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The new TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph, TAG Heuer’s highlight Watches and Wonders 2024 debut, pairs the square Monaco case with a wholly new split-seconds chronograph caliber.

The TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph features an all-titanium TH81-00 mechanical split-seconds chronograph caliber.

Made entirely of titanium, the watch’s TH81-00 movement is the lightest automatic chronograph movement ever created by the watchmaker, which teamed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier to create the caliber.

While Heuer dominated sports timing, particularly automotive racing, during much of the 20th century with its ground-breaking split-second chronograph pocket watches and timers, the Le Locle watchmaker had not previously offered a mechanical wristwatch with the same function. (In 1989, TAG Heuer introduced a quartz split-seconds chronograph wristwatch that became a favorite of racing legends such as Ayrton Senna, Gerhard Berger and Michael Schumacher.)

“In developing this new watch we spent months researching complications, and quickly knew it had to be a chronograph, and particularly with a split-second function, which is the queen of chronographs,” explains Nicholas Biebuyck, TAG Heuer’s Heritage Director. A split-seconds function is capable of measuring two separate time intervals concurrently.

“We found documentation dating to 1889 that advertises the Heuer brand as specializing in the rattrapante platform. As it turns out, we had never made a (mechanical) chronograph with a split second for the wrist,” he adds. 

No compromise

To rectify that somewhat surprising omission, Biebuyck and Carole Forestier-Kasapi, TAG Heuer’s movements director, worked with TAG Heuer’s technical team to create the watchmaker’s first wrist rattrapante “with no compromise.”

The team started with a high-frequency 5-Hz movement to enhance split-second accuracy, and quickly determined that to make a highly wearable, lightweight and ergonomically impressive debut wrist rattrapante, it would need to be made of titanium.

“The reason we chose titanium for the case was because we wanted to create something particularly comfortable to wear, but we then extended this to the movement as well,” adds Forestier-Kasapi.

TAG Heuer offers various titanium-cased Monaco chronographs, though all are powered with traditionally manufactured movements. 

“I cannot think of an example where we have made an entire movement in titanium previously. Certainly not in a commercially available product,” says Biebuyck. Even when the all sides of the 41mm by 15.2mm case and the movement are combined, the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph weighs a wispy 85 grams.

The new watch enhances the timepiece’s overall novelty with extensive application of sapphire to the case. The clarity created by the clear sapphire offers an open view into the titanium Calibre TH81-00 movement.

The back offers an unobstructed view of the signature checkerboard pattern on the center bridge and the fine-brushed balance wheel bridge. From the edges of the case we can also see the movement’s two column wheels and decorated bridges.

TAG Heuer offers two Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph models. A red variation with black DLC coating is inspired by TAG Heuer’s long history in the world of professional automotive racing.

A blue model pays tribute to the original color code of the Heuer Monaco. Here, gradient blue dial arches transition from light blue, an effect created through a painstaking anodizing process.

Price: CHF 165,000. 

      

Arnold & Son sails into new horological territory with Longitude Titanium, the watchmaker’s first luxury sport watch and its first all-titanium collection.

One of three Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium debuts.

The nautically themed watch is a COSC-certified chronometer with a 42.5 mm titanium case and a matching titanium bracelet. Its vertical dial layout honors marine chronometers, which the famed British watchmaker and company namesake John Arnold pioneered.

Nautical references and rounded edges abound on the collection. While the middle of the case echoes the waterline of a ship, the bezel’s base has been notched sixty times to mimic the typical fluted ring John Arnold used on his historic marine chronometers. Satin finishes dominate all flat surfaces, which allows the few polish edges to stand out.

This relatively unadorned dial sets it apart from the typically complex Arnold & Son layouts, which typically feature skeletonized, moon phase and busier artisanal designs.

Particularly large, satin-finished, polished and luminescent hour-markers echo the shape of the hands and the bracelet links.

The vertically aligned layout features a mirror-polished power-reserve indicator at 12 o’clock and a prominent sub-seconds display at 6 o’clock.

Inside the Longitude Titanium Arnold & Son fits the new, COSC-certified in-house A&S6302 caliber, an automatic movement with a gold rotor carved to recall both a sextant and the prow of an 18th-century English frigate. As with all Arnold & Son movements, the power reserve here is long, offering a full sixty hours of autonomy on a full wind.

