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Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine

Long before revolutionizing watchmaking with silicium technology and introducing the Freak in 2001, Ulysse Nardin had earned acclaim for its precision marine chronometers. This expertise not only defined Ulysse Nardin’s legacy but also significantly influenced the design philosophy of the brand’s contemporary models. In 2017, Ulysse Nardin launched the Marine Torpilleur, a collection providing a more accessible alternative to its well-established Marine series. Fast forward to 2021, and the Marine Torpilleur series underwent a comprehensive revitalization, introducing new models, including an attractive moon phase watch. This is now further expanded with 300-piece limited edition featuring a midnight blue Aventurine dial. Next to that, the brand also adds a sparkling version of its Diver to the collection, this time permanently. Known as the Diver Starry Night, it follows suit to the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine, with the addition of diamond hour indices. Following its debut, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase became a permanent fixture in the collection in 2022, featuring a 42mm rose gold case and a varnished white dial. This year, the brand unveils yet another iteration of the Marine Torpilleur Moonphase: a model distinguished by its aventurine dial, arguably the most romantic variation in the series.

The Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine comes in a stainless steel polished and satin-brushed case measuring 42mm in diameter. The fluted (coin-edged) bezel and a winding crown adorned with the UN logo add distinctive touches. A tiny plate fixed to the side of the case displays the watch’s sequential number in the limited issue series of 300. Secured with six screws, the sapphire display back contributes to the case’s overall water resistance of 50m. The dial design and choice of material draws from Ulysse Nardin’s rich history and connection to horological traditions related to the moon, the stars and the sea. The blue aventurine dial is meticulously crafted from fine plates cut from blocks of aventurine, ensuring uniformity, freedom from bubbles, and even sprinkling with copper glitter. The dial layout remains easily readable and mirrors the design of earlier variants, featuring large Roman numerals, rhodium-plated classical spade and whip hands, and a moon phase indicator within the small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. The power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock indicates the remaining mainspring energy hours. The automatic UN-119 movement remains unchanged from earlier iterations – COSC-certified, featuring a silicon balance spring and escapement wheel, and an anchor in Diamonsil. With 222 components, including 45 jewels, it operates at 28,800vph and provides 60 hours of power reserve. The watch is adorned with a blue alligator strap secured with a folding clasp, and it comes with a price tag of EUR 13,800, available as a limited edition of 300.

There aren’t many feelings which are as good as looking into a clear starry sky, as clouds and light pollution make way for the far-off stars and galaxies to show themselves off. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to drive out to a remote location any time you want to see it, and even then you need to hope the weather is favourable. The UUlysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine offers a wrist-size taste of that experience, supported by the wonders induced by high-end watchmaking.

Despite the word Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase Aventurine in the name, this isn’t exactly a seafaring timepiece anymore. The case can handle some splashes and the occasional dunk with a 50m water resistance, but isn’t intended for swimming as shown by the inclusion of a blue alligator leather strap. It uses a stainless steel folding buckle, and curved spring bars for a truly luxurious look. The stitching which runs down the edges of the strap are blue to match, however white cross-stitching is visible towards the strap ends for a more laid-back vintage style.

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Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon phase

