Since taking over Tiffany & Co. in 2020, LVMH has gradually revamped the American jeweller, starting with its retail stores and jewellery. The reboot of its watchmaking division has proceeded more slowly, and with jewelled ladies’ watches first. Now Tiffany & Co. has finally turned to men’s watches with the Tiffany Timer, a chronograph powered by the Zenith El Primero 400 movement.

With a dial lacquered in Tiffany’s trademark blue, the Tiffany Timer is easily recognisable. And on the back, the movement gets a hand-engraved, solid gold “Bird on a Rock” on the rotor. The Tiffany Timer is a promising start, but the jeweller clearly still has a long way to go to compete with its rivals, or even luxury marques like Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

Initial thoughts

The Tiffany Timer has a few things in its favour, but isn’t quite good enough. The design is classical and appealing, though a little generic. Granted, the dial might seem a bit much, but for a small-run edition it makes sense.

The baguette diamond indices on the Tiffany Blue dial are a nice touch, as is the “Bird on the Rock” on the rotor; both add a touch of luxe to the watch. The El Primero adds horological credibility, but only up to a degree.

The El Primero is a historical movement with many strengths, but the El Primero isn’t quite high-end enough for a watch of this price. It would make more sense in an affordable, a steel version of the Tiffany Timer that is presumably in the works.

All in all the Tiffany Timer feels a little like an interim offering as the brand works on more technically-solid watches, as I am sure it is, given the track record of its current management.

Birds and blue

The Tiffany Timer is sized similarly to other El Primero-powered chronographs. The platinum case is 40 mm in diameter, and while Tiffany’s hasn’t revealed the thickness, it should be about 13 mm.

The dial is lacquered in Tiffany Blue , while the hour markers are generously sized baguette-cut diamonds. Like many El Primero-powered watches, this has a date window, but the date disc is coloured matched to the dial and blends in.

The reverse of the case reveals the El Primero 400, which is essentially stock save for the rotor that’s been dressed up with a “Bird on the Rock”.

One of Tiffany’s most famous pieces of jewellery, the “bird” here takes the form of a solid gold emblem that’s engraved and polished by hand, then mounted on the rotor. The rest of the movement has a muted finish of frosting and graining; it could do with more elaboration.

Key facts and price

Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Timer
Ref. 75450125

Diameter: 40 mm
Height:
Material: Platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: Zenith El Primero 400
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, and chronograph
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 36,000 beats per second (5 Hz)
Power reserve: 50 hours

Strap: Alligator strap with 18k white gold folding clasp

Limited edition: 60 pieces
Availability: Now at Tiffany & Co. boutiques
Price:

For more, visit tiffany.com.

Louis Vuitton iterates on last year’s surprise launch with the Tambour Convergence Guilloché. The brand’s unexpectedly elegant take on the montre à guichets now gains an engine-turned decor on its front.

Initial thoughts 

Louis Vuitton (LV) surprised when it unveiled the Convergence last year. Not necessarily the sort of watch one would expect from Louis Vuitton, the Convergence was a strong sign of the brand’s pivot towards in-house manufacturing and more creative high horology.

The Convergence was chic and unique, leaning more into the craft of watchmaking, compared to the sportier Tambour on a bracelet. And the LFT MA01.01 inside serves as a good example of what time-only movements inside watches above a certain price point should be like. 

The Convergence Guilloché builds on the appeal of the original. By using a radial, wavy decoration executed on a hand-operated rose engine, LV has kept the 1930s allure of the Convergence while adding value in terms craftsmanship with the hand-applied engine turning.

And the engine turning is not merely an aesthetic feature but also experiential. Guillochage is typically found on dials, shielded behind glass, so the tactile interaction with the rose-cut pattern on the case is certainly interesting.

While this is probably not the best idea for wear-resistance, it is beautiful and historical. Guillochage was traditionally meant to be experienced in a tactile manner: pocket watches in the past were often engine turned in order to improve grip — think of it as luxurious knurling.

Familiar case, new decorations

Much like most montres à guichet, the Convergence features a rather small aperture for reading the hours and minutes and a lot of empty real estate on the watch face.

It was almost a given that future models would fill up the space with some sort of artistic expression: painting, enamelling, engraving and so on. LV delivered on that potential with the texture-rich guilloché version launched today.

The Convergence Guilloché keeps the same case as last year’s model: 37 mm in 18k rose gold with short, hollowed lugs and a brushed case band.

But the face of the watch has been enhanced with engine turning. Moving inwards from the edge we are greeted by a wavy engine turned ribbon circling the timepiece’s face. The pattern is a classic and slightly reminiscent of traditional Breguet guillochage.

Inside the circle are found the two apertures for the hour and minute disks. The hour aperture is wider and both disks are slow rolling; while some argue a jumping hour would have worked better, personally I enjoy the charm of leisurely dragging hours. 

Seemingly emanating from the two apertures are wide guilloché rays, meant to suggest sunlight peeking through clouds. While the ribbon on the edge may be a familiar pattern, this sort of straight engine turning is a rarer sight but does evoke historical pocket watches.

