When we’re talking about Grand Seiko, it’s usually the dial that steal the headlines, but that’s not the case with the SBGH349 ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat 1998 Revival. It has exactly the same dial as the SBGH347 that was released back in September. What makes the new edition different is that the steel case has been replaced by titanium.

The new titanium case is larger than its steel counterpart, measuring 40mm x 12.95mm. However, where titanium really excels compared to steel is in its strength-to-density ratio. What that means is you can achieve the same degree of resilience and strength from a titanium watch case at a much lighter weight. In fact, titanium is approximately 45% lighter than steel. Plus, thanks to Grand Seiko’s particular high intensity titanium, it remains nice and tough.

Grand Seiko don’t publish their watches weights so it’s difficult to numerically express the impact of this material change here. In principle though it means the ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat 1998 Revival Titanium is much easier to wear for long periods of time without fatiguing the wrist. Whether that’s a working day or an evening’s soirée.

While the case is the updated feature of this watch, we should still touch on the dial. It’s inspired by the concept of an ‘Icefall’, a rapidly flowing portion of a glacier with a high proportion of crevasses. The pale blue tone with crevasse-like texture feels particularly wintery – it would definitely be worthy of inclusion in our Best Ice Dials article.

Beneath the icy surface is the hi-beat 9S85 automatic calibre. It has a power reserve of 55-hours and operates at a 5 Hz frequency, helping to ensure impressive accuracy of +5/-3 seconds per day. It’s the same movement as is found in the steel edition of the watch.

As you might expect from the upgrade in materials, the Grand Seiko ‘Icefall’ Hi-Beat 1998 Revival in titanium is a touch pricier than its steel counterpart, £6,650 compared to £5,950. That’s an increase of £700, which I think is a solid representation of the value difference between the materials when it comes to high-end watchmaking.

More details at Seiko Boutique.

Back in the summer of this year Oceaneva introduced a new material to their professional dive watch in the form of the Deep Mariner Explorer II Pro Diver Damascus Steel. As a limited edition, the original model was a sell-out success and with demand continuing to be high, Oceaneva have answered the prayers of those who missed out with the release of 12 new Deep Marine Explorer II Pro Diver Damascus Steel colourways, also in limited numbers.

If you’re not familiar with Damascus steel, it’s a type of steel that’s manufactured through a meticulous process involving folding and hammering the metal using various alloys to increase the metal’s strength and durability. Historically it was used to forge impressive swords but here it’s used in watchmaking. Its most distinctive feature is the layered grain, which can be seen all across the Oceaneva’s 42mm case and bezel. Oceaneva source their Damascus steel from experts in Germany and no two watches are identical due to the natural grain of the material.

The same grained pattern is visible on some the dials as well depending on the model, including several colourful options achieved through ion plating. Speaking of colour, there are 12 colours to choose from, some of which are presented with multiple strap options. There’s blue, black, rose gold, yellow gold silver, coffee brown, red, sky blue and green. Those that don’t have the Damascus pattern are instead matte with block colours, creating an intense display.

However, don’t go thinking that the Damascus steel cases are an aesthetic stunt. These watches at their core are still the Deep Marine Explorer II Pro Diver. Which means they have a 1,250m water resistance rating which has been tested in real world aquatic environments. Most dive watch testing takes place in pressure chambers where they never come into contact with water. They’re also equipped with Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movements with 38-hour power reserves (it would be nice to see them upgrade to the newer stock that has an improved power reserve).

The real kicker though, as with all Oceaneva watches, is the value. The Deep Marine Explorer II Pro Diver Damascus Steel has a pre-sale price of £398 for the Damascus dial models and £358 for the standard dials. The watch is a limited edition of 1,000 pieces but each colour is a limited edition within that, with some models capped at just 30-pieces. Given the original collection sold out, expect these ones to go just as fast.

More details at Oceaneva.

Studio Underd0g has slowly become known as the comedic food-related wristwatch brand. While each new food watch continues to be fun, it would be nice to see them tackle some equally colourful but non-food ideas similar to those that kicked off the brand such as the Desert Sky and G0ofy Panda – both of which were recently relaunched as part of the 01Series Gen 3. For now though, we’re firmly in the kitchen as their latest collection of watches is a collaboration between Studio Underd0g and Wristcheck dubbed The Uneggspected Series, consisting of the B0iled Egg, Fried Egg and R0tten Egg.

Wristcheck are a leading digital watch marketplace aimed at appealing to the next generation of watch collectors. So, a collaboration with popular Studio Underd0g makes a lot of sense. Although the idea behind The Uneggspected Series was born from the rather unglamorous reality of owning a chronograph in the modern world. As Studio Underd0g’s founder, Richard Benc, puts it, “let’s be honest, how many people are really tracking their lap times with their chronograph these days? It’s time to celebrate a new era for the chronograph complication, one that will lead to perfectly cooked eggs, every time!”

All three of the watches in the collection are based on the 01Series Gen 3 just like those relaunched watches I mentioned in the introduction. Which means they measure 38.5mm x 12.9mm and house the Seagull ST-1901B manual-winding movement. It’s a bespoke movement produced by Seagull exclusively for Studio Underd0g featuring an all-black mainplate. It’s a solid movement with a 45-hour power reserve and swan neck regulator.