First released in 2016, the Senator Excellence collection has soon become the “new classic” of Glashütte Original, with a combination of timeless German design, a contemporary approach of elegance, a powerful and precise movement and a large choice of complications. While rather traditional at first regarding the look of the dials, the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase collection has seen the arrival of more expressive designs over the years, such as this appealing salmon QP. Now, it’s time for some more contemporary dials to join the collection, with 2 new Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar references and 2 new Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase models. Today’s release is all about the addition of new dial styles to the classic QP and Moon/Date models of the Senator Excellence collection. As a reminder, this range of watches was released in 2016 with the goal of setting new standards for the brand. While rather traditional in terms of design, being clearly inspired by Saxon watchmaking, the main interest of the Senator Excellence was the introduction of a new generation of movements, the Calibre 36. Modern, powerful, nicely decorated and elegantly designed, it also came with a strong precision, confirmed by an extended testing procedure. We’ve explained this in this in-depth article. The whole point now is to talk about the new dials, which are different depending on the material chosen for the case. Apart from these far more modern models here, with their textured dials and applied markers, most Senator Excellence watches were available with elongated Roman numerals (typical Saxon) painted in black on the dial. While these are still used in the 4 new references of today, Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase has decided to change things. Red gold versions of the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar and Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase here feature a finely grained dial with silver galvanic treatment combined with applied numerals and hands in solid gold. The steel versions are a bit bolder still, with a grained dial with grey galvanic treatment, applied gold numerals coated in blue and blued steel hands. This style has been first seen in the revamped Senator Chronometer here. For the rest, no evolutions are to be noted. The Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar still comes in a case of 42mm x 12.8mm, while the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase keeps it slightly smaller at 40mm x 12.2mm. In both instances, the case is either steel or red gold, features brushed and polished surfaces, sapphire crystals on both sides and a decent water-resistance of 50m. The gold versions are worn on a brown alligator nubuck leather while steel models can be ordered either on a blue alligator or a blue fabric strap. At the heart of the perpetual calendar is the Glashütte Original calibre 36-12, an automatic movement with a 4Hz frequency, a comfortable 100h power reserve, an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring and a swan-neck fine-adjustment system. The same base movement is used for the Moon Phase Panorama date model, but here known as the calibre 36-24. These movements here come with a new skeletonised double-G logo and oscillating mass in 21-carat gold. The extended testing procedure, which is done over the course of 24 days, guarantees the precision and stability of these movements.

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Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan

Whenever Greubel Forsey creates a new watch, the timepiece unveiled to the public is never just a new dial variation of an existing model. However, some novelties represent greater innovations than others, and as its latest new release of 2023, Greubel Forsey has announced what it calls its 8th Fundamental Invention: the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan. Although Greubel Forsey has created a new heavy-hitter watch that will be available for sale to the public, the bigger story here is the technology behind the movement, which represents a new approach to the tourbillon complication. Featuring an ultra-fast rotation combined with a 30-degree inclined plane and two constantly tilting mounting rings, the new Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan promises optimal chronometric precision, while simultaneously creating a highly dynamic and striking presentation of one of horology’s most prestigious complications. As for the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan watch itself, the new Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan features a fairly simple round-shaped case that is made from hand-finished titanium, and it is furnished with a signed winding crown at 3 o’clock and sapphire crystals fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on display caseback. The middle case measures 45.5mm in diameter, while the bezel is slightly wider at 46mm, and although the case itself measures 13.81mm thick, the total height of the watch comes in at 18.15mm once you factor in the heavily domed sapphire crystal that covers the mechanical structures that reside on the dial-side of its display. Water resistance for the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan is 30 meters to protect against incidental contact, and the lugs are completed by a black hand-sewn strap with a signed titanium folding clasp that is made from what is simply referred to as a “non-animal material” within the official press materials for the watch. Realistically speaking, the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan is really just a watch intended to showcase a truly impressive 389-component movement, which sits fully visible through both sides of the case. Additionally, just like nearly all of Greubel Forsey’s creations, the movement components play an integral role in the overall aesthetic of the watch, and the large Cardan Tourbillon occupies just as much real estate on the dial of this new model as the elevated and open-worked structure that is dedicated to displaying the time. As far as what you are actually looking at when viewing the dial of the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan, the time appears on the upper right-hand side of the display, the running seconds are presented on the sub-dial below it at the 4 o’clock location, and the power reserve indicator is placed directly next to the hours and minutes on the upper left-hand side of the display. Lastly, rounding out the dial is the watch’s namesake Cardan Tourbillon, which prominently occupies the rest of the space and even cuts into the elevated ring that contains the hour markers and minute track. So, what exactly is a Cardan Tourbillon? In short, it is Greubel Forsey’s new approach to the tourbillon that is intended to maximize the complication’s potential for chronometric precision. It combines three core technologies consisting of a high-speed tourbillon, a 30-degree incline, and a pair of tilting mounting rings. Naturally, the tourbillon serves as the heart of this mechanism, although rather than rotating once every minute like the standard version of this complication, the tourbillon inside the new Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan makes one complete rotation in just 16 seconds, which represents the fastest-moving tourbillon that the brand has put forward yet. By moving through more positions in less time, the tourbillon can work more effectively to average out positional variation. However, Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan also mounts the tourbillon at a 30-degree angle, which optimizes it for the specific positions experienced by a wristwatch, versus the traditional parallel mounting method that was originally conceived for clocks and pocket watches. The final technology that Greubel Forsey incorporates to create its Tourbillon Cardan are a pair of mobile mounting rings, which are connected by two 90-degree axes that tilt backward and forwards every 48 seconds. The tilt of the rings is controlled (+30 degrees to -30 degrees) in order to work in conjunction with the fixed 30-degree incline of the tourbillon, and the end goal here is to create a better ratio of angular velocity to chronometric performance. The movement itself runs at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz), and thanks to the use of four co-axial mounted mainspring barrels, the manually-wound movement inside the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan is able to offer a chronometric power reserve of 80 hours. Additionally, it’s worth noting that this 80-hour figure pertains only to the chronometric reserve of the watch, and while accuracy will likely start to diminish after this point, the actual total duration of autonomy does exceed this already rather generous value.