The wavy pattern is quite deeply engraved into the metal, creating an interesting play on textures. The lines radiate outwards from the aperture, growing wider and spreading further apart as they reach the opposite edge. In-between the waves are mirror polished planes, adding to the layered play of light created by the overlapping textures. 

The guilloche reflects the brand’s investment in restoring 19th and 20th-century straight-line and rose engine lathes in its La Fabrique des Arts workshop, signalling its desire to preserve and further perpetuate horological crafts.

LV acquired and restored different sets of engine turning lathes over the course of a full year. Now housed within La Fabrique des Arts, the machines are hand operated by skilled artisans (who were incidentally recruited from brands famous for engine turning). Each Convergence Guilloché case takes about 16 hours of work on two different types of rose engines: one for the round pattern and another for the linear waves. 

The quality of the guilloché work is undeniable yet it leaves the decoration is too exposed. Having the patterns on the most prominent part of the case will probably prompt the lucky owners to baby their timepieces more than usual. It’d be a great shame for the delicate pattern to get scuffed or dulled over time. With rose gold being a soft metal the risk is even greater.

In-house mechanics

The Tambour Convergence Guilloché is powered by the same LFT MA01.01 movement as last year’s model, the first caliber developed and built in-house by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. 

The small caliber is a modern and laudable exercise in top-tier, industrial workhorse movement construction. LV certainly cut no corners when building the movement. Its engineers went for a stable free-sprung balance, equipped with inertia regulating weights and Geneva-style stud carrier.

It shows off well-finished components, a sturdy build, and quirky details. The jewels are all clear for example, while the barrel click and springs are integrated into one piece. Due to its small diameter, the movement looks slightly cramped, with components overlapping each other. 

LFT MA01.01 runs at a modern 4 Hz for 45 hours, which is not great but excusable given the reduced size of the movement. A variant of the calibre with a longer power reserve is foreseeable given the adaptability of the construction.

Key facts and price

Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Guilloché
Ref. W9PG21

Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 8 mm
Material: 18k pink gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. LFT MA01.01
Functions: Dragging hours and minutes
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 45 hours

Strap: Blue calf leather strap

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Louis Vuitton boutiques
Price: —

For more information, visit LouisVuitton.com.

Louis Vuitton sharpens its haute horlogerie credentials with the Escale Minute Repeater, a chiming complication paired with a jump hour and retrograde minutes display. Built around La Fabrique du Temps’s proven minute repeater calibre, the watch trades the previous Escale minute repeater’s world time function for a cleaner, more focused dial dominated by grey flammé guilloché.

The result puts Louis Vuitton in direct competition with established players in complicated watchmaking, and comes complete with a discreet repeater slide hidden within the signature trunk-inspired lugs.

Initial thoughts

On the back of a strong 2025, Louis Vuittion doubles down on haute horlogerie, now in a more traditional case than last year’s Tambour. While the brand still offers the quartz Tambour Street Diver for just a few thousand dollars, Louis Vuittion’s ambitions clearly lie in the high-end. After years of strategic acquisitions and investments, the brand has the industrial base to compete and the know-how to do things its own way.

The Escale Minute Repeater is the embodiment of Louis Vuitton’s ambitions, and is competitive with other minute repeaters from established haute horlogerie brands thanks to its modern movement and tasteful details. In short, it shows the brand understands the tastes of the day, and, more importantly, how to deliver a compelling package that leans into Louis Vuitton’s unique legacy and brand DNA.

Furthermore, the minute repeater is something of a shortcut to credibility, since chiming watches are generally considered the peak of complicated watchmaking. Unlike the tourbillon, which can be found at ever-lower price points, the minute repeater remains untouched by mass production.

Even better, Louis Vuitton has the home-field advantage as La Fabrique du Temps (LFT) is among the leaders in the field. That said, the movement was developed by LFT for the Gérald Genta brand, and is little-changed in the Escale, which diminishes the accomplishment somewhat.

A trunk for the wrist

Louis Vuitton’s Escale line takes after the hardware found on the Parisian malletier‘s famous trunks; the world ‘escale’ means stopover in French. The skeuomorphic lugs are subtle enough to be tasteful, and break up the otherwise slab sided case band.

Louis Vuitton and its sister brands seem to have a knack for hiding repeater slides. Hublot’s Big Bang Minute Repeater integrates the slide into the left winglet, and Bulgari, once upon a time, ingeniously disguised the slide as the lower left lug. The Escale Minute repeater puts its own stamp on this idea, with one of its faux brackets pulling double duty as a covert repeater slide. The Escale Worldtime Minute Repeater from 2015 took the same approach, but it was less subtle as the slide ran in an open channel in the caseband.

Note the grooved repeater slide hiding in plain sight.

Even better, the slide is also water resistant to 50 m, making it ready for the rigours of travel. While some brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin prefer to leave their repeaters unsealed for maximum auditory pleasure, most modern minute repeaters can survive brief water immersion, but they’re rarely rated beyond 30 m — many only manage 20 or 10 m. While 50 m of resistance isn’t strictly necessary in a watch like this, some owners will appreciate the added security it provides.