The first of the watches in The Uneggspected Series is the B0iled Egg. It has a pale yellow dial surrounded by a white tachymeter and equipped with small egg-shaped hour markers. Second is the Fried Egg, which flips the colours to have a fumé white dial with yellow tachymeter, which is like the flood of runny yolk escaping from the yellow 30-minute subdial. Last up is the R0tten Egg which has some of the most delightfully disgusting press imagery I’ve ever seen. It’s green with a cracked, ugly subdial like, well, a rotten egg. Ironically if it didn’t have the egg connection it would be the nicest of the three – just pretend its lime themed instead and the emerald green colour is great.

B0iled Egg and Fried Egg are each limited to 200 pieces while R0tten egg is more exclusive at 90 pieces. Evidently, they managed to cook most of their stock of eggs before they went bad. However, despite the different levels of exclusivity they’re all priced at $800 (approx. £630) and are exclusively available from Wristcheck. They are on sale from today.

More details at Wristcheck.

Breitling has been absolutely spoiling the UK this year with a suite of exclusive models that, in my opinion, are some of the nicest they’ve produced in the past 12 months. In February there was the smart, refined Chronomat and then shortly afterwards was the Superocean 44, which was similarly handsome. Now we have what might be the best looking of them all, the new UK & Ireland exclusive Breitling Superocean Heritage B20 Automatic 42mm.

As the name suggests it has a 42mm diameter case in stainless steel, a very common size for dive watches as it rides the limit between utility underwater and wearability on land. One thing to note is that it’s on the chunkier side of things with a thickness of 14.35mm but that’s by no means egregious. It has a gorgeous 1950s inspired design with rounded lugs that’s been modernised with updated materials – specifically the black diving bezel is made from durable, scratch resistant ceramic.

Completing the monochromatic colour scheme, the dial has an anthracite finish that works well with the black of the bezel. The subtle differences in shade between the black and grey give the watch a hint of vibrancy while remaining smartly restrained. It’s also equipped with a 1950s heritage triangle handset, which I personally prefer to the Slow Motion square hands seen on recent Superocean models. It feels more dynamic. The same is true of the hour markers which are much slimmer than many dive watches but smarter too.

With all these details combined, the Superocean Heritage B20 Automatic 42mm makes for a versatile desk diver. Meaning it’s suitable for a wide range of activities from the office to the beach. Many desk divers opt for a hint of luxury but here they’ve kept the tool watch elements at the forefront of the design. It still has a 200m water resistance rating, which is perfectly adequate for a swim even if it’s not so intense as the various 300m Superocean models.

Inside, it houses the B20 manufacture movement, an automatic calibre with a strong 70-hour power reserve. It’s also a COSC certified chronometer, meaning it has succeeded in a strict array of tests to ensure its accuracy and reliability in multiple positions and in various conditions. It’s also equipped with a date window at 6 o’clock.

I stand by my opinion that this is the nicest Breitling we’ve seen all year. The heritage aesthetic is really appealing while the case remains practical and the movement is impressive. It’s also not cripplingly exclusive with 400 pieces available while still being limited enough that not every John, Dick and Harry will have one. It’s priced at £4,650 on steel mesh bracelet or £4,450 on textured rubber strap, the standard Breitling price ballpark. Plus, it’s exclusively available in the UK & Ireland.

More details at Breitling.

It has been barely two weeks since Omega released their latest versions of the Seamaster Diver 300M and yet here we are again with another one. However this time, instead of opting for minimalist monochrome, they’ve gone for a maximalist combination of contrasting materials and a coloured dial in the Seamaster Diver 300M Titanium and Bronze Gold.

Starting with the case, it’s produced from titanium, drawing inspiration from the 007 model that has informed a lot of Omega’s recent Diver 300M designs. It measures 42mm x 13.8mm, well-proportioned for a professional dive watch. What’s particularly striking about the structure of the case though is the integration of a second material: the bezel, crown and helium escape valve are made from Bronze Gold.

While it has gold in its name, Bronze Gold is first and foremost a bronze alloy. It’s exclusive to Omega and has been designed in order to minimise some of the major downsides of common bronze alloys. For example, it has no nickel or iron content, meaning it’s anti-allergenic (that’s in Omega’s own words, they probably mean hypo-allergenic) and helps the watch resist magnetic interference. Additionally, it’s been designed to resist patina, ensuring it stays the same rosy gold colour for a long time and also won’t discolour the skin if worn in direct contact with the wrist.

In an almost ironic twist, since the bronze elements of the design won’t turn green with patina, the dial and bezel insert are green instead. They are both produced in aluminium, which is a fun retro choice Omega have been following with several recent releases, rejecting more modern materials like ceramic. It’s certainly a trade-off as ceramic is more scratch resistant and won’t fade, but aluminium fits a market that loves all things retro.

The green dial also provides a nice contrast to the beige, vintage lume on the oversize diving hour markers, which have black borders to help them stand out even more. The beige colouring also pairs nicely with the bronze elements of the bezel and the Bronze Gold PVD coated hands. In a similar style to the silver monochrome edition I mentioned in the introduction, the dial here goes without the classic Diver 300M wave motif, giving it a clean aesthetic.

Powering the watch is the calibre 8806, a master chronometer movement with a 55-hour power reserve and automatic winding. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback where you can admire its immaculate finishing, the radial Côtes de Genève style pattern is very attractive, spiralling around the rotor and mainplate.

