The week in watches: Petermann Bédat's first true chronograph headlines a big week

IAMWATCH in Singapore set the tone early, and the rest of the week kept pace. Five releases worth your attention, from a platinum micro-brand chronograph to a Californian guilloché collab that landed at the worst possible moment for Zenith.

1. Petermann Bédat Reference 2914 Monopusher Chronograph

This is Petermann Bédat's first chronograph-only watch, a logical step after the split-seconds ref. 2941 from 2023. The 2914 houses the in-house cal. 234, which features a free-sprung balance and an instantly jumping minutes counter. It sits in a 36.5 mm platinum case with a partially transparent dial that lets the hand-finishing show through. Limited to 20 pieces. SJX, Monochrome, Hodinkee, Revolution, and Deployant all covered it, with SJX and Deployant going hands-on.

A two-person workshop producing a new chronograph caliber in back-to-back years is genuinely difficult, and the 2914 doesn't cut corners to make that happen. The move to 36.5 mm is smart: it's more wearable than a lot of independent pieces, and platinum at that size still carries real weight and presence. Twenty pieces means most people will never own one, but as an argument for what Petermann Bédat can do, it's hard to fault.

2. Studio Underd0g 04Series Calendar

Studio Underd0g's fourth collection brings two firsts for the brand: its first calendar complication and its first automatic movement. The 04Series Calendar was developed in partnership with Seagull, making it also the first time the brand has had a hand in shaping a movement's complications. The calendar takes a non-standard approach, adding a weekend indicator alongside the date. Monochrome, Hodinkee, Worn and Wound, Fratello, and Time+Tide all covered the launch.

Studio Underd0g has always leaned into personality over convention, so a calendar watch that flags the weekend instead of just displaying a date number feels on-brand. Partnering with Seagull to build something specific rather than dropping in an off-the-shelf module is a meaningful step up for a brand that started with accessible chronographs. Worth watching to see how the execution holds up in the metal.

3. Vacheron Constantin Fiftysix self-winding and complete calendar

Vacheron has refreshed two Fiftysix references with new bi-toned grey sector dials and a mix of brushed and polished steel case finishing. Both watches are 40 mm in steel. The self-winding version is 9.6 mm thick and carries a date display, priced at around 13,160 EUR (USD 14,300). The complete calendar, with day, month, moonphase, and pointer date, is 11.6 mm thick and comes in at around 31,190 EUR (USD 33,900). Fratello covered it as a tuxedo dial update; Deployant, Worn and Wound, SJX, Monochrome, and Hodinkee all ran it too.

A dial refresh isn't the most dramatic story, but the grey gradient does give the Fiftysix a stronger mid-century feel than the previous blue or flat grey options. The complete calendar at that thickness is respectable, and for anyone who's been watching the Fiftysix as an entry point into Vacheron, the new look makes the case a bit easier to justify.

4. MB&F LM101 Gabriel Colliard

MB&F has commissioned independent enamellist Gabriel Colliard for a trilogy of LM101 editions, each featuring a hand-worked cloisonné enamel jungle scene on the dial. The cases are platinum, and each of the three designs is limited to eight pieces. SJX, Monochrome, Hodinkee, Time+Tide, and Deployant all covered the release. No price was announced in the available material.

The challenge with enamel on the LM101 is that the dial isn't a flat canvas: the suspended balance wheel, off-centre displays, and sculptural bridges are already doing a lot. Colliard working around that architecture rather than ignoring it is what makes this more than a decorative exercise. Eight pieces per design means these are purely for a small handful of collectors, but as a métiers d'art statement it's genuinely impressive.

5. Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with J.N. Shapiro

The second entry in Zenith's Double Signed program pairs the brand with California-based independent watchmaker Josh Shapiro of J.N. Shapiro. The G.F.J. Calibre 135 platform carries hand-guilloché dials produced on a traditional rose engine, limited to 25 pieces. Worn and Wound, Monochrome, Fratello, Time+Tide, and Hodinkee all covered it, though several outlets noted they couldn't ignore the broader context: Zenith's simultaneous news of significant workforce layoffs, halted retail operations, and a planned pivot toward higher-margin pieces.

The watch itself is a strong argument for the Double Signed concept. Rose-engine guilloché at this level takes real skill, and Shapiro's American craft sensibility against the Calibre 135 is a good pairing. But as Worn and Wound put it plainly, it's nearly impossible to look at this release without thinking about what's happening at the brand. That's unfortunate, because the 2914 aside, this might be the most technically interesting dial work of the week.

Five very different releases, one turbulent backdrop at Zenith, and a reminder that the independent end of the market continues to do some of the most thoughtful work around.