Just as you would expect from a Greubel Forsey watch, everything on the Tourbillon Cardan is expertly hand-finished, and some components require up to three days alone to complete. A titanium mainplate is combined with bridges crafted from frosted nickel silver, while the titanium tourbillon cage is finished with straight-grained flanks, polished bevels, and a barrel-polished arch, with more than 30 hours of work going into just the finishing of this single component. The multi-level dial is crafted from gold with open-worked pillars to create a highly architectural aesthetic, while the registers for the running seconds display and power reserve indicator are also crafted from gold before being engraved and lacquered to provide them with their final appearance. The lower plate is frosted by hand, the mounting rings for the tourbillon are matte-finished with polished bevels and brushed flanks, and every single surface of the Greubel Forsey Tourbillon Cardan has been carefully decorated to create a striking timepiece that showcases a multitude of different textures and finishing techniques.

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Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon

One of Chopard’s latest extensions to its still-fresh Alpine Eagle collection is the new-for-2022 Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon. I like this high-end timepiece because it is simple to understand, satisfying in its execution, and more than practical enough to serve as a daily wear. Indeed, Chopard celebrates the Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon as being among the (admittedly) rare watches that bear both the Poinçon de Genève (Seal of Geneva) as well as a COSC Chronometer certification. In a sense, the latter rating is a bit redundant, but since Chopard did seem to want to put the “Chronometer” label on the dial, the COSC certification is a nice little extra element for this accurate tourbillon-based timepiece.

While the Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon might not be the “most” this or the “thinnest” that, it is a very compelling package that does a lot of things well once you put it on your wrist. For a variety of reasons, people out there want to put a tourbillon on their wrist. Perhaps it is for status or because they love the animation of the spinning regulation system, but wearing a tourbillon in an otherwise sensible leisure watch is a goal for plenty of collectors. Accordingly, that’s more or less what Chopard seemed to have in mind here (with a logical competitor for this product being the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon).
The case wears a bit small for its size and is a sensible 41mm-wide and just 8mm-thick in a special alloy of metal that Chopard calls Lucent Steel. It polishes up a bit differently from the more standard 316L steel and appears to be a bit more white in tone. I do agree that Lucent steel makes for a great watch case material. The 8mm thickness is probably enough for Chopard to have claimed that this is an “ultra-thin” timepiece, but the company usually refrains from using such boastful adjectives in its names, which is something that I tend to appreciate. The Alpine Eagle case has side flanks that give it a very trendy look, and the integrated bracelet is well-made with a unique character that easily marks it as a Chopard product (versus something from the competition). More so, the case is water-resistant to 100 meters.

