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Parmigiani Fleurier Expands Unisex Tonda PF Series  

Parmigiani Fleurier adds two new models to its award-winning Tonda PF Automatic 36mm collection, expanding the series with a two-tone gold and steel bracelet model as well as a rose gold version on an alligator strap.

One of two additions to the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm collection.

Both debuts extend the unisex collection, which in 2022 was awarded the Women’s Watch Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. 

Echoing the initial 40mm Tonda PF Micro-Rotor series, the 36mm models also feature stunning Grain d’Orge hand-guilloché dials but omit a date display and, with a traditional rotor powering the movement, are not quite as thin as the earlier 40mm debuts.

The 36mm two-tone debut, a first steel and gold mix within the Tonda PF collection,  features a rose gold bezel, crown and rose gold links within the steel bracelet.

The gold essentially brings extra attention to characteristics that Parmigiani Fleurier built into the contemporary Tonda PF design, namely the finely knurled bezel and the tapered bracelet.

Parmigiani Fleurier further emphasizes these architectural elements with a contrasting finish. Unlike the polished stainless steel links at the ends of the bracelet, the gold links are satin-finished. And note that as the line of gold and steel links nears the clasp, each link is slightly shorter than the previous link.

The gold-cased Tonda PF Automatic 36mm debut is more luxurious and dressier with its all-precious case, ruby-colored alligator strap and ruby red Grain d’Orge hand-guilloché dial decoration.

Both debuts feature a superb in-house PF770 automatic movement that boasts a sixty-hour power reserve and a skeletonized rotor fully visible from the watch’s clear sapphire back.

Prices: $26,200 (steel and rose gold case and bracelet), $40,400 (rose gold on an alligator strap).  

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The Watches

Hublot Celebrates Watches of Switzerland Partnership  

To celebrate their partnership,  Hublot and watch retailer Watches of Switzerland unveil the Big Bang All Black Green, a newly green version of an existing black ceramic design. The limited edition (of fifty) will be sold only in boutiques and online in the United Kingdom and United States.

The new Hublot Big Bang All Black Green.

The watch extends Hublot’s family of colorful ceramic Big Bang models, with a green ceramic bezel, familiar skeletonized dial and a 42mm by 14.5mm micro-blasted black ceramic case.

Inside Hublot fits it superb in-house Unico HUB1280 automatic flyback chronograph movement with its double coupling system and column-wheel both visible through the clear dial.

The movement also boasts 72-hours of power reserve and is protected with a 100-meter water resistance rating.

With its easy-to-use bracelet swapping system, Hublot includes matching straps with each Big Bang All Black Green. One is made of rubber black and grey green camouflage and the second is a black fabric Velcro strap.

Each is set with a matching buckle. The rubber strap includes a black ceramic and black titanium deployant buckle while the fabric strap includes a micro-blasted black ceramic sport buckle. 

Price: $24,800. 

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The Watches

Porsche Design Revives Military Chronograph 

Porsche Design revives a late-1970s military flyback chronograph with the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, the watchmaker’s first titanium carbide chronograph not connected to a specific Porsche sports car.

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition.

By making the new watch using a titanium carbide case instead of a steel case like the original model, Porsche Design makes the chronograph’s case more scratch-resistant, much lighter and hypoallergenic.

But by remaking the matte black dial and using same easy-to-read font of the original, the watchmaker has created a technically updated ode to that 1979 design. 

While the dial of the historical model (which was made for the flying squadron of the U.S. Air Force) featured a tiger’s head, the new watch offers a screaming marmot image between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock.

The “Mankei” (marmot) name on the dial also refers to the Mankeiwirt, Ferdi Porsche’s newly opened destination for car enthusiasts located near Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See, Austria. 

In addition to the font and technical features, the Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition also pays homage to its historical model in several other ways. 

A new “TiC” logo is placed in the characteristic position between 1 and 2 o’clock on the dial referencing the use of titanium carbide, and is a modern reinterpretation of the 3H symbol (for tritium) of the military model. Tritium is here replaced by bright blue SuperLuminova.

The watch also features the historic Porsche Design logo on the dial and winding crown. Two dots on the dial at 12 o’clock provide a clear orientation of the displays in the dark.

The new watch (right) with the original model from 1979.

There are few differences of course, most critically the new movement and the larger case size. Originally 38mm, the new watch measures 42.7mm in diameter.

The watch is powered by a COSC-certified Porsche Design WERK 01.240 chronograph caliber that retains the flyback function of the original watch.

The back of the the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, showing the aviation style leather strap.

Also new: a thicker seconds hand and a larger minute hand.

Porsche Design attaches the new watch to a slate grey ‘Bund’ strap made of Porsche vehicle leather with a quick-release mechanism. As an additional option, the chronograph also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

The watch also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

Collectors can pre-order the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition now for $13,000. The watch will be available in stores starting January 15, 2024.

