One of the biggest events of the watch industry, Watches & Wonders is back in Geneva with a digital event this year. Even though the pandemic is not over yet, Watches & Wonders 2021 is still lively and eagerly awaited by watch lovers around the world, indicating the watch industry is still doing well amid this pandemic.
There were 40 watch brands participating in this event, including big brands such as Rolex, Tudor, Baume & Mercier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and TAG Heuer. These brands have introduced their latest models, and below are some of the ones that really caught our eye.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept
And now the lineage of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept is being celebrated in a special version dedicated to the Swiss Jura village of La Côte-aux-Fées, where Georges Edouard Piaget founded his eponymous watch company in 1874 and where the design, development and creation of every ultra-thin Piaget movement from the 9P calibre to that of “the thinnest watch in the world” has been carried out.
This watch, a tribute to La Côte-aux-Fées is coloured in a deep, forest green that evokes the feeling of a typical spring or summer’s day in the hills and fields around the village that has been Piaget’s home for almost 150 years. And, as a reminder of that, the main plate is subtly engraved with the year of the company’s founding, 1874.
Read: Hublot Introduces 4 New Models at Watches & Wonders 2021
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185
The Reverso line has been in continuous production since 1931, and to celebrate its 90th anniversary this year, the brand has devised a wide range of variants, updates, and special editions. One of them is this one superb watch that they introduced in Watches & Wonders 2021, Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185.
Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated an icon, the Reverso, by releasing the most complicated timepiece ever presented in this emblematic collection with a total of eleven complications and twelve patents. The Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is the result of over six years of development, combining key areas of savoir-faire at Jaeger-LeCoultre with innovative new astronomical indications. It is the world’s first wristwatch with four functioning display faces.
Panerai Luminor Chrono Monopulsante GMT Blu Notte
Through the union of an aesthetic strongly identified with the Panerai brand, namely the distinctive language of the iconic Luminor, and an original approach to the chronograph complication arises a special new model with a marked individual identity, in a limited edition of only 200 pieces: the Luminor Chrono Monopulsante GMT Blu Notte (PAM01135).
A powerful expression of Italian design and the innovation of the Panerai Laboratorio di Idee, the new Luminor immediately reveals its sporty attitude with a matte black ceramic case. It has a powerful presence reinforced by the midnight blue dial with satiné soleil decoration and classic sandwich structure, with Arabic numerals and indexes in white Super-LumiNova™ with green luminescence.
To support this notable introduction, Panerai harnessed its sophisticated mechanical know-how. The P.2004 calibre is a tribute to the first chronograph caliber created and developed entirely by Panerai Manufacture, a manually wound mechanical movement, the synthesis of that expertise, with functions that exceed the capacity of conventional chronographs.
IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL
WC Schaffhausen has presented the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL at the digital Watches and Wonders exhibition, the first watch to feature the brand’s patented new shock absorber system. Developed over eight years, the SPRIN-g PROTECT system is based on a cantilever spring that suspends the movement inside the case.
Thanks to its perfect form and the use of Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG), the spring protects the movement against the g-forces generated during impacts on the watch. In impact tests conducted at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, a protected movement has survived accelerations in excess of 30,000 g.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Single Flying Tourbillon
Roger Dubuis continues shaking up the world of haute horlogerie with the launch of the new Excalibur Single Flying Tourbillon. Enhanced with meticulous care, the timepiece is reinterpreted with sophistication and flair using modern and technical materials.
A contemporary masterpiece for the wrist, the new design showcases clean cut lines on both case and movement. Creating the impression of a thinner look and feel, while heightening the sense of transparency and depth, the calibre is rebuilt from bottom to top in an architectural feat that sees the Roger Dubuis star now levitate freely above the barrel.
This watch is powered by the new RD512SQ calibre with a titanium lower tourbillon cage and a mirror-polished Cobalt Chrome upper tourbillon cage, the weight of the piece is reduced to optimum effect. All of which allows the power reserve to be radically optimised to 72 hours, providing the option of leaving the watch unworn over weekends without the worry of resetting come Monday.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic
Hublot introduces the Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic ceramic chronograph, newly released at Watches and Wonders 2021. It took four years of development for Hublot to perfect a technique that produces a brightly coloured, particularly hard-wearing ceramic without burning the pigment in the process.
This easy to notice watch serves as a stark contrast with the black mid-case, screws, and the dark skeletonised dial in which the column wheel of the Unico HUB1280 self-winding movement is visible. A flyback chronograph, it comes with a 72 hour power reserve and the watch is water resistant to 100 metres.
Read: Panerai Luminor Marina, The Importance of Small Second
Zenith Extreme Defy
Bigger, bolder and resolutely futuristic, the new DEFY Extreme collection is built for the elements, taking the El Primero 21 1/100th of a second chronograph to uncharted territories, with an emphasis on design and performance. The DEFY Extreme is powered by the El Primero 21 calibre, an exceptionally precise and yet rugged 1/100th of a second automatic chronograph with two escapements, beating independently at 36’000 VpH for the timekeeping part and 360’000 VpH for the chronograph.
Adapt to your environment with the supplied titanium bracelet, rubber strap and Velcro strap, each with its own unique look and properties, with a quick strap-change mechanism to swap them on the go.
