Best new watches of 2022
Here are 24 stunning timepieces that captured our attention, whether you’re an action lover, a leisure seeker or something in between.
It’s been quite the year in watches, from the return of in-person watch fairs to the release of some seriously dazzling timepieces. Watch brands have continued to flex their horological savoir-faire, breaking world records in some instances (see Bulgari and Richard Mille) and boundaries in others (see the evolution of what a women’s watch means). In all of this there have been some impressive launches, as much the case if you’re in the market for a dive watch or a sparkling cocktail one. Below, WISH magazine rounds up 24 watches that captured our attention, whether you’re an action lover, a leisure seeker or something in between.
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Explore the Watch and Jewellery special edition of WISH, available online and in print on Friday, 18 November.
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ACTION STATIONS
Planes, trains, yachts and automobiles — life in the fast lane is a cinch with one of these strapped to your wrist.
IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Mark XX
Blame the sheer thrill of watching Top Gun Maverick this year, but a pilot’s watch has never held more allure. IWC Schaffhausen adds four new references in the Mark XX series. The original, the Mark 11, was developed in 1948 for pilots and navigators in the British Royal Air Forces. The Mark XX is encased in tough stainless steel with a 40mm diameter, and the goal and hands are illuminated. It is equipped with the IWC-manufactured 32111 calibre, and has a 120-hour power reserve, is water resistant to 10 bars, and fittingly for a pilot’s watch, its front glass is engineered to withstand sudden drops in air pressure. $8400
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Hublot Square Bang Unico King
Hublot is proving that it’s hip to be square. At Watches and Wonders in Geneva this year, it applied its Big Bang theory to five new 42mm square models. Case options include titanium, black ceramic, and this one in Hublot ‘King’s Gold’– a rose gold alloy. The Hublot ‘one click’ system allows the standard rubber strap to be swapped for an alligator or soft-touch leather one, and behind the transparent dial is the Hublot Unico movement. $55,600
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Tudor Pelagos 39
Tudor adds to its tool watch heritage with a new mechanical dive watch, the Pelagos 39. ISO certified, it’s compact at 39mm, and stylish too, with the signature ‘snowflake’ hands, a sunray satin-finish black dial and luminescent hour markers. Crafted in grade 2 titanium, the watch has a rapid adjustment system for the clasp and a diver’s extension. It also has a secondary rubber strap (with a grade 2 titanium buckle), is waterproof to 100m and has an impressive weekend-ready 70-hour power reserve, $6010
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Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute Limited-Edition
Breitling celebrates the 60th anniversary of its Navitimer Cosmonaute timepiece, and the moment in 1962 that, thanks to astronaut Scott Carpenter, it became the first Swiss watch to travel in space. Carpenter asked for a 24-hour dial to distinguish night from day in space. This limited-edition run of 362-pieces keeps the black dial and alligator strap, trio of chronograph subdials and 24-hour time and adds a platinum bezel and open sapphire case-back with the B02 movement on display. $14,400
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Rado Captain Cook High Tech Ceramic Diver
Dive deep (or at least down to 300m) with this new ceramic dive watch from Rado. The ISO 6425 certified timepiece has nifty illuminated hands and indexes to improve visibility. Meanwhile the 43mm case and bracelet is made from a muted matte olive green ceramic, with the rotating bezel crafted in stainless steel. The reliable Captain Cook Diver runs on the Rado R763 automatic movement and it has an 80-hour power reserve. $5275
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Panerai Luminor Due Luna
Panerai might be known for its mechanical diving watches (and supplying the Italian navy), but with four new references of the Luminor Due the brand is looking to the sky. The introduction of a moon-phase complication at 3 o’clock, with a rotating disc revealing a moon against a midnight blue sky, adds romance. Numerals and index are illuminated on a sun-brushed mother-of-pearl dial and the polished alligator strap is elegant. Though you could also swap it for one of the Luminor Due satin straps, leather with a satin-like finish. The open caseback reveals the calibre P900/MP and it has a three-day power reserve. $13,500
CLASSIC WITH A TWIST
Pair refinement with something a little extra, with timepieces that celebrate style and savoir-faire. Including that of the watch’s owner.
