Patek continues to surprise us for this 2018 edition of Baselworld. After a rather unexpected perpetual calendar of the Nautilus, the brand now has a chronograph version of the Aquanaut – a first since the introduction of the model in 1997. And there’s more as the Aquanaut Chronograph 5968A comes with quite some colors on the dial and the strap too. Like or not, but Patek is moving forward.
Exactly a year ago, Bvlgari stunned the watchmaking world by launching what was then the thinnest automatic watch on the market, the Octo Finissimo Automatic. The best things about this watch was that it had nothing to do with a shy, demure timepiece. Instead, Bvlgari came out with what we think is a true example of a luxury sports watch (see it face to face with the mother of them all, the RO). For Baselworld 2018, what was a single watch becomes a trilogy and a fully-fledged collection, with the introduction of the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Sandblasted in steel and 18k rose gold.
Seiko’s reputation in terms of professionally oriented dive watches is not to demonstrated anymore – and that since 1965, with the creation of the Seiko Diving Department, and later the Prospex nomenclature. For our biggest pleasure, the brand has been opening its old grimoires and digs into its rich history to offer us some of the best vintage re-editions we’ve seen recently. Last year was about the Seiko’s first ever dive watch. This year, the brand looks at yet another icon, with the re-creation of the 1968 Automatic Diver 300m Reference 6159-7001. Meet the brand new Seiko Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025.
While the inaugural timepiece made by Grand Seiko dates back to 1960 – a watch that was recreated last year, with a faithful re-edition – another extremely important date in the history of the brand is 1998. Indeed, twenty years ago, Grand Seiko introduced caliber 9S, an entirely new movement designed from scratch to deliver high precision and excellent durability. Today, the entire Grand Seiko mechanical collection is built around this movement. For its 20th anniversary, the brand launches three special movements, a new case and a unique dial. Meet the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36000 Calibre 9S 20th Anniversary ref. SBGH265 – SBGH266 – SBGH267.
One of the cool concepts that Bell & Ross introduced a few years ago is to link the launch of a watch collection to the creation of a concept machine. Think rocket-bike for the B-Rocket collection, think super-car for the Aero-GT pieces and think vintage speed-record hot rodders for the Bellytanker models. For Baselworld 2018, the Bell & Ross does it again, and this time they look at the roots of the brand, with a new concept plane and two watches with racing jet-plane inspiration. Meet the new Bell & Ross Vintage BRV1-92 & BRV2-94 Racing Bird.
It is not the first time that Oris uses bronze to craft the case of its watches. We’ve seen it already twice on the highly coveted Carl Brashear editions – both the 3-hander and the chronograph. Yet, for Baselworld 2018, the brand will make this material standard, as one of their timepieces, the very nice Big Crown Pointer Date will be offered in bronze in a non-limited edition. And that’s not the only good news… Think smaller diameter! Meet the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bronze 36mm.
In 1948, Omega created its first family of watches, the Seamaster – a collection that has since become one of the cornerstones of Omega Watches, a collection comprising most of the diving instrument the brand has created so far. If our calculations are right (and they are) the Seamaster collection is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and, paying tribute to this important milestone, Omega has decided to treat us with two new watches, deeply inspired by the two first Seamaster watches ever. Meet the Baselworld 2018 Omega Seamaster 1948 Limited Editions.
The retro revival is in full swing and the late 1950s are a recurring source of inspiration. Even Vacheron Constantin played the vintage card with a whole new collection – the FIFTYSIX – designed to capture the mood of the fifties and appeal to a hipper client base. Tudor’s latest Black Bay model shrinks in size to 39mm to emulate the brand’s first dive watches and is kitted out with a new in-house movement.
For quite some years already, Glashütte Original is working hard to bring a more contemporary feel to its usual German design. Known for being one of the very best watchmakers in the region, the brand was clearly on the conservative side for decades. New collections are bringing a younger and more modern taste to these Teutonic pieces, such as the Senator Chronograph “The Capital Edition” or the casual 3-hand Senator Excellence. For Baselworld 2018, we have a new example of this strategy, with the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar Limited Edition.
Game on! The race between Bvlgari and Piaget to prove who can manufacture the thinnest watch in the world continues. At Baselworld 2017, Bvlgari introduced the Octo Finissimo Automatic, a true luxury sports watch with a bold design and the thinnest automatic movement on the market. At the SIHH 2018, Piaget trumpeted not one, but two world records: the thinnest mechanical watch ever and the thinnest automatic watch. Baselworld 2018 has opened its doors and Bvlgari sets two new records in a single watch: the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch and the world’s thinnest automatic watch. Meet the new Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic – and yes, it is paper thin, at 3.95mm thick.