Presenting the newest and most exciting watch launches, selected by the editors at Robb Report Monaco & Côte d’Azur.
WATCH OF THE YEAR: BOVET Récital 30
Today’s citizen of the world needs a timepiece that can adapt with the pace of business in every corner of the globe. Whether you are a global traveller or an international businessperson, you need to know exactly what time it is anywhere on the planet, regardless of Daylight Saving Time (DST). The new Récital 30 is a completely new timepiece that incorporates BOVET’s groundbreaking world time system, the first mechanical way to solve that tricky issue of DST—and which combines unmatched innovation with in-house handcrafted mastery. Ever since Daylight Saving Time was introduced, mechanical world-time watches have been unable to adapt to the vagaries of when DST starts and ends in different countries, and which countries do not change (only around 70 nations use some form of DST). In reality, before the BOVET Récital 28 and 30, all world-time watches were wrong during the DST periods, either set for DST—so the rest of the world was wrong by one hour—or set for the majority of the world and the DST countries were off by an hour.
The Récital 30 incorporates the innovative roller system from the Récital 28, allowing travellers to accurately display 25 global time zones during the four time periods of the year: Coordinated Universal Time, American Summer Time, European and American Summer Time and European Winter Time. Emphasising the essentials needed for keeping track, the world-time rollers cover nearly the entire dial of the Récital 30, making it the clear focus of this timepiece. In the centre is a day/night indicator linked to local time. This watch is also the first world timer to feature Indian time, with its unique 30 minute off-set, in two versions, both with New Delhi featured prominently on the dial.
“This timepiece was always in the back of my mind, from the very beginning of our research into solving the Daylight Saving Time problem, which started six years ago,” says Pascal Raffy, owner of BOVET. “On the wrist, we have to have the indication of time and it’s more important than ever to have it linked to the world, which has become so small and accessible today. I wanted to offer our collectors a wearable, very intuitive timepiece to guide them and remind them where they are from and where they are going.” With the Récital 30, BOVET continues to revolutionise world timepieces—a testament to how the brand became one of Switzerland’s hottest independent watchmakers. Price on request
BEST SAPPHIRE WATCH: Richard Mille RM 75-01 Flying Tourbillon Sapphire
Leave it to Richard Mille— a watchmaker that’s always up for an engineering challenge, coupled with design feats—to up the ante on the ongoing craze for a sapphire timepiece. Its new RM 75-01 is cut and milled from a solid block of the stone that requires more than 1,000 hours of machining, including 40 days of grinding around the clock, to get right. All this in service of showing the watch’s inner workings, whose components are manufactured in Grade 5 titanium, 5N gold and grey PVD treated. The flying tourbillon also channels the fully transparent brief: a tourbillon cage is free of an upper bridge, evoking an antigravity feel of weightlessness. Price on request
BEST REVIVAL: Cartier Tank à Guichets
Introduced in 1928, the Cartier Tank à Guichets took the metaphor of an armoured vehicle as a timepiece to its logical conclusion. Rather than revealing a delicate white dial with Roman numerals, its metal dial features only two small openings: one for jumping hours and the other for a dragging-minutes display. A series of new limited-edition Tank à Guichets in the brand’s Collection Privée presents a modern iteration in one of three precious metals, but a special platinum version—for which the apertures are rotated at an angle—promises to become the collectors’ favourite. Price upon request
BEST PERPETUAL CALENDAR: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar
A perpetual calendar tracks the day, date, month, moon phase and leap year—generally without requiring manual adjustment for decades on end. But setting all the little displays typically involves the use of a special tool or a visit to your local watchmaker. This sand-gold Royal Oak, released for the company’s 150th anniversary, solves that age-old horological pain, thanks to its groundbreaking Calibre 7138 movement. The 4.1 mm-thick self-winding engine controls all functions via the crown, eliminating the need for unsightly pushers or buttons on the case. To top it off, it can be adjusted forwards or backwards without damaging the movement. Price upon request
BEST MÉTIERS D’ART: Piaget Altiplano
Piaget is known for its expertise in jewellery techniques, but it also lays claim to some of the thinnest high-end watch movements in the world. Here, the brand combines both. The bridges of the 40 mm timepiece—powered by the 3 mm thick self-winding 1201D1 skeleton movement—are delicately adorned with diamonds and blue sapphires, which extend to the bezel in baguette cuts. The other half of the dial and bezel is decorated in a burst of varying blue, green, and purple hues in grand feu cloisonné enamel executed by the celebrated artisan Anita Porchet. But even the portion of the movement that is invisible beneath the enamel is set with diamonds and sapphires. With no surface left untouched, this piece wows at every angle. From €378,000