In terms of price, on mesh bracelet it’s £10,100 and on rubber strap it’s £9,400. That’s a considerable amount more than either the black or silver monochrome editions which are around the £5,600-£6,100 mark. Still, with the addition of a bi-metallic design, or technically tri-metallic if you include the aluminium, it does make sense. Personally, I still prefer the silver monochrome edition because I’m more of a minimalist than a maximalist when it comes to taste, but I can imagine a lot of people will love this watch.

More details at Omega.

There are a lot of collaborations between watchmakers and car designers. Off the top of my head I can name the Tag Heuer x Porsche, Richard Mille x Ferrari and Jacob & Co. x Bugatti. However, it’s not just prestige watch and car brands that can get in on the action. For example, relatively young microbrand Aera have teamed up with Porsche restomod specialists Rennsport to release the C-1 Rennsport Chronograph Limited Edition.

It has the same 42mm steel case as the standard C-1 Chronograph, but the dial has been reimagined to give it a motorsport connection. The twin, bicompax subdials that display chronograph minutes and small seconds feature 3D printed renditions of the famous Fuchs wheel used by vintage Porsches in the 1960s. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the Fuchs design grace a wristwatch as Union Glashütte tackled the concept last year, proving that it’s a match made in heaven.

Adding to the sporty vibe of the C-1 Rennsport Chronograph, the central chronograph hand, as well as the hands on the subdials, are presented in bright red. They’re also tipped in white, which provides a striking contrast to the matte black dial. On the whole it’s a very minimalist display that focusses on shape and colour. In that manner, it actually feels like a very German design despite Aera and Rennsport both being British. Although it does make a certain amount of sense as the Porsches that inspire both brands are German.

Inside, it houses the Sellita SW 510 bi-compax, elabore grade movement with 56-hour power reserve. Being the elabore grade means it has been adjusted to a higher degree of accuracy in more positions and also that it has a higher level of finishing (which is hidden by the solid steel caseback). It’s a worthy engine for this motoring collaboration.

As to pricing and availability, the Aera C-1 Rennsport Chronograph Limited Edition is £2,350 with only 25 pieces available. That’s £400 higher than the standard steel C-1 Chronograph, but I think that increase makes sense due to the exclusivity of the piece as well as the addition of extra technical elements such as the Fuchs chronograph display. Plus, it feels markedly different to the rest of Aera’s watches due to the Rennsport connection. It’s a fun play on the minimalist sports chronograph recipe.

More details at Aera.

The ‘Silicon Valley’ aesthetic is an interesting one. On one hand you have your Zuckerbergs and Musks who slouch around in non-descript t-shirts and on the other hand you have the tech billionaires who like to show it with tailored suits and high-end wristwatches (even renowned normcore fan Zuckerberg was recently seen wearing a Patek Phillipe 5236P along with a slew of F.P Journes). MB&F’s latest limited edition is unapologetically aimed at the latter though in a somewhat tongue in cheek manner. It’s the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley Edition.

The EVO has historically been MB&F’s sportiest model, if any of their haute horological creations can be labelled as such. What that means is they’ve kept it exclusively in titanium and zirconium for that lightweight, everyday wearability. For the Silicon Valley edition they’ve intentionally turned up the luxury dial by a considerable amount, swapping the case material to rose gold. As MB&F describe, it’s a golden case for the golden state – meaning California where Silicon Valley is located.

Gold is a somewhat impractical watchmaking material. Pure gold is actually a very soft material, meaning it’s easily scratched and bent. As a result, brands have to turn to tougher alloys that provide higher levels of strength and resilience. Rose gold specifically is an alloy of gold and copper, where the copper provides strength while also giving the metal a redder colouration, hence the name rose. The LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley is made from 18k rose gold, the most common type in the watch world, which is a mix of 75% gold and 25% copper. You can learn more about essential watchmaking materials here.

Moving beyond the updated and more luxurious case, the display is more or less identical to the existing LM Perpetual EVO models. That means it has a flying balance wheel front and centre, suspended by two arching bridges. There’s then the hour and minute dial offset towards 12 o’clock balanced by the months subdial at 6 as well as the date and days of the week at 9 and 3 respectively. Completing the list of functions are the leap year indicator and power reserve indicator nestled between the subdials on the lower half of the display.

In classic MB&F fashion, the movement powering these perpetual calendar complications is known simply as the LM Perpetual. It has a 72-hour power reserve and is comprised of an immense 581 parts. Considering how busy the calendars are for some of these Silicon Valley moguls, with a watch like this on hand they can plan their lives for the next 100 years. No doubt at least one of them will find a way to extend their lives that long, probably by absorbing the souls of people who didn’t read the terms and conditions on the latest gizmo.

The MB&F LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley Edition is a limited edition of just 18 pieces at a price of $210,000 + tax (approx. £166,000 + tax). It’s available exclusively through MB&F’s retail partner Stephen Silver at the soon-to-open MB&F Lab at Menlo Park, in Silicon Valley. It’s brash and luxurious but it’s also targeted at brash people with a lot of money, so MB&F know what they’re doing.

More details at MB&F.

Between the Essence and Field, Formex have pretty much nailed the everyday wearer. They’re the kind of watches you can wear anywhere at any time, stripped back and uncomplicated but impressively built for the money. All of that still very much applies to the shiny new Formex Stratos UTC, but with one caveat: those three little letters at the end.