The textured blue dial is produced from a piece of gold that is given a spiraled texture that Chopard calls “the iris of the eagle.” The gold base is later treated with a blue galvanic treatment to achieve the desired color. It also feels like this is a Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon watch meant to go with jeans, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. The dial is also fitted with Roman numeral hour indicators and an opening for the flying tourbillon window at the 6 o’clock position No extra clutter, no extra complications, just the legible time with a textured dial and a Swiss Made rotating tourbillon system. While The Alpine Eagle is not technically part of Chopard’s more elite L.U.C product collection, it does have a movement produced by the L.U.C part of the brand’s movement manufacture, which is visible through the sapphire crystal case rear. The movement is produced in-house at Chopard and is known as the caliber L.U.C 96.24-L. The movement consists of 189 parts and operates at an uncommon 3.5Hz (25,200) frequency. It has 65 hours of power reserve between two stacked mainspring barrels, which is really impressive given that the movement is just 3.3mm-thick. Finally, the movement is an automatic, featuring a 22k-gold micro-rotor system. This L.U.C family mechanism also happens to be very pretty, with its traditional bridge architecture and corresponding hand-applied polishing and decoration. The addition of the two certifications helps prove the merits of the movements to those who don’t have the eyes to see it otherwise. COSC Chronometer certification is about attending a level of accuracy for the movement, and the more challenging and uncommon Seal of Geneva certification covers three areas. First, it attests to the fact that the movement was produced within the geographic canton of Geneva. Second and third, it attests to the cased Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon watch meeting certain performance standards and ensuring particular aesthetic and decorative standards. There are very few (if any) “cheap” Poinçon de Genève timepieces out there.

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Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono

The Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono collection debuted with a selection of three-hand models back in 2019 and the Fleurier-based manufacture has used the little time since to expand upon the exceptionally successful recipe of the original. The Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono is a special addition to the collection because it is the largest and grandest rendition of the Alpine Eagle at 44mm-wide, making the best use of all that extra space to include the brand’s 03.05-C in-house chronograph movement. Chopard and motorsports go back decades, all the way to the late 1980s when the brand started sponsoring the Mille Miglia, “the most beautiful race in the world” with which it has been in continuous partnership ever since. It is no surprise, then, that the sporty Alpine Eagle XL Chrono, equipped with a tachymeter scale, is presented on the wrist of Jacky Ickx, six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and long-time friend of the brand. The dial is characterized by red accents and amply sized and situated markers across the main display as well as the subdials to allow for the accurate reading of the measured time — an essential feature for chronographs rich with racing DNA. The backdrop remains the beautifully textured pattern inspired by the eagle’s iris, as it is on every Alpine Eagle watch. the subdials, tachymeter scale, and even the date display all feature numerals and texts in Chopard’s bespoke typography — yet another touch to indicate all-encompassing attention to detail from the brand and its co-president, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. The 44mm-wide and 13.15mm-thick case of the Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono watch is crafted from A223 Lucent Steel, an innovative steel alloy that is hypo-allergenic and robust with truly incomparable brilliance and whiteness achieved through a meticulous recasting process. A223 Lucent Steel responds beautifully to various surface treatments and on the XL Chrono it exhibits a combination of high-polished and intricately brushed elements. The pushers are discreetly integrated into the robust crown guards on the right hand side of the case while the screws securing the bezel are all perfectly aligned with the shape of the watch — again, testifying to the attention to detail all Alpine Eagle references are crafted with, all the way from the very material they are crafted from. The caseback reveals the 310-component Chopard 03.05-C, a self-winding and column wheel-equipped chronograph caliber developed and assembled by Chopard’s watchmaking workshops. With three patented innovations, including a unidirectional gear drive system to prevent energy losses while ensuring rapid winding and a zero-reset mechanism with pivoting hammers and elastic arms for the flyback function, the 03.05-C also boasts a patented vertical clutch system for the smooth and accurate starting of the chronograph. Making it all the more desirable and rare among modern chronographs is a flyback function to allow for the quick stopping, resetting, and restarting of the function at the press of just one button. Fitted with a stop-second feature for to-the-second synchronization with a reference time, the Alpine Eagle XL Chrono is chronometer-certified by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute — as befits such a technical masterpiece. Already available with an integrated metal bracelet and a leather option, the Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono model is treated to a new look with a supple rubber strap with a pin buckle. Water-resistant, durable and comfortable, this new strap option lends a particularly dynamic look to this sporty chronograph that is water resistant to 100m.

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Chopard Alpine Eagle

The basic premise of a sport watch is pretty simple: It tells the time, you can wear it anywhere, and it shouldn’t be too expensive, relatively speaking, of course. The Chopard Alpine Eagle delivers on all these. Offered in two sizes – 36mm and 41mm – there’s a fit for pretty much any wrist. Chopard uses a different COSC-certified movement for each version: the caliber 09.01-C (36mm) or 01.01-C (41mm), which means each nicely fills up the sapphire caseback.