Grey and gold

The trunk-bracket motif continues on the dial, with gold rivets capping both ends of the minutes arc. Inside is a flammé guilloché centre dial cut on a manually-operated rose engine the old-fashioned way. The frame around the hour aperture is a separate piece that is mirror polished and slightly concave to draw the eye. Naturally, the minutes hand and matching dial furniture are made from solid rose gold, not just plated base metal.

The jump hour mechanism, borrowed from the Gérald Genta Mickey Mouse minute repeater made for Only Watch, is more sophisticated than most as it also features a retrograde minutes hand. A common pitfall of jump hours is the minute hand covering the hour aperture during the jump as both are often placed at 12 0’clock.

This can be avoided by moving the hour window or moving the 60-minute demarcation. Louis Vuitton did both, and the retrograde display means the minutes hand will never block the hours window.

Genta DNA

The base movement is La Fabrique du Temps’s tried-and-true LFT SO13.01 minute repeater calibre. It is constructed and decorated in the tradition of Genevan fine watchmaking, comparable to minute repeaters from Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Though not submitted for certification, several fine details, such as the screw visible on the balance cock used to lock the Geneva-style stud carrier in place, are required by the Poinçon de Genève except in extra-flat movements.

The LFT SO13.01 is a modern and technically competent calibre with a weight-saving skeletonised escapement, free-sprung balance, quiet centrifugal strike governor, and comfortable 80-hour power reserve. Additionally, it is handsomely designed and well-finished movement, if not quite as lavishly adorned as the Escale pocket watches. Made alongside Gérald Genta minute repeaters in Geneva, the movement features an identical bridge layout, down to the brand’s signature octagonal frame for the strike governor.

Key specs and price

Louis Vuitton Escale Minute Repeater
Ref. W3PGA0

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 12.3 mm
Material: 18k rose gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: LFT SO13.01
Features: Jump hours, retrograde minutes, minute repeater.
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Beige calf leather, 18k rose gold folding buckle

Limited edition: No
Availability: At Louis Vuitton boutiques
Price: Approximately €350,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit Louisvuitton.com.

TAG Heuer rides the vintage reissue wave with the Carrera Seafarer, a chronograph that tracks the tides with a quirky mechanical complication originally developed for the American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch in the early 1950s. Delivered in the brand’s popular ‘Glassbox’ case, the sun-bleached aesthetic features a champagne-coloured dial and Intrepid Teal accents to capture the spirit of mid-century maritime instruments in a modern, wearable package.

Initial thoughts 

The past year has shown that TAG Heuer is doubling down on technical credibility. The brand launched carbon hairsprings that are now ready for mass production as an alternative to silicon hairsprings, and the brand has also regained the coveted position as the official timekeeper of Formula 1.

Furthering its bid to recapture lost magic, the Seafarer is a modern Carrera ‘Glassbox’ infused with the immense charm of the original Seafarer models signed by Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Carrera Seafarer is powered by the modern TH20-04 movement, derived from the TH20-00, that’s been tweaked to show the times of high and low tide using a mechanism likely adapted from a moon phase indictor. While still reliant on the simplistic concept developed for the 1950s models, the complication’s gear ratios have been refined and modernised by TAG Heuer engineers. 

As a result, the Seafarer displays the local tide times for a given place, serving as a proper tool watch for birdwatchers, anglers and fishermen in general. Although tidal complications like this are not as accurate or convenient as modern electronic means, the charming appeal of a mechanical solution from the 1950s remains tangible. 

The warm beige dial is richly layered and features colourful details that pay tribute to the Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer ref. 2443. The pastel colour palette, with its bright teal and gold accents, captures the spirit of the vintage originals in a more wearable and practical format, complete with a sleek seven-link bracelet that can be seen as a refinement of the classic ‘beads of rice’ design.

Aside from the tidal corrector at nine o’clock, the Seafarer’s case is similar to that of any other glassbox Carrera, with angular lugs, brushed and polished surfaces, and appealing pump pushers. While the original Seafarer models featured a matching pump-style pusher for the tide corrector, the updated design features a large rectangular pusher clearly labelled for its function.

The Carrera Seafarer feels like fan service, in a good way. Priced slightly higher than equivalent glassbox Carreras, the Seafarer’s unusual complication and friendly palette result in a watch that feels fresh in a category that can, at times, feel stale.

A “glassbox” Seafarer

The new Seafarer will be part of TAG Heuer’s regular collection and is not a limited edition. It shares the Carrera’s 42mm case, which remains an iconic design with its angular lugs and bezel-free construction. The dial is outlined like most modern Carreras, with three sub-dial, a date aperture and a raised 60-increment flange.

But this is where the similarities with ordinary Carreras end. The dial has a strong champagne colour, with the beige hue paying tribute to the original Seafarers (and Mareographes sold under Heuer’s own signature). The hands and hour markers are yellow gold-plated, further warming up the visual impression of the dial. 

Reliable engine

Making the Carrera Seafarer tick is the in-house calibre TH20-04, a derivate of the workhorse TH20-00 chronograph movement. The base calibre was designed by the talented Carole Forestier-Kasapi, an esteemed figure among movement constructors. 