Rolex Air-King, Oystersteel
Amid all the gasps of Watches & Wonders this year, including from Rolex with its new left-handed Rolex GMT-Master II, another mic was dropped – bringing back the Air-King. First released in 1945 for the British Royal Air Force, it was discontinued in 2014. It made a fanfare return in 2016 and now it’s had another refresh. Tweaks to the 40mm include crown guards, a revised dial, and illuminated markers for 3, 6 and 9. The updated Air-King features Rolex’s premier automatic movement, the calibre 3230. $10,350
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Bremont H1 Generation Audley
In big news for British watchmaking, Bremont continues to roll-out its in-house manufactured movement, the ENG300. Following a line-up of limited editions, this
time the calibre equips three core models, the Supernova, the Fury and the elegant Audley. The 40mm model is available in 18 carat rose gold or polished stainless steel.
The flashes of blue on the seconds hands and red on the sub dial (at the 6-hour position), not to mention the polished case and crocodile embossed leather strap.
All add extra dapperness. $9750
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Montblanc Star Legacy Full Calendar
Keeping track of one’s diary is made a little easier with Montblanc’s twists on its classic Star Legacy Full Calendar timepiece. This includes improved ease of setting the calendar, improved power reserve and wider moonphase aperture (visible at 6 o’clock), and it is now easier to see the day and month apertures. The three new 42mm references, including one with a stainless steel bracelet, nod to Minerva pocket watches of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the dial has charming filet sauté star and guilloche patterns. $7,240
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Omega Constellation Co-Axial Master Chronometer
The allure of green, this year’s most fetching hue, is present and accounted for in this new reference within the Omega Constellation collection. The 29mm dial is crafted from natural green Aventurine stone and complemented by the smart leather strap in the same hue. Set in stainless steel and 18 carat Sedna gold (the house’s trademarked red gold alloy with copper and palladium), it has a diamond-paved bezel and runs on the Calibre 8700, visible through the sapphire crystal case-back. $20,625
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Cartier Santos-Dumont
Cartier has added three limited-edition 43.5mm models to its Santos-Dumont collection. The watch stays true to the clean lines and elegant simplicity of the first wristwatch, created in 1904 and worn by dashing aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Of the three colours, all of which run on a mechanical movement with manual winding, the burgundy is particularly fetching. The lacquer work on the case and bezel is polished by hand, while the cubic pattern on the dial, burgundy alligator leather strap and ruby cabochon crown add allure. It’s limited to just 150 pieces. $32,900
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Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver Rainbow
Shine bright, even in the depths of the ocean, with this new 39mm reference from Ulysse Nardin. The bezel is concave set with 40 colourful precious and semi-precious gemstones, including rubies, aquamarine, amethyst and sapphires, to catch the light wherever it passes. The 39mm has a water resistance of 300m and the hands are illuminated. There’s the choice of a white structured or white alligator strap and it also comes in a black version. Available at The Hourglass. $19,100
COCKTAIL
Forget a going-out top, opt for a going-out watch instead. Added bling entirely encouraged.
Dior La D de Dior
Described on its launch in 2003 as “a ribbon that tells time”, this matte ink version of the La D de Dior watch from Victoire de Castellane, Dior’s artistic director of jewellery, becomes ever more alluring. The timepiece absolutely embodies the maison’s elegant legacy. After all, as Christian Dior noted in his 1954 tome Little Dictionary of Fashion, “I could write a whole book on black.” The 34mm round bezel is set with black diamonds for additional gleam. $11,500
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Van Cleef & Arpels Sweet Alhambra
Change your luck with this darling new addition to Van Cleef & Arpels’ Sweet Alhambra collection. The four-leaf clover first appeared in the French maison’s archives in the 1920s with the Alhambra motif introduced in 1968. It’s since been reimagined across jewels and timepieces, including secret watches and charming cocktail watches such as this. Crafted in 18 carat yellow gold it has a 22.7 mm dial set with 185 round-cut diamonds. The piece has an interchangeable glossy white alligator strap. $27,500
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Bulgari Serpenti Spiga
The Roman jewellery house finds endless inspiration in the sinuous and supple serpenti, a symbol of power, seduction and metamorphosis. The Serpenti has been worn by everybody from Elizabeth Taylor to Ingrid Bergman. The magnetism remains in this new reference. The bracelet and 35mm dial of the Serpenti Spiga is crafted in 18 carat rose gold and set with brilliant-cut diamonds. The vivid green of the malachite dial is especially mesmerising. $79,300
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Chanel Hors-Série Première Gourmette Chain
