![]() While many brands have been overly reliant upon their back catalog, contemporary TAG Heuer - especially under the direction of young CEO Frederic Arnault - has been more restrained, and that’s to be applauded. (Pre-owned Tank Louis Cartier, anyone?) 6. (For the record, Vacheron Constantin inaugurated a similar concept with its Les Collectionneurs back in 2021, though the starred member of watchmaking’s “Holy Trinity” hasn’t since publicized much about the program.) Zenith also has its Icons, Longines, its Collector's Corner, and we expect yet more brands to jump on board. This capsule collection of vintage JLC pieces chosen and maintained by the maison itself is offered alongside a dedicated reference book. It was only a matter of time before other marquee brands follow suit and, La Grand Maison, Jaeger-LeCoultre, has introduced The Collectibles. Rolex is doing what it does best: taking control, offering buyers a way to purchase a Rolex-certified, pre-owned watch with a guarantee of authenticity and a two-year warranty. But a dearth of new Rolex models in dealer cases and a market that regularly sees prices on pre-owned models far exceed those of brand-new watches has changed the dynamic. Just a few years ago, it was unthinkable that Rolex would do what it did late in 2022 - offer up its own certified pre-owned watch program through its dealer network. A Casio G-SHOCK DW-6900 40th Anniversary Model (I clearly have an active imagination, but you get the point. It’s going to be cased in carbon and will cost half a million dollars. ![]() So I’m gonna go out on a limb and say we’re gonna see something stupidly complicated and over-the-top: a fresh grand comp with a) a tourbillon b) a split-seconds chronograph c) a perpetual calendar d) world time e) a mechanical alarm. The current collection is fairly large, encompassing time-only automatics, the brand’s signature chronographs and even grand complications. (Original Royal Oak designer Gérald Genta was less thrilled.) This year, for the collection’s 30th anniversary, we’re predicting some sort of special showing for this very important watch, originally nicknamed “the Beast.” ![]() When young industrial designer Emmanuel Gueit presented his idea for a souped-up Royal Oak back in 1989, he likely had no idea it would become somewhat of a phenomenon, and a permanent fixture in the Royal Oak Collection. A Special Rolex Submariner (of Some Sort) So come join us on our predictive journey into the horological unknown, and leave us a comment below if you’ve got a vision you’d like to share.Įditor's Note: Follow our coverage of Watches & Wonders Geneva (March 27 – April 2) for the best new watches of 2023 and see which predictions we got right. Will 2023 be the year our timekeeping dreams come true? You never know! But speculating is fun. This year, as always, there’s plenty of fodder for prognostication. Conversely, a watch that comes out today has already long been in the works - for well over five years if it’s a particularly big deal. Other releases aren’t as easy to suss out: The watch world works on a three-ish-year production schedule, meaning that a timepiece being conceived right now won’t hit the shelves till 2026 at the earliest. And at you, Royal Oak Offshore.) We can look at trends, too, and at watches that would “make sense” within the greater context of a brand’s catalog: We predicted some sort of Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight GMT last year, and while we didn’t get it, we did get a 39mm GMT with a fixed bezel, which scratched some of our theoretical watch’s itch. Watches & Wonders 2023: Our 25 Favorite Releasesīig anniversaries can be fairly easily calculated given known birthdates of famous models and marques.
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