As with most watches in the sport watch genre, the bracelet is a defining feature of the Alpine Eagle. It doesn’t disappoint, a unique three-link construction, with the links secured together with a single screw on the back of the bracelet. It leaves the edge clean so that it’s polished and chamfered to provide a contrast to the brushed outer links. It’s an effortless update of Chopard’s original St. Moritz from the 1980s. Speaking of, the Alpine Eagle draws all kinds of inspiration from that original St. Moritz. Back then, a young Karl-Friedrich Scheufele realized Chopard Alpine Eagle needed its own sport watch to compete in the growing category.

In 2019, Scheufele and Chopard introduced the Chopard Alpine Eagle . Sure, the Alpine Eagle looks like some of the other modern sport watches, but the cues from the original St. Moritz are there: the paired screws on the bezel, the three-link bracelet, the dial finish (inspired by the iris of an eagle). At first glance, the Chopard Alpine Eagle feels familiar, but upon closer inspection, it’s the details that set it apart.

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Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577

Swiss watchmaker Breguet has added a new model to its Marine collection, the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 — celebrating over 220 years of the tourbillon invention, the timepiece is designed to marry aesthetic charm with high-level horology and is expressed in two different variants, Rose Gold or Platinum.

The tourbillon, an invention created by Breguet’s founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, in 1801, addressed the challenge posed by Earth’s gravity on the regularity of watch movements. Designed to counter the variations in rate due to gravitational pull, the tourbillon achieved this by placing the entire escapement within a mobile carriage, completing one rotation every minute. This ensured that any errors in the timekeeping were consistently negated, emphasizing the tourbillon’s brilliance and Breguet’s innovation.

Breguet’s latest Marine example features a 42.5 mm case diameter and a slim profile at just 3 mm thick, the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 houses the self-winding Calibre 581 — the watch’s thinness can be attributed to the peripheral rotor design. Additionally, it boasts a frequency of 4 Hertz and an enviable power reserve of 80 hours. The calibre features a carriage and balance spring made of silicon, ensuring resistance against wear, corrosion and magnetic fields.

The sunburst dial, a key feature of the 5577 model, comes in slate grey for the rose gold variant and navy blue for the platinum version. A luminescent chapter ring, hour markers and the signature open-tipped gold Breguet hands further enhance the piece. However, the main attraction of the watch is the tourbillon, positioned at 5 o’clock, making a full rotation in just 60 seconds.

As an additional nod to its rich heritage, the sapphire case-back reveals the intricately designed movement, as well as the barrel drum sporting a compass rose, complemented by other typical Marine line decorations. Other details include a brown rubber or alligator leather strap available with the rose gold model or a midnight blue rubber or alligator leather strap available with the platinum timepiece.

Price and availability has not been announced at the time of writing, however, Breguet does have a “make an appointment” call to action on its official site. While Breguet offers a number of different complex horological mechanisms, the tourbillon is arguably its signature complication, as it was first invented in 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself. Over the years, the tourbillon has often played a central role in Breguet’s catalog, and for 2023, the historic Swiss watch manufacturer has created two new tourbillon pieces that will be joining its Marine collection of sports watches. Available in either platinum or rose gold, the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 is offered with either rubber or leather straps, and it is powered by an extra-thin, peripheral rotor movement with silicon components and a one-minute tourbillon.
The new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 is available in either 18k rose gold as the reference 5577BR/G2/5WV or in 950 platinum as the reference 5577PT/Y2/5WV. While the rose gold version is fitted with a slate gray dial and offered with the option of brown leather or rubber straps, the platinum version of the model receives a blue dial, and it is paired with leather or rubber straps in a matching shade of dark blue. Additionally, both strap options for the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 are completed by deployant clasps in either rose gold or platinum to match their respective cases. As for the case itself, the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 measures 42.5mm in diameter by 9.35mm thick, and it features a thin fixed bezel, a small set of crown guards, and the collection’s characteristic three-prong lugs extending from either end of the case. Sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on caseback, while the signed screw-down crown at 3 o’clock helps support its 100 meters of water resistance. Like all Breguet Marine watches, the collection’s signature case design offers an inherently sporty overall appearance, and this remains true, even when the watch is fitted with a tourbillon and an elegant off-center dial with Roman numeral hour markers. As for the dial of the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577, the tourbillon itself is placed asymmetrically at the 5 o’clock location, although the entire dial and handset are slightly offset in the opposite direction to allow more space for the tourbillon. Since the case profile is round, the offset dial effect is subtle, although it results in a significantly more visually engaging design than if the brand had created a standard symmetrical dial. While symmetry is often a virtue in watchmaking, the offset dial is a very welcome feature in my personal opinion, as this is a solid gold (or platinum) timepiece from one of Switzerland’s premier manufacturers, and it features the brand’s signature high-horology complication.

