To celebrate two decades as the Official Timekeeper of the NTT Indycar Series, TAG Heuer launches a new Formula 1 Chronograph Indy 500 Special Edition watch.
The new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph Indy 500 Special Edition watch.
The 43mm quartz-powered chronograph, which launches ahead of the 108th Indianapolis 500 on May 26, echoes previous special editions from TAG Heuer with its racing-red accents and prominent Indianapolis Speedway logo.
TAG Heuer teamed with the Indycar design team when considering which race references to include in the watch. As a result, you’ll see “Indy 500” displayed on the ceramic bezel, positioned on the tachymeter scale.
In addition, TAG Heuer has engraved the Indy 500 logo and ‘special edition’ mention on the back. Also note the asphalt-like black and red detail on the dial.
As a reference to heritage, the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph watch details #11 in the indexes, which underscores the year of the first race in 1911 as well as the beginning of the TAG Heuer partnership in 2011.
The red numeral at 11 o’clock depicts the birth of the race in 1911 and the beginning of the TAG Heuer partnership 100 years later.
The chronograph’s three sub-dials feature a permanent second indicator at 3 o’clock, a minute chronograph counter embellished with the Indianapolis Speedway logo at 6 o’clock, and the hour chronograph counter at 9 o’clock.
As a racing-inspired watch, the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph is fit with a steel bracelet and folding clasp with a double safety system and pilot extension. This allows the watch to be worn over a racing suit.
At this year’s Indy 500 race, look for the new watch on the wrist of of TAG Heuer ambassador and Indycar driver Alexander Rossi.
Price: $2,400.
Specifications: TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph x Indy 500
During a visit to my friend Morgan Maillard, the head watchmaker at the Vacheron Constantin boutique in New York, he shared his journey of becoming a watchmaker in France and mentioned one of his friends, the independent Master Watchmaker Theo Auffret.
This piqued my interest, and I decided to delve deeper into the work of this young craftsman.
Theo Auffret
The golden age of French watchmaking was in the 18th century, marked by the establishment of the first French horological school in Paris. When thinking of the famous figures from that era, names like Jean-Antoine Lepine, Ferdinand Berthoud and the watchmaking genius Abraham Louis Breguet come to mind.
From left: Jean-Antoine Lepine, Ferdinand Berthoud and Abraham-Louis Breguet.
Today, when discussing the horology industry, Switzerland is often the first country discussed, with brands like Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, and Blancpain, among others.
However, behind these renowned brands, new names are emerging, including F.P. Journe and Laurent Ferrier, independent master watchmakers known for producing grand complications in small quantities. When researching French watchmakers, one name that consistently stands out is Jean-Baptiste Viot, a discreet watchmaker who serves as an inspiration to these talented young watchmakers.
Among his former apprentices is Theo Auffret, a rising star within the small community of independent master watchmakers.
The Auffret Paris Tourbillon Grand Sport was short-listed in the 2022 GPHG.
Theo Auffret’s journey as an independent master watchmaker is fascinating, reflecting a blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern innovation. His mentorship under J.B. Viot and subsequent training in Switzerland underscore the importance of historical expertise and contemporary techniques in his work.
It is remarkable how seamlessly he integrates old techniques with new technology, maintaining a balance between tradition and innovation. Theo is an avid reader who draws inspiration and ideas from various sources, including Breguet’s work from the 18th and 19th centuries (the Empire period), as well as contemporary timepieces like the first Richard Mille RM01 watch.
Auffret stands at the crossroads between the old generation of watchmakers, craftsmanship, and the new era. He is proficient in working with sapphire dial cutting and laser welding machines, combining high-end traditional techniques with modern industrial processes for decoration.
Tradition and New Technology
The goal is to preserve both worlds. Most independent master watchmakers today adopt a similar approach, remaining flexible with more traditional methods to customize watches and better serve their clients’ desires. Unlike high-end watch groups, small independent watchmakers prioritize craftsmanship over profitability, focusing on creating unique pieces rather than mass production.
Theo utilizes old techniques while integrating new technology into his work. He has developed his own methodology, starting with in-house conception and prototyping, followed by filing in a “dossier de plan.”
All design and drawings are done in-house, with a significant amount of work done on paper followed by computer work (CAO and CN). While initially, all processes were done by hand when developing the first prototype, there has been an evolution in his approach, collaborating with trusted subcontractors for specific parts.
In his workshop today, Theo has a station de decoration where he performs tasks like chamfering. He takes great pride in the fact that everything is done in-house, including assembly, tuning, testing, and quality control. He specializes in chronometry and ensures his tourbillons function flawlessly. In his own words, “Any piece leaves the place when the team is proud of their work”.
