As we look back on the year, we take pride in the stories we’ve shared and extend our sincere appreciation to all our readers for their support. As 2024 draws to a close, we revisit some of our standout features, spanning in-depth explorations of complex movements, historical perspectives on timekeeping, and comprehensive reviews of the latest watch releases.

Our founder SJX looked at some of the most significant watches to emerge in 2024, including the record-setting F.P. Journe Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Égalité “15/93” prototype, and the fascinating Patek Philippe ref. 767 grand complication with double split-chronographs (which means triple elapsed time measurement) that was acquired by none other than the Patek Philippe Museum.

Together with David Ichim, he also co-authored a series of stories explaining notable Rolex innovations, including the brand’s most complicated watch, the Sky-Dweller; the instantaneous Day-Date; and the Deepsea with its unparalleled pressure resistance.

Based in Seattle, Brandon Moore nonetheless travelled to Geneva, where he visited the Vacheron Constantin manufacture in Geneva suburb Plan-les-Ouates and the Akrivia workshops in the city’s historic Old Town.

Brandon also managed to visit the Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts exhibition at the brand’s Geneva Salon, resulting in his photoessay. And in between all that, he pondered the last two decades of the perpetual calendar’s evolution, a span that has arguably given birth to some of the most innovative calendar mechanisms in watchmaking.

A veteran watch journalist who has been following watchmaking since the 1980s, Carlos Torres, delved into the fascinating history of Brazil’s watch clubs, which were set up by retailers to promote fine Swiss watches. Such clubs were arguably the forerunners of modern-day group buys and social media communities, and one of them gave birth to the Patek Philippe Gondolo.

Members of the Patek Philippe club of Gondola & Labouriau

Carlos also explored the history of equation of time (EoT), a historical topic so rich it was a two part story – part I explains the history of the concept, and part II focuses on the evolution of the complication that measures EoT.

An engineer in training at EPFL in Switzerland, David Ichim specialises in the mechanical details. His stories are mostly technically inclined, and highlights include the three-parter detailing the Ulysse Nardin Freak – part I covers its history, part II the pioneering use of silicon, and part III its unique escapement.

Equally notable is his detailed exploration of escapement design in The Geometric Efficiency of Escapements.

Best known for having founded the eponymous auction house, Dr. Helmut Crott is one of the world’s leading experts in vintage timepieces, with a particular love of German watchmaking. His knowledge and love of the topic is encapsulated in his in-depth examination of the flying tourbillon, which was invented by famed Glashütte watchmaker Alfred Helwig.

A watch collector based in Seoul, Jason S. Lee, looked at many of the year’s new releases.

Having been a writer for SJX since the beginning of the year, he also reviewed some notable debuts that are part of his own collection, including the TAG Heuer Carrera Dato “Glassbox” and the Omega Speedmaster “First Omega in Space”.

There were relatively fewer surprises in 2024, perhaps because of the overall slowdown in demand for luxury watches. There were a few big surprises though, including the biggest one of all, the Patek Philippe Cubitus, leaving aside the leak thanks to a premature publication of Fortune magazine. Perhaps even more surprising and even bigger, both figuratively and literally, was the Bugatti Tourbillon, a hypercar inspired by a watch.

Also notable was the fact that there was little unexpected from independent watchmakers, which perhaps underlines the still-robust demand for watches by the indies, which stick to safe bets that are easy to sell.

Here’s a look at our team’s take on the unexpected launches of the year.

Biver Automatique – SJX

The first Biver watch was a carillon minute repeater with tourbillon that was finely finished, inside and out, but it was big, thick, and expensive. The follow-up, in contrast, was almost the opposite.

The Automatique is compact and elegantly wearable, with a clean design that has just the right amount of vintage flavour. The only aspect where the Automatique stays true to its predecessor is in the finishing, which is outstanding, inside and out.

The surprising bit about the Automatique is the movement. For one, it was developed by Dubois Depraz, better known as a maker of chronograph- and perpetual calendar modules mounted on ETA movements. Second, it arguably exceeds the movement of the Carillon Tourbillon in terms of design and decoration.

In fact, the JCB-003 movement has too much finishing for me, particularly the hobnail guilloche on the bridges (that is nonetheless done on a hand-operate straight-line engine). I would have preferred a cleaner surface finish, for instance traditional frosting or striping.

Still, the Automatique stands out as one of the most accomplished time-only watches in recent memory. At about US$80,000 in its basic configuration, the Automatique is pricey but competitive with other comparable watches.