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The Longines Spirit Flyback Chronograph

Earlier this year, we covered the launch of the Longines Spirit Flyback Collection. Now, Longines is introducing the Spirit Flyback with a grade 5 titanium case and the option of either a titanium bracelet or NATO-style strap. Since Longines already offers the time-only Spirit in titanium (which we like!), it’s a predictable extension of the collection. Like the existing steel models, the Spirit Flyback in titanium measures 42mm x 17mm thick (49mm lug-to-lug). Some of that thickness is due to the domed sapphire, but there’s no way around it: this is a thick boy. The Longines Spirit Flyback dial is a sunray anthracite, complemented by a black ceramic bezel insert. There’s Super-LumiNova on the applied Arabic numerals and hands, with gilt accents – as our hands-on of the steel version shows, the Spirit Flyback has a strong lume signature on the dial and bezel.

The grade 5 titanium case offers 100 meters of water resistance. When it comes to watchmaking, titanium comes in two forms: Grade 2 and Grade 5. I appreciate that Longines has opted for the slightly higher-quality grade 5 titanium, an alloy that includes aluminum and vanadium (6% aluminum and 4% vanadium, which is why it’s also referred to as Ti 6Al-4V). Grade 5 is harder, and usually, you can expect to see it in higher-end manufacturing, while lower-priced options might use Grade 2. As just one example, the Rolex Yacht-Master uses Grade 5, while the Tudor Pelagos 39 uses Grade 2.
“I know that the five stars offer a link to past Longines models, but I also know that it looks like this watch has an Uber rating,” James wrote in his hands-on review of the 39mm Spirit Zulu Time. This sums up how I feel about the Spirit Flyback. It has one foot firmly in Longines’ heritage and the other in the modern era. It makes for a decent release but with some compromises.

Longines invented the Longines Spirit Flyback chronograph in the 1930s, a useful complication for pilots of the era, allowing them to stop, start, and reset the chronograph with the press of one pusher. This led to the production of the 13ZN (read our in-depth article about the caliber here). It was one of the most legendary calibers of all time and it was put to use in some of the most beautiful chronographs ever made. But with the introduction of the Longines Flyback Spirit this year, Longines hasn’t (yet) fully told this story or made this historical connection. First, there’s the watch itself: it’s a commercial proposition, large, and presumably targeted towards a population that has a taste for watches of this size.

But a Longines Spirit Flyback chronograph is a bit of a nerdy thing and not necessarily a commercial proposition. It’s something enthusiasts covet, understanding that it’s not a common complication but one that’s historically and horologically interesting. As an enthusiast, I would’ve loved to see Longines lean into this heritage and historical tie-in, both in product and in messaging. Longines already makes some of the best heritage-inspired watches on the market, and it is perhaps the most historically impressive maker of chronographs. This release continues to toe the line between modern and heritage. It’s cool to see that Longines has brought a flyback chronograph to its pilots’ line. Like the Spirit Zulu Time (introduced at 42mm, now also offered at 39mm), I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until Longines brings its flyback functionality to a variety of case sizes.