While it’s not as common as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Coordinated Universal Time is to all intents and purposes, the same thing. It’s linked directly to the Earth’s rotation speed and International Atomic Time, so technically it’s a bit more accurate, but given the overlap, GMT and UTC watch functionally offer the same thing, namely a second time zone.

So, how have Formex approached the quintessential travellers’ complication? After all, complications really aren’t their thing. Well for one, they’ve not strayed far from their wheelhouse; instead they’ve worked with the modular maestros at Dubois-Depraz – the same manufacture that built the recent Perpetual Calendar module for Breitling – to create the most satisfying second time zone function I’ve ever used.

Part of the Formex Stratos UTC’s user-focused functionality is that it doesn’t fall into the usual discourse of ‘true’ vs ‘office’ GMT. The crown doesn’t move the GMT hand. Hell, it doesn’t affect the second time zone function at all, it’s simply for winding and setting local time. Instead, the UTC hand is moved using the chronograph-style pushers flanking the crown. The top pusher moves it anti-clockwise and the bottom pusher does the opposite.

I won’t put a number on just how long I was playing with those pushers, flicking the UTC hand backwards and forwards hour by hour. It’s a perfectly normal amount, honestly. While I didn’t instantly leave the country wearing the Stratos, it does make jumping across timezones in either direction incredibly easy to adjust for. And if that weren’t enough, there’s also a separate, if more subtle pusher to quickly change the six o’clock date subdial on the left-hand side of the Formex Stratos UTC. Any problems you have setting a travellers’ watch, the Stratos solves.

Formex aren’t the only brand to use this kind of system of course; Porsche Design looped in Dubois-Depraz for something similar. But paired with the rest of the watch, this might be the best dual timezone watch of the year – and at this price point, there’s no real competition.

A good part of that is the usefulness of the complication of course, but the rest is entirely down to that typical Formex build quality. We’ve shot their Field and Essence in the past, so I was expecting good things from the Stratos, and despite the greater number of moving parts, it’s every bit as solid. The bidirectional bezel is a little slidey but for something designed to move easily that’s about right, and the rest of the case is the good kind of chunky.

It’s punchy without being too big in either it’s 41mm diameter or 12mm height. It won’t be slipping under too many shirtsleeves, but it feels great on the wrist. The Stratos doesn’t slack on case finishing either, with plenty of brushed, sand-blasted and mirror- polished surfaces across the board.

Plenty of attention has been shown to the dial. A brushed outer ring and central dial with a grained minute track and date subdial give the Stratos a much more interesting look than any of Formex’s dials, save their stone pieces. Practically, the different finishes help with readability – as do the funky stylised 12, three, six and nine. Paired with some orange highlights on the UTC hand and its 24-hour scale, along with the UTC lettering and day/night indicator (that porthole at nine o’clock in case you were wondering), it’s clean, clear and cool.

We have the blue version here which I reckon is the best looking, but it also comes in black and green too. It’s available on four different straps, brown with white stitching, plain black, or black with orange stitching to match those highlights. This being Formex though, you want the bracelet. It’s as solidly built as the case, which is saying a lot.

Now onto brass tacks. Formex are an accessible watchmaker through and through. But, while the Field, their entry-level will set you back £890, the Stratos is considerably more at £3,320. That seems like a wince-inducing hike, but context is everything and for a superb, novel approach to the quintessential travellers’ watch – especially one this good- looking – I’d stack the Stratos against pretty much anything else in that price range.

Bottom line: do I like it? Yes, definitely. Will I buy it? If I was in the market for a GMT, I’d be hard-pressed not to.

More details at Formex.

Zenith’s exploration of extreme environments started all the way back in 2021 with the Defy Extreme Desert followed by a subsequent Glacier edition. Now, completing the trio and officially ending this series is the Defy Extreme Jungle. A 1/100^th second chronograph dedicated to the majesty of tigers.

It’s worth stating that the Defy Extreme is quite a divisive timepiece. On one side you have fans who like its high specs and bold design and on the other side are those who find it all a bit too, well, extreme. Whichever camp you find yourself in, this new edition is not likely to change your mind. If anything, it pushes the extreme aesthetic of the watch even further due to its use of contrasting colours and wide variety of patterns and finishes.

Starting with the case, it measures a broad 45mm in diameter and is constructed from a combination of brushed titanium and Tiger’s Eye gemstone. The stone is specifically used for the chronograph pushers and the dodecagon portion of the bezel, emphasising the layered appearance of the design. The Tiger’s Eye pattern finds particular resonance because the dial itself also features a tiger stripe motif.

Specifically, the scales of the tricompax chronograph subdials are bright orange with tiger stripes. It contrasts wildly with the green translucent glass of the openworked dial. The overall impression is much like tiger stripes in fashion, bold and unapologetic. It will undoubtedly be a magnet for criticism but it’s also fun. In terms of functions, the dial displays hours, minutes, small seconds, 1/100^th second chronograph, 30-minute timer and 60-second timer. It’s a testament to how fast a 1/100^th second chronograph really is (rotating once per second) that a regular 60-second chronograph function becomes a subdial.

