Krayon continues with its focus on calendar-related complications with the Anyday. Coming after the Anywhere and Everywhere, the Anyway is not an astronomical complication, but rather a seemingly-simple watch, albeit one with a twist.

The Anyday is more than just a basic calendar watch as it offers an intuitive way of visualising the days of a month. Krayon describes the Anyday as a “mechanical planner”, with its display giving a complete view of the current month’s layout in terms of dates and weekends via a colour-coded date display.

Initial thoughts

Since the Anyway shows the days of the week over the course of a month, the utility of the concept is clear. It allows the wearer to tell if a certain future date will be a Monday or Tuesday, for example. Design wise, the Anyday also continues with Krayon’s established aesthetic, resulting in a recognisable house style.

The quality of execution also lives up to the earlier Krayon timepieces. The movement is carefully finished and bears the hallmarks now requisite in high-end independent watchmaking, while the dial is clean and conveys the Krayon aesthetic well.

The weekday planning function is useful and conceptually interesting, but it is little disappointing in mechanical terms, especially in comparison to the Anywhere and Everywhere, which are true complication powerhouses. A annual calendar or another basic calendar complication would have made the proposition a little more appealing. That is not to say the Anyday is an undesirable watch, but the price arguably demands more.

The Anyday costs CHF88,000, or almost US$100,000, which feels a little steep, especially for what is essentially a simple-date complication overlaid with a clever day display. That said, the price also partly reflects the overall state of the market for such watches, which is at a historical high.

A mechanical simple creation from an independent watchmaking that is based on impeccable craft alone is arguably less interesting today, since so many are doing it. This particular segment has become rather crowded in recent years. That very popularity of highly decorated time-only watches perhaps explains why Krayon has debuted the Anyway.

A new calendar complication

Calendar complications can range from simple date indicators to perpetual calendars, showing the user everything from the day of the week to the week of the year and oftentimes even the moon phase. The Anyday only shows the date, via a half moon-shaped pointer, in an intuitive and clear manner.

The date scale is spread out around a recessed sapphire ring around the periphery of the dial. The date ring itself contains the innovative mechanical planner indication. Because the ring is sapphire, the date numerals are transparent, with weekdays indicated by dark blue, while a tinted disc underneath the date ring resulting in white date numerals for the weekend.

As a result, the date indicator has two shades, dark blue for weekdays and white for weekends. At a glance, the wearer can see whether a certain date falls in the weekend or not, and Wednesday next week will be the 15th of a month for example.

The date scale also includes four dots at the six o’clock position, between the “31” and “1” indications. These dots are also transparent and form a four-day preview of the coming month, as the date display works on a five-week model. In other words, the dots indicate if the first four days of the coming month are weekdays or weekends.

When the month ends, the crescent date pointer jumps to the 1st of the month, alongside with the tinted disc underneath.

However, the Anyday is not a perpetual or annual calendar, so any adjustments need to be done manually by the user for months with less than 31 days.

Excellent execution

The dial is done to Krayon standards. The raised centre features Krayon’s “Y” guilloche cut deep into the dark blue base. The “Y” motif is echoed by the facetted hour indices as well. Likewise, the hands are faceted and polished to a high degree, making for an overall refined presentation. 

The 18K white gold case is nicely sized at a 39 mm in diameter with a 9.5 mm thickness. Inside lies the C032, which powers the mechanical calendar planner. 

The execution is impressive, with Krayon’s signature movement architecture laid bare. The heart of the day and date mechanism are two cams and their respective jewelled roller levers that are visible at the six o’clock position. It is important to note that the date (and day disc at the end of the month) makes a crisp, instantaneous jump at midnight, similar to Rolex Day-Date. 

The finish is equally impressive. The German silver bridges are covered in arched Geneva stripes inspired by the map of the Neuchatel region where region where Krayon is based, while polished, rounded edges outline the bridges. The movement appears almost monochromatic, with hints of red and gold coming from the ruby bearings and gilded parts.

Caliber C032 runs for 72 hours on a full wind and its free-sprung balance beats at a 4Hz beat rate. There is also a hacking function for setting the time, although the Anyday doesn’t have a running seconds hand. 

Key Facts and Price

Krayon Anyday

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 9.5 mm
Material: 18K white gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water-resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. C032
Functions: Hour, minutes, along with date and day of the week over a month
Components: 378
Winding: Hand-wound
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Blue grained calfskin leather with 18K white gold pin buckle

Limited edition: No, but limited production
Availability: From Krayon retailers
Price: CHF88,000 before tax

For more, visit Krayon.ch.