TH20-04 retains the core TH20-00 architecture, while doing away with the hour counter and implementing the tidal complication in its place. The indicator system is superficial in the sense that it doesn’t require any deep integration within the movement, so the swap was likely straightforward. 

The movement beats at the industry standard 4 Hz rate and provides an ample power reserve of 80 hours from a single mainspring barrel. The chronograph is fully integrated and the movement features both a vertical clutch and column wheel — two features that typify modern performance chronographs. 

The movement is visible through the caseback and features clean machine-applied finishing. Sadly it does not use TAG Heuer’s promising TH-Carbon hairspring and instead relies on a common stud-regulated balance and flat alloy hairspring. 

Key facts and price

TAG Heuer Carrera Seafarer
Ref. CBS2016.EB0430

Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 14.4 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: TH20-04
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph and tide indicator
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Stainless steel seven-link bracelet with butterfly folding clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: Starting March 2026 at TAG Heuer boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF8,300 excluding taxes

For more information, visit TAGHeuer.com.

Having recently given the Monaco a rattrapante makeover, TAG Heuer has unveiled the Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph, the first-ever split-seconds chronograph in the history of the storied Carrera line-up. The watch combines the brand’s contemporary ‘glassbox’ case design with the Vaucher-derived TH81-01 movement, the only split-seconds calibre in production capable of tenth-of-a-second resolution.

Built of grade 5 titanium inside and out, the Carrera Split-Seconds is positioned as both a technical showcase and a halo product for the brand.

Initial thoughts

It’s more than a little surprising that the Carrera, one of the most storied names in sports chronographs, has never been made in a split-seconds variant until now. In the vintage era, many of Heuer’s peers introduced split-seconds chronographs with movements sourced from Valjoux, which also supplied the ebauches for the Carrera, which suggests the technology was well within reach.

That said, the Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph is arguably worth the wait, marrying the contemporary glassbox case design with the one of the only split-seconds chronograph calibres capable of tenth-of-a-second resolution. It’s a coherent product in more ways than one, carrying on the brand’s history of commercialising third-party calibres in design-forward, performance-oriented watches.

In terms of design, the Carrera Split-Seconds feels more refined than the Monaco Split-Seconds, avoiding the superfluous “rattrapante” and “chronograph” text that clutters the Monaco’s dial.

The topic of value is worth exploring, given the lofty retail price of CHF110,000. Without question, that’s a big ask from a brand best known for watches that cost less than a tenth that amount, but it’s less expensive than any other watch with the same movement, including TAG Heuer’s own Monaco, Richard Mille’s RM 65-01, and Parmigiani’s Tonda PF Split-Seconds Chronograph, though the latter features a solid gold manually wound version of the calibre.

In other words, while it’s rarified air for TAG Heuer, the six-figure price is not out of line given the tangible technical content of the watch.

Box box

TAG Heuer introduced the ‘glassbox’ design for the Carrera in 2023 and has been running with it ever since. With a bowl-shaped dial ringed by a raised flange that follows the inner camber of the crystal, the three-dimensional design distinguishes the Carrera visually from rivals like the Omega Speedmaster and Zenith Chronomaster.

Importantly, the design is different enough to avoid unfavourable comparisons with the category-leading Rolex Daytona, a trap that has plagued the aforementioned Chronomaster.

The split-seconds variant takes things even further with a multi-layered sapphire crystal dial that looks suitably premium, in a 42 mm grade 5 titanium case. The contemporary design makes the 15.17 mm thickness easier to stomach, since it makes no attempt to recreate the compact elegance of a vintage watch.

Decimal timer

On a technical level, the Carrera Split-Seconds has more in common with the Richard Mille RM 65-01 than it does with the rest of the TAG Heuer line-up, excepting the Monaco that shares the same movement. The TH81-01 is derived from the Vaucher VMF6710, a high-end integrated chronograph movement that ticks at 5 Hz, providing resolution down to 1/10th of a second. This aspect of the movement makes it ideal for a brand with as much racing heritage as TAG Heuer, since races are timed to the decimal.

The standard VMF6710 is used by a variety of brands, but the split-seconds variant, which in this case adds a discreet third pusher at nine o’clock, is more unusual. Like the RMAC4 that powers the equivalent Richard Mille, the Carrera’s TH81-01 features titanium plates and bridges to decrease weight and increase intrigue.

On paper, the TH81-01 ticks just about every box that a contemporary chronograph can, featuring twin column wheels, a vertical clutch, a free-sprung balance with a fully adjustable balance bridge, and a 65-hour power reserve. While the now-discontinued Zenith El Primero cal. 4026 also offered split-seconds functionality with a 5 Hz rate, the TH81-01 is a much more premium construction overall.

In an unusual move for an industrial brand like TAG Heuer, the movement is hand finished. The chequered flag motif, for example is applied manually square-by-square. Another nice touch is the victory wreath emblem engraved around one of the jewels; this is a new element that emphasises the brand’s racing pedigree.

The finishing reflects the small-batch nature of the watch, which will likely have a niche audience in its own right, and might be seen primarily as a halo product intended to create buzz around the brand’s more mainstream offerings.