Powering these impressive functions is the El Primero 9004 movement. It uses a dual escapement system, one for the regular time functions that operates at a hi-beat 5 Hz frequency and one for the chronograph that has an insane 50 Hz frequency. In a mechanical watch that’s incredibly high. The power reserve is given as 50-hours, which I assume doesn’t account for the power intensive chronograph being active the whole time.

The Zenith Defy Extreme Jungle is priced at CHF 25,900 (approx. £23,000) in a limited edition of 50-pieces. Not to put too sharp a point on it again but this is not a watch that will appeal to everyone but with it being so exclusive, not everyone can get one. One thing’s for sure, with this behemoth on the wrist, you’ll certainly be the apex predator around.

More details at Zenith.

I’m sure everyone reading this is wondering when we’ll be doing our collaborative follow-up to the Christopher Ward Shoreline. Don’t worry, news on that in due course – but for now, the collabs don’t stop coming, the latest of which is a particularly lovely number from our friends over at Fratello: the Fratello x Czapek & Cie Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green.

Green is apparently this pair’s colour as Fratello and Czapek & Cie’s first collaboration was on the gorgeous Antarctique Passage de Drake, with it’s gorgeous, scaled dial and integrated bracelet. While the colour here is the same Viridian Green though, that’s the only similarity.

For one, the dial, the focal point of the Antarctique has been removed almost completely. Almost, because the sapphire covering the open movement has been given a green tint, allowing a look at the micro-rotor movement underneath like through water. It’s a novel twist on the elegant, 38mm Promenade case, which is certainly home to some of Czapek’s more novel dials.

Perhaps most unusually, the smokiness of the dial emanates from the small seconds subdial at 4 o’clock. We’ve seen gradients from 6 o’clock before, but not this. It’s not ground-breaking, but it is a fun twist on fumé, drawing the eye to a particular focal point.

The movement underneath all that green smoke is Czapek’s signature SXH5 movement, the in-house calibre inside a good chunk of their stable these days. That means a 60-hour power reserve, 4 Hz frequency and a platinum micro-rotor, unusually made from recycled precious metal. It’s finished to the degree you’d expect from a proper prestige watch – enough that you can see why you’d want to open up the dial.

Speaking of prestige, we’re used to seeing most collabs fall into the accessible category, but Czapek & Cie are anything but. So, it shouldn’t come as too big a surprise that the Fratello x Czapek & Cie Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green will set you back EUR 32,000 (approximately £26,500) for one of the 50 pieces. It’s a pretty steep amount but then this is a gorgeous collab that fans of Czapek & Cie will undoubtedly leap on.

More details at Fratello.

Minute Repeater watches are regarded as among the most prestigious, one of the three major complications. They make use of exquisitely produced hammers and gongs inside their movements to give auditory voice to the time, allowing the wearer to tell the time without so much as a glance at their wrist. In fact, Parmigiani’s latest piece unique, the L’Armoriale Répétition Mystérieuse makes use of this fact to do away with a conventional dial altogether.

This is the first in a series of five unique minute repeaters that Parmigiani are creating, each crafted with individual and striking aesthetics. For this edition the core concept is the golden ratio, which is why the Grand Feu enamel display features a pinecone pattern that follows the ratio. Michel Parmigiani cites pinecones as a key piece of inspiration for him, as they are the perfect meshing of the Fibonacci sequence with the golden ration and reveal the hidden beaty of mathematics visible in nature.

For a similar reason the brand new 42mm white gold case features a caseband decorated with Doric columns. The Parthenon in Athens is an architectural marvel that makes use of Doric columns too and which some believe was constructed using the golden ratio. Hence, the inclusion of these shapes on the watch brings together the achievements of nature and the achievements of man in a single objet d’art. The same concept informed the relaunch of the Toric earlier in the year.

Turning the Parmigiani L’Armoriale Répétition Mystérieuse over to view the caseback reveals that there actually is a time display after all, it’s simply hidden on the reverse of the watch instead of the dial. Looking at this rear dial, it has a central disk of white jade following a similar guilloché style to the main enamel dial. Around the periphery is a time scale with dot hour markers for hours and minutes. The hands themselves are presented as floating H and M letters for the Hours and Minutes.

However, while the dial, case and rear time display are all superb, the killer feature of this watch is of course the movement inside. It’s the PF355, a manual winding calibre created by  Renaud Papi. It has a 72-hour power reserve and is equipped with the flagship minute repeater complication. In order to ensure a high quality of sound it uses oversize cathedral gongs that wrap around the movement almost twice, creating a deep, rich sound. That sound is further boosted by the resonance chambers built into the case.

As a fun touch, the Parmigiani L’Armoriale Répétition Mystérieuse is provided with a custom watch display box. It’s made from Risoud spruce, a popular luthier’s material that has great acoustic properties. Plus, the unique shape means that depending where you position the watch, there are subtle shifts in the sound it creates, allowing you to tailor the auditory experience even further.

More details at Parmigiani Fleurier.

While neo-vintage watches are killing it at auction, neo-retro designs are proving just as popular when it comes to new releases. Neo-retro designs are essentially those inspired by the 1980s – early 00s, like the new Timex Automatic 1983 E-Line Reissue. It’s Timex’s first automatic reissue watch (previously they’ve done a lot of quartz reissues) and it drips with cool 80s funk.

