Standouts From Watches and Wonders 2023
High notes from the biggest industry event of the year.
One thing that makes watch collecting an absolute joy is diversity of opinion. At no time of year is that more apparent than during Watches and Wonders, the watch industry’s largest, and most impactful, trade show. With just shy of 50 brands showing off over the course of a single week, it is by no means an overstatement to say that we have been inundated by an abundance of new watches and, as a result, we can also comfortably say that we’ve been saturated by a wave of incoming opinions.
People love to hate, criticize, heap praise on, love, adulate, tear apart, shove away indifferently or otherwise react to the myriad releases laid at our feet the first morning of every Watches and Wonders. As such, I’m cutting through the noise of the day with a few highlights across a small handful of categories by looking at a novel sports watch, a beautiful dress watch, a refined complication and wrapping up with one piece that took me completely by surprise.
Sports Watches or How to Stop Turning Dive Bezels and Press Pushers Instead
2023 has been a strong showing for sports watches. From a full yellow gold Rolex GMT-Master II to a spectacular new chronograph-equipped Odysseus from A. Lange & Söhne, this year has presented an absolute bounty for those of us who enjoy our divers, chronographs and GMTs.
Though I could write an entire article on this category (and I just may – watch this space), one new release stood out to me, the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante. I wear a dive watch most days; in fact, as I sit here writing these very words, I’m wearing my treasured Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Ref. 2220.80.
Now, while I do swim with my watches, and even occasionally use a 12-hr rotating bezel to track laps, I am not a diver. That said, I use my dive bezel nearly every day for cooking, exercise and to keep myself on pace throughout the day, so when I saw this new Parmigiani Fleurier, it stood out.
Based technically on Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante from last year, this complication strips the hour hand of its rattrapante function and offers it instead to the minute hand. Pushers on the left side of the case allow you to advance the rose gold rattrapante minute hand ahead in increments of one or five minutes, and offer much of the same timing capability of a countdown-style dive bezel. A rose gold pusher extending from the crown resets the rattrapante minute hand, hiding it under its rhodium-finished sibling.
I love seeing this sort of technical innovation, and it doesn’t hurt that this complication happens to come in a watch I already really enjoy. It is worth noting that while this watch takes functional inspiration from the rotating bezel and is water resistant to 60M, this Tonda PF is not a dive watch. It is also by no means the first countdown timer, though typically countdown timers take the form of either alarms or regatta timers. I’m honestly not entirely sure how useful this new variant of countdown timer will be, or how it will be used down the line, but I absolutely love that it exists.
Where Design Meets Watchmaking
It’s Cartier’s world, and we’re all just living in it — at least when it comes to design. While Cartier has presented its fair share of high-horology novelties in recent years, there is no denying that, at the end of the day, what sets Cartier apart is its immense command of design.
Defining good design when it comes to watches can be a nebulous art at the best of times, and downright impossible to verbalize at the worst. That said, with its 2023 novelties, I don’t think there’s any question Cartier has a firm viewpoint on the issue.
While the stunning new precious metal Santos Dumonts and mouthwatering Tank Louis Cartiers may lead the way this year, the standout model on offer from the Parisian jeweler is the Privé collection Tank Normale, a reintroduction of the very first iteration of the storied Tank watch.
Available now in a number of variations, all essentially the same size (the skeletonized variant is mildly larger), and available in yellow gold or platinum, the Tank Normale is an unquestionably beautiful watch, with more history than just about anything else on the market today. Though not an entirely faithful reissue of the very first Normale from 1917, this is still a thing to behold, and I look forward to seeing one in person soon.
Making Complications Simpler with Patek Philippe
I love travel watches. I find variations on the GMT to be the most romantic complication you can have without sacrificing practicality, and I am particularly fond of Patek Philippe’s Travel Time function. And now that Patek Philippe has made it even simpler, I’m here for it even more.
The Patek Philippe 5224R-001 takes Patek’s Travel Time function and strips it down to its most essential elements. By shifting the overall timescale of the watch from 12-24 hours, Patek was able to eliminate the need for day/night indicators on the dial, while making the whole watch about as legible as any travel watch has ever been.
It also doesn’t hurt that the 5224R is a ridiculously handsome watch. The concentric blue dial looks wonderful in the 18k rose gold case, and the lumed hands and markers create magnificent contrast. The blue nubuck leather strap the watch finds itself on is a perfect complement, and I am confident this extraordinarily thin travel time watch will wear beautifully. It is certainly one I am looking forward to trying on when I get the chance.
To me, the 5224R feels like a wonderful follow-up to last year’s 5326G Annual Calendar Travel Time. The watches have a decidedly youthful approach to complicated watchmaking, without making any compromises that would make them feel less Patek-y. I hope Patek keeps pulling at this thread, because I for one am really enjoying the direction it’s pulling them in.
It’s Not Easy Being Green (Unless You’re Oris)
It isn’t a stretch to say Rolex took most of us by surprise this week when they introduced their enamel-dialed, rainbow Day-Date, especially considering that as a Day-Date, it conveys neither the day, nor the date. But as much digital ink as there is to spill over that hugely unexpected release from the Crown, I’m going to focus on another watch that swapped out an emoji for the date, the Oris Pro Pilot X Kermit Edition.
I love the Muppets, as does my whole family. One of the more entertaining arguments I ever experienced growing up was when, during a game of 20 questions on a long car ride, my mum stated, with absolute authority and certainty, that Kermit was real. My dad did not agree, and this has been a repeated point of contention in my household for decades.
For the record, my mum is right. That’s why, when I saw Oris, one of my favorite brands, was releasing a new version of their excellent Pro Pilot X with a Kermit-themed dial, I was thrilled. The Pro Pilot X is, without a doubt, one of my favorite watches of 2022. Boasting Oris’s Cal. 400 movement and housed in a stunningly well-executed titanium case, the Pro Pilot X is technically impressive, comfortable and great looking. From launch, Oris showed how fun this otherwise serious and rock-solid watch could be through their use of vibrant color.
Now, through the addition of a Kermit-green dial, not to mention Kermit’s face where the “1” on the date wheel should be, we have one of my absolute favorite releases of the year, thus far. Thankfully, Oris didn’t start with Gonzo the great, or my wallet would be toast.