Two Brands
Similar to Abraham Louis Breguet, Theo has developed two brands: a high-end timepiece collection featuring a series of ten tourbillons (his specialty) and a new series comprising fourteen to fifteen pieces for 2024. The entire process, from conception to realization, took three years and includes two models —classic and sport. The aim is to produce a maximum of thirty watches per year.
The high-end collection is financed by Theo’s second brand, Argon, also designed and conceptualized at the same location.
This company is jointly owned by Theo and Guillaume Laidet, who already manufactures and distributes brands like Nivada Grenchen. Each partner brings expertise to the table, with Guillaume contributing watchmaking skills, creativity, and experience, while Theo provides production capacity.
The new Space One line is set to launch this month, following ten months of development, with a different approach to engineering and production.
The Space One Tellurium
Targeting a series of 1,000 units, Theo’s philosophy mirrors Breguet’s Souscription (subscription) strategy in the 19th century, where a lower quality line was manufactured to finance high-end timepieces.
The Blued Titanium Space One
The partnership involves Theo the watchmaker, Guillaume the entrepreneur, and the Richard group, which manufactures bracelets, hands, and cases, providing logistical and technical support across three continents. The company retains 100% control over distribution, handling production and shipping internally, as creating a “jump hour/astronomy” complication watch priced around $2,000 leaves almost no margin for a distributor network.
The market for “Space 1” is global, while Theo’s tourbillon watches primarily target the Asia, the United States and the Middle East (specifically Dubai and Saudi Arabia), with around three watches reserved for foreign collectors residing in France.
The primary region of interest is Asia, particularly Singapore, where collectors are more open to new designs and concepts compared to other countries, contrasting with the United States, where the culture leans towards established brands. Today’s collectors seek high-end, unique pieces with exceptional quality. As margins are minimal, more effort and time are dedicated to each timepiece, ultimately increasing its value.
Theo’s typical clients start with mainstream luxury timepieces like Rolex, then progress to higher-end brands like Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin before exploring independent watchmakers like F.P. Journe, eventually culminating in independent craftsmen producing very limited series.
A new group of collectors invests in young independent master watchmakers, placing orders early to acquire unique pieces. Watches from this new generation of watchmakers are not typically sold at auctions; collectors prefer to retain them, unlike older-generation pieces from watchmakers like Philippe Dufour or George Daniels, which occasionally appear at auctions.
Theo is the only master watchmaker in Paris, while others are located in different parts of the country, such as Remy Cools in Annecy (producing twelve timepieces per year), Cyril Brivet-Naudot in Quimper (producing two timepieces per year), John Michael specializing in automata, and Pascal Coyon in Osgore (producing between five and ten timepieces).
It’s noteworthy that these talented watchmakers share the same clientele, with their watch prices ranging between 50,000 and 200,000 euros. Theo recently collaborated with the renowned Petermann Bedat located in Lausanne on the UniWatch model.
This new generation maintains close relationships, with Theo having good rapport with Vincent Deprez, Simon Brette, and Raoul Pages. He only accepts down payments for watches produced the following year, avoiding orders extending over multiple years to preserve the company’s autonomy.
With all his numerous ideas in mind, I suspect that Theo’s ultimate goal is to establish an atelier in Paris for assembling and finishing timepieces, doubling as a showroom.
My conversation with Theo was enlightening, providing insights into how these talented new watchmakers perceive the future of high-end watchmaking. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they collaborate and support each other, reminiscent of Breguet’s era. While most of them prefer independence for creativity and quality, they face constant scrutiny from large luxury groups seeking to acquire new talent to expand their empires, often struggling in terms of creativity.
Here’s to the new generation of young independent watchmakers; may they continue to pepper the high-end watch landscape with beautiful and mechanically masterful creations.
Laurent Martinez is the proprietor of Laurent Fine Watches, Greenwich, Connecticut. Read more by him at blog.laurentfinewatches.com or visit his store’s site at www.laurentfinewatches.com
Among the eleven new watches debuted by Patek Philippe during Watches and Wonders, one debut in particular stands out for its technical advancement while others enliven existing collections with new colors, new casual (denim) straps, new case metals or, for one highlight, a sleek new bracelet.
New Patek Philippe World Time Reference Ref. 5330G-001.
World Timer localizes
The newest Patek Philippe World Time model joins the full collection after initially debuting as a limited edition last year during the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition Watch Art Tokyo 2023.
The watch, Ref. 5330G-001, now displays a date display synchronized with local time, which is a patented world-first and a notably useful travel function.
