The rumours have been swirling for some months that LVMH has replaced Rolex as a key sponsor of Formula 1. As we noted in our July editorial, that wasn’t true yet.

According to a source inside F1, LVMH and Formula One Group are on the cusp of a multiyear sponsorship deal starting in 2025. The French luxury group will join Lenovo and Santander as the latest sponsors of F1. Once signed, the deal will mean that LVMH takes the place of Rolex, which had been “Global Partner” of F1 since 2013.

The group is not new to F1. TAG Heuer is now a sponsor of Red Bull Racing, while Dior only just signed up Lewis Hamilton as a brand ambassador. But now the group’s many brands – 75 at last count – could stand to gain even more exposure with F1.

Marques like Moët & Chandon, Hublot, Loro Piana, and of course Louis Vuitton would have the chance to share in the increasing viewership of the sport, which has been steadily growing its presence in pop culture since it was acquired American media conglomerate Liberty Media in 2017. Besides adding races in glamorous cities like Miami, F1 is now the subject of a hit television series on Netflix. And a film starring Brad Pitt, titled F1 naturally, will premiere on Apple TV next year.

LVMH Watch Division chief Frédéric Arnault (third from left) at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix with the drivers of Red Bull Racing. Image – TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer returns

More importantly, an F1 deal will be a return to form of sorts for TAG Heuer, the biggest watch brand owned by LVMH. The watchmaker was a sponsor of Formula 1 from 1992 till 2004, and even sponsored two champion teams, Ferrari from 1971 to 1979, and then McLaren from 1986 to 2016.

At the same time, TAG Heuer had a historical association with the sports greatest drivers that goes back decades. Amongst TAG Heuer’s past brand ambassadors was the legendary Ayrton Senna.

(Top image courtesy: Formula 1)

Correction September 9, 2024: The F1 sponsorship deal is not yet official but is very close according to LVMH and F1 executives commenting off the record.

H. Moser & Cie. has often injected humour into its watchmaking and does so with its latest collaboration, a pair of watches conceived with micro-brand Studio Underd0g. Presented a box set of two watches, the H. Moser & Cie. Endeavor Calendar Passion Fruit and Studio Underd0g 03SERIES Passi0n Fruit are designed around the same theme, namely passionfruit.

Each watch, however, reflects the respective brand’s signature characteristics and price point. The Moser is a perpetual calendar with an in-house movement and fired enamel dial, while the Studio Underd0g is a Sellita-powered chronograph.

Initial thoughts

The collaborations in horology are sometimes uninspiring and dull. While MoonSwatch may be a commercial hit, or was a hit, it is precisely what one would expect from Swatch and Omega. However, the fruity duo from Moser and Studio Underd0g manage to be different, while retaining the brands’ respective identities.

This is also one of the instances where a box set isn’t made up of repetitive or redundant watches. Though similar in colour, the two watches are substantially different, particularly in tactile feel. The owner can choose to wear either for different occasions or even gift one (probably the chronograph).

Priced at CHF59,000 for the pair, the passionfruit editions are good value considering what would sell for individually. The Studio Underd0g would probably cost about CHF3,000, with the Moser accounting for the rest of the price, which is comparable to the regular production Moser perpetual calendar.

Fruit-flavoured

Retaining its signature minimalistic style, Moser’s creation is encased in a mirror-polished steel case that measures 42 mm in diameter.

As is often the case with Moser’s special editions, the highlight is the dial. The two-layer dial is made up of a purple-lacquered, sunburst-brushed base that is topped by a “maracuja yellow” grand feu enamel disc. The enamelled disc is sold 18k yellow gold and finished with a hammered texture that is visible through the translucent enamel.

Though this is a perpetual calendar, the display is in Moser’s trademark minimalist style. A tiny green hand in the centre indicates the months of the year, the big date sits at three o’clock, while the leaf-shaped hand at nine o’clock is the power reserve indicator.

The rest of the calendar indications are on the back, with the leap year display positioned on the barrel bridge of the manual-wind HMC 800. Offering seven days of power reserve, the movement features hacking seconds, double barrels, and Moser’s own Straumann hairspring contained within its proprietary interchangeable Moser escapement.

The in-house HMC 800

Dressed in identical colours but less elaborately executed, the Studio Underd0g 03SERIES Passi0n Fruit has a steel case that’s 38.5 mm. Water resistant to 50 m, the case has only a single pusher at two, making it a mono-pusher chronograph.

The dial has a “Coarse Dégradé Amber” centre with a “Royal Purple” chapter ring and minute register. Like the Moser, the dial is devoid of logos. According to the brand, the two chronograph hands are tipped in are green to “symbolise the seed of passion” that grows in a watch collector.

