These are our timepiece highlights from 2024
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer
The new TAG Heuer Professional 300 Date & GMT is designed for those who love and adventure and who answer to the call of nature in mind. This new watch is the latest addition to the brand’s Acquaracer collection, which has become a symbol of the brand’s adventurous spirit and Jack Heuer’s visionary heritage.
As the next evolution of the Aquaracer legacy unfolds, TAG Heuer reaffirms its mastery of luxury craftsmanship with the unveiling of the new Aquaracer Professional 300 Date and the Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT. These watches are sculpted for those who defy depths and time zones, achieving remarkable performance beyond the edge. They represent TAG Heuer’s innovative spirit, combining outstanding design with unrivalled functionality.
The watch is crafted with a focus on easy legibility and smooth handling. he updated minute track and more prominent hour hand, now featuring the shield shape, ensure immediate legibility, while the second hand and wave pattern on the dial capture the essence of aquatic exploration. The introduction of a case with reworked proportions has elevated ergonomics and comfort to another level, transitioning from 43mm to 42mm. The case’s balance as also seen improvements, gaining 0.5mm in thickness and now measuring 12mm thick, ensuring comfort for all kinds of adventures.
The colours chosen pay tribute to the mesmerising depths of the ocean and its variant shades, offering options in black, blue and green that reflect the beauty of the underwater world. At the heart of the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date is the COSC-certified manufacture TH31-00 calibre. With an impressive 80-hour power reserve, a 5-year extended warranty, and chronometer-level precision, this calibre elevates itself within the realm of high-end level of complications with its top-tier technical features.
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin introduces two ultra-dynamic creations with a sporty-chic style: the Diver [NET OPS] and the Diver [X SKELETON OPS], as in “operations.” Following the launch of two Freak OPS in 2023, these new edgy models enrich the brand’s “OPS” capsule collection and celebrate its indomitable in-house watchmaking savoir-faire, while adding an adventurous twist to the Diver lineage.
The audacious Diver [X SKELETON OPS] is an avant-garde reimagining of a dive watch as a piece of haute horlogerie. Water resistant to 200 metres, the 44 mm Diver [S X SKELETON OPS] features the brand’s exceptional skeletonised automatic movement UN-372, showcasing an oversized oscillator and an escapement in silicon.
The Diver [NET OPS] is a high-performance timepiece that stands as the most sustainable sports watch with a manufacture movement on the market. With water resistance down to 300 metres, it’s powered by the automatic manufacture calibre UN-118, featuring a 60-hour power reserve and a balance spring in silicon, a cutting-edge material first introduced by Ulysse Nardin in 2001.
The original case is made from 95% recycled stainless steel, and its construction features a combination of breakthrough materials that Ulysse Nardin has been pioneering.
Breitling
Breitling’s iconic Superocean watch debuts a new colour collection, including a rainbow dial, as well as a 45mm model. The versatile watch is taking a colourful twist with the introduction of the Superocean Automatic 42 and 36 rainbow-dial editions, alongside a new iteration of the bestselling 44 mm turquoise-dial version, now with a tone-on-tone strap.
The watches is inspired by the legendary SuperOcean Slow Motion of the 1960s and 1970s, which simplified the dive watch into its most essential elements. The new additions to the collection stand out with unique rainbow dials with hour markers and hands coated in a brilliant gradient of Super-LumiNova® hues—yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, red, and orange—that not only add a playful pop of colour during the day, but also glow in an array of shades in low light. These models are available in four vibrant 42 mm stainless-steel versions with rubber straps in turquoise, aquamarine, orange, and yellow, and a sophisticated 36 mm version in white combined with a stainless-steel and 18k red gold case.
The 44 mm turquoise-dial model extends the colourful theme. Previously available on a black strap, it now sports a tone-on-tone turquoise rubber bracelet, providing a striking contrast with its black ceramic-inlaid bezel.
Additionally, the new Superocean Automatic 46 Super Diver features a large dial with water resistance of up to 1000 meters and dial options in stealthy green or black camouflage, each paired with matching ceramic inlays that make a statement in and out of the water. What sets this diver apart is its bidirectional rotating bezel with a patented safety lock. The clever feature ensures that every twist counts and stays put, guarding against unintended adjustments so you can focus on the wonders of the deep without worrying.
Zenith
Zenith has revealed two new models to the DEFY line; the DEFY Extreme Diver and the DEFY Revival A3648, a remake of one of the most sought-after vintage Zenith Diver’s watches.
The DEFY Diver was, in fact, one of the brand’s earliest DEFY offerings, dating back to 1969. Inspired by this historic timepiece, the new DEFY Extreme Diver features a modern yet highly intricate design focusing on depth-defying performance, which was conceived to take on extreme conditions where ice, water and mist present a host of challenges. Its 42.5mm case is crafted in titanium, one of the more durable metals to be used in watches today. It not only boasts a significant weight-to-strength ratio but is also highly resistant to corrosion from salty seawater. The case is equipped with a helium escape valve for saturation diving. Above the fixed dodecagonal bezel, the ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel features grooved edges for a better grip when operating – even with gloves on. The bezel is engraved and filled with Super-LumiNova and bright colours for effortless reading underwater where light is scarce.
The oversized screw-down crown feature is protected by titanium crown guards on either side. Just like the historical DEFY A3648 from 1969, the DEFY Extreme Diver is rated to 600 metres (60 ATM) of water resistance, which happens to be 1’969 feet – a symbolic number for the DEFY diver. It meets the ISO 6425 requirements for professional diver watches, including ISO 764 for paramagnetism and ISO 1413 for shock resistance, making it a comprehensive diver’s watch suited to the most demanding conditions.
Something of a signature in the contemporary DEFY line, the dial features a geometric pattern of engraved four-pointed stars. The metallic dials in black and blue with matching ceramic bezels feature a sunburst finish, with rays emanating from the applied ZENITH star at 12 o’clock. The date at 3 o’clock is colour-matched to the dial. The dial’s oversized hands and applied hour markers feature three different pigments of “X1” grade Super-LumiNova with light emissions in blue, green and orange, making it easy to distinguish between the functions.
The bright orange accents are a nod to historical DEFY diver models. The DEFY Extreme Diver is powered by the El Primero 3620-SC automatic high-frequency manufacture calibre with 60 hours of power reserve, visible through a sapphire display back – an uncommon feature among diver’s watches. This version of El Primero features a paramagnetic escapement with key components in non-metallic silicon.
The DEFY Revival A3648 was originally launched in 1969 as an alternative take on Zenith’s avant-garde and rugged steel bracelet watch. Even by today’s standards, the A3648 boasts incredible performance in a watch that seamlessly merges style and substance.
In ZENITH’s recent tradition of bringing back its most emblematic past references, the DEFY Revival A3648 represents the first time ever that a vintage ZENITH diver’s watch receives the Revival treatment.
