Although its absence from the brand’s lineup may have been brief, the Patek Philippe Nautilus chronograph reference 5980’s presence has been sorely missed in the collection since it was quietly discontinued in early 2024. As part of its Watches and Wonders 2024 novelties, however, Patek Philippe brings this popular chronograph complication back to the Nautilus family with a unique blend of refinement and casual cool. The new Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5980-60G brings back the unique stacked, concentric subdial layout of previous Nautilus chronographs, but combines this with a relaxed blue colorway and an offbeat denim-effect strap.
Measuring 40.5mm wide and 12.2mm thick, the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5980-60G’s 18k white-gold case is, from a design perspective, pure classic Nautilus. The layout should be instantly familiar to enthusiasts, with the same broad chamfered bezel, porthole-inspired case side flanges, and smoothly elegant integrated lugs as the rest of the Nautilus collection. Naturally, the largest difference from the mainline Nautilus case design is the inclusion of chronograph pushers at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. Broad and subtly rounded, the polished oval pushers add a new source of flash to an already bright and eye-catching case design. Patek Philippe tops off the case with a sapphire display caseback, as well. Given the Nautilus line’s sporting, aquatic pretensions, it’s difficult to judge the reference 5980-60G’s miniscule 30-meter water resistance rating as anything but disappointing.
Like the case, the dial design of the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5980-60G should be familiar to fans of the brand. The classic Nautilus dial layout is broadly preserved here, with sleek paddle hands, angled applied indices, and a horizontally slatted “teak deck” dial surface. Rather than the deep, oceanic blue usually used for the Nautilus series, this new model uses a more muted, denim-inspired blue dial hue in images for a fresher, more relaxed look. The unique concentric subdial design of previous 5980 models is refined and highlighted here, gathering both chronograph hours and chronograph minutes into a single tightly packaged display at 6 o’clock. Crucially, though, this model ditches the two-tone display of previous blue 5980 references for a cleaner all-blue subdial layout, featuring tight azurage, airy white scales, and elemental stick hands for both subdial displays. Overall, it’s a simpler, more visually open layout than many of its predecessors, but one that still feels instantly at home in the brand’s catalog.
Patek Philippe powers the Nautilus reference 5980-60G with the manufacture Caliber CH 28-520 C/522 automatic flyback chronograph movement. The Calibre CH 28-520 C/522 offers robust if unspectacular performance, with a 55-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate. In terms of finishing, this movement is contemporary and handsome in images, with circular Côtes de Genève across the semi-skeleton bridges and balance cock, polished anglage, oversized perlage on the mainplate, and an engraved 21K gold rotor with matching circular Côtes de Genève.
The new strap design added to the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5980-60G arguably steals the show for this release. Attached to the case via the line’s classic polished rectangular integrated center links, this calfskin strap accurately captures the texture and color variations of heavily worn denim in photos. Equipping a strap inspired by faded blue jeans to a watch as formal and traditionally Swiss as Patek Philippe might seem like an odd pairing at first glance, but this more laid-back approach has its own sort of charm in images and matches the dial colorway splendidly.
The reference 5980 Patek Philippe Nautilus chronograph may have enjoyed a brief retirement in early 2024, but for Watches and Wonders the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5980-60G brings this fan-favorite layout back to life in a charismatically casual new style.
To a certain type of person, Patek Philippe is world timers and world timers are Patek Philippe. While Patek didn’t invent the complication, it’s become strongly associated with the brand over the decades, in large part because of well-executed references like the new Patek Philippe 5330G World Time.
Patek introduced the 5330G at last year’s Tokyo Grand Exhibit as a limited edition of 300 and only for the Japanese market. Now, it’s bringing the new World Time reference to its general catalog with an opaline blue-grey dial. The carbon pattern in the center of the dial calls to mind the 6007A Calatrava introduced to celebrate the opening of its new manufacture in 2020.
The Patek Philippe 5330G World Time is powered by the new Patek caliber 240 HU C, which Patek introduced in last year’s LE. It’s a world timer with 24-hour day/night indication for each time zone, but it’s most notable for being the first world time that has a date that faithfully tracks the local (i.e., 12-hour) time. According to Patek, it’s done this while adding less than a millimeter of thickness to the caliber. It’s the type of practical mechanical innovation that Patek continues to do as well as any manufacturer, in particular in its world and travel time watches. The caliber 240 is an automatic movement that beats at 3 Hz and has a 38-48-hour power reserve.
The white gold case measures 40 x 11.57mm. It’s well proportioned and wears thin on the wrist, exactly what you want from the dressier side of Patek. The lugs are compact and keep the 5330G wearable, even given its slightly larger diameter. The round case and stepped lugs feel heritage inspired, appropriate for a classic complication like a world timer.
