From moonphases to minute repeaters.
A. LANGE & SÖHNE Zeitwek Minute Repeater
The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is a thoroughly unique chiming watch in that it sounds out the time exactly as it appears on the watch’s 'digital' display - the hours, followed by 10-minute intervals, and then the minutes. This year’s version, which is limited to 30 pieces, comes in a white gold case with deep-blue dial, expressing a more contemporary look compared to 2015’s platinum case-and-silvered dial combo.
HERMÈS L’Heure de la lune
It feels like it wasn’t that long ago Hermès introduced its L’Heure de la lune, for which it won the Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize at the 2019 GPHG. This year, the exceptional moonphase complication makes another appearance with two new models and one important, albeit cheeky, difference. Where the previous version displayed the moon as seen from the northern hemisphere on top and the southern hemisphere below, this year’s model swaps the two so the views are switched.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE Master Control Chronograph Calendar
True to the Master Control's spirit, the watch’s aesthetic eschews the superfluous; its round case in stainless steel (or new-fangled red gold alloy ‘Le Grand Rose), and sharp, geometrically attuned dial display the result of an austere design approach that emphasises functionality. On the inside, though, there is mechanical artistry to complement the performance, courtesy of the brand’s newly developed in-house movement. The Calibre 759 column-wheel, bi-compax chronograph with vertical clutch and triple calendar with moon-phase display brings together the two complications in a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch for the first time.
MONTBLANC Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100
Montblanc has been very clear in the past few years that it wants to put the focus on Minerva, and it continues to do so this year. The Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 100 takes that Minerva spirit and makes it even better. Unveiled in black last year, the 2020 version has a stunning blue dial in gradated grand feu enamel, paired with orange and white accents that lend a more contemporary touch.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN Les Cabinotiers La Musique du Temps ‘Tempo’
For 2020, Vacheron Constantin’s technical highlight is a series of complications from the Les Cabinotiers line, a made-to-measure collection of highly crafted and highly complicated timepieces considered to be the brand’s most exceptional. The three Les Cabinotiers watches are collectively themed La Musique du Temps’, and we are most impressed by the ‘Tempo’. A two-sided watch, it is a split-seconds chronograph that boasts 24 complications; an ultra-thin double-sided minute repeater with perpetual calendar and astronomical displays totalling 19 complications; and four one-of-a-kind artisanal pieces with champlevé enamel dials with satellite hour and minutes display.