Inside the open case back lies a manual-wind Sellita SW510 M. The movement features hacking seconds and cam-operated chronograph. It has a power reserve of 63 hours and beats at 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz).

Key facts and price

Studio Underd0g 03SERIES Passi0n Fruit
Ref. 03PFB

Diameter: 38.5 mm
Height: 13.6 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Sellita SW510 M
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and monopusher chronograph
Winding: Manual-wind
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 63 hours

Strap: Black epsom calfskin leather strap

Limited edition: 100 pieces as part of the box set
Availability: Now at Moser boutiques and retailers

For more, visit underd0g.com.

H. Moser & Cie. Perpetual Calendar Passion Fruit
Ref. 1800-1200

Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 12.8 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. HMC 800
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, power reserve indicator, leap year indicator and perpetual calendar
Winding: Manual-wind
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 7 days

Strap: Black alligator leather strap

Limited edition: 100 pieces as part of box set
Availability: Now at H. Moser & Cie. boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF59,000 for the box set including the Studio Underd0g 03SERIES Passi0n Fruit

For more, visit h-moser.com.

Founded by the namesake father and son duo, Biver has just debuted its second model, the Biver Automatique. Though a simple a time-only watch with central seconds, in contrast to the preceding Carillon Tourbillon, the Automatique is equipped with an elaborately executed movement that’s arguably the most impressive recent automatic.

Besides decorative touches like guilloche on the bridges, the JCB-003 also features details like a grande sonnerie-style winding click. The calibre is paired with a comparably elaborately constructed dial with solid gold appliqués that’s available in a variety of materials, including mineral stone like Pietersite.

The JCB-003

Initial thoughts

The Automatique is clearly meant to showcase the brand’s ability to create a highly finished and refined time-only watch that can compete with more established producers, both in terms of the movement as well as habillage (namely the dial and case).

The highlight of the Automatique is the JCB-003 movement. Developed in partnership with movement specialist Dubois Depraz, the JCB-003 is quite possibly the most refined micro rotor movement on the market today. Though it is functionally simple, the movement boasts decorative and technical details along with a high level of finishing.

The over-engineered caliber is meant to serve as a base for future complications, which makes sense considering the high cost involved in constructing such a movement.

Amongst the calibre’s notable details is the grande sonnerie-style winding click, which is perhaps the first and only time it’s been implement in an automatic movement. Another is the finger bridge holding the escape wheel that not only features a black polished steel cap, but also a shock absorber for the jewel, well over standard practice for both decoration and function.

Decoration wise, the JCB-003 not only employs the requisite anglage, black polishing and graining, but even guilloche.  In fact, the JCB-003 is thoroughly decorated, almost to the point of being excessive. Similarly, the aesthetics of the movement are perhaps too elaborate, to the degree that the styling loses cohesiveness, but that can be overlooked since the calibre is impressive in all respects.

Like the movement, the dial is expensively executed, with practically every element being solid 18k gold. But on the other hand, the aesthetics are more cohesive. Though the Automatique retains the same design cues as the Carillon Tourbillon, the styling works better here because of the thin, compact case and cleaner dial. The case in particular has almost ideal proportions, unlike the Carillon Tourbillon that was just a bit too thick.

The Biver Automatique starts at CHF75,000 before taxes in gold. It is by no means affordable, but the price is competitive in the rarefied segment of high-end time-only watches from independent brands. And it stands out for being automatic, since it sits in a segment where self-winding movements are rare.

Biver style

The Automatique is presented in the same design language that was first seen on the Carillon Tourbillon. The vintage inspired case sports angled, soldered lugs that bring to mind the Patek Philippe ref. 1579 anse a ragno, or “spider lugs”. The polished, concave bezel accentuates its thinness and highlights the sapphire crystal and dial.

Practically every external element is identical to that on the Carillon Tourbillon, but scaled down. At just 39 mm in diameter and 10 mm in thickness, the Automatique is a properly-sized dress watch – but still water resistant to 80 m. The reworked proportions make the Automatique significantly more elegant and appealing, at least size-wise.

The Pietersite dial

The Automatique is being launched in two formats, “standard” and Atelier Series. Both share the same movement and design, with the difference being the dials.

The standard models sport solid-gold dials that match the case metal. The gold dials are finished with circular and vertical brushing. The outer minute track is raised and angled, and more usually features a minute scale in relief.

The applied indices are in blackened 18k gold, as are the hands, which are finished like a movement component with straight graining on their tops and polished along their edges.

The Atelier Series, on the other hand, will be produced in limited numbers for a fixed period. Watches in the series feature mineral stone dials, either frosted obsidian or Pietersite (otherwise known as chalcedony). 

