With Watches & Wonders 2024 in full swing, Men’s Folio reports live from Geneva, the cradle of fine watchmaking, on the highlights of Day 1.
Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph Watch
Cartier’s eighth edition of the Cartier Privé sees the inimitable Cartier Tortue refreshed in Watches & Wonders 2024. While the Cartier Tortue was first released in 1912, the Privé edition follows on from the rare watches such as the Cartier Crash, Tank Cintrée and Tonneau unveiled in previous years, with a united cause: dedicating technique to aesthetics. The pièce de résistance manifests itself in the form of the Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph Watch, a single-button chronograph first introduced on a Tortue watch in 1928 before being reinterpreted in 1998 as part of the Cartier Collection Privée Cartier Paris. This year’s edition spots the new manual winding calibre 1928 MC offering a three-step action to start, stop and reset the chronograph. 43.7 mm x 34.8 mm Two iterations of the Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph are available, the first being a platinum piece with an opaline dial and a yellow gold variant with a grained gold dial, both limited to 200 pieces.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon
Jaeger-LeCoultre showcases their mastery of precision with the all-new Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon. While the Duometre mechanism is not foreign to the maison after its launch in 2007, this year’s new calibre 391 pushes the boundaries of precision. The integrated movement marries a monopusher chronograph with moon phase and night-day complications, as well as two power reserve indicators and a seconde foudroyante display. Characterised by a double barrel that each individually powers the main timekeeping system and chronograph, the Duometre mechanism ensures timekeeping precision is not sacrificed when the power-hungry chronograph is activated. An uncommon foudroyante hand sits at the central display on the dial’s bottom half, flashing at a rapid 1/6th of a second when the chronograph is activated. Two other handy complications, the moon phase display and day and night display integrated into the time sub-dials at three and nine o’clock, respectively, offer a touch of celestial magic to the technically astute timepiece. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre Chronograph Moon comes in either a platinum case with a copper dial or a pink gold case paired with the discreet elegance of a silver dial.
TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
TAG Heuer’s foray into avant-garde watchmaking continues with the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph. The latest edition to TAG Heuer’s Haute Horlogerie D’Avant-Garde marries tradition and innovation into a singular expression of watchmaking. A titanium case serves as the perfect vessel bridging the illustrious past of the TAG Heuer Monaco with the future’s endless creativity and potential. Blueprints of the TAG Heuer Monaco remain, but a skeletonised dial offers an unparalleled view of the innerworks of the groundbreaking watch. Inspired by the stopwatches dating back to the 1920s, TAG Heuer’s latest time recorder offers precision and accuracy thanks to the split-seconds chronograph calibre TH81-00. Pushers on the left of the watch case offer conventional chronograph start, stop and reset functionality. Actuating the pusher at nine o’clock is where the split seconds come to life: a second chronograph seconds hand beneath the main one comes to life, allowing two separate elapsed timings to be recorded.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
IWC Schaffhausen’s prowess in calendar complications takes the pedestal in the time-defying IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar. Characterised by a secular perpetual calendar variant, a newly engineered 400-year gear housed in the IWC-manufactured 52640 calibre ensures that the calendar automatically skips three leap years over four centuries, a phenomenon that will occur for the first time in 2100. Beyond the already-impressive perpetual calendar is the Double Moon phase display that guarantees only deviation from the moon’s orbit by one day after 45 million years. The IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar boasts a meticulously crafted platinum case featuring polished and brushed surfaces. Its intricate glass dial undergoes a multi-step manufacturing process, from frosted lacquering to hand-mounted appliques, exuding a delicate lightness.
Stay tuned for more Watches & Wonders 2024 updates in the coming days. Otherwise, click here to catch up with our April 2024 issue.
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