LVMH watch week has come and gone, and in the rush of everything some absolute classics have been released.
Hublot, Zenith, Tag and BVLGARI under the umbrella group of LVMH launched a series of new watches, collections and even some new designs have been redesigned, reimagined or newly created.
Let’s step into our top 8 favourites from LVMH week.
8. TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200
Everyone’s starter watch is always either a TAG, a Tudor or a Breitling, and in this year’s LVMH watch week, TAG released its newest version of the Aquaracer – the Professional 200. The dial is easily recognisable as a TAG, but the case and profile are completely different to what we’ve seen the last few years. A move away from the coloured/ceramic bezels and back to the original steel, this watch has retro with a spin written all over it.
The date wheel has also moved to the 6 o’clock position instead of the three, making this a lot more symmetrical and easier to use for both right and left handers.
7. BVLGARI OCTO ROMA
Okay Bvlgari we see what you’re doing and we definitely like it. The Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie brings all the best aspects of Bvlgari together and squeezes it together in this green animal of a watch. Featuring a minute repeater, the watches diameter is 44mm wide only 15.42mm thick making it one of Bvlgari’s bigger watches. Would I wear it? No, but it’s definitely something that you can marvel at from a distance.
6. Hublot Big Bang Time Only – Black steel
I will be one hundred percent honest. I am a huge Hublot fan boy. I just love the audacity of their existence. Hublot looks at a watch and says, “Let’s give it explosives and fireworks that shoot out, and screw it, add a laser beam!”
Unfortunately, this watch doesn’t rise to the occasion like the other Hublots. This watch says, “I like explosives, but I like to be a few meters away from them.” The time only version of the Big Bang definitely has the essence of a Hublot.
Oh yeah, so the things about the watch. It comes in three colours, with a 40mm diameter, and full bracelets. Yellow gold, Titanium and Black steel. The movement is something Zenith made. But if you’re buying a Hublot you don’t usually care. You’re in it for the bang.
5. Zenith Defy Extreme Carbon
Been dying to get yourself an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak? Can’t manage to get yourself on a list? Well we have the perfect substitute for you, and that’s the Zenith Defy extreme Carbon.
Zenith definitely has taken a page from big brother Hublot by experimenting with different case materials this year, switch over to carbon/ceramic for a lot of their Defy models and the Extreme pushes that further.
Created in collaboration with the Extreme E racing series, the hyper advanced caliber 9004 movement takes time movements all the way down to the 100th of a second. Now that’s extreme!
4. Bvlgari Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon
Platinum, blue, skeletal and genta inspired. What more could you want from a watch? The Octo Roma was first revealed to us in 2021, and Bvlgari takes it a step further now by introducing a new colourway and new material for the collectors collector.
With only 30 made in the world, it’s naturally expensive ($450,000 USD price tag) and super aggressive unlike its sister, the Octo-Finissimo.
This watch features a 44mm case, made of platinum, and has a particularly fancy style of chime with its minute repeater. The chiming sequence, which is activated by a pusher at 9:00, is a C note for the hours; E, D, and C for the quarters, and E for the minutes. The case and dial are both designed to present as few obstacles as possible to the passage of sound from the interior of the watch to the outside air.
This is as “fuck you” watch as it gets.
3. Zenith defy skyline
I recently wrote an article on this watch, and I described it at as the Zenith ROYALOVERSEAS. It takes design elements from, the Small Seconds Vacheron, the Royal Oak’s bezel and dial and comes in at a price point that is easily accessible.
The blue is already sold out, with the white and black versions soon to follow.
2. Bvlgari Serpenti Misteriosi
I love watches whose whole existence is absolutely unnecessary, and the Bvlgari Serpenti Misteriosi is the personification of that. Why do I need a watch that hides time? Why does it need to be a snake? How many diamonds is on it? Is it 1000, or 3000? I don’t care, give me more.
The craftsmanship that goes into Bvlgari timepieces is second to none.
1. Hublot Big Bang Sang Bleu II – Green Ceramic, Black Ceramic, Magic Gold
You all knew it was coming and I couldn’t help myself. I love this watch more than I love my dog. Hublot partnered with Maxim Buschi a couple years ago and haven’t looked back since. The Sang Bleu II is exactly what Hublot are about. They’ve taken their fantastic UNICO II movement, attaching some of the best designs to it, and creating coloured ceramics for daily casual use, or dress it up with a suit.
Note, Hublot is not for everyone but it is for me.
This watch is 45mm in diameter, and comes on a rubber strap only.
It features Hublot’s in house UNICO II chronograph, one of the better chronographs on the market (28,800 vps).
It’s definitely not made to be worn on the cuff, and subtlety is not its middle name. Audaciousness is.
And I absolutely love how HUBLOT keep releasing it.