The Ref. 5960 made its debut in 2006 in platinum as the 5960P, followed by additional models in rose gold as the 5960R, with various dials. Those have all been discontinued, replaced instead with the ref. 5960/1A in steel.  It is worth noting that the sweeping removal of several references and the substitution of a lower priced 5960 would hint at an upcoming launch of a replacement model in precious metal. The new 5960 has a 40.5 mm steel case with a polished finish, matched with a steel “droplet” link bracelet. The “A” in the model reference is short for acier, steel in English, while the “1/” prefix refers to the bracelet.

Steel is an uncommon metal for Patek Philippe outside of its sports watches (Aquanaut and Nautilus), and a matching steel bracelet is even less common. Consequently, complicated Patek watches in steel tend to be very valuable. Though it is tempting to conclude the same for the 5960/1A, its desirability will depend on its production run. Remember that the precious metal 5960s were in production for nearly nine years.

Material aside, the new 5960 is mechanically identical to its models it replaces, equipped with the same CH 28-520 IRM QA 24 movement. The calibre features a chronograph and annual calendar.

Slightly reminiscent of mid-twentieth century chronographs because of its colour, the dial is a silvery-grey with red, black and blue accents. On the topmost edge of the dial are the windows for the calendar displays, with the power reserve indicator just below 12 o’clock.

At six o’clock is the chronograph counter which has the hour and minute counters co-axial. The hours are read off the outermost totaliser with the black hand, while the red hand pointing to the two inner scales is for the minutes. The small blue circle in the chronograph sub-dial is the day and night indicator. The price will be 45,000 Swiss francs excluding taxes (~US$50,800). And in Singapore the retail price will be S$67,500. That’s about a third less than the last retail of the ref. 5960R in rose gold.

First introduced in 1967 as one of the pioneering deep sea dive watches, Rolex discontinued the Sea-Dweller in 2008, replacing it with the massive, over-engineered Deep Sea. After a six year hiatus, the Sea-Dweller 4000 (Ref. 116600) returns at Baselworld 2014 in much the same form as before. Traditionalists will rejoice. The new Sea-Dweller has a 40 mm case in 904L steel, the same diameter as the original but slightly chunkier. It has the same 1220 m or 4000 ft depth rating as its predecessor, but the new Sea-Dweller has all the bells and whistles now standard for Rolex watches. The bezel insert is scratch-resistant black ceramic with minute markings all round, just like on vintage Mil-subs, a feature missing from current Submariners. And the luminous material on the dial and hands is Chromalight, which glows blue in the dark. 

Most importantly, the Sea-Dweller bracelet now includes the Glidelock extension clasp with a brilliantly conceived ratcheting mechanism for adjusting its length in 2 mm increments, up to 20 mm. In addition to the Glidelock, the bracelet also includes the Fliplock extension, which extends the bracelet by 26 mm.

And the Sea-Dweller 4000 also has a helium escape valve in the traditional nine o’clock position.

And the cal. 3135 inside is fitted with the Parachrom Blue hairspring that is not only magnetism resistant, it is also more shock resistant and less susceptible to temperature variations than a regular Nivarox hairspring. The Sea-Dweller 4000 will have a retail price of 9900 Swiss francs, equivalent to US$11,200.

Zenith launched the first El Primero Lightweight late last year, claiming the title of the world’s lightest automatic chronograph. Freshly launched at Baselworld 2014, the second generation El Primero Lightweight is largely similar to the original in materials and weight, with a few key differences in function and aesthetics.

The key mechanical difference between the two Lightweight chronographs is the Striking 10th function found in last year’s model, which contained the El Primero cal. 4052 movement. The first generation had a central seconds hand travels once around the dial every ten seconds, enabling it to record elapsed times of up to 1/10th of a second.

The new Lightweight, on the other hand, is powered by the conventional El Primero cal. 400B, with a central seconds hand that takes one minute, or 60 seconds, to go around the dial. It is essentially a conventional, mechanical chronograph.

Aside from this key difference, the new Lightweight chronograph is largely the same. The 400B movement has its bridges and base plate in titanium, reducing its weight by a quarter. And its escape wheel and pallet fork are made of silicon.

It retains the same, 45 mm ceramic-coated aluminium and carbon fibre case, with a basic structure of aluminium covered by layers of carbon fibre. But the skeleton dial has blue accents, giving it a more muted look than the red and black Lightweight of last year. 

With all the weight savings from materials and open-working, the Lightweight chronograph will weight about 40 g without strap, just like last year’s model. 

Fitted with a Nomex-covered rubber strap, the El Primero Lightweight is limited to 250 pieces with a retail price of 17,500 Swiss francs, which is equivalent to about US$19,800. That’s a tenth less than the first Lightweight model, which was limited to 100 pieces.

Launched in 2012, the Zenith Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 was powered by a new old stock observatory chronometer movement and measured a whopping 57.5 mm in diameter. Now Zenith has taken the last remaining 5011K movements and put them in a 60 mm case made of clear sapphire crystal, resulting in the resulting Pilot Type 20 Grand Feu limited edition.

With the case band and back in sapphire, the Pilot Type 20 Grand Feu has a bezel, lugs and crown in white gold, decorated with a hand-engraved Arabesque motif. The dial is white grand feu enamel, with the Arabic numerals painted in black enamel.

Even though the exterior of the watch is strikingly over the top, the movement inside has impeccable credentials and history. It’s the 5011K chronometer movement, originally designed in 1960 for deck and pocket watches. It was conceived as an observatory chronometer and lived up to its name, including the highest score ever at the Neuchâtel Observatory. 

About 5000 movements were made, but the bulk went to other firms, primarily Ulysse-Nardin. Zenith retained a small number and these went inside the limited edition Type 20 chronometers. 

The Zenith Pilot Type 20 Grand Feu is limited to 10 pieces, with an almost incredible retail price of 150,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to about US$170,000.