While the Japanese limited edition had a guilloché purple dial that was certainly an acquired taste, the main catalog 5330G plays it down the middle with a blue-grey opaline. The textured carbon pattern in the middle of the dial contrasts with the smooth world timer rings. A glass date pointer that’s tipped with red feels like a considered touch.
Somewhat provocatively, Patek has paired a denim-style calfskin strap with the Patek Philippe 5330G World Time , just as it has with the updated 5980G. For awhile, we’ve been saying it wouldn’t hurt brands like Patek to deliver its modern dressier watches on something besides the oh-so-formal alligator, so I like seeing something new from Patek. As we mentioned on the first Watches & Wonders episode of Hodinkee Radio, it calls to mind the brown denim-adjacent strap on AP’s Travis Scott collab.
A Patek world timer isn’t going to set the world on fire. It’s simply Patek doing what it’s always done, just making it about 10 percent better – in this case, that means a practical innovation that makes the watch just that much more usable. But the Patek Philippe 5330G World Time is a well executed, modern take on an old-school complication, and that’s exactly the type of thing we like to see from Patek Philippe.
The first time I saw Audemars Piguet’s new Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in Sand Gold, I thought I was looking at stainless steel. AP had just announced the watch, a mix of materials to create a new gold alloy that’s a softer hue between pink and white. But in the bright blue lights of a convention hall, the watch looked completely white. As it made its way around the circle of press at the event, only when I got it up close, under a bit of shadow, did the rosy tones start to come out of the case. For “just a new material,” it was pretty impressive. But I figured that it was a one-time experience, like learning how a magic trick was done.
The second time I saw Audemars Piguet’s new Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in Sand Gold, I thought I was looking at stainless steel. I was at another press preview, this time in New York when I saw my friend Perri Dash working on a wrist roll in the shade. “It’s cool that they brought out the stainless steel version,” I thought to myself. Then I got closer. You know what they say, “Fool me once…”
Any other batch of releases and the new 26735SG (for “Sand Gold”) would have easily been the watch that grabbed the most attention. It certainly caught my eye, but as someone who loves the Royal Oak, I’m never quite sure how the audience will react. This time, the watch was the “With Special Guest” to John Mayer’s top billing with his show-stopping Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, so I expected it to get overshadowed. Then there’s the fact that it’s easy to dismiss the watch – like I said before – as “just a new material.” That’s why I was, frankly, pleasantly surprised by the fact that the few photos I posted of the watch on Instagram seemed to really resonate.
Detractors aren’t completely wrong. The 26735ST (“ST” for steel) was the first openworked Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon, released back in 2022, so the movement here isn’t new. If that’s all that gets you excited, you might be bored, but from my standpoint, the caliber 2972 is nothing ever to be disappointed in. It has a beautifully semi-symmetrical architecture that’s clean, clear, and intentional in a way that tells you the caliber was designed to be skeletonized from the start. With all that’s going on in the movement, the flying tourbillon is still the center point, standing proud at 6:00. And while skeletonized watches are never the most legible, the geometric pattern means you can more easily tell the hands and movement apart. To me, all that bumped the 2972 quickly to the top of the class, setting the standard for openworked (or skeletonized) watches back in 2022.
So sure, the most important thing to note with the new ref. 26735SG is the new sand gold material, but it’s not all just about color. When I wrote about the watch a few weeks ago, I missed a brief mention in the press release that AP’s new sand gold should be more color-fast and durable over time. While not many people (myself included) have to worry about the durability of rose gold, it’s particularly finicky and prone to fading when exposed to salt water or chlorine. Very few brands have solved that issue, Rolex and Omega being two of the notable exceptions.
And while it isn’t all about color, it certainly is a big selling point. Almost all gold used in watchmaking is 18k or 14k alloys, made harder and more durable by mixing other materials with pure gold. Choosing what materials you use can lend colorfastness, hardness, and shift color. While these mixes are now closely studied, tested, and checked for impurities that might impact the final product, back before the early to mid-1900s, this kind of gold mixing was wild and free. It’s not uncommon to see four-color gold cases (bonus point who can name the fourth color besides yellow, white, and rose), and often, if you see white gold cases (on Cartier, for instance) made before the 1950s, it’s actually rhodium-plated yellow gold.
These proprietary color mixes are part of why it’s so fun to debate things like who has the best rose gold on the market (ahem AP ahem) or talk about why A. Lange & Söhne’s Honey Gold case is so special. Speaking of Honey Gold, it’s a great jumping-off point for the new Sand Gold. While Lange’s mix is a pinkish hue trending toward a soft yellow, Sand Gold is even softer. The beige tone definitely trends toward white gold, thanks to the balance of 20 percent copper and five percent palladium used to strengthen the 18k gold case. I called it “very Loro Piana,” a reference on my mind as I walked past a very beige display at their boutique in Milan just before seeing the new watch. But it’s as “quiet luxury” as a loud watch like a gold Royal Oak can get.