Patek Philippe watchmakers have added a specialized differential system to the watch’s automatic movement. The resulting change means the local date will appear along the edge of the dial, indicated with a transparent glass hand (a first for Patek Philippe) with a red tip.
In this illustration, note that the new Patek Philippe Caliber 240 HU C features a patented central differential system comprising two concentric star-type gear wheels to manage the local-time date.
The local time is the time zone selected at 12 o’clock and indicated by the center hands.
With its 40mm white gold case and handsome blue-grey opaline dial (with a block-pattern carbon center), the dressy model allows the wearer to simply press the pusher at 10 o’clock to move the move the local time zone indicated on the watch in one-hour increments.
With this simple gesture, the traveller can both see the local time while also noting the time differences globally, as seen on the multi-city dial indicator.
Patek Philippe displayed the new World Time Reference Ref. 5330G-001 with a new denim weave strap, a casual bracelet also seen on other debuts. Price: $76,594.
The newest Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse
Golden Ellipse bracelet
Another head-turner at the Patek Philippe exhibition in Geneva was the supple new gold chain bracelet attached to the always elegant Golden Ellipse, Reference 5738/1R.
While often attached to various precious metal bracelets since its debut in 1968, the Golden Ellipse has in recent years been primarily a leather strap model, in part due to the difficulty in sizing the bracelet at the point of sale.
Patek Philippe explains that the new bracelet is the result of fifteen years of work. It is made of 18-karat hand-polished rose gold with a new, patented construction made of 363 parts, including more than 300 links, assembled manually.
The new clasp (above), with its engraved cover, offers a choice of three adjustment notches.
The bracelet debuts attached to a new rose gold edition of the 34.5mm-by-39.5mm fashion icon. For the debut Patek Philippe created a new sunburst ebony black dial with applied baton-type hour-markers and thin rose-gold hands.
Inside, Patek Philippe fits its celebrated self-winding caliber 240, an ultra-thin movement with off-center 22-karat gold mini-rotor. The movement’s thin profile means the Golden Ellipse Reference 5738 is now the slimmest watch in the Patek Philippe regular collection. Price: $60,097.
Other 2024 Patek Philippe debuts include:
A new dial on the Twenty~4 Reference 4910/1201R-010 ($47,607, pictured above) now displays eye-catching concentric waves coated with dozens of layers of translucent lacquer.
The new Patek Philippe Nautilus Flyback Chronograph, Reference 5980/60G-001.
A new edition of the Patek Philippe Nautilus Flyback Chronograph. The newest,Reference 5980/60G-001 ($78,951), revisits the hot sports model in white gold with a blue-gray opaline dial. Patek Philippe will deliver two matching straps with each watch.
One is a blue-gray calfskin embossed with a denim motif edged with contrasting white hand-stitching (above) and the other is a blue-grey composite in afabric motif.
The new Aquanaut Luce Haute Joaillerie Reference 5268/461G-001 ($235,674, pictured above) gleams in white gold set with diamonds and blue sapphires within snow and baguette settings.
On the rounded octagonal bezel, baguette-cut sapphires gradate from light blue to dark blue. Inside is Caliber 26-330 S, a self-winding movement visible through the sapphire-crystal back.
Also at Watches and Wonders 2024, Patek Philippe announced that for all new Patek Philippe watches sold as of May 1, 2024, the duration of the Patek Philippe warranty increases from two years to five years, counting from the date of purchase.
Among the many impressive new watches Grand Seiko debuted during Watches & Wonders 2024, this red-dialed Spring Drive Chronograph GMT (SBGC275) is particularly notable.
The Grand Seiko Caliber 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition: SBGC275
Meant to recall the sun’s terrestrial light show as it rises and sets in the Hotaka mountain range in the Shinshu region of central Japan (where Grand Seiko makes its Spring Drive watches), the distinctive dial appears to change colors with each viewing, as the ambient light itself changes.
Grand Seiko launches the watch, which joins the watchmaker’s Sport Collection, as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the first Grand Seiko watch powered by the 9R Spring Drive movement series.
The watchmaker explains that this dial is made possible through the use of a new dial-processing technology that involves a patented dial-coating process known as “Optical Multilayer Coating.”
“Instead of traditional techniques to color the dial, the new technology uses a physical vapor deposition process,” explains Grand Seiko’s Jon Bues. “Several layers of nanoscale film create an effect in which the dial exhibits a different hue depending on the angle of view. Combined with the silent glide motion of the seconds hand, the transitioning dial colors bring a new dimension to the idea of the nature of time.”
Set within Grand Seiko’s angular case, inspired by the shape of a lion (a Grand Seiko symbol) this newest Spring Drive Chronograph GMT offers notable claw-like, hairline-finished lugs that contrast nicely with the watch’s many Zaratsu-polished surfaces.