BEST HOROLOGY ICON: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique
Small watches have been trending for some time, and you know it’s official when one of horology’s greats takes on the trend. Blancpain’s iconic Fifty Fathoms from 1953 holds the title as the first modern diving watch, with reissues and revamps galore since the Swiss watchmaker celebrated its 70th birthday two years ago. The latest focus is the Fifty Fathoms Automatique in a new vintage-styled 38 mm, which is now available in steel, grade 23 titanium or 18 ct gold. Or there’s this ultra-chic iridescent black mother-of-pearl number that’s a masterclass in contrast: we love the smoky black dial offsetting a red gold case, all topped with a super-cool tropic rubber strap. From €30,100
BEST GIVING BACK: Chopard L.U.C Heritage EHG Moon 122
Set against an expansive aventurine dial in a 44 mm case made of ethical rose gold is a series of constellations, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, in a beautiful astronomical display. But the real craftsmanship lies in the handhammering and hand-engraving of this watch’s gold moon phase—so precise that the error between the trajectory of the moon and that of the complication is a mere 57 seconds. Just opposite is a small-seconds subdial with a hand-hammered and engraved gold view of the North Pole. The bonus? The calibre’s foundation is a Chopard base movement provided to students from the prestigious Geneva School of Watchmaking for their studies. The academy and the company then jointly added the moon-phase complication, part of Chopard’s effort to support the next generation of craftspeople. Around €90,300, limited to 20
BEST WORLD TIMER: Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Antipode
Building upon a legacy of imaginative complications, the new 42.5 mm Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Antipode rethinks the world timer by displaying two cities at each of the dozen hour indices, thus making for 24 antipodes—points located at exact opposite ends of the globe. Emanating from the watch’s automatic Calibre LFT ST12.01, located at the case’s centre, the city cubes appear suspended in air and spin 90 degrees as the world timer is adjusted. A brilliant feat of in-house engineering, the Antipode is proof that there is still plenty of room remaining for visual and mechanical innovation. €99,500
BEST ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Breitling Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Scott Carpenter Centenary
In 1962, Scott Carpenter made history as the second American to orbit the Earth three times, while the one-of-a-kind Breitling Navitimer on his wrist became the first Swiss wristwatch in space. To mark the centenary of Carpenter’s birth, Breitling has created a special, 50 piece limited edition Navitimer Cosmonaute, complete with the original’s famous 24-hour dial. Carpenter had commissioned the display to keep grounded in time while in orbit, where the Sun rises and sets every 90 minutes. The contemporary design features a stunning deep blue dial that evokes the Earth’s hues as seen from space, paired with a white slide rule that recalls swirling clouds. Carpenter would no doubt approve. €42,000
BEST RELAUNCH: Urban Jürgensen UJ-1
Urban Jürgensen is a 252-year-old, under-the-radar watch brand bought by a family of American collectors who have now displayed their taste and knowledge in three launch masterpieces. Created with co-CEO Kari Voutilainen, one of the most sought-after and talented independent watchmakers working today, the outfit has made horological magic with this anniversary edition. The quintessential UJ-1 translates Urban Jürgensen’s storied Oval Pocket Watch into a modern classic, featuring a hand-finished, red-gold-plated tourbillon movement with remontoir d’égalité for constant force and deadbeat seconds. Housed in a fresh 39.5 mm case in platinum or gold with reinterpreted teardrop lugs, the hand-guilloché dial shows little of the movement’s incredible complexity, only outwardly displaying precious time—including the fascinating jump of the second hand—and the power reserve. Available in 25 pieces of each reference. €394,000 (before taxes)
BEST SPORTING LUXE: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona
As if the Rolex Daytona could be any more covetable, in waltzes a new head-turner featuring an eye-catching turquoise-blue lacquer dial. This is a watch that really pops, thanks to a graphic dial that’s contrasted with bright black counters to match the black Cerachrom bezel, accented with the Daytona’s signature tachymetric scale. Coming in at what’s known in watchmaking as the perfect Goldilocks size of 40 mm, the 18 ct yellow gold timepiece has all the touchpoints behind its guaranteed waterproofness to a depth of 100 metres: robust rubber Oysterflex strap, crown guard and Twinlock winding crown, plus screw-down protection for the chronograph pushers. €38,350
