-Master II model range, and as weird as that giant yellow gold Deepsea was, the actual best watch from them this year is this white gold Day-Date 40. Its ‘pearlised’ mother-of-pearl dial gleams and the applied diamond markers give Rolex’s halo model an even more luxurious appearance.
6 – Omega Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified
The Speedmaster Pilot Flight Qualified watch aimed to do something a little different with Omega’s most successful model. It’s based on a historical Speedmaster as they so often are, but it goes in the direction of in-atmosphere flight and is a stark contrast to the space theme the Speedmaster usually runs with.
5 – Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400 Ref. 01 400 7790 4135-07 8 23 02PEB
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. Oris worked on improving the tactile quality of its most popular diving range this year, and it also introduced its in-house automatic calibre 400 movement into the Aquis range. It’s hard to think of what’s missing here, except perhaps the Coronet logo.
4 – Parmigiani Fluerier Toric Petite Seconde Ref. PFC940-2010004-300181-EN
This year, Parmigiani Fleurier re-invented one of its key models, the Toric range. We got two versions of the Toric Petite Seconde, one in yellow gold and one in platinum, and we also got the Toric Chronograph Rattrapante, which was a true beauty, but I feel I deserved a white gold or platinum case. This version of the Toric is, I think, the best version as it combines the elegant yet modern case with the neutral colour of platinum and it wears so well on the wrist it’s hard to think of a word to describe it.
3 – Glashütte Original SeaQ Chronograph Silver Screen
The SeaQ Chronograph from Glashütte Original is one of only a handful of watches that are true functional diving watches from a high-end company more known for its complicated dress watches. Yet, the SeaQ is a popular choice, and this chronograph version, with its bright silvery dial, stands out in the range.
A truly good design doesn’t need much changing around, only a simple refresh from time to time, and when changes do happen, they often end up looking awkward. Cartier’s Santos is the perfect example of this. I’m not saying the Santos Chronograph is a bad watch, I just don’t think it integrates the design well enough to not look a bit odd. The Santos Dual Time, however, surprised everyone who saw it because it worked so perfectly it’s difficult to see why they hadn’t done it sooner. I’d also mention the yellow gold Panthère they released, which is a surprisingly good-looking all-gold dressy watch.
1 – IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
I should hope that it comes as no surprise that our watch of the year is IWC’s fantastic Portugieser Eternal Calendar. Before I got to see it for myself in Geneva, when I’d only seen the press briefing, I knew it would be something special that the other brands would have a hard time beating. Yes, we could talk about Vacheron Constantin’s most complicated watch ever, but that’s so out of reach of everyone (and I didn’t get to see it except behind glass) that it’s almost irrelevant. Yes, IWC’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar is also monstrously expensive, but they nailed every part of its design and function, the new language of the Portugieser models with the domed sapphire crystal works so well and the idea of a calendar you never need to adjust ever (so long as it’s running) is super cool. Well done IWC.
Well done to everyone in the watch community this year. Lots of brands have picked up new and innovative designs, and we can’t wait to see what happens next. We’d also like to thank you for continuing to support WristReview in 2024 and we look forward to reading your comments!
