As the year comes to an end, I decided to choose 10 watches that were released this year 2024, and that I liked a lot. It's no easy feat to narrow down one's watch selection to a mere 10 favorites in the ever-evolving landscape of 2024 with hundreds of new releases. The watch industry has continued to innovate, offering an abundance of captivating timepieces that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. The watches selected below represent a carefully curated mix of classic designs, cutting-edge technology, and personal taste, each piece holding a unique place in my book.
The challenge lies not only in the sheer volume of remarkable watches available but in their pricing, making the selection process a delicate balance of functionality, aesthetics, and emotional connection.
When putting together this selection, I decided to mostly choose high complications and a few eye-catching designs that work well as fas as wear on most occasions.
Enjoy!
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon 'Lumen' Honeygold
The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon 'Lumen' Honeygold ref. 740.055FE unites three grand complications including a flyback chronograph with a precisely jumping minute counter, an instantaneously switching perpetual calendar with an outsize date as well as a one-minute tourbillon with stop seconds. The masterpiece also reveals its radiant personality in the dark —thanks to the semi-transparent dial and the luminous coating. Additionally, the case stands out because of the particular hardness and incomparable resplendence of Lange-exclusive honey gold. More on this watch here.
De Bethune DB Kind of Grande Complication
Here in the blued mirror-polished titanium of the dial, the De Bethune Blue with its unique character takes the center stage with the hand decorated sky fitted with small white gold pins depicting the stars and adorned with Milky Way patterns produced by laser beam micro-milling and gilded with 24K gold leaf. Much like our observation of the sky, the moon phases can be read at 3 o'clock by means of a homogeneous sphere spinning on its axis and composed of two perfectly balanced half spheres in flamed-blued steel and mirror-polished palladium. More on this watch here.
Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 'Genbi Valley' SLGH021
The new Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 'Genbi Valley' SLGH021 is a watch depicting the mysterious scenery of the Genbi Valley mid-stream on the Iwai River in Iwate Prefecture, where Grand Seiko’s mechanical watches are manufactured. The grand and mysterious scenery of the Genbi Valley is expressed in this watch’s dial via a new molded pattern and light-green coloration. With a 40 mm case in Grand Seiko’s Ever-Brilliant Stainless Steel in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, this new watch’s exquisite dial echoes the beauty of nature with its multi-dimensional texture. More on this watch here.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton
For this impressive watch, H. Moser & Cie. has stripped away all unnecessary material to better showcase and enhance the piece, and added a one-minute flying tourbillon with a double hairspring that appears to float weightlessly. Equipped with a stainless steel case measuring 40 mm in diameter, this is for sure one of the nicest-looking skeletonized watches out there. The case features recessed and satin-finished forms on the sides, with alternating polished and brushed surfaces, and is fitted with a subtly domed sapphire crystal, echoed by the see-through case back. More on this watch here.
HYT T1 Series
The new HYT T1 Series is beyond what we expected. Redesigned, better, and more wearable are just some of the words that come to mind after perusing the new watches. As HYT celebrates its 12th anniversary this year 2024, the new HYT T1 is a smaller hydromechanical watch with a case diameter of 45.3 mm, a slightly more slender profile, and a new ergonomic design for optimum comfort. For the first time in its history, the brand introduces a fully enclosed dial where the bellows are not exposed at 6 o’clock, designed to achieve absolute harmony. Featuring circular satin finishes along the minute track and on the hour ring that enhances a sophisticated color palette. More on this watch here.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
The new IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar is one of the most impressive and horologically advanced timepieces presented at Watches & Wonders 2024. This watch pushes the boundaries of horology with a secular perpetual calendar. In addition to recognizing the different lengths of the months and adding a leap day every four years, the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar also takes into account the Gregorian calendar’s complex leap-year exception rules. A newly engineered 400-year gear ensures that the calendar automatically skips three leap years over four centuries —an event that will occur for the first time in the year 2100. The watch is accurate until the year 3999. On November 13th, 2024, this watch was awarded the Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix at the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève —GPHG. More on this watch here.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual
The Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual marks a new era for the Duometre Collection with an innovative tourbillon constructed on three axes a first for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Pushing the boundaries of haute horlogerie, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 388 features an entirely new tourbillon construction that makes the tourbillon spin on three axes to create a ‘spinning top’ effect. This new calibre 388 also incorporates a perpetual calendar with a grande date indication at 3 o’clock. The redesigned case of the Duometre collection measures 44 mm in diameter and the 18K pink gold case is a complex structure of 34 separate parts and the lugs are screwed rather than integrated, to enable multiple finishing techniques. A mixture of polished, satin-brushed, and micro-blasted surfaces creates a fascinating play of light with every movement of the wrist. More on this watch here.
MB&F LM Sequential Flyback Platinum
The Legacy Machine Sequential EVO, conceived by Stephen McDonnell, was MB&F’s first-ever chronograph. A ground-breaking dual chronograph that not only fixed the inherent flaws of conventional chronograph design but also offered a combination of timing modes that was unique. Now comes the new MB&F LM Sequential Flyback where Stephen McDonnell decided to go above and beyond by adding a Flyback function via the pusher at 8 and 4 o’clock respectively. The LM Sequential Flyback Platinum is released in a limited edition of 33 pieces and equipped with an LM case measuring 44 mm in diameter. More on this watch here.
Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde Platinum
The new Parmigiani Toric Petite Seconde. The Toric Petite Seconde has been revived with a more contemporary look but still maintains all the design cues from the original model designed by Michel Parmigiani in 1996 for the launch of the brand. Equipped with manual wound solid gold movements, gold ‘cheve’ dials, and gold hands and released in 18K rose gold ref. PFC940-2010001-300181-EN or in .950 platinum ref. PFC940-2010004-300181-EN, the Toric Petite Seconde is a flawless execution that exudes ‘haute horlogerie’ all the way. While the 18K rose gold model is fitted with a sand-colored dial, the platinum counterpart features a grey celadon dial that looks almost like a very faint mint green. More on this watch here.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time Sunburst Green
This year Vacheron Constantin decided to do a first in the Overseas collection and added an 18K pink gold case sunburst green dial Overseas Dual Time to the lineup. This hands-on review will tell you everything you need to know about this new watch after enjoying the watch outside of the watch show and in natural light. Without a doubt, this is the hottest watch release of 2024, and its refined look is unparalleled. Because it combines a green dial and red accents on the AM/PM indicator and the dual time pointer hand, anyone could think that this watch was released as a special edition for Mexico with the colors of the Mexican flag. The watch is equipped with a 41 mm case in 18K 5N Pink Gold with a soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection making this combination pure fire. More on this watch here.
