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Back for a second tenure at Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jérôme Lambert’s 2025 return as CEO has brought fresh momentum to the brand. While spectacularly complex models like the Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon a Stratosphere might eclipse the limelight at Watches & Wonders this year, there is a second release that deserves attention: the new Master Control Chronometre collection. […]
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When Manuel Emch took the reins at Louis Erard, he set out to prove that métiers d’art and creative collaborations are not the exclusive domain of high-end brands. Now a vibrant hub of creativity, Louis Erard has partnered with independent watchmakers and artists to produce original content. Consolidating Emch’s mission to democratise and reinterpret traditional […]
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Founded in the United States and producing in Switzerland now, Hamilton returns to one of its lesser-seen military references with a new Khaki Field Mechanical watch, this time offered in two versions released side by side. On the one hand, the Khaki Field Mechanical 36mm is a globally available model that brings back the design […]
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Watches and Wonders 2026 is about to close its doors, and it’s time for Team MONOCHROME to head back home after one of the most intense weeks of the year. We’ve seen hundreds of watches, published way over a hundred articles, taken several thousand photos and published over 20 videos on YouTube. But it is now time […]
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Nature is a cornerstone of Japanese culture and a predominant theme at Grand Seiko. Even the settings of the Japanese brand’s manufactures are intentionally studied to inspire the takumi (artisans). Hailing from Grand Seiko’s haute horlogerie Micro Artist Studio in Shiojiri, the Japanese brand releases a high-end Masterpiece SBGZ011 in platinum, in a hand-engraved 44GS case and […]
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Introduced in 2019, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle has quickly become the maison’s signature luxury sports watch collection, defined by its integrated bracelet, fluted bezel secured by eight indexed screws and dial texture inspired by the iris of an eagle. Winging its way back into the limelight, the time-and-date Alpine Eagle returns in 36 and 41mm Lucent […]
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As the story goes, the Ingenieur was released in 1955 as IWC’s first antimagnetic wristwatch for civilian use. In 1974, IWC enlisted legendary designer Gerald Genta to redesign the watch. Transformed into a luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet, Genta’s Ingenieur SL debuted in 1976. Evolving over the decades, the modern revival of Genta’s […]
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H. Moser & Cie. fearlessly takes two of its most prestigious complications, strips away all superfluous elements, and reveals them up front in the Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton. Exposing its dial-side minute repeater and cylindrical hairspring flying tourbillon in a fully skeletonised form, Moser ascends to new heights on the complications ladder. Launched […]
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The second-oldest name in watchmaking history, Favre Leuba’s origins go back to 1737, when Abraham Favre was recorded as a watchmaker in Le Locle. Following a global relaunch in 2024 under the leadership of CEO Patrik P. Hoffmann, Favre Leuba’s modern revival focuses on precision-driven timepieces that honour the brand’s extensive archives while meeting contemporary […]
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The Luminor is in the spotlight this year with several vintage-inspired novelties that celebrate Panerai’s legacy as a supplier of precision instruments to the Italian Navy. Following the first generation of combat diver’s watches in the mid-1930s, glowing with radium-based Radiomir, Panerai developed a less harmful luminous substance known as Luminor, which would eventually denote […]
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The Chronomaster Sport already has most of what you expect from a robust, modern sports chronograph, most often seen in stainless steel with a ceramic bezel. Beating inside is Zenith’s high-frequency El Primero movement, one of the best-known high-beat chronograph calibres out there. Alongside the full steel versions, Zenith has also pushed this design a […]
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In contrast to the sportier dive watches we associate with Oris, the Artelier Collection, launched in the early 2000s, is the brand’s elegant dress watch family. For 2026, Oris has decided to shake off the cobwebs and entrust a young product designer to refresh the look and feel of the Artelier Complication. The result is […]
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The Le Petit Prince editions have long been easy to spot within IWC’s Pilot’s Watch lineup; just look for the deep blue dial inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous novella. With the new Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Le Petit Prince unveiled at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, the brand gives this familiar formula a new […]
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When it was unveiled in 2014, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Calibre 362 stunned the horological world as the slimmest automatic minute repeater with a tourbillon regulator. For 2026, Jaeger revisits its high-complication masterpiece with the new Master Hybris Mechanica Ultra Thin Minute Repeater, a ten-piece limited edition with an openworked dial reaffirming the Maison’s dominance in chiming mechanisms, […]
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Jaeger-LeCoultre revisits one of its most important contemporary tourbillon movements with the new Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Jumping Date. While the underlying Calibre 978 is familiar to collectors, the latest iteration restructures the movement’s architecture. Featuring a partially openworked dial, the tourbillon, signature jumping date mechanism, and 24-hour display come to the fore. Paying homage […]