Key facts and price

TAG Heuer Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph
Ref. CDD2180.FT8120

Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 15.2 mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Material: Titanium
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: TH81-01
Features: Hours, minutes, seconds, and split-seconds chronograph
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 36,000 beats per hour (5 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Embossed rubber strap with titanium folding clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: June 2026
Price: CHF110,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit tagheuer.com.

Celebrating the career of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, Hublot has gone to astonishing lengths to infuse the Big Bang Tourbillon Novak Djokovic GOAT Edition with clever and amusing tennis-related touches. From the case material to the shape of the tennis ball-inspired screw heads, few details were overlooked, making it a worthy tribute to the 24-time Grand Slam champion considered by many to be the greatest of all time.

Available in three different colours, each inspired by a different tennis surface, the Big Bang GOAT is not (yet) a limited edition, since production volume is tied directly to the number of wins Mr Djokovic racks up on each surface. Today that number stands at 101 across all three versions, but this will probably increase little by little until his retirement.

Initial thoughts

Many large luxury brands maintain a stable of superstar athletes as ambassadors, and most also produce limited edition watches in their names. This practice has been around long enough to seem commonplace, but few brands have taken to the task with the ambition and creativity evident in the Big Bang GOAT. While the watch will naturally appeal most to deep-pocketed fans of Novak Djokovic, the tennis theme is fairly subtle, at least on the front. In other words, it’s a good looking watch in its own right, and might also appeal to fans of Hublot with only a passing interest in tennis.

The 44 mm Big Bang case is a blend of advanced composites, some infused with the tennis star’s own polo shirts and tennis racquets, and annodised aluminium elements including the familiar wings on either side of the case and the buckle for the strap. Overall it’s a bold look befitting a watch like this from Hublot that sits near the top of the brand’s range.

The Big Bang GOAT is powered by a unique version of the HUB6035 that powers other automatic tourbillons in the Big Bang collection. Aesthetically, however, it departs significantly from other movements in Hublot’s arsenal, with a laser-engraved open-worked mainplate styled like the strings of a tennis racquet. In this respect the design of the movement is similar to that of the Richard Mille RM 27-04, made for the brand’s own tennis ambassador Rafael Nadal.

But unlike the movement in the RM 27-04, which is secured within the case with the aid of braided steel wire that is looped in and out of the bezel, the stylised mainplate of the HUB6035 is machined from a single block.

The simplified construction is a reasonable enough concession given the vast different in price between the two watches; the RM 27-04 debuted in 2020 with a retail price around US$1 million, which is an order of magnitude higher than the CHF100,000 that Hublot is charging for the Big Bang GOAT.

The shirt off his back

The 44 mm composite case of the Big Bang GOAT is available in three different colours, with production pegged to the illustrious career of the Serbian star. The blue edition is naturally the most numerous, since throughout his career Mr Djokovic has been dominant on hard courts with 72 wins. His 21 clay court victories will make the orange variant a little more unusual, and his 8 wins on grass make the green livery the rarest of the trio.

Regardless of colour, the marbled appearance of the bezel and case cladding is due to the unique composite material made using upcycled Lacoste polo shirts from Mr Djokovic, along with a dozen of his Head racquets. Evidently each polo shirt contains enough material to colour a handful of cases, so in total the project consumed 12 blue shirts, 4 in orange, and 2 in green.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Hublot used the same proprietary material once before for another Djokovic limited edition. The shirts and racquets are processed together with quartz powder and carbon fibre in an epoxy resin, making the pattern of each component distinct from the next. The bezel and cladding are bolted to a case ring made from Titaplast, which is billed as the world’s strongest polymer, capable of being machined to fine tolerances. It also takes well to colour, which makes it a versatile material for a brand like Hublot.

The case components are all quite light, including the Gorilla Glass crystals front and back, so the entire watch weights just 56 g. While that’s nearly double the weight of the RM 27-04, it’s still lighter than a regulation tennis ball.

A high-strung movement

The HUB6035 movement has been used previously in watches like the Big Bang Samuel Ross, but the racquet-like design differentiates the version used in the Big Bang GOAT. What at first glance appears to be a lattice of interwoven strings 0.55 mm in diameter is actually a single plate cleverly open-worked to resemble a tennis racquet. The open design reveals the full going train as well as the mainspring barrel, coloured and styled like a tennis ball.

Each apparent string is laser-engraved to replicate the braided look of real racquet strings, and coloured with a PVD coating thin enough to reveal the delicate texture. It’s an impressively realistic look, complete with uneven spacing between strings, that underscores the advanced state of manufacturing in the Swiss watch industry. Though arguably less impressive than the strung construction of the RM 27-04, the HUB6035 captures much of the look for a tenth the price.

The movement is wound automatically thanks to a 22k rose gold micro-rotor, attractively open-worked to reveal the Hublot wordmark. The rotor itself is rhodium plated to blend in with the contemporary design, but the precious material is a discreet nod to Mr Djokovic’s gold medal from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Interestingly, what at first appears to be a flying tourbillon at six o’clock is actually a standard tourbillon, supported by an upper bridge made of sapphire crystal.