This continues my perception of Audemars Piguet’s materials science dominance. Sure, other brands were often first. IWC, for instance, released the first ceramic-cased watch with the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar in 1986 and currently makes some of the most budget-friendly ceramic watches. But AP has made ceramic and other materials like frosted gold such an inextricable part of their brand identity that people clamor for their ceramic watches in a way you don’t see for anyone else. When AP pulled out of Only Watch last year, their proposed watch was basically the same Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon but in ceramic with blued titanium bridges. I heard from more than one AP client who tried incredibly hard to buy it, saying to AP, “Name your price.” But their success isn’t just with ceramic. When AP was testing its Concept Supersonnerie RD#1, the brand used the worst material imaginable, the incredibly dense and terrible-sounding platinum. It takes a lot to bend the material to your will that way and yet it’s still one of the best-sounding repeaters I’ve heard.
In this case, we must credit AP’s partner, PX Précinox La Chaux-de-Fonds, which developed the gold alloy. AP has no proprietary rights to the gold, but they did create the name for this product. As for using it this well, well that’s all AP.
The use of Sand Gold has even improved the great caliber 2972. The hands and markers (in white gold) have even more contrast against the movement, with the bridges treated with a sand-gold hue to match the case while standing out from the gears and barrels, which are rhodium-toned. Oh, and maybe I’m the only one who found this funny, but the rotor is technically made from 18k pink gold, though that’s been rhodium-toned as well, making it essentially white gold.
The most important thing, however, is how AP has pulled off the magic trick that has fooled me one too many times. The best way to illustrate it is in the pictures above, and the examples below.
I try incredibly hard to have consistent lighting and color across all my images. I spend hours on it in post-production, in addition to using a lighting set-up that I color-correct before I even take my first image. Any reflective material plays off its environment; that’s how the physics of light works. For the physics or photography nerds out there, you’ll know that in polished metal, the angle of incidence (light coming in) equals the angle of reflection (light coming out), and whatever else is in the environment impacts the color (whatever is at a 90-degree angle from the polished metal will cast a color on it). A color cast can still be prominent even with brushed metal, like many facets on the Royal Oak. But I’ve never experienced a color shift when shooting a watch as much as I have with Sand Gold. Placed on a piece of brown leather, the watch seemed to play off the environment’s more yellow and red hues, landing on something close to AP’s current rose gold mix. But look what happened when I took it outside on a cold day with direct and cool light. While hard light is terrible for taking photos of watches – creating contrast and weird shadows – you can see why I continue to be fooled by the new Flying Tourbillon. In fact, when I asked to grab the watch and take these pictures, someone else absent-mindedly picked up a nearby white gold 16204 (Jumbo openworked) before realizing they weren’t holding a tourbillon in their hand. It was incredibly validating – or at least comforting – knowing I wasn’t losing my mind.
What you’ll see most of the time is something in between, a gorgeous Royal Oak as you see below. At 41mm by 10.4mm thick, it’s not the quintessential Royal Oak size (the 39mm x 8.1mm Jumbo by which all other Royal Oaks are measured), but it’s not far off either. On my 7.25″ wrist, it arguably is the more “correct” size for my frame despite my (often obnoxious) obsession with the Jumbo. If this is the watch I had to wear, I wouldn’t complain about it in fit or finish. But at a rumored $270,000+ and estimated less than 100 pieces being made one year, I won’t hold my breath at ever seeing one in the wild for a long time.
Today marks an important milestone for Breitling as it launches the next generation of Aerospace. With the outgoing Aerospace Evo stock levels in flux for the past few years, it has been uncertain whether the analog-digital Grade 2 titanium watch would stay. Breitling’s new 43mm Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter settles the debate and celebrates 25 years since the first nonstop global balloon flight in 1999. The smoky orange dial of this special edition matches the balloon’s gondola, with the Orbiter insignia flanking the right of the central pinion. Can the new Aerospace soar above the clouds, or will it deflate and come crashing to the ground? Let’s find out.
The Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter is a firm favorite at Fratello. Since 1985, the ana-digi watch has graced the wrists of pilots and enthusiasts of all generations. For a while, though, it seemed like the popular Swiss watch was on its way out. Breitling’s focus on heritage designs and mechanical ingenuity put the Aerospace on thin ice as an outlier to the brand’s direction. A few years ago, you would have struggled to find the 2013-introduced Aerospace Evo in any Breitling boutique or authorized dealer. While stocks replenished, it was hard to shake the feeling that the 11-year-old model had begun to lose touch with modern smartwatches. The new Aerospace B70 radically refreshes the collection to align it with Breitling’s Professional family.
Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter
While this edition is specifically a tribute to the 1999 global balloon flight — more on that soon — the inaugural B70 model shapes the Aerospace’s future. So, what is significant about the B70? First, it’s worth explaining how the Breitling Aerospace has operated since its creation. The quartz timepiece, and later thermo-compensated SuperQuartz in 2001, features dual LCD screens on the dial with analog hour and minute hands. The Super-LumiNova-equipped hands can be synchronized or set independently from the digital display, providing a tremendous dual-time function. From 2007, the Aerospace used the Breitling caliber 79, which started life as an ETA 988.352. This COSC-certified chronometer maintains an accuracy of ±10 seconds per year and a three-to-four-year battery life. More than that, there is a programmable countdown timer, chronograph, alarm, four-year calendar, minute repeater, UTC, and backlight. All these functions are controllable via the single crown. The Evo, which has been in production since 2013, is the last generation to use the Breitling 79 movement. Considering the B79’s valiant 17-year run, 2024 seems like a reasonable year to refresh the movement. The new B70 is a manufacture caliber co-developed with MMT. Powering the new Aerospace, the B70 is a thermo-compensated SuperQuartz COSC-certified chronometer with analog and digital displays — very much in keeping with the Aerospace DNA. The key new features are the 1/100th-of-a-second chronograph (with split-time and flyback functions), an electronic tachymeter, and a lap timer. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed the three integrated pushers for controlling the watch’s functions. That’s right; the new Aerospace no longer relies solely on its rotating crown with integrated push-piece to activate its functions. While it’s a shame to lose the intuitive single-crown control, the B70’s recessed pushers sit almost flush within the sculpted lugs.
Breitling Orbiter 3 nonstop global balloon flight
I have told this story before, but it’s worth reiterating the Breitling Orbiter 3’s incredible feat. In March 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones circumnavigated the globe in the first successful round-the-world flight in the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon. It is still the most prolonged time an aircraft has remained airborne without stopping. However, Piccard and Jones didn’t make the trip in 80 days, as novelized by Jules Verne, but in 19 days, 21 hours, and 47 minutes. Breitling was growing impatient with the failure of Orbiter 1 and 2 and proclaimed that the Orbiter 3 would be the last attempt to be sponsored by the Swiss watch brand. Thankfully, the third time, as it often is, was the charm. The Breitling team was not alone in this global record attempt. Cable & Wireless sponsored a team with a head start and surpassed the distance previously set by the Breitling Orbiter 2. However, both sides had to contend with adverse weather and maneuver around restricted airspace over China and Yemen. The Cable & Wireless team was still ahead and progressing well but elected to rely solely on solar power without any backup batteries.
A fateful decision
The extra power storage would’ve increased weight and energy consumption. Nearing the Pacific Ocean, the balloon was positioned with the Sun on the wrong side of the solar panel. Quickly losing power, the Cable & Wireless team ascended to catch the light and compensate. It was a fateful decision because ice gathered on the balloon during the ascent and added too much mass. Along with the dwindling power, the aircraft descended and eventually ditched into the ocean. With just enough time for the mayday call, the pilots were soon rescued. With the main competition out of the race, you would’ve thought Piccard and Jones would relax in their efforts. Hardly. Knowing the same fate could await them, the level of fear was rising. What they had in their favor were the Breitling Emergency watches with orange dials strapped to their wrists. The beacon at the lower half of the case could be unscrewed and pulled for a distress signal to pulse to the nearest air and rescue forces if necessary.
Speeds of up to 100mph
They stayed airborne and continued the journey to Egypt, their finish line. The jet stream was favorable and helped them reach 100mph while also assisting with fuel efficiency. After nearly 20 days and 45,633km, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones touched down in the Sahara Desert. As they waited seven hours to be picked up, they noticed their last propane tank, not jettisoned, had only four inches of fuel left. Perfect timing or blind luck? You decide. But I think the truth is that you don’t break records of this magnitude without the rub of the green.The balloon’s gondola is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. There is also a fantastic documentary on YouTube, via Bertrand Piccard’s account, that is worth watching. It covers this flight with onboard, hand-held cameras and footage shot by the pilots.
Back to the Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter
Breitling was not content with just updating the Aerospace’s movement. The brand has also sculpted and refined the case. I mention the recesses on the case sides already as they’re a dramatic diversion from all previous references. The bidirectional bezel has also been reworked and no longer has numerals in five-minute increments in a digitized typeface. Instead, it now only includes dashes on the main surface with numerals on the rider tabs at 15, 30, and 45 minutes. These numerals are elongated and more mature, befitting of the Aerospace’s grown-up refresh. Speaking of numerals, the ones on the dial align better with the style of the Endurance Pro. This alteration may be hard to spot at first. But looking at the 8, you may spot the B70’s wider bottom half versus the straight 8 on the Evo. The 3, 6, and 9 numerals are also reminiscent of the Endurance Pro. Thankfully, the Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter showcases these indices in their entirety, unlike the Endurance Pro, on which the sub-dials bite into them. Breitling is molding the Aerospace B70 to align with the Professional collection, where the Endurance Pro also resides. Therefore, the venerable “wings & anchor” logo stays on the dial, albeit replacing the 12 above the LCD screens rather than in between. This fan-favorite emblem, introduced in 1984, is now only found within the Professional family, whether rightly or wrongly. As for the case back, the Aerospace B70 contains a segment of the Orbiter 3 balloon visible through the exhibition window. Within the window is the mission logo with the inscription “First non-stop flight around the world 25th anniversary” running the circumference.
