It seems that this year has been a great one for luxury watchmakers. Read on to know if you can get your hands on some of the most innovative creations from this year.
The ending of any year is bittersweet and nostalgic, no matter how the year had turned out to be. This leads many to take a walk down memory lane, reminiscing about the best moments of the year on the way. Something similar happens to us as well when December rolls around. There’s just something about looking back at how far you’ve come, and how much things have changed. In that spirit, we spent this month taking stock of the best watches launched this year, and boy was this year extremely kind to luxury watchmakers! This year, many watchmakers went all out in their creations, pulling out all stops to ensure their end product was out of the world – sometimes quite literally! Yes, we’re pointing towards the Marstimer from Omega! So, we’ve rounded up the best and most innovative watches from this year for your perusal. Take a look.
BULGARI, OCTO FINISSIMO ULTRA
The Tambour Street Diver from Louis Vuitton
Earlier this year, Bulgari set out to break yet another record – quite successfully too! The Octo Finissimo Collection from Bulgari has been around since 2014 and has managed to establish itself as the cornerstone of fine watchmaking. The Finissimo collection has been breaking and setting records in ultra-thin watchmaking since then having set 7 records over an 8-year period. This year, Bulgari set its sights on breaking the record for the world’s thinnest watch, and it managed to succeed. Bulgari came out with the Octo Finissimo Ultra, the latest addition to the Octo watch family. The watch is a technological triumph since it features the world’s thinnest mechanical movement created by the house. A movement just 1.8 millimeters thick, it is definitely something to commend Bulgari on. The watch is a limited edition, with only 10 pieces made. Each watch also comes with a unique QR code engraved on its barrel using which the user can access the digital universe that is unique to the owner’s timepiece due to the attached NFT. This implementation of an NFT in a watch is something that nobody else thought of, lending the watch another unique aspect.
CARTIER, MASSE MYSTÉRIEUSE
Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition from Audemars Piguet
Dating back several years, Cartier has had ample experience making mystery clocks. The first mystery clock appeared in 1912 and was termed Model A. Fast forward to 2022, and Cartier comes out with the Masse Mystérieuse, the latest variation on the theme of a mystery watch. While “Mysterious Mass” could mean just about anything from a religious site to a medical diagnosis, in Cartier’s case, it means an automatic, time-only watch that possesses the most unusual winding system ever seen. This ground-breaking watch required 8 years to be developed and is a twist on the legendary mystery clock that the Maison launched in 1912 – the Model A. Only 30 pieces of the watch were made and the watch is considered to be the Maison’s most technically challenging watch made to date. Cartier built an entire automatic movement: the 9801 MC and they built it inside their own winding rotor! And the best part? The rotor and the movement inside, both still spin. It is also all open-worked, so the active parts of the calibre are all clearly visible too. This just brings to mind once more, just how clever and complicated the Maison’s watchmaking once was and the potential it can still reach.
MB&F LM SEQUENTIAL EVO
7121/200G – Complications from Patek Phillippe
A watch for those who like to stand out, the LM Sequential Evo was introduced by Maximilian Büsser & Friends in May this year. The LM Sequential Evo was the first of its kind chronograph in the world as well as the very first chronograph watch overall for the company. The unique point of the watch? The watch features two chronographs – and multiple possibilities! Each chronograph comes with its own unique pusher and a separate “Twinverter” pusher is there to operate both. Another thing unique to the watch is that it has multiple timing modes like the split second, as well as the timer, which is a combination that has never been featured in any chronograph before this. You can track two simultaneous events with this watch since each display can also be started, stopped and reset independently while the Twinverter also does this collectively. The watch expands upon the possibilities and expands upon the current limits of what we only thought chronographs could do. Definitely worth exploring, isn’t it?