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The Watches

Bulova Adds GMT to Oceanographer 

Bulova adds a GMT function to its vintage-style Oceanographer dive watch collection and creates three models to inaugurate the new series.

The new Oceanographer GMT retains the retro look of the existing Bulova Oceanographer ‘Devil Diver’ models, but with a new GMT hand to account for a second time zone.

One of three new Bulova Oceanographer GMT watches.

Two of the debuts feature 41mm steel cases, steel bracelets and a corresponding bi-directional rotating 24-hour bezel.

The third 41mm steel-cased model (below) comes with a rubber-strap instead of bracelet and also differs with an internal 24-hour track in place of a 24-hour bezel.

You might recall that the original 1972 Oceanographer dive watch was often called the Devil Diver when Bulova inscribed “666 feet” on the dial to note its underwater depth rating according to the Imperial system, which differed from the Swiss rating system.

Bulova revived the Devil Diver monicker several years ago within its Archive series with a hot-selling vintage-styled Oceanographer model.  

Bulova calls on a workhorse Miyota 9075 automatic movement to power the GMT hand to keep track a second time zone while also displaying the local time and date indications. The movement maintains accuracy of -10/+30 seconds per day and offers a 42-hour power reserve.

Look for three models in the new collection. One combines brown and black tones with an IP-plated rose gold tone steel case and bracelet. A second steel-cased edition features a familiar red and blue GMT design often built into dive watches as well as a matching steel bracelet.

The third Bulova Oceanographer GMT model boasts a more monochrome look with a gunmetal IP-plated case and bezel set with a full luminous white dial.

Here the unidirectional bezel offers elapsed time indication rather than the 24-hour display, which instead is seen  on the dial inside the bezel. Bulova fits the watch with a matching grey silicone textured strap.

All watches in the trio offer a screw-down crown, a double-domed box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and, of course, the 200 meters of water resistance as symbolized by the “666 feet” displayed on the dial, just below the excellent vintage descriptor “snorkel.”

Prices: $1,295 (luminous dial and rubber strap) and $1,395 (steel bracelet).

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The Watches

Chronoswiss Launches Titanium Opus

Chronoswiss lightens its groundbreaking Opus skeletonized chronograph with the new Opus Chronograph Titanium, a modernized update of the original Opus, a watch Chronoswiss introduced in 1995 as one of the first serially-produced automatic skeletonized chronographs.

The new Chronoswiss Opus Chronograph Titanium, also available with green accents.

It’s hard to overstate the influence of the original Opus, which graced watch publications (including this one) and collector wrists worldwide in the years after its debut. Its transparency exposed a new generation of aficionados to the artistry and technical beauty of mechanical watchmaking.

The industry saw a general uptick in skeleton-dialed debuts from a wide range of watchmakers for years following the Opus debut.

Chronoswiss is now offering a contemporary take on the classic Opus design, casing two variations in grade-5 titanium.

The same levers, gears and cams remain as visible as ever here, with Chronoswiss adding a CVD-coating to the watch’s caliber C.741S, an ETA Valjoux-based integrated chronograph movement.

With galvanic black skeletonized bridges, the movement retains its mesmerizing allure to enthusiasts while adding a stealthy modern twist. Look for two color options, green and blue, each of which frame and complement the movement’s web of blackened and CVD-coated gears and levers. (See specifications below).

Offered in steel within the current Chronoswiss collection, the modern Opus Chronograph has not previously been made using a titanium case with the exception of a customized thirty-piece collection created with the Singapore-based Grail Watch.

“The new Opus Titanium arrives just in time to mark our 40th anniversary,” explains Oliver Epstein, CEO of Lucern-based Chronoswiss. “This watch is not just a product; it’s a statement of our relentless pursuit of innovation and our respect for tradition.”

Price: $14,500. 

Specifications: Chronoswiss Opus Chronograph Titanium

(References CH-7543T.1S-BL2 and CH7543T.1S-DGR) 

Case: 41mm by 14.80mm, solid 23 pieces, grade-5 titanium, with satin finish and polished, bezel with partial knurling and curved, double coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal, screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal, onion crown, water resistance to 100 meters, screw-in lugs with patented Auto bloc system. 

Movement: Chronoswiss Caliber C.741S, automatic (ETA Valjoux-based), skeletonized, 4 Hz., 28,800 vph, power reserve of 46 hours, skeletonized and CVD-plated rotor with Côtes de Genève, ball bearings; polished pallet lever, escape wheel and screws; skeletonized bridges and base plate with perlage, galvanic black.

Dial: Skeletonized, blue or green CVD-coated matte finish, Breguet lozenge-shaped hands, rhodium plated. 

Strap: Textile cordura. 

Price: $14,500

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