Initial impressions and pricing
As a longtime Aerospace fan, this announcement excited me, as my Fratello colleagues can attest. I will try to temper my enthusiasm; for now, this model is a tribute to the Orbiter 3 flight. However, knowing the brand, this execution will likely form the basis for future Aerospace models. The orange-to-black gradient dial of the Orbiter edition is quite striking. It’s not quite the color for me, but it makes sense to reference the gondola’s paint scheme and the orange-dial Breitling Emergency worn by the pilots. I must go hands-on with the B70 to adapt to its new layout and functionality. But aesthetically, I do appreciate the more prominent digital display. However, the movement’s increased functionality does drop the battery life to approximately two years from the B79’s four years. Despite the more complex case, the Aerospace still achieves a 100m depth rating. Yet, the “living piece of history” does increase the case thickness from 10.8mm to 12.95mm. Perhaps future Aerospace B70s will forego the unique window and instead opt for a regular titanium case back, reducing the thickness. The bidirectional bezel is also a departure from the Evo but in line with the Endurance Pro. I don’t mind the influences from the Endurance Pro as they provide continuity within the range.
Last year was a big year for Blancpain, with several new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms limited edition releases to celebrate the model’s 70th anniversary. The “Act III” model hit many high notes for Mil-Spec models of the past, but the one thing that caught my eye was the new 42mm “Act I” release in stainless steel. I was hopeful it would be an adjustment for the brand down to more reasonable sizes; not just a flash-in-the-pan but rather a sign of good things to come. Well, those good things are here, with new 42mm by 14.2mm Blancpain Fifty Fathoms now coming in titanium and 18k rose gold in two different dial colors. The new ref. 5010 line of Fifty Fathoms can be broken down essentially two ways: blue dials or black, titanium or rose gold. You can get either combination, with matching color straps in sail-canvas, NATO, or (my pick) a tropic textured rubber inspired by the 1953 model. Unfortunately, there’s no gold Fifty Fathoms bracelet, but the titanium comes with the option for a bracelet (for $2,700 more than on the strap).
This is the more modern iteration of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms , reminiscent of its bigger, older brother in a 45mm case. You get the applied and lumed Arabic numerals on the sunburst dial, with arrow hour markers and a minute track around the outside. This time, the lume comes with metal surrounds, not just bare lume like the Act I release, bringing it a bit more into the modern design language. The uni-directional 120-click sapphire dive bezel has colors to match the dial. Unlike the 45mm Fifty Fathoms Automatique, the dial is flat, not stepped, simplifying the look quite a bit. There’s also a display caseback to see the caliber 1315 automatic movement, with 120 hours of power reserve thanks to the three series-coupled barrels and magnetic resistance due to the silicon hairspring. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watch has a number of different prices depending on your choice of strap, bracelet, pin buckle, or deployant, so I’ll just paste what I put below in the specs: $16,600 (Titanium on Strap with Pin Buckle), $18,400 (Titanium on deployant), $19,300 (Titanium on bracelet); $30,900 (Gold on pin buckle), $34,300 (Gold on deployant). Again, it’s not a limited edition, so you have a little while to save up before running off for your new gold Fifty Fathoms.
Last year Tony Traina asked for a 40mm Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and while we’re not quite there yet, these new Fifty Fathoms are great in their own right. It’s also a massive improvement on the past Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique. Take a look at the photo below and then the following comparing the new 42mm with the (until now) only standard option at 45mm. It’s night and day and the 45mm looks almost comically large. There are certainly other things I’d change, but I liked these a lot in my short time with them. I might as well call out those issues, just for the sake of clarity. The lug width is a very strange 21.5mm, so good luck finding other NATOs in the drawer to fit your new watch. That’s more apparent on the bracelet, where the taper looks a bit odd. The date window is always going to irk people. I don’t find it necessary but it seems to be a top-down edict in the Swatch Group to put dates on watches when they can, and at 4:30 come hell or high water. Also, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms on the side of the case really needs to finally make its exit from the Fifty Fathoms.
Would any of this kill my excitement for the new watches? No, not really. I’m still a fan and these watches wear super, super comfy on the wrist which is essentially the first criteria I have for a watch. The 45mm Fifty Fathoms basically precluded a large number of potential buyers who couldn’t begin to justify wearing a watch that large. Now, at least one problem is fixed. As for the price, that’s largely up to you. I think the unique design touches of a Blancpain certainly make it an enticing option for an eye-catching take on a classic dive watch, now at a more reasonable and widely-wearable size.
