Watches and Wonders 2023: EPISODE #2
This time, Frank Sans C’ interviewed CEO of TAG Heuer Frédéric Arnault, Product Development Manager at Patek Philippe Philip Barat, CEO of Zenith Julien Tornare, and co-President of Chopard Karl-Friedrich Scheufele – with famous racing car driver Jacky Ickx as a surprise guest – who grabbed the mic to show us their latest creations in watchmaking. Arriving on set: witty jokes, a light atmosphere, and creations that are just the bomb. We can’t get enough!
It is not the end of Frank Sans C’s journey at Watches and Wonders as he embarks on the next part with interviews full of surprises. At the other end of the Youtuber’s mic, fellow tick-tock authentic fanatics show him their latest, fascinating creations. Quiet, we’re rolling!
PATEK PHILIPPE
Calatrava 24-hour display Travel Time
Among Patek Philippe’s signature complications as a watchmaking manufacturer, the dual time zone function Travel Time is doubtless one of its most perfected feats, which is delivered with their new model, Calatrava. Since its creation in 1932, it has proved one of the most emblematic watches of luxury watchmaking. It is currently catered towards regular travellers as well as businesspeople, with its rose gold version of a 42-mm diameter. Its distinctive feature: a 24-hour display of the time.
Instead of the two traditional push-buttons, only one crown is needed to adjust the central CMT hand that tells local time, forwards or backwards in one-hour steps. On the other hand, home time is indicated by the openwork hand. This three-position crown – a patented system – can easily be used thanks to a new automatic calibre visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, of the finest Swiss craft.
Featuring numbers in rose-gold appliques, the navy-blue dial, enhanced by a double railway-track scale, shines with its many finishing touches: a circular striated center, a circular satin-finished hour circle and a snailed small-seconds counter with a rose-gilt outline. Incredible technology delivered with a navy-blue leather strap in nubuck.
Price: €62,800
Technical details:
Self-winding movement
Travel Time dual time zone function with a 24-hour display of local time and home time.
Small seconds
48-hour power reserve
Platinum mini-rotor, unidirectional winding
28,000 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
Gyromax® balance wheel
Spiromax® balance spring (in Silinvar®)
Three-position crown :
– pushed: manual winding of the movement
– pulled out to the intermediate position: backwards and forwards adjustment in one-hour steps
– pulled out to the max: simultanous winding of home time, local time and minutes with the “balance wheel stop”
Patek Philippe seal
Rose gold case of a 42-mm diameter
Sapphire crystal caseback
30-m water resistance
Navy blue dial with contrasted finitions
Alternating Arabic numerals
Navy blue, veal leather strap with nubuck leather finitions
Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar
The Aquanaut Luce collection, introduced in 2004, is one of the manufacture’s best-sellers. Today, Patek Philippe unveils its new edition for ladies – which of course, can be worn by men too – equipped with a patented Annual Calendar.
With its “sporty chic” design and its 39.9-mm diameter, the watch is powered by a self-winding calibre. It is equipped with the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar mechanism, which was patented by the Maison in 1996. It includes a complete day, date and month calendar requiring only one manual correction per year (at the end of February).
Besides this impressive complication, the watch also comes with the brand’s signature octogonal bezel, in rose gold with polished and satin-brushed finishes. With its 30-m water resistance, it is also attached to an ultra-resistant bracelet in composite material and blue grey, matching the dial which is contrasted by the luminescent hands and indices.
At the back, a sapphire crystal allows you to admire the automatic calibre with its amagnetic Silinvar® balance spring and rose-gold oscillating weight decorated with a Côtes de Genève finish. The new Aquanaut Luce, certified with Patek Philippe’s seal as a token of its excellence, shines with its mathematical precision and a maximum variation in rates of less -3 to +2 seconds a day.
Price: €61,000
Technical details:
Self-winding movement
Annual Calendar
Days and month by hands
Date in an aperture.
Moon phases.
Sweep seconds.
Blue-gray dial, embossed with Aquanaut pattern, gold applied numerals with white luminescent coating
Rose-gold case
Sapphire crystal caseback
30-m water resistance
Composite material strap, blue-gray and patented fold-over clasp
TAG HEUER
2023 is a special year for TAG Heuer as this is the 60th anniversary of its Carrera adventure. For the anecdote, this adventure started in the early 1960s when Jack Heuer, a young manager of the Maison, went to Florida to see the 12 Hours of Sebring where TAG Heuer was the official timekeeper for the race. During an encounter, he learnt about an extremely fast and dangerous Mexican motor race, called the Carrera Panamericana. To pay tribute to this atypical yet memorable race, he decided to create a timepiece that would be functional, have great visibility and display an easily identifiable design. The Heuer Carrera, which was revealed in 1963, would then stay at the heart of the brand’s watchmaking creations and become one of its most iconic models. In celebration of the anniversary, three special editions were displayed at the Geneva exhibition.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon
The design of new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon, like that of its fellow companions, has now been remodelled. Its 39-mm-diameter case has been slimmed to make it more comfortable to wear.
This case is equipped with a sapphire crystal called “glassbox”: its curves perfectly merge with the tachymetric scale, which produces a striking visual effect. To make the overall design deeper and more easily visible, the rehaut and the indices were also curved to fit the dial.
Thanks to these aesthetic choices, the design gives an unobstructed view of the tourbillon, placed at 6 o’clock. With a power reserve of approximately 65 hours, it is powered by an automatic movement certified as a chronometer by the COSC.
