The first of a two-part primer to the highlights of our favourite brands from the show.
The week-long digital showcase of new timepieces from over 40 luxury brands exhibiting at Watches And Wonders 2021 certainly did not disappoint. From exciting complications to stunning revival of beloved icons, there was something for everyone.
A. LANGE & SÖHNE
Always measured with new offerings that do just enough to whet our appetites, A. Lange & Söhne loads up on heavyweight complications for 2021 while adding a long-awaited new member to the Little Lange 1 family.
Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar in pink gold
Grabbing headlines for the German brand this year is the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar. Lange’s first wristwatch with outsized date to feature only the perpetual calendar since 2001’s Langematik Perpetual. The perpetual calendar displays utilised on earlier iterations such as the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar are again employed to good effect here. The month indicator circling the dial flange, retrograde day display, leap year window at six o’clock, moonphase integrated to the small seconds sub-dial, and signature outsized date are well-worked into the iconic Lange 1 design, while offering all the pertinent information in clear and concise read-offs.
Triple Split in pink gold
The brand also introduced new iterations of the Triple Split and Little Lange 1 Moon Phase. The former rocks up in pink gold with royal blue dial, a decidedly flashier option compared to the original in white gold and grey dial, while the latter features a captivating new dial in midnight blue, coated with gold flux that shimmers with the subtlest iridescence.
CARTIER
There is never a dull moment at a Cartier watch reveal, given the sheer number and spectrum of timepieces that the Maison is known to introduce at annual showcases. For 2021, it is the indelible Cartier Tank Must that leads the line.
Tank Must in stainless steel
The iconic Tank Must is reintroduced with small tweaks to its case, bearing thinner frames, more rounded brancards and a new interchangeable bracelet system. More pertinently, the Tank has undergone a democratisation process – for its main range in stainless steel, at least.
Cartier Privé Cloche
However, the watches that really caught our eye were the ones with new coloured dial animations in a selection of limited production models reminiscent of the coloured Tank Must de Cartier watches from 1977, as well as models from the Cartier Privé series, anchored by the ‘Cloche’ timepieces. The bell (or ‘D’) shaped Cloche first appeared in the 1920s as Cartier’s special-order timepieces, and is revived in six limited edition variants in platinum, pink gold and yellow gold.
CHOPARD
Chopard comes out with guns blazing this year, rolling out handsome dress watches, coveted limited editions, whimsical ladies’ sports offerings and, of course, a blinding selection of jewellery and high-jewellery creations that leave no stone (excuse the pun) unturned.
Chopard L.U.C QF Jubilee
Having said that, the big news of 2021 for Chopard is the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the founding Chopard Manufacture. To that end, Chopard has introduced six L.U.C models that flex the Manufacture’s design and mechanical muscle. Surprisingly, our favourite among the lot happens to be one of the ‘simplest’: the Chopard L.U.C QF Jubilee, a retro-style stainless steel beauty that is limited to 25 pieces.
L.U.C XP Esprit de Fleurier Peony
Besides the L.U.C QF Jubilee, the other commemorative L.U.C offerings are all stars in their own right. A personal favourite is the L.U.C XP Esprit de Fleurier Peony, which showcases the company’s savoir faire in hand-hewn artisanship with a grand feu enamel dial decorated with peony motifs, gilded dauphine fusée-type hours and minutes hands, and Fleurisanne engraving on its automatic L.U.C 96.23-L movement with 65-hour power reserve.
Chopard Happy Diamonds
Away from the L.U.C offerings, Chopard also serves up a spectacular array of women’s watches. The iconic Happy Diamonds features in a stunning bejewelled version featuring 15 dancing diamonds that occasionally disappears under a Tahitian mother-of-pearl arc that covers half the dial. The spectacle is further enlivened with more diamonds that circle the time display and rose gold case. We also love the vintage flamboyance of the TV-screen shaped L’Heure du Diamant models bearing generously sized brilliant- and briolette-cut diamonds and tree bark-style gold bracelet that evokes the 1970s aesthetic.