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The Spirit of Big Bang collection was introduced as Hublot’s first major new case shape under Jean-Claude Biver. As its name suggests, the collection captured the “spirit” of the Big Bang but replaced the octagonal case with a more complex tonneau-shaped case with lateral rubber bumpers and openworked dials. The latest Spirit of Big Bang […]
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One of the most surprising proposals at Watches & Wonders this year might well be Hautlence’s Retrovision ’64. A limited-edition watch, the Retrovision ‘64 is a playful tribute to a 1960s small-screen science-fiction communicator but endowed with serious horological content. Designed as a bridge between two eras, the Retrovision ’64 combines a retro-futuristic sci-fi comms […]
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Chopard’s Mille Miglia collection can best be described as the watchmaking expression of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s lifelong obsession with the classic Italian Mille Miglia road race, which he calls an open-air museum on wheels. As the official sponsor of the race since 1988, Chopard enjoys one of the longest-running partnerships between a watch brand and a […]
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Christiaan van der Klaauw is a renowned Dutch independent watch brand specialising exclusively in astronomical complications, making it the world’s only atelier dedicated solely to handcrafted timepieces inspired by celestial mechanics. Founded in 1974 by master watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw, who retired in 2009, the brand is now in the hands of watchmaker Pim […]
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Audemars Piguet launches the Atelier des Établisseurs, an ambitious project that resurrects the collaborative “établissage” system of late 18th-century watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux. Marking a novel way for the brand to produce remarkable watches using time-honoured traditional crafts, the Atelier des Établisseurs is a twofold enterprise that fosters creativity and collaboration while preserving […]
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Twenty-six years ago, Chanel introduced the J12, a luxury sports watch crafted from sleek, black high-tech ceramic. Designed by artistic director Jacques Helleu, the collection was named after the J-class 12-metre racing yachts competing in the America’s Cup. An overnight success, the J12 appealed to men and women alike with its chic, unisex aesthetic. Chanel’s […]
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Thirty years ago, Chopard’s co-president, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, opened the Manufacture in Fleurier. The first in-house calibre, L.U.C 1.96, a slim automatic micro-rotor movement, made its debut inside the L.U.C XPS 1860 the following year. Rapidly ascending the complications ladder, in 2006, Chopard celebrated the tenth anniversary of its Manufacture with the release of the L.U.C […]
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As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont approached Louis Cartier, complaining that pocket watches were impractical in flight – he needed both hands on the controls. Louis Cartier’s solution not only marked the birth of an icon but is also widely considered the first purpose-built men’s wristwatch. […]
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A year after Piaget broke the record for the thinnest tourbillon with its 2mm Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, Bulgari, following its decade-long pursuit of ultra-thin watchmaking, unveiled the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon in titanium, now the world’s thinnest flying tourbillon at just 1.85mm. The new Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon Platinum edition does not aim to break […]
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Chopard entered the luxury integrated sports watch sector in 2019 with its Alpine Eagle. While this might seem like a relatively late contestant, the roots of the Alpine Eagle can be traced to a sporty-chic 1980s model known as the St. Moritz. Marking the Chopard Manufacture’s 30th anniversary, the latest Alpine Eagle 41 XPS is […]
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The Grand Seiko Elegance Collection is home to some of the brand’s most restrained and poetic creations. Models such as the Omiwatari, Karasawa, and other hand-wound Spring Drive references demonstrate how minimalism, texture, and mechanical refinement can coexist. The new SBGY043 Iwao Blue keeps the successful, elegant formula that made earlier editions so attractive and […]
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Last year, Roger Dubuis unveiled the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar, a revival of a signature biretrograde complication co-patented by founder Roger Dubuis and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht (Agenhor) in 1989. Although this calendar version is simpler than the double retrograde QP the two men developed, it features the signature retrograde aesthetic intimately associated with Roger Dubuis. Following the […]
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Since the third generation of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas arrived in 2016, the Maison has expanded the collection with everything from simple three-hand models to perpetual calendars and tourbillons. Yet for a watch originally designed with travel in mind, a basic second time zone display was missing. This was addressed in 2018 with the Overseas […]
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Master watchmaker and restorer Michel Parmigiani’s original Toric QP Rétrograde was Parmigiani Fleurier’s foundational watch marking the brand’s launch in 1996. Following the appointment of Guido Terreni in 2021, many of Michel Parmigiani’s models were put on standby to allow Terreni to chart the brand’s new design direction, with a primary focus on the Tonda […]
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When IWC revived the Ingenieur in 2023, it did so by returning to Gérald Genta’s integrated-bracelet design, with functional screws, a structured dial and an emphasis on all things technical. Last year’s full-black ceramic Ingenieur Automatic 42 was quite exemplary. For 2026, IWC takes a more nuanced step with the Ingenieur Automatic 42 in dark […]
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