Arnold & Son again reaches back to its namesake with the dial options for the Longitude Titanium. To recall the coast of Cornwall, John Arnold’s birthplace, Arnold & Son offers the first collections in a sandy golden shade called Kingsand (a local beach), ocean blue and fern green.

The Kingsand model is a limited edition of 88 pieces. Each watch arrives with an additional rubber strap that is interchangeable with the titanium bracelet. 

Prices: CHF 22,600 (Kingsand) and CHF 21,500 (blue and green).

 

Specifications: Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium 

Movement: Calibre A&S6302, self-winding mechanical, COSC-certified, 36 jewels 36, Power reserve 60 hours, frequency 4 Hz/28,000 vph. Finishes mainplate: palladium finish, circular-grained bridges: palladium finish, polished and chamfered, ‘Rayons de la Gloire’ motif wheels: golden finish, circular satin-finished screws: blued and chamfered, mirror-polished heads, oscillating weight: 22-carat red gold (5N), skeletonized, chamfered, engraved.

Dial: Kingsand gold, ocean blue or fern green PVD treatment,  vertical satin finish power reserve: blue PVD treatment, golden finish or rhodium-plating, mirror-polished small seconds, snailed hour-markers: rhodium-plated or golden finish, coated with Super-LumiNova hands: rhodium-plated or golden finish, skeletonized, coated with Super-LumiNova.

Case: 42.5mm by 12.25mm titanium, Crystal: sapphire, anti-reflective coating on both sides, case back: sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating, water-resistance: 100 m/330 ft.

Interchangeable bracelet: Titanium, folding clasp. Additional strap: blue or green rubber, titanium pin buckle.

Limited edition: Kingsand gold: 88 timepieces, ocean blue: not limited, fern green: not limited.

Prices: CHF 22,600 (Kingsand) and CHF 21,500 (blue and green).

H. Moser doubles up on green-dial mania with two debuts within its Pioneer Centre Seconds collection.

The new H.Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Citrus

One model, the decidedly unsubtle 42.8mm steel-cased Pioneer Centre Seconds Concept Citrus Green, demands attention on the wrist thanks to its bright green dial. Entirely without a logo or any indexes, only the watch’s leaf-shaped hands are visible. With a generous helping of SuperLuminova, the hands are especially visible in the dark, framed by a SuperLuminova-filled inner flange circle.

H. Moser, an independent brand that revels in provocative dial design, calls the debut “a legit feel-good watch, it’s the perfect companion for hitting the waves or diving to the depths in style, all the way to 120 meters.”

A second, more traditional addition to the collection is the new Pioneer Centre Seconds Cosmic Green model, with a 40-mm steel case that only barely retains the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

The new H. Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Cosmic Green

Visible upon close inspection, the logo can be seen, written in transparent lacquer, on the watch’s Cosmic Green fumé dial, which denotes time using classic faceted indexes and the same leaf-shaped hands as its brighter sibling.

H. Moser powers both models with its superb HMC 201 automatic caliber, which boasts automatic bi-directional pawl winding system, an engraved oscillating weight and a power reserve of three days.

See below for additional technical details for each of these H. Moser Green-dialed debuts.  

Price: $15,900. 

 

Specifications: H.Moser Pioneer Center Seconds Concept Citrus Green  

(Reference 3201-1204, steel model, Citrus Green fumé dial, rubber, textile, alligator leather strap or steel bracelet)

Case: Steel, 42.8 mm by 14.2mm, height without sapphire crystal: 10.6 mm. Domed sapphire crystal and see-through case-back, screw-in crown adorned with an “M”, water-resistant to 12 ATM.

Dial: Citrus Green fumé with sunburst pattern, leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova, white inner flange filled with SuperLumiNova.

Movement: HMC 201 automatic caliber, frequency: 21,600 Vib/h, 27 jewels, automatic bi-directional pawl winding system,

Engraved oscillating weight

Power reserve: minimum of 3 days

Hacking seconds

Original Straumann hairspring

Anthracite finish with Moser double stripes

Partially skeletonized bridges

Strap/bracelet:

Hand-stitched alligator leather, rubber, or textile strap or steel bracelet

Steel pin buckle engraved with the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

Price: $15,900.