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Hermès Arceau Chronographe

In its inaugural appearance at Geneva’s SIHH, Montres Hermès Arceau Chronographe presented two titanium executions in its Arceau line, a long-lived collection originally designed by Henri d’Origny that first appeared in 1978. The idea behind the collection at its inception was to channel the spirit of equestrian sports through a case design with lugs that recall a stirrup. As you can see, there’s really just one new watch here, available on either a tan Barenia calfskin strap or a black embossed Barenia calfskin strap. The watch is notable for its 41mm bead-blasted titanium case with asymmetrical lugs and rounded piston-type pushers. This is easily among the sportier watches you will encounter from Hermes. Its case size of 41mm puts it in what the company calls the TGM category ( Hermès Arceau Chronographe TGM being short for “Tres Grande Modele,” or “Very Large Model.” Its true, this watch does wear larger than its nominal 41mm size, in part owing to those large asymmetrical lugs. But any potential weightiness is mitigated by the fact that the case is made from titanium. In fact, the case feels downright light on the wrist. The watch comes with a beautiful textured galvanic black dial that features a sloped cursive font for all of the indications for the time, the chronograph, and the date. Hermes says that the numbers look like they’ve “been blown in a playful breeze,” and there is definitely an appealing design element here. I think the font adds to this dial’s beauty and fits exceptionally well with the case design. And yet, reading the chronograph sub-dials at glance presented a slight challenge. Granted this was during a 30-minute product presentation at SIHH. If you want a beautiful contemporary Hermès Arceau Chronographe that can be dressed up or down, this would be a fantastic choice. If you require a real instrument to time events, you should probably be looking to a more traditional maker of sports watches instead. Unsurprisingly, the straps here are perfectly soft and comfortable, just as you’d expect them to be. The stitching on the tan calfskin version makes for a great daytime look. Placing the same watch on a black calfskin strap totally changes the look, and that’s especially true with this strap, which has ridges near the lugs inspired by classic racing straps.
The movement inside this Hermès Arceau Chronographe watch is not made by Hermeès, though the company has made its own movements for other watches in its collection since 2012 (through it’s partnership with Vaucher, the movement-making arm of Parmigiani Fleurier), and has even made some very interesting models featuring original complications over the years. But since this one isn’t their own caliber, Hermès has opted to close the back with a stamped “H” Hermes crest. In case you’re curious, the caliber is an ETA 2894, which is an automatic chronograph with 37 jewels and a 42-hour power reserve.

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Louis Vuitton Watches Teams Up With Rexhep Rexhepi

Today, we are in Montecito, California, for the unveiling of a collaboration from two brands we didn’t necessarily predict would collaborate – but maybe we should have? Louis Vuitton Watches, spearheaded by Jean Arnault, and Rexhep Rexhepi’s Akrivia have come together to create a profoundly complicated timepiece that fuses the sensibilities (in both style and watchmaking tenets) of both houses in a truly fascinating way. Feast your eyes on the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie. It’s a first-of-its-kind timepiece – in some ways – and it aligns with Arnault’s vision of a revamped LV watchmaking outfit. And if you’re going to share a watch dial with another name, who better than the most well-known young independent watchmaker on the planet? We know Rexhep from watches like the Chronomètre Contemporaine or his bolder designs through Akrivia. I have been to his workshop in the old town of Geneva on more than one occasion and am constantly blown away by what he is able to accomplish from this space, with a relatively small footprint. It’s pure modern watchmaking that doesn’t turn a blind eye to the history of horology. It’s about detail, and it’s about precision. It’s why he brought in someone like Jean-Pierre Hagmann – the famed casemaker – to make the cases for his creations (more on that soon enough).

On the other side of the coin, there’s Jean Arnault and his recent leadership of Louis Vuitton watches and Le Fabrique du Temps (where the brand’s watches are manufactured). Just a few months ago, we witnessed Arnault’s first significant move as Director of Watches with the launch of the revamped Tambour in integrated bracelet form. That watch is now the centerpiece of the LV collection. I had a chance to spend time with him earlier this year when we sat down for an episode of Talking Watches, and to say that he was excited for what the future had in store would be an understatement. I now realize that he had the Tambour ready to roll, as well as this brand-new and truly wild collaboration with Rexhep. So what is the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie? Well, much of it is right there in the name: Louis Vuitton, Rexhep Rexhepi, number one, chronograph, sonnerie. But – of course – it’s far more complicated than that (literally), and the details are where this thing sings (also literally).