Compared to the work that has evidently gone into the rest of the case and movement, the annodised aluminium tourbillon cage contains a relatively pedestrian oscillator adjusted by means of an Etachron-style regulator. In fairness, that’s not a significant mark against a design-oriented watch like this and most buyers probably won’t mind.

Key facts and price

Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Novak Djokovic GOAT Edition
Ref. 429.QKB.0120.NR.DJO26 (blue)
Ref. 429.QKO.0120.NR.DJO26 (orange)
Ref. 429.QKG.0120.NR.DJO26 (green)

Diameter: 44 mm
Height: 14.4 mm
Material: Composite
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: HUB6035
Functions: Hours, minutes, flying tourbillon
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 21,600 beats per second (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Leather strap with aluminium buckle, with additional white rubber strap included

Limited edition: 101 pieces at launch (72 in blue, 21 in orange, 8 in green) with an additional piece added for each new title.
Availability: Now at Hublot boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF100,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit hublot.com.

TAG Heuer is growing its signature line of chronographs literally and figuratively with the Carrera Chronograph “Glassbox” 41 mm. Stylistically similar to its 39 mm counterpart, the new Carrera features a larger “Glassbox” case but is otherwise almost identical, right down to the pump pushers and TH20 automatic movement, though enthusiasts will like the fact that the date display has been eliminated.

Initial thoughts

The “Glassbox” case is a good starting point, being distinctive but not as unconventional as the Monaco. The Carrera is retro-inspired but of an entirely modern construction, with its bowl-shaped dial, raised flange, and domed crystal. One of my favourite characteristics of the Carrera is the model’s pump-style pushers that give it a distinctive profile. Large and welcoming, the pushers provide the impression of a chronograph built to be used. And the 41 mm has the upside of doing away with the date.

While the larger case is arguably not as well suited to the retro case design, it is a good fit for the TH20 that’s a relatively thick calibre. So while bigger, the 41 mm model is better proportioned in some ways.

Commercially, the logic of the 41 mm is clear as well, since larger watches do well in many of the markets where TAG Heuer is historically strong, like the United States and Australia.

Notably, the 41 mm includes a similarly scaled up version of the versatile seven-link stainless steel bracelet found on the smaller model. It echoes a “beads of rice” bracelet, but the flatness of the links gives it a slightly more formal look that manages to be both sporty and dressy. The bracelet gives the Carrera a go-anywhere, do-anything feel that’s reinforced by its 100 m water resistance rating.

Domed but larger

The original Carrera of the 1970s was 36 mm. TAG Heuer followed up with the original Carrera “Glassbox” in 2023 that was 39 mm. And now the model grows to 41 mm, while retaining practically all of the details of the smaller model.

The dial is now an overt three-counter design, as compared to the 39 mm that approximated a two-register dial with a “ghost” constant seconds. While it gains a counter, the 41 mm surprisingly does away with the date, which gives it a cleaner look.

41 mm (left), and 39 mm

Three dial versions are available at launch, blue, green, and red, all sporting a metallic finish with circular brushing. The green and blue are conventional and relatively muted, while the black dial has red accents that call to mind TAG Heuer’s racing ties.

The case sticks to the familiar Carrera style, with a highly domed sapphire crystal that goes without a bezel – explaining the “Glassbox” nickname – which gives the dial an open feel. The dome of the crystal is matched by a raised, domed flange carrying the tachymeter scale.

As with the 39 mm model, the new Carrera is still thick at 14.17 mm high, including the crystal, but the larger case suits the case height better.

Horsepower

Like other ‘glassbox’ variants, the watch is powered by the in-house TH20-01 automatic chronograph movement, a variant of the Heuer cal. 02. An eminently modern design, the TH20 dispenses with the oscillating pinion, originally invented by Heuer, in favour of a vertical clutch. The TH20 also incorporates a column wheel and offers a class-leading 80-hour power reserve.

A heavily engineered movement, the Heuer 02 platform and its derivatives like the TH20 take full advantage of modern manufacturing techniques; the result is a chronograph with fewer than 170 parts. While complexity is part of the appeal of mechanical watchmaking, watchmakers focused on reliability typically try to limit the number of things that can go wrong by streamlining their designs to require as few parts as possible. In that respect, the TH20 is an achievement.

The lower right lug is engraved with a victory wreath emblem, a new addition to the Carrera case design that symbolises TAG Heuer’s auto-racing history

Key facts and price

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph “Glassbox” 41 mm
Ref. CBS2113.BA0053 (blue)
Ref. CBS2114.BA0053 (black)
Ref. CBS2115.BA0053 (green)

Diameter: 41 mm
Height: 14.17 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: TH20-01
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and chronograph
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at TAG Heuer boutiques, retailers, and TAGHeuer.com
Price: CHF7,500 excluding taxes

For more information, visit TAGHeuer.com.

Louis Vuitton revives its emblematic Escale Worldtime complication with significant technical upgrades and metiers d’art craftsmanship. Powered by a new family of mid-sized movement from La Fabrique du Temps, the collection comprises two models distinguished by their decorative treatments: the standard Worldtime features a hand-painted flag disc reproducing the brand’s iconic trunk motifs, while the Worldtime Flying Tourbillon elevates the execution with an arduously made champlevé grand feu enamel city ring requiring 40 firings to achieve its kaleidoscopic palette.