With curved lugs and a low center of gravity, the new watch sits comfortably on the wrist.
The high-intensity titanium 44.5mm by 16.8mm case weights about thirty percent less than stainless steel and has a brighter color. That brightness continues amid the eye-catching red-orange with Luminous hands and markers.
Here Grand Seiko careful considers the light once again, with two colors of Lumibrite: green for the markers and the hour and minute hands and blue for the GMT hand and the numbers on the bezel. This enhances the watch’s legibility in dark conditions.
To symbolize enhanced accuracy, an 18k gold Grand Seiko lion emblem can be seen on the movement’s oscillating weight.
Inside Grand Seiko fits its excellent Spring Drive Chronograph GMT Caliber 9R96, a specially adjusted version of Caliber 9R86. The movement delivers an accuracy of ±10 seconds per month, or ±0.5 seconds per day.
Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive Chronograph GMT Caliber 9R96, a specially adjusted version of Caliber 9R86.
Grand Seiko is offering the Caliber 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition (SBGC275) as a limited edition of 700, available at the Grand Seiko Boutiques and select retail partners worldwide in July. Price: $13,400.
Specifications: Grand Seiko Caliber 9R 20th Anniversary Limited Edition: SBGC275
Spring Drive Chronograph GMT Caliber 9R96
Driving system: Automatic
Accuracy: ±10 seconds per month (±0.5 seconds per day) Power reserve: 72 hours
GMT hand
Chronograph up to 12 hours
Number of jewels: 50
High-intensity titanium case and bracelet
Three-fold clasp with push-button release, secure lock, and extender Dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating See-through screw case back
Screw-down crown
Water resistance: 20 bar
Magnetic resistance: 4,800 A/m
Diameter: 44.5mm, Thickness: 16.8mm
Price: $13,400
Limited edition of 700
Parmigiani Fleurier launches the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date, creating an even more minimalistic option within its Tonda PF Micro-Rotor series.
The new Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date.
The debut comes alongside a terrific new Toric collection that the watchmaker launched as its primary Watches and Wonders 2024 highlight. (We’ll have much more about the new Toric in a future post.)
At Watches and Wonders 2024, Parmigiani Fleurier launched a new Toric collection, including a manual wind model (pictured) and a chronograph rattrapante (pictured below).The new Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph Rattrapante
The Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date
In the full Parmigiani Fleurier collection since 2021, the initial Tonda PF Micro-Rotor watch displayed only minutes, hours and date on its signature, ultra-clean Grain d’Orge guilloche dial.
The newest, cleaner dial echoes the existing date-free models within the Tonda PF Automatic series and the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante collection, the latter of which was a highlight of the 2022 Watches and Wonders exhibit.
With this new iteration, the watchmaker strips the 40mm by 7.8mm watch of even its date display, leaving only the 18-karat gold, rhodium-plated skeletonized delta-shaped hands to offer the sole time display.
Parmigiani Fleurier retains the eye-catching guilloche dial pattern here, creating a specialized Golden Siena color.The watchmaker describes the hue as “a shade with moiré effects directly inspired by the rich “sienna” palette, thus celebrating the subtle nuances and naturalness of the earth.”
Turn the watch over for a busier display. From the back, you’ll see the platinum oscillating weight as its powers the highly decorated PF703 automatic caliber.
Here more of the underlying movement plate can be viewed than is typical in other watches with micro-rotors. That’s because Parmigiani Fleurier watchmakers have created a specialized, slightly smaller rotor built with a unique shape.
Price: $25,300.
Specifications: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes
MOVEMENT: PF703 – Automatic Manufacture movement with platinum 950 micro-rotor. Power reserve: 48 hours
Frequency: 21,600 Vph (3 Hz)
Jewels: 29
No. of components: 160
Overall diameter: 30.6 mm
Thickness : 3.07 mm
Decoration : Côtes de Genève, Perlage Oscillating weight: platinum 950 micro- rotor, Grain d’Orge guilloché
DIAL: Color: Golden Siena
Finishing: Grain d’Orge hand-guilloché Indices: hand-applied rhodium-plated appliques
Hands: 18-karat gold rhodium-plated, skeletonized delta-shaped
CASE: Polished and satin-finished stainless steel with platinum 950 with knurled bezel Diameter: 40mm
Thickness: 7.8mm, Crown: 4.3mm, screwed-in
Glass: ARunic anti-reflective sapphire. Case back: sapphire glass
Engraving on case back: serial number – “PARMIGIANI FLEURIER”
Water resistance: 100 meters.
The watch, 
