At the end of the year that was the best ever, with traffic stats up by over 60% across all metrics, here’s a look at our ten top stories of 2014.

In terms of readership stories on Rolex and Seiko trump all the others, which is unsurprising since both are probably the most searched watch brands online. Other notable stories are our editorials on the end of the road for rising watch prices (ranked 6th and 8th), and the compilation of opinions from key figures in high horology on the Apple Watch. Here are the ten most popular articles of the last year. 10. Hands-On With The Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic 1958 Reissue Jaeger-LeCoultre recreated the Geophysic chronometer as a limited edition, enlarging the case but sticking closely to the look of the original, while making it available at an accessible price – a good recipe for success.

9. Hands-On With The Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time Ref. 5990/1A We went up close with the Nautilus Travel Time, Patek Philippe’s latest sports chronograph that offers substantially more than the watch it replaces, for just a little bit more money, though the Nautilus is tremendously pricey to start with.

8. Introducing the Longines Heritage 1935, a Remake of its Iconic Czech Air Force Watch Longines reissued its distinctive, cushion-shaped aviator’s watch made for the Czech Air Force in the thirties and we compared the remake with the original.

7. Up Close With The Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 Ref. 116600 The Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 made its comeback at Baselworld 2014, very much the same but significantly improved, especially with the bracelet and clasp. With our comparison of the new and old Sea-Dwellers at number two on the list, the Sea-Dweller is a crowd favourite.

6. EDITORIAL: Are watches too expensive? (Part 2) Obviously the answer is yes, and the slowdown in business has proved our thesis. Part 1 of this editorial is number six on this list.

5. Explaining The Panerai P.9000 Automatic Movement – We Take It Apart And Put It All Back Together We took apart the Panerai P.9000 movement and put it all back together, revealing the details of the calibre and how it works.

4. EDITORIAL: Are watches too expensive? (Part 1) Evidently a lot of people agreed.

3. What The Watch Industry Thinks Of The Apple Watch Despite being non-existent, the Apple Watch was probably the hottest timepiece of 2014. We solicited opinions from movers and shakers in watchmaking, ranging from Max Busser of MB&F to Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid, about their thoughts on the Apple Watch.

2. COMPARISON: Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 Refs. 16600 vs. 116600 We put together the old and new Sea-Dweller 4000.

1. Introducing The Seiko Credor Eichi II – The Finest Three-Hand Watch Made In Japan, And Possibly The World But the less affordable ones seem to be even more so. We broke the news of the US$50,000 Seiko Credor Eichi II in August and it quickly became a hot topic. With only 20 made each year, it is no wonder that there is a waiting list for this watch.

Thanks for reading. See you in 2015!

The Nautilus chronograph it is not, but the Patek Philippe Ref. 5960/1A comes very close to being a sports chronograph. And it is arguably more practical, combing both a chronograph and legible annual calendar function.

Introduced at Baselworld earlier this year, the Ref. 5960/1A is entirely steel, unlike its precious metal predecessors, making this particular complication the most affordable it has ever been.

Patek Philippe first introduced its chronograph with annual calendar in platinum back in Baselworld 2006. Since then the model variants have multiplied rapidly, until this year.

The precious metal 5960s have been replaced by just one model, the 5960/1A. The suffix “1A” indicates the watch is on a bracelet (hence the “1”), while the “A” refers to acier, French for steel.

Polished with rounded links, the steel bracelet immediately gives the watch a casual appearance, verging on sporty. At first glance the watch appears too shiny – the entirety of the case and bracelet have a mirror polish – but the look is easy to get used to. The look brings to mind a mid-twentieth century waterproof chronograph on a Gay Freres “beads of rice” bracelet.

Though the layout of the dial is exactly as the same as on the precious metal 5960s, the styling goes in an entirely different direction. The dial is silver, almost white, with black and red accents. A stark black minute track circles the dial, with large, blackened gold hour indices and wide sword hands. Here the black and white dial works very well, unlike with the Nautilus in white that just looks clumsy.

The chronograph registers are concentric at six o’clock, with the hour and minute counters on the same sub-dial. The numerals for each register are large and legible, printed with a serif front.

Inside the movement is the same as with previous generations of the 5960, the calibre CH 28-520 IRM QA 24. The CH 28 movement has a clever construction and appreciable finishing, though in its finer details the movement decoration does not seem equal to the price.

