With Baselworld 2017 kicking off tomorrow, we wanted to take another look at what we feel are the best watches at last year's Baselworld based purely on price category rather than by genre. Disagreements, there were many, and long into the night, with Watchuseek's editors practically camping out in a hotel room while debating the choices. You, of course, may still disagree with our final choices, but here they are in all their imaginative glory. Each watch, other than the big ticket item, the Rebellion 540 Magnum Tourbillon and the Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar, has an article or at the very least, a paragraph, dedicated to it in earlier posts. We've provided a snippet and link for each. Enjoy.
$500 to $2000
Junghans Meister Driver Handaufzug
The Meister Driver from Junghans is a slim hand-wound watch that takes its inspiration from various classic cars from the 1930s; the designers having decided to cherry-pick their favorite details from a variety of cars and combine them into an undoubtedly cool looking watch... READ MORE HERE
Citizen Navihawk GPS
"The new Citizen Navihawk GPS featuring the GPS controlled, high function, F900 caliber introduced last year. These models are all available in titanium one on polyurethane strap and two with bracelets, one of which will have black hard coating..." READ MORE HERE
Laco New 'Old' 45mm Flieger
This year Laco have done an amazing job in making a brand new Flieger watch look as though it has just been found buried under the earth for the last 73 years. As Mike Stuffler, a huge Laco fan writes, "This new "old" Laco Flieger is the best outworking of a "used design" I have ever came across before. You have to love or to hate it. There's nothing in between. Nothing. The watch is artificially aged by very knowledgeable people with a perfect view and love for details, you wouldn't believe it if not seen in the flesh. The watch is based on a regular LACO Flieger with a diameter of 45mm, so only the movement and sapphire crystal will stay untouched."
Pictures courtesy Mike Stuffler
Mido Big Ben
The Mido Watch Design Contest, which was launched in March, was won by Sébastien Perret, who was chosen by a panel of professional judges and the public. The designer created the watch which best represented the imposing silhouette of Westminster's clock tower... READ MORE HERE.
$2000 to $5500
Tudor Black Bay (Dark)
" Tudor has a created a future classic with Black Bay Dark, Blue, and now also bronze. All of them come with the in-house movement, shield logo, and "more concise" three lines of writing on the bottom-half of the dial..." READ MORE HERE.
TAG Heuer Monza
Tag Heuer presents the re-edition of Monza . It is a numbered special edition series (not limited). There is heavy emphasis on resurrecting the old Heuer that has the pre-TAG logo, fonts, as well as pulsometer and tachymeter on the dial... For sizing, READ MORE HERE
Nomos Tetra Neomatic
Nomos had one new watch, which is refreshing since several watch brands release new watches every year just for the sake of claiming they have released a new watch. Quality over quantity remains to be desired from the brands, otherwise journalists and consumers get desensitized to such releases... READ MORE HERE
Omega Speedmaster CK2998
"The watch with the most buzz and possibly will be sold out before it even comes to the market is the Speedmaster CK2998 . The original CK2998 was released in 1959 and has since become one of the most sought-after vintage Speedmasters in the world. With its Alpha hands, symmetrical case and dark bezel, it is desired by speedy collectors..." READ MORE HERE
$5500 to $10,000
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence
Saxony watchmakers Glashütte Original (or GO for short) has introduced a new automatic caliber with 100 hours power reserve and a silicon balance spring in a 40mm steel and pink gold case... READ MORE HERE.
Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar
Priced at a keen CHF 8,350 and designed in keeping with classical watchmaking principles, updated with innovative 21 st century techniques the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar of Frederique Constant has been entirely created to meet customers' requirements, which are : robustness, reliability and easy to adjust.
The in-house movement encased in this watch, was created by Manuel Da Silva Matos, R&D director, and Pim Koeslag, technical director of Frederique Constant, after two years of research and development, a creative tandem who constantly surprise us by the technical mastery displayed in their timepieces.
The Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar is one of the most innovative yet easy to assemble perpetual calendar watch ever produced. The designers used the latest technology in the design of the movement parts. The calculations and the machines used to make the parts are state of the art and very precise.
Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT
"The GMT variations will be the same shape and size, aside from the thickness, minus the chronograph features. There will be both the blue dialed model (pictured above) with a black croc strap and blue stitching (SBGE039), as well as a black dial on brown crocodile strap (SBGE037)." READ MORE HERE
Slim d'Hermès
"Slim d'Hermès watches are fitted with the H1950 ultra-thin automatic movement manufactured by Vaucher. The functions include hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o'clock...." READ MORE HERE
$10k +
Voutilainen Vingt-8
In keeping with the most classic watchmaking traditions, all the watches emerging from the Voutilainen workshops are designed, built, produced, finished and assembled in-house. This Manufacture is equipped with a 'natural' escapement built by Kari Voutilainen... READ MORE HERE
Chopard LUC Perpetual Calendar Steel
Chopard , the Geneva watchmaker, has released a brand new L.U.C caliber 03.10-L with a manually-wound chronograph and perpetual calendar... READ MORE HERE
Rebellion 540 Magnum Tourbillon Saphir
At $10,000 +++, this was comfortably the most expensive watch at the show at $1.8m. The 47,600 minutes that were required to machine and polish the extraordinary case do not include the hours and hours devoted to conceiving and verifying whether it would be feasible at all, one step after the other. It was a titanic job made possible by simulation using a computer and an advanced 3D software especially reprogrammed for the task at hand. Because of the "world premiere" character of the actual encasement, a sapphire box of unparalleled complexity, onje could almost forget the actual content. Well, inside this virile timepiece in XXL size is an extreme mechanism also developed by David Candaux, a recognized maker of movements.
$500 to $2000
Junghans Meister Driver Handaufzug
Citizen Navihawk GPS
"The new Citizen Navihawk GPS featuring the GPS controlled, high function, F900 caliber introduced last year. These models are all available in titanium one on polyurethane strap and two with bracelets, one of which will have black hard coating..." READ MORE HERE
Laco New 'Old' 45mm Flieger
This year Laco have done an amazing job in making a brand new Flieger watch look as though it has just been found buried under the earth for the last 73 years. As Mike Stuffler, a huge Laco fan writes, "This new "old" Laco Flieger is the best outworking of a "used design" I have ever came across before. You have to love or to hate it. There's nothing in between. Nothing. The watch is artificially aged by very knowledgeable people with a perfect view and love for details, you wouldn't believe it if not seen in the flesh. The watch is based on a regular LACO Flieger with a diameter of 45mm, so only the movement and sapphire crystal will stay untouched."
Pictures courtesy Mike Stuffler
Mido Big Ben
$2000 to $5500
Tudor Black Bay (Dark)
TAG Heuer Monza
Nomos Tetra Neomatic
Omega Speedmaster CK2998
"The watch with the most buzz and possibly will be sold out before it even comes to the market is the Speedmaster CK2998 . The original CK2998 was released in 1959 and has since become one of the most sought-after vintage Speedmasters in the world. With its Alpha hands, symmetrical case and dark bezel, it is desired by speedy collectors..." READ MORE HERE
$5500 to $10,000
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence
Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar
The in-house movement encased in this watch, was created by Manuel Da Silva Matos, R&D director, and Pim Koeslag, technical director of Frederique Constant, after two years of research and development, a creative tandem who constantly surprise us by the technical mastery displayed in their timepieces.
The Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar is one of the most innovative yet easy to assemble perpetual calendar watch ever produced. The designers used the latest technology in the design of the movement parts. The calculations and the machines used to make the parts are state of the art and very precise.
Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT
Slim d'Hermès
"Slim d'Hermès watches are fitted with the H1950 ultra-thin automatic movement manufactured by Vaucher. The functions include hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o'clock...." READ MORE HERE
$10k +
Voutilainen Vingt-8
In keeping with the most classic watchmaking traditions, all the watches emerging from the Voutilainen workshops are designed, built, produced, finished and assembled in-house. This Manufacture is equipped with a 'natural' escapement built by Kari Voutilainen... READ MORE HERE
Chopard LUC Perpetual Calendar Steel
Rebellion 540 Magnum Tourbillon Saphir
At $10,000 +++, this was comfortably the most expensive watch at the show at $1.8m. The 47,600 minutes that were required to machine and polish the extraordinary case do not include the hours and hours devoted to conceiving and verifying whether it would be feasible at all, one step after the other. It was a titanic job made possible by simulation using a computer and an advanced 3D software especially reprogrammed for the task at hand. Because of the "world premiere" character of the actual encasement, a sapphire box of unparalleled complexity, onje could almost forget the actual content. Well, inside this virile timepiece in XXL size is an extreme mechanism also developed by David Candaux, a recognized maker of movements.
