As pop culture veers digital, horology’s elite echelons are committing to analogue mastery.
In an age increasingly dominated by AI and algorithms, it’s a wonder that mechanical watches are even given a look-in right now—but some sectors of watchmaking continue to thrive. According to an annual report by Morgan Stanley and the consultancy firm LuxeConsult, the premium end of the market remains buoyant. Timepieces priced above CHF50,000 (around €54,270) represent 37 percent of the total value of Swiss watch exports and a whopping 89 percent of growth.
Mechanical mastery is what seems to most capture collectors’ imaginations right now—those horological complications that are as far removed from digital and computing as possible, and most notably, pieces that are imagined, designed and constructed by the human mind and hand. Our Best of the Best winners are a showcase of that ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking, where horological innovation—in movement as much as materials, in creativity as much as design —feels more promising than ever.
Best GMT Watch: Bovet Récital 32
Here at Robb Report, we are—with good reason—unabashedly in awe of Bovet, a brand that has been featured on our pages numerous times, most recently for its Récital 30 masterpiece. That particular groundbreaking world time watch remains a dream for time-zone-hopping horology aficionados, thanks to the way it solves that pesky problem of Daylight Saving Time, via an innovative roller system that allows the accurate display of time in 25 different global zones throughout the year’s four periods.
Never one to rest on its laurels, however, Bovet now ups its travel-time prowess with the new Récital 32—the Swiss maison’s first true GMT watch—topped with a flying tourbillon and 10 days’ power reserve, and all sleekly packed into a 42 mm case, Bovet’s smallest ever proportions for a tourbillon. That has been made possible by placing the mechanism above the main plate, making it more visible from the front and the side, and is one of two patents on the watch (a spherical rewinding system that doubles every crown turn is the second).
Such innovations can be achieved, largely, on account of Bovet’s independent nature; the brand’s fully integrated manufacture makes more than 95 percent of its components. Owner Pascal Raffy is also its toughest client, a veritable watch geek who regularly test-drives the company’s watches during his day-to-day globetrotting. “I have dreamed of being able to do a true high horology movement in a 42 mm case for a very long time,” he recalls. “To me, it is profoundly meaningful—a timepiece that’s so easy to read and use, and a high complication in a small, wearable package that redefines everyday luxury.” Around €162,000, in titanium
Best High Jewellery Watch: Richard Mille Rm Hj-02 Automatic Tourbillon
Precious-gem-set watches have been trending for some time now but Richard Mille has, as ever, been ahead of the curve with its bejewelled interpretations—and its next-generation RM HJ-02 Automatic Tourbillon highlights just how far the brand’s jewellery-making expertise and daring creativity have come.
Set across 12 unique timepieces in four colourways— pink, violet, blue and green—the pieces are bona fide gem-setting feasts, featuring a dazzling mix of 1,399 stones: rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, paraíba tourmalines, malachite, chrysoprase, turquoise and mother-of-pearl. The results are kaleidoscopic wonders that play with geometry and shape, the smorgasbord of stones initiating a play of light between opacity, colour saturation and reflection that hasn’t been seen before in horology.
Not only does this give new life to Richard Mille’s signature tonneau shape case, but the gem-setting is also done in-house—fitting, since the automatic tourbillon is also proprietary. Featuring a fast-rotating barrel and a variableinertia tourbillon, Calibre CRMT2 has been skeletonised to work alongside the case and dial.
It’s an audacious and experimental pairing of mechanical and jewellery-making savoir-faire, setting a new standard for jewellery watches. Basically, deliciously on-brand for Richard Mille. Price on request
Best Nautical Watch: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yachtmaster II
This summer’s regatta-bound watch enthusiasts should make a beeline for Rolex’s new Oyster Perpetual Yacht- Master II, now revamped with a new complication featuring a mechanical, memory-based programmable countdown and on-the-fly synchronisation.
A lower pusher—coolly evoking a boat’s winch— exclusively programmes the countdown. Each press advances the minute hand by one minute to meet the countdown time. The built-in mechanical memory also means new countdowns can be launched without having to programme the watch. Meanwhile, an upper pusher synchronises with the race’s various starting sequences, of which there are generally three, each marked by different sound and visual signals.
These upgrades are complemented by the stylish design signatures Rolex fans know and love: a new dial in white lacquer, offering a deep, anti-reflective matte finish; a graduated flange from 10 to zero minutes; and half minutes shown as triangles. The countdown minute and seconds hands turn counterclockwise—a first for the house—making it more readable than ever.