Specifications: H.Moser Pioneer Center Seconds Cosmic Green

(Reference 3201-1201, steel model, Cosmic Green fumé dial, rubber, textile, alligator leather strap or steel bracelet)

Case: Steel, diameter: 40.0mm, height without sapphire crystal: 10.4 mm; Height with sapphire crystal: 12.0 mm, Domed sapphire crystal and see-through case-back, screw-in crown adorned with an “M”, water-resistant to 12 ATM.

Dial: Cosmic Green fumé with sunburst pattern

H. Moser & Cie. logo in transparent lacquer

Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova

Faceted applique indices

Movement:

HMC 201 automatic caliber

Frequency: 21,600 Vib/h

Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system

Engraved oscillating weight

Power reserve: minimum of 3 days

Hacking seconds

Original Straumann hairspring

Anthracite finish with Moser double stripes

Partially skeletonized bridges

Strap/bracelet:

Hand-stitched alligator leather, rubber, or textile strap or steel bracelet

Steel pin buckle engraved with the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

Price: $15,900.

The latest MB&F M.A.D. 1 watch, the M.A.D.1 Time to Love, is a colorful meld of technology, optimism and artistic expression.

Teaming with French artist and avant-garde designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, MB&F has infused the M.A.D.1 design with the artist’s color pallet (red, blue and yellow) as well as his trademark use of upbeat phrases and text. 

Like its three predecessors in the accessibly priced series, the M.A.D. 1 Time to Love is a 42mm titanium-cased automatic watch characterized by a dial-side rotor that spins gleefully as its wearer moves.

Hours and minutes are displayed along the side of the case with revolving hour and minute cylinders, engraved and highly visible thanks to a liberal use of SuperLumiNova. 

MB&F has taken a reliable Miyota  821A automatic movement, flipped it upside down (in a reference to MB&F’s HM3 and HM8) and added a triple-blade, titanium and tungsten rotor with unidirectional winding (which MB&F explains is essential for easy, high-speed rotation).

For this latest edition, MB&F incorporates de Castelbajac’s colors in lacquer on the three rotor blades, one of which is heavier than the others to optimize spinning. A fourth color, bright green, is seen on the piece’s case-side hour disc.

Several thoughtful quotes from the artist also provide a personal touch to the piece. These include a quote on the base of the dial (“Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temps”. This translates into English as: “This rare and precious treasure is your life. Time flies with its white wings. You are the guardian of your time”.

In addition, de Castelbajac’s own handwriting provides the font for the hour and minute rings, while the crown features an engraving of an angel talking to the moon, a recurring theme for the artist.

The leather strap is embroidered with the name of the watch, ‘Time to Love’, and each timepiece comes with two straps – one in black and the other in white.

As with previous M.A.D. 1 offering, MB&F will launch the new 999-piece limited edition model via an online raffle, which for this model opens today (April 3) and will be live until until April 17.

Half of the pieces will be made available for the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first-come, first-served basis. The rest will be available to the general public using the same raffle system as before to ensure fair distribution.

Given the strong demand of previous models, we expect this new MB&F  M.A.D.1 Time to Love to sell out quickly. 

Price: $3,600.

Artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (left) with MB&F founder Maximilian Busser.

Bulova adds its proprietary Precisionist High Performance Quartz movement to the sporty Marine Star collection to create a handsome new collection, called Series C.

One of three new Bulova Marine Star Series C models, each fitted with a Precisionist high-frequency quartz movement.

The movement utilizes a 262-kHz high frequency quartz oscillator that allows timing to 1/1,000th of a second and accuracy to seconds per year. While many Bulova watches that utilize the high-performance movement to display tenths, hundredths and thousandths-of-a-second readings within a chronograph design, the new Series C offers a basic three-hand display, with a date window.

The new collection boasts a new 43mm twelve-sided case finished with brushed facets and polished accents. The watches all offer a unidirectional rotating timing bezel with a ceramic insert, a sapphire crystal, and a screw-down crown ensuring 200m water resistance.

The dials here are nicely textured to mimic the look of ocean waves. The wave pattern is accented by applied hour markers.

One debut features a bright yellow dial, which Bulova teams with a black rubber strap ($695).

The second debut offers a silver dial and a matching stainless steel bracelet ($795).

Finally, a third new Series C model enhances its the luxury appeal with a rose gold-tone stainless steel case and a dark brown ‘chocolate’ dial finished, all fixed to a black rubber strap ($750).