The 5960/1A is priced at 45,000 Swiss francs or 63,100 Singapore dollars, before any local taxes.

Cartier has started to expand its line of affordable, mid-range complicated timepieces, one of which is the Rotonde De Cartier With Calendar And Power Reserve, powered by an in-house movement and priced under US$10,000.

At Watches&Wonders 2014 Cartier unveiled a pair of petite complications, wristwatches with minor complications priced affordably. One was the Rotonde Second Time Zone Day/Night, and the other is the Rotonde De Cartier With Calendar And Power Reserve. The Rotonde De Cartier With Calendar And Power Reserve was conceived as a practical watch with useful functions. It has a date window at 12 o’clock, shown in a fan-shaped aperture showing three dates, with a small arrow for the current date. And the power reserve is at six.

Though the aesthetic of the watch is archetypal Cartier, with Roman numerals and blued steel Breguet hands, the date and power reserve indicators are contemporary in style.  The case is 40 mm in diameter, with a solid case back. Underneath is the calibre 9753 MC movement, which is actually an extra-thin Piaget 430P. Manually wound with a 43 hour power reserve, the movement is just 2.1 mm high. The watch overall is a slim 8.94 mm. As with most Cartier watches this is available in rose gold or steel, with the classic silvered, guilloche dial. Prices start at US$8600 or 11,400 Singapore dollars in steel, with the rose gold priced at US$22,300 or 29,400 Singapore dollars. And then there’s a 200 piece limited edition is white gold with a grey guilloche dial, probably the most striking of the lot. Cartier maintains a Henry Ford-inspired philosophy of making dials in any colour so long as it’s silver; deviations from that are uncommon.

Attractive as it is, the white gold version is the most expensive, priced at at US$23,900 or 31,500 Singapore dollars.

At SIHH last year Montblanc unveiled the first of the Heritage collection, a line of classically styled timepieces at an accessible price point that is one of the key elements of the strategy in revamping Montblanc’s watch business. That is set to continue at SIHH 2015 with the Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, a world time wristwatch with a day and night indicator.

The world time function on the Orbis Terrarum (which translates literally as “globe Earth”, but means “world”) works like a typical Louis Cottier-type world time. A button at eight o’clock advances the hour hand in one hour increments, along with the 24 hour disc. This allows the wearer to read the time in any of the 24 time zones shown on the cities disc.

What is more unusual, but not new, is the day and night display in the centre. The display is made up of two sapphire discs, the upper disc printed with the continents as seen from the North Pole, with the continents clear and showing the disc below and the seas in pale blue. Below is a disc in two colours, white for day time and dark grey for night. The disc below makes one rotation every 24 hours, showing which areas of the world are enjoying daylight.

The Orbis Terrarum is strikingly similar to the world time from Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc’s sister company in the Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin was first to use twin discs with a continent display for the day and night function with its Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time. That watch displays 37 times zones, including those offset at 15 and 30 minutes. Montblanc’s new world time is in effect a simplified and lower priced version of the Vacheron Constantin world time.

Montblanc does not reveal the base movement for the Orbis Terrarum but it most probably the Sellita clone of the ETA 2892, or an ETA 2892. There are precious few other reliable alternatives at this price point for a watch of this size and thickness.

The Orbis Terrarum has a 41 mm case, available in steel or rose gold. It starts at €4990 before taxes (about US$6000) for the basic steel model on an alligator strap.

For its 175th anniversary Patek Philippe combined its signature world time with a photorealistic moon phase, paired with a carefully detailed case that features sculpted, lyre-shaped lugs.

Of the four models Patek Philippe unveiled for its 175th anniversary, the Multi-Scale Chronograph and World Time Moon stand out for being relatively affordable – after all, the top of the line anniversary Grandmaster Chime costs 2.5 million francs. Unsurprisingly, they have garnered the most interest, particularly the World Time Moon, according to anecdotal evidence from Patek Philippe retailers. Made in both men’s and ladies’ variants (refs. 5575G and 7175R respectively), the World Time Moon is unusual in several respects. For one, it’s the first time in the modern era Patek Philippe is combining a world time with another complication. And the World Time Moon is also a very large edition, totalling 1750 pieces for both versions. Less obvious but also significant is the sculpted case form, illustrating the great strides Patek Philippe has made in its case making. There are two versions of the World Time Moon, the first being the men’s Ref. 5575G, in a white gold case measuring 39.8 mm across. This will be made in a surprisingly large edition of 1300 pieces with a price of 45,000 Swiss francs.