Whether racing oneself this season or just spectating, timing a regatta’s start sequences just got all the more simple—and chicer. €60,400
Best Métiers D’art: Vacheron Constantin Métiers D’art Tribute To Great Civilisations
Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations collection—unveiled in 2022—is a first-of-its kind collaboration between the storied Swiss watchmaker and Paris’s Louvre Museum, where a real-world dialogue exists. The pair jointly decide what major works from the Louvre to celebrate and reinterpret, while other cultural initiatives, from fundraising to artistic conservation, fill in the long gaps between the creation of such elaborate timepieces.
This year, the team raided the museum’s department of antiquities—settling on Pharaonic Egypt, the Assyrian Empire, Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome—and created four models of 15 pieces each. In addition to time-honoured metiers d’arts including marquetry, cloisonné enamelling and miniature painting, this year is themed around glyptics, whereby hard materials such as stone, crystal or gemstones are carved in relief.
Each of the four models depict key cultural symbols in mindboggling detail. There’s the bust of Egypt’s Akhenaten, who ruled from 1353-1336 BC, engraved in sandstone; the alabaster-forged Lamassu, a mythical hybrid of a bull, eagle and man who dates to the Neo-Assyrian empire (911-609 BC); Ancient Greece’s Velletri Pallas is rendered in Paros marble, as is the Statue of the Tiber on the Roman iteration.
These are genuine sights to behold—a loupe is a must— and always a collectors’ treat. €170,000
Best Jumping Hour: Audemars Piguet Neo Frame Jumping Hour
Audemars Piguet is synonymous with one watch, which is not too bad a proposition when that piece is the 1972, Gérald Genta-designed Royal Oak—a coveted horological icon that’s been worn on all manner of wrists, from politicians to pop stars. But never one to rest on its laurels, Audemars Piguet, fresh from celebrating its 150th anniversary, has unveiled the eye-catching Neo Frame Jumping Hour.
The release revives a 1929 archival timepiece, known as the ‘pre-model 1271’, a watch steeped in Art Deco history, namely the interwar Streamline Moderne movement. As the name suggests, the look merged minimalist lines with a fascination for boats and trains, framed within a wider celebration of modernity and speed.
Featuring a pink gold case measuring 32.6 mm by 34 mm, the new Neo Frame Jumping Hour nods to those stylish, aerodynamic lines with eight gadroons flanking the case, topped with a chic, newly designed crown. Meanwhile, the movement plays into the current rage for jumping hour watches, but is still Audemars Piguet to the bone. The new in-house Calibre 7122 is based on reference 7121—workhorse of the Royal Oak Jumbo models and a collector’s must-have— and here adds a patented shock-absorbing system that mechanically stops any jumps in case of impact. €64,400
Best Innovation: Breguet Expérimentale 1
Watchmaking firsts course through Breguet’s veins, with brand founder Abraham-Louis Breguet linked to some of horology’s most important 18th-century innovations. There’s the tourbillon, the perpétuelle watch, the natural escapement, the constantforce escapement, the ‘observation’ seconds counter (which led to the chronograph), the shock absorber, to name a few. So it’s no surprise that the 250-year-old house is leaning into its unique history with the Expérimentale 1, a new line of watches that, like its name suggests, will explore horological developments across Breguet’s full suite of watches.
The debut piece, in Breguet gold, is inspired by the house’s Marine collection and is equipped with the very first high-frequency (10 Hz) tourbillon with a magnetic escapement, while delivering constant force to the balance. The piece takes its cue from Breguet’s Marine Chronometer No. 104, created by the watchmaker while in exile during the French Revolution. Breguet’s first known marine chronometer, the piece was also the first to use Arabic numerals, which make their way onto the dial of the Expérimentale 1. This watch also features the new Breguet hallmark certification that covers a range of strict parameters, from performance to ethical practices.
Created in a limited series, the Expérimentale 1 is yet another house landmark; we are waiting with bated breath as the programme is rolled out and more additions join this pioneering new line. Price on request
Best Astronomy Watch: Patek Philippe Reference 6105g Celestial
Mastering the cosmos in mechanics is a longstanding preoccupation among watchmakers, but leave it to Patek Philippe to set the gold standard for excellence. The independent Geneva house has a proven history in the field: it paid tribute to the new millennium with its Star Caliber 2000 pocket watch, featuring a sky-moon display among the 22 indications; two years later, the first Celestial wristwatch, the Ref. 5102, debuted; and in 2012, the now-discontinued Celestial Reference 6102P landed with a sky chart visible from Geneva and all cities sharing the same latitude.
Displaying sunrise and sunset, however, is more rare, and in Patek Philippe’s case has only been the preserve of one-off, exclusive pieces—notably, the 1927 and 1933 supercomplication pocket watches created for the house’s most legendary clients, James Ward Packard and Henry Graves Jr. respectively. Or its 150th anniversary Calibre 89, which packed in 33 complications and was, at the time, its most complicated timepiece to date.
