Recapping Watches & Wonders 2024
Twice a year, the watch industry comes together for Watches & Wonders (W&W) and Geneva Watch Days (GWD) – the former in the spring and the latter in the fall. These are both real “good vibes” events, especially for independent watchmakers. It feels like a large gathering of friends that only see each other once or twice per year, because that’s exactly what it is for many.
What makes these events so great is how they really take over the entire city of Geneva. You bump into someone you know or recognize on nearly every corner. There are meetings occurring at what feels like every hotel lobby, restaurant, and cafe along the shores of Lake Geneva. Though Geneva isn’t particularly known as a buzzing city, there’s a real vibrance in these weeks every year. You can feel the energy that comes from the excitement and joy in showcasing new horological creations for the first time, often after years of designing, prototyping, and development.
We were fortunate enough to make the trip to W&W 2024 this year, and got our hands on all of the exceptional novelties from our favorite independent watchmakers. Here, we’re walking through some of the timepieces that amazed us.
De Bethune DB Kind of Grande Complication
De Bethune is renowned for its avant-garde designs and technical innovations. With this year’s release, we all bear witness to the brand pushing its limit with the arrival of a Grande Complication timepiece. By far, the most technically sophisticated timepiece created by master watchmaker and polymath, Denis Flageollet, it is stunning to see such a classical category of watchmaking (grand comp) manifest itself in the most modern of ways.
Focusing on a few specific details, here’s what sticks out for us with this release. One, there is an amazing juxtaposition between the high-speed, almost frenetic tourbillon and the calm and composed central jumping second hand. What an amazing translation across those mechanisms to create that effect – a highly technical feat that requires some 60+ components. Two, it’s often that the movement is the sole star of any grande complication timepiece, but here’s there’s a lot to take in beyond the caliber. The DB Kind of Grande Complication’s case matches what the movement provides – there are 199 components in the exterior of the timepiece on top of the 552 parts in the caliber. Three, there are times where the pursuit of ultra-complicated watchmaking forces a brand to wander from its typical aesthetic identity – complexity takes priority above all else. Here, we have an ultra-complicated wristwatch that is thoroughly De Bethune in its design and look. There’s no sacrifice made at the altar of complications to craft this timepiece.
Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium Kindsand Gold
We’ve seen many great entrants into the category of steel sports watches with exceptional finishing at good prices. This year, the Arnold & Son introduced their very own with the Longitude Titanium in Kindsand Gold. Part of the brand core identity, the Longitude presents a titanium case whose curves and profile are directly inspired by the design of contemporary sailing boats. The case middle is taut like a ship’s waterline, while the case back is basin-shaped like a keel. The base of the bezel – the ship’s rail – is graduated with 60 notches, echoing the fluted ring of John Arnold’s marine chronometers. The finishes – polished on the flanks and satin-finished on the flat surfaces – continue this high-sea influence.
With its all-new, in-house caliber A&S6302, it’s a very nice addition to the Arnold & Son catalog. Fully automatic with maritime-inspired 22-carat gold rotor, the movement is certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) and bears all of the emblems of high-end finishing with chamfered bridges and the brand’s specialty “Rayons de la Gloire” striping.
Angelus Instrument de Vitesse
When Angelus released the first timepiece in La Fabrique Collection, the Chronographe Médical, we knew there was a lot to look forward to with future releases. Reviving some of the brand’s most iconic vintage timepieces, Angelus unveiled the Instrument de Vitesse as the second timepiece to enter La Fabrique Collection.
At a quick glance, the Instrument de Vitesse appears to be a vintage-inspired time-only timepiece. Looks can be deceiving though. Dedicated to timing short intervals, this timepiece is a monopusher chronograph designed to take average speed readings over a maximum of 60 seconds. With inspiration from the timekeeping devices embedded in the dashboard of vintage GT cars, the Instrument de Vitesse is an exceptionally well-crafted watch for those with a taste for automotive history. At 39mm in diameter and 9.27mm thick, it’s more classic in its overall size to match the vintage chronograph aesthetic.
Urwerk SpaceTime Blade
History tells us, there’s always something exciting whenever Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner stray away from the classical “watch” form. This year, the duo behind Urwerk enter an entirely new domain with the SpaceTime Blade – a Nixie tube clock and calculator of our position in the cosmos.
This is an evolutionary upgrade to the distance of Earth’s rotation in kilometers shown on UR-100 models. Standing roughly 5’7” tall and weighing circa 45 lbs, the SpaceTime Blade has been designed to further Urwerk’s pursuit of representing time within the broader context of the cosmos. Its base is an Urwerk bronze crown, an imposing and oversized structure topped by a glass dome, blown by the world’s finest glass workers in “Crystal Valley” in the Czech Republic. Beneath are eight, low-pressure neon gas filled Nixie lights that can individually indicate numerals 0 through 9. These thin, fragile bulbs display both the time (hours, minutes, seconds) as well as a distance in kilometers of the Earth's rotation. Powered by remote control, the display of this extraordinary timepiece evokes the power of a lightsaber and can be set to eight different positions including everything from basic hours, minutes, seconds to an indication of the earth’s daily rotation expressed in kilometers.
Exciting to see a new direction from Urwerk – no satellite complication, no wandering hours, no planetary gears, no case, and no dial. We’re sure that there is much more in the works that will continue to push the limits of our imagination.
MB&F M.A.D.1 “Time to Love”
Long known for its collaborative culture (“Friends” is the F in MB&F), this year’s Watches & Wonders featured a first for MB&F – a collaborative M.A.D.1 timepiece. The M.A.D.1 “Time to Love” is another step forward in the brand’s democratization efforts, bringing a high level of horological creativity to the broader watch community. Crafted in conjunction with legendary designer and artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (JCDC), this collaboration stays true to the artist’s work with his three iconic colors – red for passion, blue for hope, and yellow for human warmth. JCDC adorned the M.A.D.1 rotor with his signature colourway that is produced in lacquer on a newly-engineered rotor, where one of the wings is slightly heavier than the other two to optimize spinning. A bright green is also present and featured on the piece’s hour disc – another color close to Castelbajac’s heart and linked to childhood memories.
From our perspective, this is a quintessential MB&F timepiece, even if it bears a significantly lower price tag than its HM and LM siblings (or cousins). With a long history of working with non-watchmaking artists on collaborative timepieces, there’s always something special when different people, personalities, visions come together to create something greater than what any single individual could provide. From our conversations in the past with Max, we know that the discomfort and chaos from such interdisciplinary interactions often leads to exceptional outcomes (especially in MB&F’s case).