Four Epic New Watches That Serious Collectors Are Swooning Over

Oren Hartov
·7 min read

Welcome to Watch Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly curation of high-end timepieces for the true watch nerds among us. This June, we’re witnessing the revival of a famous Louis Vuitton collection, the genesis of a high-speed TAG Heuer racing watch, the evolution of a wildly complicated MB&F chronograph, and the birth of a ludicrously luminous Panerai.

In the second decade of the 20th century, Cartier introduced the Tank, a timepiece that would become synonymous with the term “dress watch.” Roughly 15 years later, in the early 1930s, Patek Philippe debuted its own dress watch—a simple, round model devoid of the maison’s typical complications—which it called the Calatrava. In the intervening century, these two models have set the bar for beautiful, pared-down, time-only watches designed to be worn with formalwear. And while other dress watches have hit the market with varying degrees of success, none has reached the dizzying heights of popularity or ubiquity to which the Tank and Calatrava have soared.

Compelling as these two models are, however, it could be argued that the 21st century needs its own dress watch—something elegant and refined, to be sure, but also decidedly modern and elevated. This month, Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking division introduced a new version of the Escale, its unique travel watch from 2014, repurposing the name in the form of a 39-millimeter, precious-metal timepiece with an automatic, micro-rotor movement built by La Fabrique du Temps and Le Cercle de Horlogers. Could this be the contemporary dress watch of the new century—the one that becomes horological lore for generations to come?

Louis Vuitton Escale

Following Louis Vuitton’s acquisition of movement manufacture La Fabriques du Temps in 2011, the company got to work revamping its watchmaking program with its sights set firmly on haute horlogerie. In 2014, it debuted the Escale Worldtime, a unique take on that traveler’s complication featuring a wildly colorful, hand-painted dial. Now, the Escale has been reconsidered as a high-end dress watch—sort of an elegant companion to the brand’s sportier Tambour. Available initially in four references, each features a precious metal case, a time-only dial, and a slim, automatic movement with micro-rotor for automatic winding.

To paraphrase the Haggadah, “What makes this watch different from any other (dress) watch?” Well, to be fair, it still retains many “dress watch” cues: It’s got a relatively straightforward display with only the time as told via a pretty alpha handset; its case is thin, at just 10.3 millimeters; it’s fashioned from precious metal; and it’s paired to a simple leather strap. But take a closer look, and you’ll notice certain touches inspired by Louis Vuitton’s history as a trunk maker. The way the lugs meet the case, for example, recalls the brackets on one of the company’s famous pieces of luggage; ditto for the “rivets” connecting the outer minute track with the inner dial in contrasting finish. And the stippled finish found on the rose gold-cased dials? It references the surface on monogrammed Louis Vuitton canvas.

On the platinum-cased versions of the Escale, you have your choice of a black tuxedo dial (paired with a baguette-cut diamond bezel) or a Gibeon meteorite dial; on the rose gold versions, the aforementioned textured silver or blue. Dial furniture is applied gold in a case-matching color, and each case features a signed, octagonal crown and a sapphire case back. Within this caseback is the LFT023 from La Fabrique du Temps, a time-only, automatic caliber powered by a micro-rotor and chronometer certified via the Geneva Observatory. Finished with frosting, perlage, and other contrasting techniques, it’s a handsome mechanical engine that’s sure to excite fans of the brand.

Priced at nearly $30,000 for the least expensive version, the Escale competes with the likes of certain L.U.C. offerings from Chopard; the time-and-date version of the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet (depending upon the degree to which you consider this a “dressy” watch); the 1908 from Rolex; the time-only Calatrava from Patek Philippe; certain Patrimony references from Vacheron; and more. But given its more contemporary aesthetic and idiosyncratic touches, the Chopard L.U.C. and A.P. Code 11.59 comparisons are perhaps most apt—the only question being, will die-hard watch nerds be willing to consider a product from an enormous luxury brand before a timepiece from a long-established Swiss (or other) watchmaker?

At the end of the day, this likely comes down to a question of aesthetics and the degree to which one prefers a completely hand-finished movement. But regardless of status as a future dress watch classic, there’s no doubt that the Escale is an elegant feather in Louis Vuitton’s horological cap—well made and featuring the right mix of classical and contemporary touches, it’s the type of modern piece that we need more of.

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963

Certain watch-world partnerships feel more organic than others by virtue of synergy and design philosophies. TAG Heuer and Porsche fit that bill splendidly. Cemented by a common name (“Carrera”—as in both the car and the watch) as well as long histories of involvement with professional racing, these two marques have released numerous collaborative timepieces together over the past few years, including one that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 911 R.S. in late 2022. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche 963 ($10,400) celebrates not a vintage model, but the super-modern 963, a vehicle developed under the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid classification to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its futuristic Multimac chassis and black-red-white color scheme translate into a cool racing chronograph with a skeletonized dial, a forged carbon bezel with Porsche typography, and an oscillating mass with the Porsche logo. A guaranteed hit among Porsche die-hards, it’s sure to excite those whose taste in chronographs runs more to the avant-garde.

MB&F LM Sequential Flyback Platinum

When the mad geniuses at MB&F released their first chronograph, it didn’t exactly look (or work) like the standard fare from brands like Rolex, Omega, and TAG Heuer. Featuring two separate chronographs that could operate in several different modes, the LM Sequential EVO was—to put it mildly—a horological revelation. Never ones to rest on their laurels, Max Busser and Stephen McDonnell have updated this incredible model with a flyback complication, meaning the chronographs can be restarted without first stopping and resetting them. Featuring domed, white lacquered subdials and a matching tilted main time dial at 6 o’clock, this version is decidedly dressier than its forebear, though with a 44-millimeter platinum case measuring 18.2 millimeters tall, it scarcely wears that way. With its five pushers, enormously domed crystal, and skeletonized movement, it looks like the watch that Tony Stark would choose to wear to a black-tie ball were he teleported, Outlander-style, 150 years back to the Victorian era and given control of a watchmaker’s bench. For a cool $218,000—and a spot amongst just 33 lucky buyers—you, too, can live out this highly-specific horological fantasy.

Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID

Despite its somewhat absurd proportions, Panerai’s new Submersible Elux LAB-ID is one of the coolest divers we’ve seen all year. Water resistant to 500 meters and carved from cool-looking blue Ti-Ceramitech, it incorporates a unique lighting system powered by a six-barrel movement that uses a microgenerator to produce electricity and illuminate the dial. (Four of the six barrels are for powering the lighting effect; two are for timekeeping.) The dial’s lume plots, though they do include Super-LumiNova, are actually LEDs, and the electric illumination even extends to the handset and bezel, which can be powered for 30 minutes at a time. Simply open the watch’s crown protection device, engage the dedicated pusher at 8 o’clock, and presto! This tech will set you back about $96,300, but hey—that’s about $20,000 less than a base-model 911. And this toy is portable.

Originally Appeared on GQ

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