This reimagining of the worldtime complication draws directly from Louis Vuitton’s heritage of hand-painted personalised monograms on historical trunks — a visual language no other watchmaker can authentically claim — translating the brand’s trunk-making legacy into haute horlogerie.

Initial thoughts

Last year, Louis Vuitton launched a new line of high-end movements built and decorated to the standards of industrial-haute horlogerie automatics from the likes of Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe. These movements debuted in the Tambour Taiko Spin Time, a complication requiring a small-diameter movement — 23 mm in that case. Though finely made, these movements were arguably too small for a ~40 mm watch, as seen with the otherwise excellent Monterey re-issue.

Demonstrating the impressive capacity of La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), Louis Vuitton has filled that void in its movement portfolio with a line of new (but closely related) mid-sized automatic calibres powering a range of complicated additions to its Escale line. The new family of movements makes the value proposition easier to justify. Case in point, the standard Escale Worldtime retails for about €95,000, which makes it a much better value than the original from 2014, which retailed for almost US$70,000 when it debuted more than a decade ago.

That’s still steep coming from a brand many consider to be a maker of mere ‘fashion watches’ but it’s somewhat justified by the competent construction, top-quality materials, and the unmistakable design of the metiers d’art dial.

Of the two models, I find the standard Worldtime more compelling than the flying tourbillon model — the former is simply more focused and pleasing to my eye. Though (slightly) less labour-intensive to produce, the painted flag disc, with its more vibrant colours, is just as appealing in its own right as the more expensively constructed champlevé enamel city ring on the tourbillon. Naturally, both options represent a big upgrade from the printed city rings on the more affordable Escale Worldtimes of the past.

The world in your hand

The worldtime is arguably Louis Vuitton’s second signature complication, just after the Spin-Time, and the complication most associated with the Escale. Inspired by the brand’s long tradition of colourful hand-painted personalised monograms on historical trunks, the kaleidoscopic colour palette is immediately recognisable.

Louis Vuitton launched the first Escale Worldtime all the way back in 2014, with a La Fabrique du Temps-made module atop an ETA 2892-A2. It returns with a new high-end in-house base movement, yet its functionality remains unchanged with both the reference city and time adjustable from the crown without the need of buttons, or worse, a second crown.

Like the Escale Minute repeater from the original cohort, the Escale Worldtime is a jumping-hours design, which makes the time in each city slightly easier to read. And, thoughtfully, the minute hand doesn’t overlap the hours disc at any point.

The centre dial, which features a grained blue texture on the standard model but is dominated by the flying tourbillon in the Worldtime Tourbillon, is encircled by a disc bearing 24 hand-painted flags, reproducing the brands famous motifs, including diamond-stitched malletage trunk lining, Damier canvas, the Monogram Flowers pattern and a V for Gaston-Louis Vuitton – which naturally corresponds with Paris. The flags on the base model are hand painted, while the flying tourbillon’s city ring is champlevé enamel.

While the city rings of the two watches look the same at first glance, they are very different on close examination. The standard Worldtime features painted flags that are rounded, glossy, slightly raised, and a bit more vibrant. The champlevé city ring of the Worldtime Tourbillon is grand feu enamel, and the indelible result is sharp, flat, slightly matte and somewhat muted.

The champlevé enamel city ring of the Worldtime Tourbillon requires 40 firings due to its many different colours. The brand discovered some pigments could endure more firings that others without a change in colour and developed its process around that. The two most delicate pigments, light pink and green, are applied last. The brand claims it takes about 80 hours of work to make each ring, which is easy to believe considering the extreme number of firings and controlled cooling cycles required.

An emergent house style

The Escale case takes inspiration from the brass hardware of the Parisian malletier‘s iconic trunks; this influence can be seen most clearly in the design of the lugs. But the homage to the trunks is more than skin deep. One of the factors that made Louis Vuitton’s trunks popular among affluent travelers in the 19th century was their waxed canvas shell that helped prevent moisture from damaging their contents. The Escale Worldtime is likewise water resistant to a comfortable 50 m.

The case back features a saffron sapphire – Louis Vuitton’s corporate colour – to indicate the case is platinum. This subtle Easter Egg is likely inspired by Patek Philippe’s practice of placing a diamond between the lugs of its own platinum watches.

This new LFT VO-series movements maintain the same high-standards for decoration and construction seen in last year’s Tambour refresh, including many of the hallmarks of Genevan fine watchmaking. These details include a Geneva-style stud carrier clamped in place by screws, fixed banking walls, and no wire springs. The distinctive tourbillon carriage, with its four-leaf clover design, was first seen on last year’s Tambour Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon, and houses a free-sprung balance as befits a watch at this price point.

The finishing reinforces the brand’s emerging house style, with frosted plates and colourless sapphire jewels. It also doubles down on the monochromatic look, plating the automatic winding train – which was gilt in the 23 mm movements – in a white metal. The larger footprint also accommodates a larger barrel and extended 62-hour power reserve, charged by a solid 18k rose gold winding mass.

Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime Flying Tourbillon
Ref. W3PT41

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 12.8 mm
Material: Platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Cal. LFT VO05.01
Functions: Minutes, jumping hours, world time, flying tourbillon
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 62 hours

Strap: Blue calf leather strap

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Louis Vuitton boutiques
Price: Approximately €250,000 excluding taxes

The resurrected Daniel Roth is keeping up the pace with new launches. At LVMH Watch Week 2026, the brand has finally unveiled an all-new model, one that is not based on a historical watch: the Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton. Though mechanically similar to last year’s Extra Plat, the skeleton version features a new movement boasting solid gold bridges that are hand finished, resulting in a movement that is visibly high quality in its execution.

While the case is the familiar double-ellipse form that’s the Daniel Roth signature, the skeletonised movement is a new calibre with a modern style that gives this a fresh feel compared to the brand’s recent models that are firmly grounded in the 1990s Daniel Roth aesthetic.

Initial thoughts

The Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton is a good looking watch that’s instantly recognisable as a Daniel Roth, but importantly it will never be confused with a Daniel Roth watch from the 1990s like its siblings in the catalogue that are essentially remakes. This makes it the first genuinely new model in today’s Daniel Roth line-up.

The Extra Plat Skeleton marks a new direction for today’s Daniel Roth, but ironically it calls to mind a skeleton model made by Daniel Roth when it was run by Bulgari. That’s not a bad thing; that particular Bulgari-Daniel Roth was one of the best watches produced by the brand during that period.

Beyond its novelty, the watch is intrinsically appealing because it is clearly made to high standards. This is apparent in the movement with its generous decoration and slender bridges. Beyond the obvious details, the movement also stands out for the less discernible elements like the finely shaped keyless works and Geneva-style stud carrier.

The Extra Plat Skeleton costs CHF85,000, a hefty premium over the conventional model with a solid dial. It’s arguably worth the extra because of the movement quality. And in today’s highly valued market, the same amount only buys a non-skeleton, but nicely finished, time-only watch from a startup independent brand, making this a square deal at the least.

Elegantly formed

While the DR002SR looks virtually identical to the “standard” DR002 architecture, there are many subtle details that make this skeletonisation quite interesting. The placement of the gears is the same but the plates and bridges are heavily modified and not just cut out.

At first sight it seems as if each gear is being supported by its own dedicated pair of finger bridges. This is just clever cutting of the mainplate, which gives the impression of these faux sloping finger bridges on both the dial and case back side. The construction lends an air of spaciousness while preserving proper rigidity of the components. 

Three faux finger bridges.

The slim bridges are connected to the mainplate via stubby, sloped polished steel pillars — much like plates were assembled in the past in French clocks and watches. It is truly a shame how these pillars sit mostly at the edges of the movement and they will seldomly be properly seen. 

Steel support pillar visible in the top right corner.

Another beautiful architectural detail is the spring for the keyless works. The graceful two-ended spring has an exaggerated sloped profile, which adds a degree of beauty to and otherwise unassuming mechanism. Keyless works are usually boring affairs, built with reliability and compactness in mind, but here the mechanism is just showing off. 

The balance and escapement are as good as they come, with the free-sprung architecture and shock absorbers for both the balance and escape wheel. The balance beats at 4 Hz and the escapement’s lively action can be admired from the dial side. The hairspring is pinned to a screwed Geneva stud and overall the only thing missing here is a Breguet overcoil. 

A good design choice was keeping all the metalwork free of engravings. While in his early skeleton work Daniel Roth himself added intricate engraving patterns on the bridges, such flourishes are no longer the flavour of the day in contemporary watchmaking. 

The lack of engraving makes it easier to enjoy the rest of the finishing, which is definitely on par with that of both finishing-oriented independents and the established high horology manufactures. The flat tops of the bridges are all finely brushed, while the (many) edges run with continuous anglage. There are numerous sharp internal angles and one can feel the human touch and effort in the rounded polishing.

Since the undersides of the bridges themselves are visible from certain angles, they are covered with perlage — a really commendable effort from the artisans at La Fabrique du Temps. The steel parts are either brushed or mirror polished, with highlights like the crown and click wheels and the gracious blade click. 

The barrel itself is open-worked and the coiled spring inside is on almost full display. This can even work as a makeshift power-reserve indicator, since the coils will be tightly packed around the arbour when the watch is wound and will loosen towards the barrel drum as the timepiece slowly runs down.  

All this craftsmanship is packed inside the signature Daniel Roth double-ellipse case, which here truly feels like a vitrine. The case lines are kept simple and faithful to the originals from the 1990s, with all the rounded surfaces fully polished. All in all the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Skeleton measures 6.9 mm in height.

Key facts and price

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton
Ref. DBBD02A1

Diameter: 38.6 by 35.5 mm
Height: 6.9 mm
Material: 18k rose gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: DR002SR
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Manual-wind
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Calfskin leather strap

Limited edition: No
Availability: At Daniel Roth retailers
Price: CHF85,000 excluding taxes

For more information, visit DanielRoth.com.