It’s fairly small, measuring just 34mm x 12mm in steel, which is in keeping with its retro styling. The rounded square shape is nicknamed a ‘TV Dial’, due to its similarity to the shape of a television from the 1980s, the period when Timex created the original watch that inspired this reissue. It’s paired with a sleek, single-link, expandable bracelet nestled inside the wide, flat lugs. In fact, the style of the lugs is very similar to other popular 1980s designs like the Tissot PRX that was released a few years prior.

Moving to the dial, it’s worth noting that there are a few alternative colourways. There’s a golden edition and a turquoise version however those aren’t ‘Reissue’ models. The name Timex Automatic 1983 E-Line Reissue specifically applies to the silver dial option with vertical brushed finishing. The silver tone means that depending on how the light strikes the watch it can look bright white due to its reflective qualities.

The display itself is very minimalist with gently facetted bathtub hour markers and similarly shaped hands. There’s a date aperture at 3 o’clock and the dial is inscribed with ‘Timex Automatic’ and ‘Water Resistant’. Although while the little wave motif might make you think it’s suitable for the pool, the water resistance rating is only 50m, so it’s more suited to surviving a spilled poolside cocktail rather than being in the water itself.

Inside, the watch houses the Japanese Miyota 8215 automatic. It’s a well-respected workhorse movement with a 42-hour power reserve and -20 / +40 seconds per day. Admittedly those aren’t exactly stellar specs but that’s offset by its accessibility and ease of repair (even the smallest service centre likely sees more than their fair share of them). Plus, let’s not forget the simple fact that this is an automatic movement when Timex have done tons of quartz reissues, making it quite special.

The Timex Automatic 1983 E-Line Reissue is priced at just £190, which makes it a fantastic value proposition. The combination of a cool 80s style, an automatic movement and steel construction for less than £200 is nothing to be sniffed at. Frankly it’s an insane price.

More details at Timex.

If you read the title of this article and immediately thought “didn’t IWC already release a blue Ingenieur when they relaunched the collection in 2023?” You are completely correct. They did. However, that original blue model is officially called aqua and it’s more of a teal blue-green tone than a pure blue. Which brings us to the watch I have here for review, the IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Blue.

Off rip, if you’ve been hands-on with one of IWC’s current Ingenieurs, you’ve already been hands-on with this one. The case structure and design is exactly the same with a 40mm diameter and broad, integrated bracelet design featuring a wide, flat bezel with visible screws. It’s based on Gerald Genta’s original sketches for the Ingenieur SL when he had a crack at redesigning the collection in the 1970s.

On the wrist it’s very comfortable and with a thickness of 10.8mm there’s very little trouble tucking it under a cuff if required. Though it has such a perfect blend of bold sportiness and refined class that I can’t think of many situations in which you’d want to hide it away (other than perhaps walking around some of the more notorious areas of London). A key part in the cool style of the piece is of course the dial.

It features the same grid-like pattern as its stablemates, which on the white and black editions drew comparisons to a chess board, though that description features a fundamental lack of knowledge in how chess boards works – although as a side note a black and white checkered edition would be awesome. That’s not the case here though as it’s presented in a clear and visually striking blue. It’s a classic mid-tone, not as intense as electric blue, not as pale as the sky nor as dark as navy. Or even as green as aqua. When you hear the world blue, this is the colour you think of.

Turning the watch over reveals a solid steel caseback inscribed with IWC’s full name, International Watch Company, along with Ingenieur and the watch’s water resistance rating. That rating is 100m, a solid amount for a steel sports watch with integrated bracelet giving it great specs for everyday wear.

The price of the IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Blue is currently not confirmed, this is an update after an initial price was announced and initially published here but which is being revised by IWC. A certain part of me wishes that this launch was a bit more exciting than a colour change on the dial. It’s a bit basic. However, I also appreciate that it is a nice dial and I’ve always been a staunch defender of the idea that giving collectors more choice is only ever a good thing.

More details at IWC.

Seiko’s Presage series is full of interesting textures and patterns thanks in no small part to collections like the Cocktail Time. However, the most intricate patterns belong to the ‘Japanese Zen Garden’ series with their delicate raked sand dials. Just in time for Christmas Seiko have expanded the range with new Presage ‘Japanese Zen Garden’ Fern Green and Gold-Tone Sand editions.

Both of the new colourways measure 41.8mm in diameter with a 12.5mm thickness, so they’re no shrinking violets when it comes to wrist presence. But that simply gives their dials extra room with which to impress with their detailed displays. As you’d imagine the Fern Green edition has a verdant forest green dial. It’s split between a raked sand pattern to the right of the line between 11:30 to 6:30, with the left-hand portion occupied by the open heart aperture and 24-hour indicator.

The Presage ‘Japanese Zen Garden’ Gold-Tone Sand changes up the recipe in more ways than one. It has a bright, sand coloured dial with the same patterns and textures as its green sibling but on top of that the case features some additional gold PVD accents. Specifically, it’s golden around the bezel and on the mid-links of the 5-link steel bracelet, giving it the classic bi-colour aesthetic.

Of the two designs, I personally prefer the Fern Green as it’s the less ostentatious of the two. Though if you’re looking for an accessible dress watch for fancy occasions on a budget, I can understand why the Gold-Tone Sand might appeal. Regardless of the colour that you favour, they both house the 4R72 automatic with 42-hour power reserve. You can catch a glimpse of it through the open heart window.

