Watches and Wonders 2021 Our Choices
The second edition of Watches and Wonders was very interesting, I would not say from an organizational point of view, I think there is a lot of work ahead, but the news brought by the brands present at the event was very exciting. So this article is probably not going to be fair, because choosing five watches from so many big releases was a real challenge and leaving many of them out of our choices was boring.
Cartier Solar Beat Tank Must
Let’s start with the Cartier Solar Beat Tank Must, in addition to being unexpected, no one foresaw such a movement by Cartier, it was at the same time a pleasant surprise, which shows a step ahead of the brand. It is probably Cartier’s first sustainable watch, which comes not only with a solar movement but also with a non-animal leather strap. In addition to solar movements not being an innovation, with almost half a century of life, the design of this watch is quite interesting, since all the energy you need comes from the photovoltaic panel of the Roman numerals on the dial. The watch comes in a stainless-steel case in two different sizes, 33 mm to 25.5 mm and 29.5 mm to 22 mm, white dial with black Roman numerals, blue hands that match with the crown jewel and three options of straps in black, blue and light green. The watch will be available in September with prices starting at $ 2,480.
Rolex Explorer
Our second choice, as it could not be, is the Rolex Explorer to its original size of 36 mm. Unexpected, for two different reasons, first because Rolex rarely reverses the decisions made and have seen the increase in the size of its main models in recent years, no one could imagine a reduction now. The second reason is the debut of the first Rolex Explorer in two tones and here we would almost say that it touches the absurd, due to the incompatibility between what looks like a luxury watch and the historic foundations of the Rolex Explorer as a tool watch. The watch comes in a 36 mm stainless steel case, black dial, applied silver hour markers and the numerals 3-6-9, cathedral hands and steel bracelet. The two-tone variant features a stainless steel and 18k gold case and bracelet with gold accents on the dial. The watches are already available in the brand’s boutiques for a price of € 6,150 (steel) and € 10,450 (two-tone).
Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 Silver & the Tudor Black Bay Chrono
And continuing in the Hans Wilsdorf Group, our third favourite goes to a Tudor, actually two, the Black Bay Fifty-Eight 925 Silver and the Black Bay Chrono Panda dial. As we already know Tudor as opposed to his brother Rolex, takes more risks in innovations and this year Tudor did not disappoint us and brought some interesting news, but the two that most caught our attention were, without a doubt, the BB58 925 Silver, with a brownish hot dial and bezel that are beautiful, came with an open case-back, something completely new, and with a brown leather strap. It is already available in the brand’s boutiques for a price of € 4,140.
The second is the BB Chrono which has been aesthetically renewed, in addition to being thinner now, it received a black tachymeter bezel and a Panda dial (and also a reverse Panda), reminding us of the old Rolex Daytona, such a good surprise. The new BB Chrono is now available in three options, with steel strap, black fabric strap or black leather strap. It is also already available in the brand’s boutiques for a price of € 4,700 (bracelet) to € 5,000 (bracelet).
Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921
Vacheron Constantin is also not out of our choices, the American 1921 in white gold is very beautiful, classic but at the same time sporty, it is a watch that fits almost everywhere and we have become fans of it, the small size 36.5 mm will delight many watch enthusiasts. Comes in a 36.5 mm or 40 mm 18k white gold case, open case back, grain silver-tone dial, an In-house manual movement that offers up to 65 hours of power reserve. The 36.5 mm size is offered with a burgundy leather strap for a price of € 30,800 and the 40 mm size is offered with a brown leather strap for a price of € 37,300.
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar
Our last choice is also our extravagance, it is the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar in white gold. If there is a brand that knows how to perfectly fit a perpetual calendar on a dial, it’s Lange & Söhne, the white gold case on the salmon dial matches perfectly, this watch is really impressive and in addition to being a limited edition of only 150 pieces, it also comes in a regular production variant in pink gold with a grey dial. Almost 42 mm in diameter, only 12 mm thick and automatic internal movement. Both variants are offered on a brown leather strap for a price of € 98,000 (pink gold) to € 109,000 (white gold). And if we could formulate an impossible wish, the perfection would be to have it in a Little Lange 1.