There’s a new Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph on the market today and – to the delight of many – it’s been downsized to 40mm in diameter.
Oris debuted the non-limited edition Oris Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph all the way back in 2019. The watch had a mix of steel and bronze and played into the popular vintage-inspired feel of the time. Since then the brand has been relatively quiet with the line. The feedback from watch lovers seemed to be that despite an attractive package, the watch – at 43mm wide and around 16mm thick – was just a bit too big.
Instead of leaning into a fully vintage aesthetic with the gilt/bronze accents and bezel, the new Divers Sixty-Five chronograph leans slightly more modern (within the 1965-inspired framework) with an all-black and white color palette. The case is fully stainless steel with a mix of brushed and polished edges and can come with a faux-riveted bracelet or Cervo Volante deer leather strap. Inside is the same self-winding Oris 771 movement – based on the Sellita SW 510 – that was in the last release, with 48 hours of power reserve. That goes to show you that just because a watch is a certain size, doesn’t mean that the movement is always a limiting factor to shrink it.
Nearly every Oris Divers Sixty-Five 40 release convinces me to switch my pick for my favorite line of its watches. A new Aquis reminds me how solid the Aquis is. A new Big Crown reminds me of classic Oris Styling. This new Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph hits the same note. Classic, simple, solid, legible – everything you’d expect from Oris.
As ever, I’m going to reserve my final judgment on fit and value for when I see the watch in person. Generally, I find it rare that Oris has any missteps, but I don’t think that the original Divers Sixty-Five chronograph was a standout success for the brand. My gut reaction is that this new edition is still pretty thick with a domed caseback, but shrinking the case width-wise will hopefully lead to a watch that feels and looks smaller on the wrist.
If you want to play the hits like AP, sometimes you have to consider a special remix, and the band from Le Brassus has just announced a special expression of the concept-only RD#2. This new model, which builds upon the success of a recent sibling sets the town with more titanium, less platinum, a new dial, and limited production. I’m in love.
Allow me to elaborate. The ultra-thin 41mm RD#2 was launched in platinum as a concept in 2018 (that watch can be seen below, it is supremely rare, equally cool, and very heavy on wrist). In 2019, AP announced the AP Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin RD#2 reference 26586IP.OO.1240IP.01, which featured a new non-tap dial design, and a blend of materials, in which much of the watch was titanium, save for the bezel and intermediate links in the bracelet – those are platinum and production was very limited but not part of a specific numbered edition. With this latest release, the world gets a second “production” take on the RD#2, this time it’s limited to 200 units.
If you can imagine these three watches in a sort of Animorphs-esque transformation. The AP Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar concept RD#2 is platinum, the next RD#2 26586IP is platinum and titanium, and now the transformation has hit the next stage, full titanium. Measuring 41mm wide and just 6.2mm thick, the new 26586TI weighs just 75 grams, with the only non-titanium element of note being the screws for the bezel (which are made of white gold).
Aside from shedding a few grams of precious metal, the 26586TI sticks largely to the formula but adds in a new blue-to-black dial with black subdials, a red date accent, and the same blue aventurine moon phase. While I wasn’t wild about the look of the smoky blue dial in the press images, it strikes a lovely balance in person that sees a wide variety of saturation in the blue depending on available light but no loss of contrast for the subdials.
Inside, we find the same record-setting ultra-thin movement as that found in the previous examples mentioned above, the AP Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar 5133, which is a full perpetual calendar automatic movement with moon phase and day/night indication that is only 2.9mm thick. Pricing? Well, at a cool CHF 137,000, the price is neither lightweight nor thin.
I mean, I said it up top. I’m in love. Just as I was with the two preceding versions. High-end watchmaking that is light and wearable despite housing one of my all-time favorite complications, you couldn’t have slapped the smile off of my face when I tried on both the RD#2 and the new 26586TI in the span of just two minutes. The smile faded when I had to give it back, but I digress.
As a further expression of the RD#2, I think that the 26586TI speaks directly to the merits of the RD program and its ability to produce a Royal Oak that blends tradition with modern cutting-edge production. The watch looks incredible, feels amazing, light, and very special on wrist. And to my eyes represents a halo for the entire scope of the modern AP Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar .
If the pricing even matters – and for the target audience with this watch I’m not convinced it does– this titanium creation does come in a hair less dear than the proceeding titanium and platinum RD#2 26586IP, which launched at CHF 140,000. To my eyes, it’s a great remix of the original and a direct, distinct, and appealing evolution of the 2019 ref 26586IP.
It’s that time of year. We’re all eagerly awaiting (or, in some instances, bracing for) the deluge of new releases at Watches & Wonders. But things don’t stop for the brands not participating in the show. For instance, Audemars Piguet took to Milan, Italy, this week to celebrate the opening of the brand’s new AP House Milan, located in the famed former Garage Traversi. It was also the perfect moment for the brand to introduce the first of its semi-annual major releases.
