April 18, 2022

Highlights: Watches and Wonders 2022

Watches and Wonders 2022 is the premier event in the watch industry, housing 38 brands showcasing their exquisite timepieces, including 19 newcomers. It drew about 22,000 individuals and over a thousand journalists from across the globe. This year, the focus was primarily on fusion, innovation, and creativity. Several important discussions were held on innovation, sustainability, the use of new materials, and customer experience. The Time Design exhibition was a significant part of the event, which showcased the history of watchmaking through 100 timepieces that will remain on display till May 8th.

The following are the major highlights from this year’s event.

A. Lange & Sohne

A. Lange & Sohne debuted their new Richard Lange Minute Repeater during the event. This 39 mm timepiece is encased in platinum and has three white gold dials. It is 9.7 mm thick and is water resistant to a depth of 20 meters. It is equipped with a newly developed L122.1 manual-winding caliber. This is a limited edition clock, with just 50 pieces having been produced so far.

Cartier

Cartier revealed the Tank Chinoise, marking the sixth chapter of the Cartier Privé collection. This Tank Chinoise has a rectangular open-worked dial reminiscent of a Chinese window that shows the workings of the skeleton movement. It is powered by an exclusive 9627 MC skeleton movement, embellished with 23 jewels and has a 38-hour power reserve. It is finished with an alligator leather strap. The timepiece is 7.7 mm in thickness.

CHANEL

CHANEL presented their new J12 Diamond Tourbillon in glossy black ceramic and an 18-carat white gold bezel. It has a total of 84 diamonds and an open-work dial in black. It uses CHANEL’s in-house Caliber 5 movement with manual winding and a power reserve of 42 hours. This timepiece has a diameter of 38 mm and water resistance up to 50 meters.

Chopard

The ambitious Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono has a stainless steel case that is 44 mm in diameter and 13.15 mm in thickness. It uses Chopard 03.05-C self-winding mechanical movement that has 45 jewels and a power reserve of 60 hours. The watch has water resistance up to 100 meters. Its strap is a black (Matt) rubber with a pin buckle.

Grand Seiko

Grand Seiko announces The Spring Drive 8 Days jewelry watch as part of their Masterpiece collection. This watch has 267 diamonds, white gold, and 26 black spinels inside a platinum case. It is powered by the Caliber 9R01 manual winding movement that has 56 jewels and a power reserve of about 192 hours. It has a crocodile leather strap and water resistance up to 10 bars.

Hermès

Hermès presented their unique Arceau Les Folies Du Ciel watch as a tribute to the dreamers that once sought to make flight a possibility for humankind. It’s movement has a diameter of 25.6 mm and a thickness of 3.83 mm. It has a 38mm case and a dial based on mother-of-pearl inside a white gold case. The watch is powered by the H1837 self-winding mechanical movement of Hermès. It has a power reserve of 50 hours. It comes with a Chantilly alligator strap and water resistance up to 3 bar.

Hublot

Hublot presented their iconic 42 mm Big Bang Integral Ceramic Watch. It has a scratch-proof and ultra-tough ceramic case based on Zirconium. It uses Hublot’s Unico 2 caliber movement that comes with self-winding and a power reserve of 72 hours. The strap is a ceramic bracelet. It has a water resistance of up to 100 meters.

IWC Schaffhausen

IWC presented the Pilot’s watch chronograph Top Gun edition “Woodland”. This ceramic watch has a monochromatic design and it is based on the new dark green color. The desired ceramic color comes from a mixture of zirconium oxide with metal oxides. For movement, It uses IWC’s 69380 caliber that offers a power reserve of 12 hours. It has a diameter of 44.5 mm and a thickness of 15.7 mm. It has water resistance up to 6 bar.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils their Polaris Perpetual Calendar that comes with unique functions like a perpetual calendar and moon phases. This 42 mm watch has a pink gold case with a thickness of 11.97 mm. It uses Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 868 Calibre self-winding movement that has 54 jewels and offers a power reserve of 70 hours. It has water resistance up to 10 bar.

Montblanc

Montblanc showcased their 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date timepiece. This diving watch uses an MB 24.17 automatic self-winding movement with 26 jewels. It has a stainless steel case and bracelet. The watch comes with unidirectional rotating bezels. It has water resistance up to 300 meters.

Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe combines the Annual Calendar and the Travel Time display system in their latest Annual Calendar Travel Time watch. It measures 41 mm in diameter and 11.07 mm in thickness. It is powered by a 31-260 PS QA LU FUS 24H self-winding movement with a 42-hour power reserve. The white gold case is water resistant to 30 meters.

Piaget

Piaget unveiled their new unique AUC watch as a tribute to the Altiplano Ultimate Concept (AUC). This watch concept deviates from the traditional 4-layer watch construction strategy. Instead, it opted for a fusion of all layers strategy, resulting in an ultra-thin watch at only 2 mm thick. The caseback, bezel, and lugs are all satin brushed, providing an excellent contrast to the polished case band. It comes with a thin 1.5 mm dark blue alligator strap.

Roger Dubuis

The highly familiar Roger Dubuis’ Knights Of The Round Table is a visual masterpiece made with twelve micro-sculptures of the Excalibur knights that are arranged valiantly around the dial. The 45 mm timepiece has both case and a dial made of 18-carat pink gold. It used RD-115 manual winding movement with a 72-hour power reserve. It has a calf leather strap and water resistance up to 30 meters.

Tag Heuer

Tag Heuer unveiled their new Aquaracer Professional 1000 Superdiver. This watch has a 45 mm grade 5 Titanium case with a thickness of 15.75 mm that gives it water resistance up to a depth of 1000 meters. It is an automatic watch with a power reserve of 70 hours. It has a Titanium strap and unidirectional rotating bezel.

Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels unveils the exquisite Lady Arpels Heures Florales watch, which was inspired by Carl Von Linné’s 1751 book Philosophia Botanica, which introduced the concept of a floral clock. It has a 38 mm case of diamonds and white gold. The dial is made of a number of materials, such as yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, colored diamonds, and mother-of-pearl. They all combine to form three patterns of flower opening that change each hour.

Zenith

Zenith’s Chronomaster Open is a contemporary rendition of the classic Zenith El Primero chronograph, which was the world’s first automatic high-frequency integrated chronograph movement. The casing of this watch is composed of 18-carat rose gold and is 39.5 mm in diameter. It is powered by an El Primero 3604 automatic movement with a power reserve of 60 hours. It features a calfskin leather strap and is water resistant to 100 meters.

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