The chronograph, with its classy appearance, displays a circular-brushed, blue dial like the 12-hour counter (placed at 9 o’clock) and the 30-minute meter (placed at 3 o’clock). The hands and indices, of a contrasting orange colour, are covered in luminescent material.
Price: €23,000
Click here to read the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon full technical sheet.
TAG Heuer Chronograph 39 mm
Designed with the same distinctive technical elements as its Tourbillon sister, this steel, 39-mm chronograph shows off a beautiful sun-brushed dial.
The second edition of the Chronograph 39 mm is an “inverted panda” version with a black dial – also sun-brushed – and three silver counters. This version with the neo-vintage design comes with a pierced leather strap which emulates the gloves of racing car drivers. Car racing vibes confirmed.
Price: €6,500
Click here to read the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 39 mm full technical sheet.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 42 mm
The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 42 mm, available with a sun-brushed dial in black or blue and the matching leather strap, has a 42-mm steel case which alternates between polished and satin finishes. Heavily inspired by the world of motor racing, it displays two ergonomic push-buttons (at 2 and 4 o’clock) to ensure that the watch is practical and easy to handle in any situation.
Inside the chronograph, which was designed to resemble the layout of a dashboard, the dial is equipped with three counters and various elements in an orange gradient. At the back, the luxurious sports watch shows off a very finely crafted calibre of Heuer 02 manufacture: its gold oscillating weight is reminiscent of the wheel of a sportscar.
Price: €5,800
Click here to read the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 42 mm full technical sheet.
CHOPARD
Alpine Eagle 41 XPS
In 2019, the St.Moritz watch by Chopard which was emblematic during te 1980s was redesigned by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, who then named his creation Alpine Eagle. At Watches and Wonders 2023, the brand displayed their new edition, the Alpine Eagle 41 XPS, made of an in-house exclusive type of steel: Lucent Steel™. This innovative, hypoallergenic, resistant and very shiny alloy is 80% made from recycled materials. The 41-mm case is equipped with a bezel fixed by eight visible screws, which ensures a water resistance of 100 meters.
The dial, which was one of the most popular items at the exhibition and is decorated with a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock, displays a nuanced colour called Monte Rosa pink in reference to the rosy tones of the Dufourspitze, the highest peak in Switzerland. The surface of the dial is reminiscent of the iris of an eagle. With a double chronometer certification – by the COSC and the Geneva Seal – this reference is powered by a self-winding, precise, high-performing calibre. What a beauty.
Price: €24,400
Technical details:
Steel case, 41 mm
Dial in Monte Rosa pink
Roman numerals and luminescent indices
100-m water resistance
Sapphire crystal caseback
Screwed-in crown
Self-winding movement
Functions: hours and minutes, small seconds subdial
65-hour power reserve
COSC chronometer certification
Gold oscillating weight
Folding steel clasp
ZENITH
To understand the tight bond between Zenith and the world of aviation, we must go back all the way to 1888, when founder of the manufacture Georges Favre-Jacot quickly understood the major role of Man in the conquest of the sky. That is when he decided to lay down on his watches the word “Pilote” in French and in 1904, “Pilot” in English. A few years later, the manufacture became one of the main producers of watches and flight instruments for pilots. Ever since that day and thanks to this genius visionary, Zenith went on to become the only manufacture to be able to write “Pilot” or “Pilote” on its watches, as it became an officially registered in-house trademark. It is now 2023, which marks the return of this emblematic watch with new variations presented to us by CEO of Zenith Julien Tornare.
Pilot Big Date Flyback
The Pilot Big Date Flyback chronograph, inspired by the “Rainbow Flyback”, shows off a dial equipped with a 30-minute counter where each slot of 5minutes is indicated in a distinctive colour.
The chronograph is animated by a high-performance, precise, high-frequency automatic calibre (5Hz) and displays a big date at 6o’clock. It is also equipped with the Flyback function, which allows you to instantly restart timekeeping while the chronograph is running. As the watch was made to be quickly interchangeable, the steel case is delivered with both a cordura-effect rubber strap and a brown leather strap. As for the black ceramic case, it is delivered with black and khaki cordura-effect rubber straps.
Price:
Steel model: €12,300
Ceramic model: €14,500
Technical details:
Steel or ceramic case, 42.5 mm
Black dial with horizontal grooves
100-m water resistance
El Primero movement
Frequency of 36,000 VpH (5 Hz)
Approx. 60-hour power reserve
Flyback chronograph
30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and instantaneous Big Date at 6 o’clock
Hours and minutes in the centre
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Black cordura-effect strap and triple folding steel clasp
Pilot Automatic
The new Pilot Automatic, available in either steel or black ceramic, is crafted in a 40-mm case with soft lines and a well-shaped surface. The round bezel is equipped with an oversized crown, very useful when handled with gloves. It shows off an opalescent black dial with typical horizontal grooves, inspired by corrugated iron and usually seen on old plane fuselage. The dial has great visibility as its hands, indices and large Arabic numerals are covered in white Super-Luminova.
The El Primero 3620 automatic movement can be observed through a sapphire crystal caseback. It has a 60-hour power reserve, and its oscillating weight is reminiscent of an “artifical horizon” or attitude indicator, a flight instrument which informs the pilot of the aircraft orientation relative to the horizon.
Price:
In steel – €8,100
In ceramic – €10,300
Technical details:
Steel or ceramic case, 40 mm
Black dial with horizontal grooves
100-m water resistance
El Primero movement
Frequency of 36,000 VpH (5 Hz)
Approx. 60-hour power reserve
Hours and minutes in the centre
Date indication at 6 o’clock
Central seconds hand
Black cordura-effect strap and triple folding steel clasp / black PVD coating
See also:
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