And in a smaller edition of 450 pieces, the ladies’ Ref. 7175R is in rose gold, with a 38 mm case and 70 diamonds of about 0.6 carats on the bezel. This will cost 50,000 Swiss francs.

Both versions of the World Time Moon are mechanically identical, equipped with the calibre  240 HU LU (short for heures universelle lune, translating as “world time moon”). The world time functions works exactly as it does with the regular world time: the button at 10 o’clock advances the display by an hour.  In short, it is the very traditional 24 time zone world time as invented by Louis Cottier and made famous by Patek Philippe, though also utilised by other brands. But in a nod to Patek Philippe’s anniversary, Central European Time is denoted by Geneva on the cities disc, rather than Paris as is convention.

In the centre of the dial is the oversized moon phase display, comprised of two glass discs. The lower disc is metallised (essentially a thin layer of metal coating) on its underside with a depiction of the night sky scattered with stars, as well as a very large moon, almost exactly as it appears from Earth, complete with craters and ancient volcanic plains.

Above that the second glass disc is clear, except for a kidney-shaped outline where the Patek Philippe logo is. This outline forms the shadow of the moon, allowing the age of the moon to be displayed. Continuing the astronomical theme, the hour hand is shaped like an elongated star, inspired by the Southern Cross constellation. While novel, the star-shaped hand is at odds with the relatively classical aesthetic of the watch.

Like the other models in the anniversary line-up the World Time Moon has a solid back. However, the movement inside is likely identical to the calibre 240 inside the conventional world time, which looks like this. 

Aesthetics and movement aside, equally notable is the case shape of the World Time Moon, particularly the lugs. Sleek and flowing, the lyre lugs are beautifully shaped and carefully formed. They are a world away from the simplistic case form of the World Time Ref. 5130 and 5131.

The increased detail and quality of the case form is not limited to this model, in general Patek Philippe has made notable progress in its case manufacture. A quick comparison of the Refs. 3970 and 5270 illustrate the same point – these are equivalent models two generations apart but with major improvements in the case quality.  The World Time Moon Refs. 5575 and 7175 are being delivered to Patek Philippe retailers right now, with a long waiting list for both. However, given the 1750 pieces made in total, the wait might not be as long as expected.

American watch brand Luminox marks its 25th anniversary with a pair of limited edition watches featuring tritium tube illumination, available exclusively in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

Luminox began in 1989 as the supplier to the US Navy Seals of affordable, robust timepieces with tritium vial dial illumination. Since then Luminox has supplied watches to other military and police units, while carving out a niche for itself in the marketplace as a very affordable, military-type timepiece. To mark its 25th year, Luminox has created a pair of limited editions for its key markets in South-East Asia, the Gold Navy SEAL Colormark and the Compass BlackOut. Both are limited to 500 pieces each, and like all Luminox watches are equipped with tritium gas-filled tubes on the dial and hands. Made by Swiss specialist MB-Microtec, these tiny glass tubes emit a unparalleled glow without a need to be charged by an external light source.  The light is emitted due to the tritium gas inside the glass tube, which causes a phosphorescent coating on the inside of the tube to give off light as the tritium decays. Tritium’s half life is about 12 years, so the brightness of the glow will halve in that period.

The first limited edition is the Gold Navy SEAL Colormark, a variant of the watch Luminox supplies to the US Navy Seals. This has striking gold accents on the dial and bezel, providing a striking contrast with the carbon fibre-reinforced polycarbonate case (essentially a very hard plastic).

And the second is the Compass BlackOut, featuring a removable compass on the rubber strap and a compass rose motif on the dial. This too has a carbon fibre-reinforced polycarbonate case.

Luminox watches are eminently affordable, typically costing a few hundred dollars. The 25th anniversary limited editions are similarly priced, with the Compass Black Out priced at 625 Singapore dollars (about US$500), while the Gold Colormark is 595 Singapore dollars (equivalent to US$476). Prices are before taxes.  These watches are only available at Luminox retailers in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. More info is available from Crystal Time, the Luminox distributor for the region.

