The year end is the best time to do a recap, and with most people enjoying holidays right now, we figure you’ll be able to go through this list in leisure. This list includes timepieces that made an impression this year, be it through design, aesthetics, movements or cool innovations. So, while we stay excited about what the next year will bring, it’s important to look back at how far watchmaking has come, to move ahead. In alphabetical order, here they are the best watches from 2023....
1. A. Lange & Söhne - 1815 Rattrapante
The limited edition of 200 pieces only, the timepiece is the brand’s first pure split-seconds chronograph.
2. Armin Strom - One Week First Edition
Armin Strom One Week First Edition Everything that hooks a watch connoisseur is at the forefront in the watch - the function, the aesthetics, and the ergonomics. Inspired by its very first watch, the 2010 One Week. With an in-house movement, the watch, as its name suggested, came with a 7-day power reserve. Read more about the timepiece here.
3. Blancpain X Swatch - The Bioceramic Fifty Fathoms
Blancpain X Swatch: The Bioceramic Fifty Fathoms Blue model inspired by Atlantic Ocean This collaboration comprised five bioceramic ocean-themed watches, crafted to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Blaincpain’s legendary Fifty Fathoms scuba diving watch. Read about all the timepiece here
4. Bangalore Watch Company - MACH 1 Admiral
The watch is also offered on a blue fabric strap Unveiled on the 77th Independence day of India, the timepiece’s dial is made from the metal recovered from the INS Vikrant R11 – the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 2014. Details of the timepiece is here.
5. Breguet - Type XX And Type 20
Four years in making, the more robust and technologically advanced references - military-inspired Breguet Type 20 Chronographe 2057 and the civilian version Breguet Type XX Chronographe 2067 - pay tribute to the brand's aviation roots.
6. Bulgari - Octo Roma Chronograph
Bulgari Octo Roma Chronograph (Ref. 103471) The 42mm round-but-not-round distinctive case of the watch has gone through a redesign, along with the 3D Clous de Paris motif dial that makes it a striking piece.
7. Cartier - Cartier Santos-Dumont Micro-Rotor Skeleton
Cartier Santos-Dumont The Cartier Santos-Dumont Micro-Rotor Skeleton features a striking new skeletonized caliber 9629 MC, which brings to life its aviation roots.
8. Carl F. Bucherer - Manero Peripheral Perpetual Calendar
First set of timepieces by the brand to have all three complications - a perpetual calendar, a moonphase display, and an automatic movement.
9. Chopard - L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25m - Ganesh Edition
Meticulously crafted with intricate details and craftsmanship, the L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25m - Ganesh Edition was specially crafted for the Indian market.
10. Czapek - Place Vendôme Complicité
Crafted in collaboration with renowned German watchmaker Bernhard Lederer, the Place Vendôme Complicité timepieces grabs attention, thanks to the handiwork of the watchmaker and the open-work display of double escapement watches.
11. Girard Perregaux - Neo Constant Escapement
Bringing all the mechanical beauty on the dial is the Neo Constant Escapement timepiece that proves the brand’s prowess in horological innovation. The Constant Escapement movement is one that can deliver remarkable rate stability irrespective of the available energy; the movement features a silicon blade, which is 6 to 10 times thinner than a human hair, and is responsible for delivering constant force.
12. Grand Seiko - Tentagraph
The longest-running 10-beat chronograph in the market today, the Tentagraph by Grand Seiko is the first mechanical chronograph by the brand.
13. Hublot - Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM
Joining the Big Bang line, the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM features a tourbillon that lies at 6 o’clock and appears suspended mid-air, making the watch a piece of Haute Horlogerie. SAXEM is an acronym for Sapphire Aluminium oXide and rare Earth Mineral, and is an alloy of aluminium oxide, the basic component of sapphire, also comprising rare earth elements like thulium, holmium, and chromium. Developed in the field of satellite technology, it offers transparency and excellent resistance
14. IWC - Ingenieur
With the soft-iron case and an integrated bracelet, the watch revives a classic design created by Gerald Genta in 1976, and is the brand’s biggest hit this year.
15. Jaeger-LeCoultre - Reverso Tribute Chronograph
JLC Reverso Tribute Chronograph The Reverso Tribute Chronograph brings a new life to the timeless design of the most elegant sports watch by Jaeger-LeCoultre. The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 860 chronograph movement drives the watch. What stands out about the timepiece is that it is not like the conventional chronographs that one find usually.
16. Jacob & Co. - World Is Yours Dual Time Zone
A tribute to an Arabov family heirloom, the World Is Yours Dual Time Zone features a sky view of the Western hemisphere; the timepiece is equipped with Jacob & Co. exclusive movement JCAA11
17. Louis Vuitton - Tambour
The drum shaped staple collection of Louis Vuitton gets a fresh update with seamless transition between case and integrated bracelet, its vibrant blue dial and the new LTF023 calibre.
18. Longines - Mini Dolce Vita
Blossom pink The Art-Deco style rectangular case iconic collection, Dolce Vita rejuvenates with softer lines and smaller cases with the new references.
19. Louis Moinet - Cosmopolis
Setting the “most meteorite inserts in a watch” Guinness World record is Louis Moinet’s Cosmopolis - the timepiece features 12 pieces of different meteorite.
20. Montblanc - Montblanc 1858 Geosphere O Oxygen The 8000
Unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2023, the Montblanc 1858 Geosphere O Oxygen The 8000 has zero oxygen inside the dial, a tribute to Reinhold Messner’s summit climb to the 14 highest peaks in the world, with no supplemental oxygen.
Images courtesy: Brands