That all brings us to price. The Presage ‘Japanese Zen Garden’ Fern Green is £480 while the Gold-Tone Sand is £520. Ultimately, I would like these watches more if they were a touch more on the minimalist side. The 24-hour subdial, open heart window and multiple finishes over-complicates things, which, to me, feels at odds with the zen meditation concept that lies at their heart. I’d be happy with just the raked sand pattern across the entire display in these rich colours.

More details at Seiko.

Back in 2022 Yema revealed their new Manufacture Morteau CMM.20 movement in a limited edition Wristmaster collection. It marked the beginning of a new era for the French brand, going from strength to strength in terms of quality, design, style and in-house manufacturing. A few years later and the Yema Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 is back for good in a permanent collection alongside an additional (and seriously cool) limited edition.

Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Limited Edition

Off the bat, the Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Limited Edition looks amazing. It has a unique finish that gives it a cool degraded appearance, achieved by hand brushing the dial, bezel, case, bracelet and even the movement in a particularly abrasive and random style, creating a vivid texture to the piece. Then, a black PVD coating is applied over the top for that stealth appearance.

The lines in the metal look like the delicate strokes of a brush through paint – it almost reminds me of the signature painterly style of French animation studio Fortiche, the team behind recent hit show Arcane (100% on Rotten Tomato). Due to the hand finishing, no two watches are identical, making each one an exclusive timepiece even within the broader limited edition of 200 pieces.

Moving to dimensions, the Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Limited Edition measures 39mm x 9mm with an octagonal design and integrated bracelet. It makes for a versatile daily wearer, especially when it comes to the non-limited versions we’ll look at shortly. The bracelet also has a nice taper to it for enhanced comfort.

One of the most mesmerising aspects of this watch is the movement, visible through the exhibition caseback. Not only does it have the same finishing as the rest of the watch but also it’s a fine piece of horology. It’s equipped with a micro-rotor that helps to supply the watch with a 70-hour power reserve, ensuring it keeps ticking along with its accuracy -3/+7 seconds per day. Importantly it’s also manufactured and assembled in Yema’s Morteau workshop in France.

It’s priced at £1,858 so I expect it to absolutely fly off the shelves. One of the most distinctive and unusual watches I’ve ever seen Yema produce.

Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 Core Collection

In addition to the limited edition above, Yema have released a standard, non-limited collection of Wristmaster Slim CMM.20 watches. They have exactly the same dimensions however there’s no PVD coating here, leaving bare steel for the case, bracelet and movement and exposing the uniform, vertical brushed finishing. On top of that, there’s some alternative polished finishing on display around the edge of the signature bezel.

As for the dial, it has a striped texture that varies in thickness to represent the natural shapes of waves or sand. It’s available in a choice of three colours, blue, champagne (officially it’s called grey but come on, this is France, and it doesn’t really look grey anyway) and a golden yellow. Of the three I prefer the sporty appearance of the blue edition although the others are enjoyable too. Really I think these three will be a much larger success than the limited edition simply by dint of the fact that more people will be able to purchase them.

They’re also a bit more accessible at a price of £1,699, which is a solid price given the high specs of the CMM.20 movement. Am I mad for thinking that Yema have been one of the most impressive brands of 2024?

More details at Yema.

Belgium is famous for many of its exports. Belgian beer, Belgian chocolate and thanks to Ressence, Belgian watches. There is quite honestly nothing on the market that comes close to what Ressence are doing in terms of design with their innovative Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS). A system that means the entire dial rotates to display the time. The closest analogy would be the carrousel movements of a brand like Ulysse Nardin, which are aesthetically very different. Ressence have announced the launch of their slimmest model ever, the new Type 9.

The new watch, available in either grey or aqua, is essentially a redesign of the Type 8 from 2022. The fundamental change is that they’ve moved the minute scale from being around the edge of the dial to being on the bezel, eliminating the need for there to be a double ring around the edge of the design and slimming the watch considerably. The Type 9 measures 39mm x 11mm as opposed to the Type 8 at 42.9mm x 11mm. It’s a substantial boost in wearability and comfort on the wrist.

I also really like the appearance of having the minute scale on the bezel, it works really well. Especially in the grey edition where the circular brushing on both the hour and minute scale stands out great against the matte dial. The grey tone complements the titanium case too, which is a nice touch. It’s worth noting that the aqua edition is cool as well but there’s something about the monochrome edition that speaks to me more.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ressence, the way the ROCS display works is that the entire dial rotates to display the time. The main portion of the dial serves as the minutes indicator while the subdial shows the hours. The trick is that the hour scale itself also rotates counter to the rotation of the main dial in order to stay oriented on a single axis, meaning it’s always read from the same position. As this is Ressence’s most minimalist design that’s fairly intuitive, however Ressence also produce watches with up to three subdials like the recent Type 3 BB2 where the ROCS concept really comes into play.

The movement powering the piece is called the ROCS 9, a modified ETA 2892/2 with a custom module. Due to the power intensive nature of the orbital display, it only has a 36-hour power reserve, which is supplied by an automatic rotor. Alternatively, you can manually wind it using the caseback, another Ressence signature element.