Audemars Piguet (AP) is gearing up to launch its own certified pre-owned (CPO) programme encompassing both modern and vintage timepieces, which will go live sometime in the middle of 2025. Though the initiative was announced by AP’s former chief executive François-Henry Bennahmias some time ago, it is now in the final stages.

Led by Marc Montagne, previously the head of digital marketing at Vacheron Constantin, the CPO programme joins those of Vacheron Constantin and Rolex as an official CPO programme run by the brand itself. The CPO programme will be run by a specialised team at AP headquarters in Le Brassus; Mr Montagne recently published CPO job openings online, including for a CPO customer relations manager.

Notably, the CPO programme will be offered exclusively online, at least initially. The programme will go beyond AP’s recent timepieces to include vintage watches, namely those dating to before 1970, even including high-end examples with six figure prices. It’ll launch with a substantial number of watches, thanks in part to a substantial collection that AP acquired from a prominent American collector.

Originally a low-key, perhaps even boring, vintage remake, the Commander 1959 Pixel Dial livens things up with a vibrant array of blue, purple, and pink squares printed on the black dial. The new Mido departs from our usual focus on higher-end mechanical watchmaking, but at a little over US$700, it combines affordability, good-enough quality, and fun.

The blue and pink squares are actually Super-LumiNova on matte black, creating a striking illuminated pixel dial in the dark. The dial is housed in the classic Commander 1959 case characterised by a “Milanese” mesh bracelet, flat bezel, and domed acrylic crystal, which evokes an unmistakable mid-century aesthetic that contrasts with the funky pixel dial.

Initial thoughts

Several of Mido’s recent releases, including the Ocean Star Decompression Timer 1961, combine inject vibrant colours and details into vintage-inspired designs. The new Commander 1959 continues this with its unmistakably 1950s-style case paired with a modern dial. Despite the dial’s array of colours, legibility is excellent thanks to the wide hands and markers.

The Pixel Dial is a simple iteration of the original, and consequently remains affordable at US$740. Like many other watches in the same price range made by Mido’s parent Swatch Group (which also owns Tissot and Longines amongst others), the Commander 1959 is equipped with the Powermatic 80, a no-frills, economical movement that nonetheless provides an impressive 80-hour power reserve.

Patterned pixels

The stainless steel case measures 37 mm in diameter and 10.5 mm in thickness, though the lugless design allows it to wear smaller than its dimensions suggest.

The standout feature is the dial covered in blue, purple, and pink squares against a black backdrop. The blue and pink squares, along with the hour and minute hands, are filled with different types of Super-Luminova. The applied hour indices incorporate black inserts, but luminous dots on the polished inner flange serve as hour markers in the dark.

The watch is driven by the Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80, a movement found in entry-level offerings across its stable of brands. Thoroughly industrial and basic, the calibre features a Nivachron balance spring, which gives it resistance to magnetism and temperature variations.

Key facts and price

Mido Commander 1959 Pixel Dial
Ref. M8429.4.N7.11

Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 10.5 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Powermatic 80
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Matching steel bracelet

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Mido boutiques and retailers
Price: US$740

For more, visit midowatches.com

A year after being tapped to head the LVMH Watch Division, Frédéric Arnault has been named the next chief executive of Loro Piana. Mr Arnault will assume the top job at the Italian maker of clothing and shoes in June 2025. Loro Piana is synonymous with “quiet luxury” for its emphasis on materials, restrained colours, and discreet branding, but it has become successful enough that the Loro Piana look is ironically recognisable while its trademark Summer Walk boat shoes have become footwear’s equivalent of the steel Rolex Daytona.

Though only 18 months long, Mr Arnault’s leadership of the French group’s watch brands saw a management renewal across all its three brands, namely TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Zenith, as well as the announcement of a group-wide strategy for movement industrialisation and production. The period has also been a challenging one for the watch industry, with a sustained pullback in demand for watches that peaked during the pandemic.

According to insiders, Mr Arnault also played a leading role in sealing the decade-long sponsorship deal with Formula 1. His ascension to the top job at Loro Piana part of succession planning at LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group.

Mr Arnault’s successor at the watch division has yet to be announced, but his predecessor at Loro Piana, Damien Bertrand, will move onto the deputy chief executive job at Louis Vuitton.