Bugatti Tourbillon – David Ichim

While car enthusiasts had their own full year – from the Ferrari F80 to the Pagani Utopia – one particular supercar piqued the interest of horology enthusiasts, the Bugatti Tourbillon. Apart from the suggestive name, the supercarmaker’s latest creation is equipped with an unexpected feature: a fully-mechanical instrument cluster inspired by watchmaking.

In an unexpected development, Bugatti turned to Swiss movement specialist Concepto for the unique mechanical gauges that look, and function, much like classical clockwork.

The mechanical speedometer and tachometer assembly are comprised of racks, pinions and gears, and even feature jewelled bearings. The needles react swiftly at the automatic gear changes, dropping down or climbing up instantly, almost like retrograde indicators. 

While there is much historical precedent for mechanical gauge clusters built by watchmakers – Jaeger instruments were found in Aston Martins and Jaguars for instance – nothing like this has been accomplished in modern times. The Bugatti Tourbillon is one automotive collaboration no one saw coming, but it left car and watch enthusiasts impressed.

Chanel Couture O’Clock Musical Clock – SJX

Priced at over US$2.7 million – and sold quickly after launch – the Couture O’Clock Musical Clock is whimsical, complex, and extremely elaborate. Very much typical of Chanel’s house style, this is a clock that incorporates a music box and automaton. The music box plays a tune that was reputedly a favourite of Coco Chanel, while the automaton is a carousel with dancing mannequins.

Made largely by hand, the clock is decorated with diamonds, as well as 245 pieces of onyx inlaid into the base to form Chanel’s trademark quilted pattern. Even the key that winds the clock is precious: the key is solid 18k gold and matched with an 18k gold chain that together are set with over 350 diamonds totalling some 14 carats.

F.P. Journe Élégante “Gino’s Dream” – SJX

The latest Élégante is atypical of F.P. Journe. In fact, it’s the only F.P. Journe watch I know of with in “rainbow” colours. And the rainbow on the bezel isn’t even precious – the “gemstones” are actually glass-ceramic composite.

But understanding that this pair of watches were made to remember Gino Cukrowicz (1959-2021), François-Paul Journe’s longtime friend and business partner, then the watches make sense. Cukrowicz was as colourful as the watches, while being instrumental in F.P. Journe as one of the founding investors in the company. So the watches may seem unorthodox for the brand, but they actually capture its history perfectly.

Patek Philippe Cubitus – SJX

The Cubitus was one of the most discussed watches of the year, and also quite unexpected. Conceived as the new entry-level Patek Philippe model, the Cubitus is essentially a squared-off Nautilus.

While neither imaginative nor radical, the Cubitus is executed well in typical Patek Philippe fashion. The finishing of the case and bracelet are excellent, and the movement is high-quality, albeit industrial high horology.

Personally, I like the Cubitus design, especially its case dimensions that some criticise as too big. The 45 mm diameter gives it a big footprint on the wrist, but the case is impressively thin, which gives the watch a surprisingly elegant profile. The time-only ref. 5821 is only 8.3 mm high, which is very, very thin, especially in comparison to the diameter.

In my opinion, the fundamental weakness of the Cubitus is nothing intrinsic to the watch, but the price. The base model in steel costs just over US$41,000, which is a lot for a steel watch. This inaccessibility is a problem, both for Patek Philippe and the broader luxury goods industry, though it hasn’t truly affected bottom lines yet.

Rolex Perpetual 1908 in platinum – David Ichim

The Perpetual 1908 launched last year was warmly welcomed, with the sole criticism that the monochromatic dials felt a little bland. This year Rolex did the unexpected move and introduced the 1908 in platinum (ref. 52506), a wholly new take on the newly-minted model sporting a true guilloché dial.

While no stranger to exotic and artisanal dials, traditional engine-turning is a novelty for Rolex. The result is nothing short of remarkable.

The vibrant, “ice blue” dial with a “rice grain” guilloche works well with the stylised Breguet hands and applied numerals. For a brand that’s famous for hard-wearing tool watches, it looks like Rolex also found a winning recipe for the dress watch, blending tradition with modern design sensibilities.

Behind the engine-turned dial is the cal. 7140 — arguably the brand’s first serious attempt at an aesthetically-oriented movement.

While the decoration is clearly done by machine, the quality and consistency is laudable. Though it’s been dressed up, the cal. 7140 stays true to the Rolex focus on timekeeping, and the movement retains the high-performance features typical of Rolex.