Now Patek Philippe debuts the 6105G Celestial, five years and six patents in the making, complete with the sunrise and sunset in Geneva. It’s fully adjusted for changes from summer to winter time, and displays the angular movement of the moon, moon phases and the date—all set in a stunning 47 mm white gold case. Around €340,900
Best New Collection: Tudor Monarch
New collection launches are few and far between at Tudor, which make the new Monarch particularly stand out. Unveiled to coincide with the watchmaker’s centenary this year, the Monarch will be quietly remembered by fans from the 1990s, when the design came in various iterations, from GMTs to tonneau case designs.
Now, Tudor has given the series a proper revival, complete with the vintage sport nods that you’d expect from Rolex’s sister brand: behold the faceted 39 mm case and integrated steel bracelet, and an almost tropical-like dial that comes in a shade delightfully called papyrus —evoking all one needs to know in terms of texture, hue and salutes to the past.
But the biggest retro move is what’s known as the ‘California dial’, initially created for error-proof reading. Such faces feature half Roman numerals, half Arabic, with a dash for 3, 6 and 9, and paired with an inverted triangle for 12. Popular in the 1930s and patented by Rolex in 1941, the dial was designed for low-light combat conditions, making it a cult item for die-hard tool watch collectors—the same aficionados who will no doubt be flocking to this handsome debut. Master Chronometer certification by METAS, the official Swiss governing body for measurements, is the crowning glory. €5,520
Best Super-Luminova: IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Ceralume
The craze for illuminated, Super-LumiNova watches has been given a serious glow up thanks to IWC’s new Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Ceralume. Rather than just offering an illuminated dial and numerals, the Schaffhausenbased watchmaker brings luminosity to the white case and rubber strap too, thanks to specialist pigments that function like a light-storage battery, enabling the entire watch to glow in a vivid blue hue for over 24 hours.
Limited to 250 pieces, the watch features a perpetual calendar complication—not only an IWC signature but which adds an extra-cool graphic effect when lit up. The indices and numerals are printed in a different shade of white, while grey hands are given their own luminous material—serving up completely different looks depending on whether it’s day or night.
Aficionados, meanwhile, will marvel at the ceramic case: conventional white ceramic mixes zirconium oxide with other metallic oxides, but here it comes blended with ceramic powders and Super-LumiNova pigments. This is no easy feat, since—geek alert—particle sizes differ. The solution? IWC sifts the whole concoction through a ballmilling process that breaks the mixture down into a finer powder. It was never just about good looks at IWC. €77,300
Best Design: Bulgari Octo Finissimo 37 Mm
Simple sophistication is a phrase that perfectly crystallises to the new Bulgari 37 mm Octo Finissimo. Launched over 10 years ago, the Octo has evolved into a byword for Bulgari excellence, its ultra-sleek, geometric shape nodding to Roman architecture—volumes, columns, domes and all. So when the house decided to streamline the original 40 mm proportions to a more on-trend 37 mm, the task required a major overhaul both inside and out, even if the Herculean effort may be lost on the layperson.
The new case is a barely visible 0.12 mm thicker than the original, but 20 percent sleeker in volume. And most of the changes are indeed virtually imperceptible: a new selfwinding BVF 100 movement took three years to develop, and features a micro-rotor of just 2.35 mm in height and 31 mm in diameter, delivering a 72-hour power reserve. Elsewhere, the bridges and mainplate have been finished with a Côtes de Genève motif, a stylish upgrade from the previous traditional straight Geneva stripes.
No wonder Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bulgari’s product creation executive director, who designed the OG Octo, says the new 37 mm model is a “reimagined blank canvas”. From €17,770
Best Revival: Hublot Big Bang Reloaded
Since celebrating its 20th anniversary last year, the Big Bang has been the subject of inward reflection, with Hublot refocusing on its in-house manufacturing and materials expertise to produce the feted model. The new Big Bang Reloaded, an evolution of the open-worked 44 mm Big Bang Original, is testament to that, and rooted in Hublot’s Unico calibre that debuted in 2010. The movement is packed with five patents for maximum readability and performance: a backlash-compensating oscillating clutch, an anti-shaking chronograph hand system, a ‘zero friction’ ratchet wheel blocker, a watch rate fineadjustment system, and highly shock-resistant time-setting.
Such features can easily be admired thanks to the new skeleton dials, complete with a dial-side column wheel and integrated flyback for maximum visibility—not to mention bold colours and contrasts that further highlight the chronograph’s intricate construction.
The Reloaded debuts in five finishes: titanium ceramic, its own Magic Gold, and either all-black, blue or dark-green ceramic—making a compelling horological statement. From €23,500