Sandblasted obsidian

The stone dials share the “sector” design found on the gold dials, but with baton indices all around while also doing away with the raised minute track.

Stone dials are typically left smooth due to the difficulty of engraving stone, but both the obsidian and Pietersite dials have an engraved border around the centre of the dial to form the “sector” design, reflecting the attention to detail.

Pietersite

A new calibre 

While only being a time-only movement, the JCB-003 is complex in technical terms and layered in aesthetics. The calibre was developed with the help of Dubois Depraz, the outfit best known for its complications modules though the firm has recently started to offer its own series of calibres.

The JCB-003 has hour and minute hands, along with a zero-reset centre seconds. When the crown is pulled to set the time, the seconds hand resets to zero for synchronisation with an external time reference.

Like many thin automatic movements, the JCB-003 relies on a micro rotor. It’s large, bi-directional, and in 22k gold that’s decorated with guilloché done on a hand-operated machine. Next to the rotor sits the barrel, which is concealed by the large winding works under an open-worked steel bridge – with a tubular arm and gold chaton no less – that reveals the grande sonnerie-style click wheel and ratchet pawls.

The bridges and balance cock are finished with a deep, clous de Paris guilloche that is also done the old-fashioned way by hand. To frame the guilloche, the bridges have raised borders around their edges that are brushed, while the edges are rounded and polished.

The elaborate nature of the movement goes deeper than the bridges. The wheels in the going train have wave-shaped spokes with beveled edges. The visible steel components are either black polished or straight grained. The barrel cover is solarised while the base plate is finished with perlage.

The JCB-003 runs for 65 hours on a full wind and features a free-sprung balance beating at an uncommon 3.5 Hz, or 25,200 beats per hour, a frequency most often encountered with silicon hairsprings (which this is not).

Key facts and price

Biver Automatique

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 10 mm
Material: Platinum (Pt 950) or 18K rose gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 80 m

Movement: JCB-003
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 25,200 beats per hour (3.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Leather with platinum or rose gold buckle, or five-row Biver bracelet in either platinum or rose gold

Limited edition: No, but limited quantities for the Atelier Series
Availability: At authorised retailers
Price: Starting from CHF75,000 for gold case on strap, up to CHF121,000 for platinum with obsidian dial on bracelet (prices exclude taxes)

For more, visit jcbiver.com.

Continuing with its regular support for various charities around the world, F.P. Journe has created the Élégante 48 mm Titalyt MAMCO that will be sold to benefit the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Geneva (MAMCO) on September 18, 2024.

It’s essentially a variation of the stock Élégante with an engraved bezel and a reproduction of Maurizio Nannucci’s 1994 Art on the dial. While the watch is simple, the number will be big. As an example, the one-off Élégante 48 “Pink” raised over US$400,000 for American breast cancer charity in February this year.

MAMCO 30

F.P. Journe has long been a supporter of MAMCO via its sponsorship of the Prix Solo at artgenève, an annual art fair organised by the museum. The one-off Élégante was conceived to raise funds for MAMCO’s renovation, which is part of the institution’s 30th anniversary commemoration this year.

Founded in 1994 by a group of prominent bankers and lawyers, MAMCO is Switzerland’s largest museum dedicated to contemporary art. Located in a former factory, MAMCO sits across from the Patek Philippe Museum, and a five minute’s walk from F.P. Journe’s manufacture.

The Élégante MAMCO is the larger size of the model, measuring 48 mm lengthwise. It has a titanium case coated in Titalyt, which is essentially a ceramic layer created via chemical oxidation. The case is identical to that on the standard model, save for the bezel that is engraved with “MAMCO” and “30”, a reference to the museum’s anniversary.

The dark grey dial is printed with a reproduction of Art, a 1994 neon-light artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Nannucci. Part of MAMCO’s collection, the artwork “explores the interplay between art, sign, text, and light”.

Like the standard Élégante, the MAMCO edition has a luminous dial, which shows off the artwork on the dial in the dark. Only the “R” is luminous, with the rest of “ART” staying dark against the dial.

The Élégante MAMCO is equipped with the same cal. 1210 found in the regular production model that has a red gold-plated battery cover and solid-red gold tracks on the circuit board.

Developed in house by F.P. Journe – a notable achievement for a small brand – the high-tech quartz movement has incorporates a “sleep” function. If the motion detector rotor visible on the dial is stationary for 35 minutes, the movement begins to hibernate, stopping the hands but continuing to keep time electronically.

When motion is detected, the movement awakes and the travels swivel to show the correct time. This allows the battery to last for up to 18 years in sleep mode, or eight to ten years in regular mode.