Q: What do you consider the best new watches of the year?
A: Type “death of the watch” into Google and dozens of entries will pop up, many portending the inevitable decline of the wristwatch with clear schadenfreude. Why so cranky, watch-haters? Thankfully, for those who still appreciate the tick-tock of a mechanical timepiece, preferably fabricated in snowy Switzerland, 2018 was a good year. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reports that the value of Swiss watch exports rose by 7.5% in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same period in 2017. That growth is primarily in watches with $3,000-plus price tags, while sales of cheaper timepieces are sluggish.
The way new timepieces are presented is changing, too, with an increasing number of brands eschewing the traditional watch fairs: SIHH in Geneva and Baselworld in, yes, Basel. As more brands opt to sell online and to participate in regional fairs, the machine that formerly dictated how we learn about new watches is sputtering. But companies continue to churn out masterpieces every year. Here are three of those, plus five runners-up.
The Good Value
The Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary
($2,000, pictured left)
Oris does not make Best Of The Year lists as often as some of its flashier brethren, which is a shame as the Hölstein, Switzerland-based company produces reliable watches at reasonable prices. In 2018, Oris transcended mere reliability, to my mind: Its Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary is truly handsome. Many bronze watch cases rely on the color of the material for visual impact, and have chunky, nondescript cases. But Oris has matched a sleek bronze case with a sea-green dial.
The Old/New School Mashup
Vacheron Constantin FiftySix Day-Date
($17,900, pictured center)
Vacheron Constantin, founded in Geneva in 1755, still produces watches that show off traditional Swiss watchmaking over two centuries later. So when the brand launched its retro FiftySix collection (based on an iconic design from 1956), including a Day-Date watch in utilitarian stainless steel or trendy pink gold, at London’s Abbey Road Studios with a performance by iconoclastic musician Benjamin Clementine, watch-geek eyebrows were raised. To launch a watch at this landmark of counterculture creativity, far from the stuffy confines of a conventional fine-watch fair, felt like a bold move, and one intended to lure in a slightly younger clientele that’s not ready for a six-figure watch.
The Inside-Out
Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral
($68,000, pictured right)
Appreciating the mechanics of a watch movement is often a sort of abstract pleasure, as the many moving parts are usually masked behind a case. Movements are the Wizard of Oz of the watch world. That’s why this Swiss watch is such a marvel: It puts the glory of its complex movement on display. On the dial, the tourbillon—a device that improves accuracy—rotates at the 12 o’clock spot in a circle. Flip over the watch, and a procession of slowly turning wheels is visible through the crystal case back.
Honorable Mentions / The Best of the Rest
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
A rare diving watch that blends undersea functionality with city style. $4,850, omegawatches.com
Glashuette Original Sixties
A watch revived from the German company’s 1960s catalog; its vivid green dial and pattern suggests a lava lamp. $7,500, Wempe, 212-397-9000
Longines Heritage Military
This watch takes the retro look further by aging the dial with specks of black spray paint. $2,150, Longines, 212-267-2397
IWC Tribute to Pallweber
The large display on this watch was inspired by IWC’s own 19th-century pocket watch design. $36,600, IWC Schaffhausen, 212-355-7271
Hermès Arceau Chrono Titane
Chronographs measure elapsed time (like race laps) and they tend to look utilitarian, but not this beauty. $5,100, Hermès, 212-751-3181