Let’s begin with the aesthetic cues before diving deep into the mechanics. This is a watch with two dials, one which you can see when you wear it on your wrist and the other only visible when you take the piece off. The front side reveals a tinted sapphire dial, giving life to the movement inside. This side of the watch is signed Akrivia only, but it’s not as simple as that. Look closer, and you will notice that the “v” in Akrivia takes the form of the iconic LV emblem. This might seem like a small detail, but it’s a big deal. This is the first time the famed LV logo has been combined with another brand’s logo… ever. Turn the watch over, and you’re met with a white grand feu enamel dial done in a far more traditional execution that speaks to the history of the Louis Vuitton brand – whereas the front side evokes the contemporary nature of Akrivia.

What this watch is, however, is a double-faced chronograph with a chiming complication, powered by a completely new tourbillon movement developed from scratch by Rexhep Rexhepi, in a redesigned Louis Vuitton Tambour case crafted by Hagmann. The front translucent dial features six gold cubes filled with translucent fired enamel, utilizing a technique similar to stained glass known as plique-à-jour. This is also a subtle homage to the Louis Vuitton Spin Time jumping-hours display. Then there’s the tourbillon, which completes its revolution every five minutes. The chiming function for the sonnerie sounds off for each minute of elapsed time when the chronograph function is engaged. LV and Akrivia believe this to be the first time a sonnerie mechanism in a chronograph for elapsed time has been effectuated in a wristwatch, which makes this release all the more interesting. Of course, this brings to mind the Chrono Chime from Omega, released last year. Here’s a watch at a similar price point that also technically chimes elapsed time, but in a different way than the LV x Akrivia. With the Omega, you activate the chronograph function, stop it, and initiate a chime pusher, which then audibly indicates how much time has elapsed in total (plus you’re able to view time elapsing on the dial). With the LVRR-01, the chronograph dial is hidden from view when worn. When you initiate the chronograph function, the sonnerie mechanism will sound for each minute of elapsed time on a running basis. It is a feat that requires a ton of energy from a watchmaking standpoint and is a truly unique proposition.

There is a reason that the brands chose to come together for this watch, and the thinking points to the history of each brand’s watchmaking endeavors. The very first Akrivia watch, the AK-01, incorporated both a chronograph and tourbillon. The first complicated Louis Vuitton watch, the Tambour LV277, was a chronograph, and its first “haute horlogerie” complication was the tourbillon. Together, they have taken this backstory and turned it into a single watch and a horological first. The creation of the new bespoke movement inside this piece required some problem-solving to allow the exhibition dial to reach maximum effect. The LVRR-01 is inverted, with the chronograph and chiming mechanisms visible on the front, allowing the movement architecture to be visible when peering into the dial. Each component of the movement features finishing such as anglage and black polishing. The dial features six gold cubes filled with translucent fired enamel and represents a nod to the LV Spin Time’s jumping-hours display.

Moving, once again, to the backside of the case, all chronograph functions (start, stop, and reset) are controlled by the pusher at two o’clock. Each passing minute is then marked with the aforementioned chime, which is produced by a black-polished steel hammer striking a tempered steel gong. So we know the complication is, by all accounts, marvelous – but how was it done? The answer is twin barrels, where one powers the timekeeping and the chronograph, while the second powers the chime – sort of. Rexhepi made it so that the second barrel is also linked to the gear train.

According to the press release for the watch, “once the chronograph is activated and the central mobile is released by the hammer, the rotation from the second barrel is no longer blocked. Energy is thus supplied to the base gear when the chronograph and striking mechanism are running, ensuring that the complications have sufficient energy to function properly without disturbing the movement.”

The brands describe the watch’s function and accuracy, noting, “the sonnerie and second barrel are linked to a secondary escapement featuring jeweled pallets. This escapement releases the energy of the second barrel cyclically, ensuring the sonnerie strikes precisely and regularly.” The fact that Rexhep and Louis Vuitton intersected in this way is nothing short of amazing. It is the pairing of a true independent innovator with one of the largest luxury houses known to humankind. This meeting of the minds has produced a truly limited timepiece (only 10 will be made), but one that also represents more than the object itself.

The proceeds of this release all go toward the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize, and one must imagine that the funds Rexhepi will see from this launch will assist in the realization of his future creations. But in all this talk, I haven’t tackled two of our favorite categories: price and size.