Yes, the John Mayer Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar got top billing at the announcement, but there was a lot of ground to cover. At the press preview, watches were passed around at such speed that you couldn’t do much more than get a photo or two, examine the watch, and move on to the next release passed your way a minute later. In several cases, there were innovations to unpack. I hope to get a chance to spend more time with a few of these. But instead of inundating you with multiple stories, I’ll do my best, to sum up (nearly) every release. But before we start, here’s a primer:
First, how often do you see a new suffix at the end of a reference for a new material? It was cool to type “SG” for Sand Gold for the first time. And if not for John Mayer QP, this would have been the headliner. But what is it? As representatives for the brand explained, they’re always experimenting with new materials (and studying old materials from the 1800s to see the combination of elements used to get colors like “green gold”). Pure gold is almost always combined with other materials to create stronger alloys, and the materials you use can often change the color. Pink gold has slowly taken a prominent place in their model lineup since its introduction in the mid-1980s, but this is not pink. By removing silver from the mix and replacing it with palladium, they achieved a very beige 18k gold 41mm by 10.6mm case. Then they applied that same sand gold finishing to the bridges of the caliber 2972, released in 2022 for the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary.
Without overstating it, the RD#3 in 37mm is one of the most impressive things Audemars Piguet has done in a long time. It took intense effort to create such an elegant self-winding movement with a tourbillon and place it in the iconic 39mm by 8.1mm “Jumbo” case. Then they went and shaved an extra 2mm off the width. Impressive. This new model has a smoked blue Petite Tapisserie bezel and 12 baguette-cut diamond hour markers. The white gold case (a new material perfect for gem setting) is still 8.1mm thick and has 50m of water resistance, and the bezel is set with 32 baguette-cut diamonds. This complements the 37mm RD#3 with the purple dial, but I would have loved to see an option without the diamond bezel. Diamond hour markers without diamonds on the bezel are a great low-key flex.
Here’s a great two-for-one (though don’t try to get that deal at the boutique). The brand introduced two new yellow gold models, which in some ways is par for the course for Audemars Piguet. Many other brands are still slow to get yellow gold back into their lineups after rose/pink gold took over in the early 2000s, but not AP. AP has a good spread of the material in a bunch of colors and they certainly do interesting things with texture as well. The yellow frosted gold on the 37mm Selfwinding Royal Oak is a hand-hammered texture we’ve seen used back all the way to the first Carolina Bucci edition. The 41mm RO Chronograph is a bit more straightforward, but just like the 37mm model, it has a hand-sprayed dark burst finish on the gold sunburst dial.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Royal Oak Offshore, probably because I didn’t come up in the era where they were “hot.” The Offshore Diver in “khaki” was one of the few exceptions. Funny enough, they brought this new 43mm Offshore out on a tray to tease me, and maybe that did a little extra to convince me, but this new Offshore with a rubber bezel is kind of cool. The 43mm by 14.4mm case is a bit big, and since it’s not a diver, the watch only has 100m of water resistance. But making it a non-diver, non-chronograph ROO makes it kind of uncommon. The smoked blue dial has the new generation Méga Tapisserie pattern, rhodium-toned gold applied hour-markers, Royal Oak hands with luminescent material, and a blue inner bezel (which does not rotate since, again, it’s not the diver). The exterior rubber blue bezel is reminiscent of the Royal Oak Offshore Rubberclad ref. 25940 launched in 2002, the first watch to use rubber anywhere but the bracelet, and it’s fun to see it come back.
Can you believe it? Five years already. And while the collection might have been slightly (okay, more than slightly) maligned at launch, it seems to be finally hitting its stride. With the release of smaller 38mm Codes last year, plus better dial textures and indices, AP seemed to crack the – you know what, I’m not going to say it. This year, there are a few changes to the collection. First, you’ll no longer see Code 11.59 in white gold for chronographs and time-only pieces. Complications are still theoretically fair game, but we were told that steel and white gold seemed too close to each other and tended to cannibalize their own market. So expect to see more pink gold – the only gold variant the brand is doing on the Code for now.
I nearly had a heart attack during my first hands-on session. The presenter was handing around watches, and while I tried to snap photos, I heard the words: “The steel Jumbo is discontinued.” I immediately started texting coworkers, preparing for a breaking news story. Well, thirty minutes later, my dream of owning a 16202 was (somewhat) revived when I found out that it wasn’t the 16202ST that got the boot, but the 16204ST – the “Jumbo” Openworked. Instead, we have the 16204BC (white gold) to match last year’s 16204BA (and yellow gold). A reminder: “Jumbo” is 39mm by 8.1mm, not the (paradoxically) larger 41mm. It’s all about historical models for the nickname, so 39mm is Jumbo – got it?