As is tradition F.P. Journe’s holiday wishes come in the form of an elegant e-card. For 2014 the emphasis is on chiming watches, with a short trip through history on the evolution of the striking watch.

Enjoy the e-card right here: Season’s greetings and a Happy New Year from F.P. Journe.

The last new IWC for 2014 has been revealed: the Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic, a large and slim wristwatch with only two hands and an eight day power reserve.

The focus of IWC‘s collection at SIHH 2015 will be the Portuguese (including a new Portuguese Annual Calendar), but that only happens in January. The last addition to the IWC line-up for 2014 is the new Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic, a concise, time-only watch. Measuring 43.5 mm in diameter and 12 mm high, the case is large but slim, and enough to accommodate the calibre 59060 inside. First used in the Portuguese Pure Classic, the movement is hand-wound with an eight day power reserve. To keep the dial free of clutter, the power reserve indicator is on the back. 

The movement design is typical of recent calibres developed by Richemont brands, with a small balance wheel, large bridges and a modicum of decorative finishing – generally fuss free and functional.

Like the rest of the Portofino line this is delivered with an antique-finish Santoni strap. The Portofino Hand-Wound Pure Classic will cost 23,900 Singapore dollars in rose gold and 12,700 Singapore dollars in steel (prices include 7% tax). That works out to about US$19,100 and US$10,200 respectively.

Inspired by nineteenth century pocket watches and arguably Breguet’s signature timepiece, the La Tradition will be presented with a retrograde seconds hand at Baselworld 2015.

The new year has not yet arrived, but Breguet is first out of the gate with a pre-show announcement. At Baselworld in March next year the Breguet La Tradition will mark its tenth anniversary with several new versions, including the Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde ref. 7097. The new Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde has all the hallmarks of the La Tradition collection, including the exposed base plate and bridges decorated with a frosted finish, combined with a fresh feature, a retrograde seconds at 10 o’clock. As with all Breguet watches the dial is made of solid gold, decorated with guilloched and then marked with the serial number of the watch. Intersecting the sub-dial for the time is the fan-shaped retrograde seconds display, starting at bottom and running towards the 60 second mark at the top.

Available in rose or white gold in the larger 40 mm Tradition case, the new retrograde seconds model has an automatic movement with a hammer-shaped rotor inspired by the winding mechanisms in the perpetuelle automatic pocket watches Breguet invented.

Though the Tradition is styled like a pocket watch for the wrist, the escapement is thoroughly modern. It’s equipped with a lubrication-free silicon pallet fork as well as a silicon overcoil hairspring. The price has yet to be revealed but with the basic automatic La Tradition selling for about US$37,000, expect this to cost more.

At SIHH 2015 Cartier will officially introduce a slimmed down version of the Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar in a 40 mm case, while retaining the clever calendar display.

Two years ago Cartier introduced its first annual calendar, combining its in-house automatic calibre with a novel calendar display. The next SIHH will see a face-lifted version of the Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar take to the stage, equipped with a cleaner, clearer dial, and a smaller, 40 mm case. The dial of the annual calendar is essentially twin-layered. The bottom layer contains the calendar discs or indications, with the day display on the outermost ring of the dial. A red marker indicates the current day.

Like the day the month indicator is a dragging display, meaning it continually moves as the time passes. The reason for that is to minimise the torque required, which in turn ensures the balance wheel maintains its amplitude (meaning it keeps oscillating through a large angle) throughout the day, resulting in better timekeeping. 

The dial side of the movement showing the calendar discs

But because the dial is on two levels, the big date is set deep in. Though legible from the front, at certain angles it is partially obscured by the depth of the dial.

Compared to the larger 45 mm model, the new annual calendar is eminently wearable and practical. The silvered dial (as compared to the two tone, grey and silver dial of the first version) is also more attractive and quintessentially Cartier, with the Roman numerals and blued steel hands that are the brand’s signature. The movement inside is the same as the first generation, based on the in-house 1904 MC. While it is a robust and reliable movement, the monochromatic decoration lacks flair.

The 1904 MC as seen in another watch looks exactly the same in the annual calendar

The Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar 40 mm is priced at €25,000 in rose gold and €26,800 in white gold.