Both the aqua and grey editions of the Type 9 are priced at CHF 12,500 (approx. £11,160), which is a substantial number. It’s understandable given the difficulty of engineering the ROCS display and its unusual novelty. On the other hand, being a novelty can sometimes work against Ressence as they are occasionally likened to being an expensive toy. However, considering they are still innovating with their designs, collectors are evidently lapping them up.

More details at Ressence.

Louis Erard have got to be one of the most underrated watch brands out there.  I really love the way they approach watch design in a collaborative manner while retaining a strong core identity. For example, they take their signature complication, the Régulateur, and present it in the individual styles of their artistic and horological collaborators. There’s the Alain Silberstein edition, the Olivier Mosset and their own interpretations like the recent Gravé Noir. Now they’re launching their second collaboration with watchmaker Vianney Halter, dubbed the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter II.

Vianney Halter is known for his particularly extravagant horological creations that focus heavily on steampunk aesthetics. With his works, the mechanisms of the watch are as much a piece of the artwork as the bold industrial cases. That design philosophy finds itself expressed here through the satin brushed steel case which measures 43mm in diameter by 10.95mm thickness. Amping up the steampunk vibe are the 12 red gold gilt rivets that decorate the bezel and which are also found on the oversize crown.

Zooming in on the dial, there are two versions available with inverted designs. The first has a brushed rhodium plated base with red-gilt subdials and minute scale while the second has a red-gilt dial and rhodium plated scales. As a regulator model, the subdials consist of hours and seconds with the central hand displaying minutes. The scales themselves are raised with railway track markers giving them a quasi-Art Deco appearance that looks great. It really highlights the contrasting tones and finishing.

On top of that, I like the off-centre positioning of the hour and second subdials. It adds an extra degree of playfulness to the design and makes it stand out when held next to Louis Erard’s other Régulateur watches. This has been achieved by rotating the movement by approximately 30 degrees anticlockwise. The hands on the various dials are presented in Vianney Halter’s signature style in blued steel.

Below the dial and visible through the exhibition caseback is the Sellita calibre SW266-1, an automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve. These days that power reserve is noticeably small, so hopefully Louis Erard will move to an updated edition of the calibre in future. Still though, it’s nicely decorated with an open worked rotor featuring a black lacquer Louis Erard logo.

The other upside of a Sellita movement is price as the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter II is CHF 4,444 (approx. £4,000). Vianney’s own creations tend to be in the 30k-70k range. In a similar manner to how Kurono Tokyo offers Hajime Asaoka’s designs at more accessible prices, if you’re a Vianney Halter fan without the requisite budget, this is a fantastic opportunity to pick up some of his work.

More details at Louis Erard.

Richard Mille is bidding adieu to one of their core models this year with the launch of the final ever RM 032 in the form of the Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition. The RM 032 was first introduced back in 2011, so it’s retirement over a decade later is well deserved, though still sad. It’s Richard Mille’s one and only dedicated diving watch with a circular case, really making it stand out in a sea of tonneau sports watches. Let’s take a look at this final swan song.

In order to live up to the moniker of being the RM 032 Ultimate Edition, Richard Mille have made it a serious tool watch produced using high tech materials. Gone are the fun and frivolous colours of previous editions such as the Les Voiles de Saint Barth. Instead, the 50mm diameter case is black, made from a combination of DLC coated titanium and carbon TPT composite. There’s still some colour on display via the yellow accents on the crown and pushers but it’s purely functional, highlighting the key mechanical components you need to interact with.

The same is true of the dial. The skeletonised bridges are black in order to provide a contrast to the coloured display elements and making them more legible. Very important given how crowded with information this display is. Starting from the periphery and working inwards you have a tachymeter scale, 60-minute scale, 60-seconds scale, 12-hour scale, months indicator between 4 and 5 o’clock, running indicator at 3 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, date below 12 o’clock. And finally, the central hand stack which includes hours, minutes, chronograph minutes and chronograph seconds. The month and date functions are also an annual calendar, meaning they automatically account for months with 30 and 31 days, only needing adjustment at the end of February.

Evidently Richard Mille never got the memo that dive watches are supposed to have clean, legible dials. Still, it hasn’t stopped the series from being a success for more than a decade so evidently, they got something right. For example the diving specs are actually solid with 300m water resistance and a locking crown that prevents accidental adjustment while underwater.

At the same time, it also locks the chronograph pushers so that the chrono doesn’t get started or stopped by the build-up of water pressure. Another diving consideration is that without a regular seconds indicator. It can be tricky to see at a glance if the watch is operating properly in dark conditions, which is what the running indicator at 3 o’clock is for, a simple, lumed rotating disk that shows the movement is functioning.

Powering the RM 032 Automatic Flyback Chronograph Ultimate Edition is the calibre RMAC2. It’s an automatic movement with a 55-hour power reserve and operating at a 4 Hz frequency. The combination of a complex movement like this with a tool watch works well. Yes, the case is massive and the design doesn’t adhere to traditional notions of dive watches, but those aspects are what makes it feel like a Richard Mille. It shows that when RM tackle a specific concept, they can execute on it really well. I think that’s what I will miss most when the RM 032 eventually disappears from their current range – the remaining watches will feel less specialised and more homogenous.

If you want to pick up the RM 032 Ultimate Edition, good luck. It’s a limited edition of 80 pieces and is price on request. The majority of RM 032s retail in the region of £80,000 – £250,000.

More details at Richard Mille.