One of the most interesting things I saw in Milan was a prototype of the AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Tourbillon in a camouflage ceramic case. If you didn’t already think that AP was leading the cutting edge of ceramic technology in watchmaking, I don’t think you could argue otherwise now. Technologically, it’s advanced. Aesthetically, it’s wild. Sure, I wear camo occasionally. I grew up in the Midwest and spent much time in rural areas where camo is practical for hunting. But the camo I think of is not this kind of camo. This is pure, intense, loud streetwear camo. And I love it.
I was standing there with the inimitable fellow workwear/military clothing lover Kristian Haagen when we were shown this watch, and I think you could have seen both our eyes light up. I immediately had a ton of questions. “Can you do other colors?” They pulled out a tray, including a UV reactive puck, where certain parts of the pattern glowed. “Other patterns? Could you do a duck camo on one and a tiger cam on another?” Sure, they told me, no problem. The implications are also wild when you realize that if AP is the only one doing this, it essentially could guarantee, at least for a time, that these printed watches are never replicated or faked on the secondary market. Finally, the brand teased in the press release that the technique can be done in multi-color gold, which will be shown in prototype form in the coming months. Gold camo? Bring it on.
One of the most interesting things I saw in Milan was a prototype of the AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Tourbillon in a camouflage ceramic case. If you didn’t already think that AP was leading the cutting edge of ceramic technology in watchmaking, I don’t think you could argue otherwise now. Technologically, it’s advanced. Aesthetically, it’s wild. Sure, I wear camo occasionally. I grew up in the Midwest and spent much time in rural areas where camo is practical for hunting. But the camo I think of is not this kind of camo. This is pure, intense, loud streetwear camo. And I love it.
By my understanding, Audemars Piguet has figured out how to do basically any camouflage design in ceramic in a new Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technology process. In the process, the team carefully placed different colored ceramic powders in a circular graphite mold, which is sintered using a powerful electric current conducted through the graphite. The temperature rises rapidly while pressure is placed on either side of the mold, creating a ceramic disc. While the patterns are slightly different each time, they look similar at a glance enough to be serially produced. But AP can also easily change the pattern or design for endless potential custom unique pieces and patterns. They told me the brand carefully chose designs and colors in testing so the pattern showed up best. Sometimes, an idea works great on the created ceramic puck, but once you carve out the case shape, it’s hard to see. The discs are machined into the shape, pre-polished, and pre-satin-brushed before being hand-finished to get the satin finishing and polished chamfers.
I was standing there with the inimitable fellow workwear/military clothing lover Kristian Haagen when we were shown this watch, and I think you could have seen both our eyes light up. I immediately had a ton of questions. “Can you do other colors?” They pulled out a tray, including a UV reactive puck, where certain parts of the pattern glowed. “Other patterns? Could you do a duck camo on one and a tiger cam on another?” Sure, they told me, no problem. The implications are also wild when you realize that if AP is the only one doing this, it essentially could guarantee, at least for a time, that these printed watches are never replicated or faked on the secondary market. Finally, the brand teased in the press release that the technique can be done in multi-color gold, which will be shown in prototype form in the coming months. Gold camo? Bring it on https://www.perfectwrist.co.
Following the release of the Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar to commemorate the Lunar New Year, Blancpain now unveils another iteration of the model: the Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel.
Faithful to the roots of the model, the new reference continued the Maison’s longtime inspiration from its home base. Its sunray-finished dial boasts a calming dark green, which is a direct reference to the scenic forests of Le Brassus Manufacture in Switzerland.
Adorning the dial are Roman numeral indices, a leaf handset, and three subcounters that make up the Gregorian calendar, alongside Blacnpain’s iconic moon phase at 6 o’clock. Its sapphire exhibition caseback provides an unobstructed display of its incredible 5954 self-winding movement, which is made up of 351 components, 32 jewels, complete with 72 hours of power reserve. Sitting on top of this exquisite piece of mechanical engineering is a stunningly crafted honeycomb oscillating weight crafted from red gold.
The exquisite watch face is housed in a polished-finished 18k red gold case, measuring 40.3mm in diameter. To complete the subtle warm hue in its materiality, the wristwatch is paired with an elegant brown leather strap.
Every four years — a.k.a. when the Summer Olympics happens — February gets a novel change-up, in the form of a 29th day, and watch collectors around the world are able to pick up their perpetual calendars, and adjust them on the basis of this slightly inconveniencing astronomical phenomenon.
To mark the leap year of 2024, the watchmakers at Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel have revealed a new take on the classic Villeret Quantième Perpétuel — decked with a particularly lush green dial.
It’s not necessarily a new watch for Blancpain Villeret Quantième Perpétuel , which currently has close to a dozen different perpetual calendar references in its catalogue. However, the contrast between the red gold case and darkly sunburst green is bang-on: doubling as a nod to the coniferous forestry that surrounds the Blancpain manufacture in Le Sentier — one of Switzerland’s cradles of fine watchmaking.