Chanel surprised, and delighted when it made its foray into watchmaking in 1987 with the launch of the Première watch. With its distinct design codes, taking in the quilting of a Chanel bag strap and the stopper on a bottle of No 5, it was designed for women in what felt like, with watches, a man’s world. In addition to reissuing the original Première, in 2022 the Chanel watchmaking studio has reimagined the watch in a three-piece, limited-edition Haute Horlogerie capsule. Amping up the glamour of the original, this 18 carat yellow gold gourmette chain piece is set with diamonds. POA
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Longines La Grande Classique De Longines
The real beauty of vivid orange is that it goes with just about nothing so it can pair with absolutely everything. This tangerine- hued take on the slim and elegant La Grande Classique de Longines, a style first produced by the Swiss watchmakers in 1992, is even further enlivened by the lacquered 29mm dial set with 44 diamonds on the bezel. It’d pair especially well with a spritz at a balmy summer soiree. $5225
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Chaumet Souveraine secret watch
The romance of Chaumet savoir-faire, with its 240-year heritage entwined with the history of France, is expressed in the maison’s Souveraine de Chaumet secret watch. Crafted in 18-carat white gold, the case and hinges are set with 111 brilliant-cut diamonds (1.82 carats), while the lace-like overlay is set with 155 brilliant-cut pear and rose-cut diamonds to resemble ice crystals. It’s fitted with a mechanical self-winding movement. Covertly checking the time becomes an exercise in supreme elegance. $156,595
SPORTY CHIC
The leisurely life beckons with these sporty (but not excessively so) styles.
Piaget Polo, 36mm G0A47027
Elegant integrated steel bracelet sports watches boomed in the 1970s, and the Piaget Polo, designed by Yves G. Piaget in 1979, fits here rather well. The silvered slate blue dial of this 36mm version is set with 60 diamonds (approx. 0.97 carats worth) and a further 36 on the white gold hour markers (approx. 0.08 carats). It’s fitted with the self-winding mechanical movement calibre500P1, and has a sapphire crystal case back and interchangeable strap. $32,100
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar
When the sports watch that redefined the way we think about sports watches celebrates a significant birthday (happy 50th, Royal Oak), you can expect great things. The manufacture has spent the year celebrating the 50th anniversary of this iconic timepiece with some quite special iterations. This certainly includes the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. Crafted in electric blue ceramic, how could it not? The 41mm piece is equipped with the self-winding calibre 5134, and has three calendar subdials, as well as a moon phase aperture. POA
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Chopard Alpine Eagle, 33mm298617-3001
Sporty chicness is always coming into land with the Chopard Alpine Eagle. It’s easily recognisable for the four pairs of visible screws on the bezel and the eagle feather central seconds hand. Crafted in Chopard’s exclusive Lucent Steel A223 and ethical 18k rose gold, the dials on the new 33mm case size – reflected across six novelties –take inspiration from nature. This Aletsch Blue, with a sunburst motif, is named for the largest glacier in the Swiss Alps. It runs on the self-winding Chopard 09-01.C movement. $15,200
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Grand Seiko Australian exclusive limited edition SBGJ269
Japanese watchmaker Grand Seiko looked to Australia’s unique, and uniquely resilient, pink flannel flower as inspiration for its first Australian exclusive. The flower only blooms after the rainfall that follows a bushfire, thriving in uncommon and difficult conditions. It’s equipped with the Hi-Beat 36000 GMT calibre 9S86, visible through the sapphire glass case back. The stainless steel 39.55mm GMT watch is limited to just 50 pieces, each with a number etched onto the back, and it comes with an additional crocodile strap. $10,600
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Girard Perregaux Laureato
The Laureato arrived in 1975 – peak stainless steel sports watch territory – and this one in verdant green (the absolute hue of the year) is a reminder of why. The contrast of the Clous de Paris patterned 42mm dial with the baton-style black and white hands and hour markets immediately makes one think of lightly competitive games of croquet and other leisurely pursuits. The first Laureato timepieces were fitted with game-changing quartz movements but since 1995 mechanical references with in-house automatic calibres have been added. This one runs on the GP01800-2035. $21,200
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Zenith Defy Classic Fusalp
There are sporty, leisurely watches, and then there are watches for doing actual sports. Such as this one. Zenith has collaborated with chic French ski brand Fusalp on a capsule collection, including two limited-edition timepieces. The Defy Classic Skeleton Fuslap is a limited run of 300 pieces in black ceramic and 100 in white ceramic. Both run on the Elite automatic movement and have a power reserve of 50 hours. The open dial incorporates the five-point star motif of Zenith with a snowflake. $17,200