The watch enterprise loves celebrating milestones, way over even its shut cousin, the jewelry commerce. For proof, merely take a look at all of the watch model and mannequin anniversaries this yr, and the quantity of consideration dedicated to the identical. Counting this very story, to say there’s milestone mania afoot is placing it mildly. Even with out performing a comparability in opposition to the massive names in luxurious, most of that are outdoors watchmaking, there actually does appear to be an terrible lot of cake going about. Manufacturers are even celebrating essential fashions and, bizarrely, collectors get into it too.
Nonetheless, not each model engages and one notable absence really proves that the anniversary fever is actual. Rolex was based in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis and any idiot can let you know that this yr should be one thing particular. You’ll not discover something of word about this on the Rolex web site although – you’ll not even discover any particular point out of the watches celebrating key birthdays this yr, the GMT-Grasp II and the Datejust. To be honest, there’s a new authorised and official Rolex e-book on the Datejust this yr, Oyster Perpetual Datejust – A Watch that Made Historical past by Nicholas Foulkes however it feels prefer it may have been launched in any yr. The press launch doesn’t make a lot noise concerning the 1945 debut of the watch, aside from to easily point out it, nearly as a BTW, to be as informal as doable.
Somewhat throughout the way in which from Rolex in Geneva, one other model additionally retains it very quiet in terms of feting itself. Patek Philippe was based in 1839 and essentially the most notable factor that emerged from the manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates final yr was the Cubitus. The model did make a splash in 2014 with the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175 however this too was extra a narrative about an incredible watch than some sort of anniversary particular. Evidently, wonderful watches give relevance to anniversaries, making them impactful far past their debuts and no matter anniversaries they may have celebrated.
For watch collectors although, curiosity in all issues Rolex and Patek Philippe is powerful. Thus, we all know that many will remind us that 1908 is the yr Rolex prefers to honour, as evidenced by a sure assortment. It has not escaped us, however we additionally recall that not a lot occurred in 2008 nor 2018. As soon as once more, there may be attention-grabbing watches or collections however this solely exhibits that crucial names in watchmaking are preserving it actual with a concentrate on timekeeping. This bit stays true of the opposite large gamers who’re celebrating in outsized methods this yr: Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. Each have standout watches, but each are additionally partying laborious, particularly the latter.
After all, these are solely the tip of the anniversary iceberg this yr. The editors of WOW discover themselves completely overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of knowledge on main milestones this yr, whereas additionally being curious concerning the manufacturers that allow the work converse for itself. They could not come to any conclusions, in the event that they ever do, however there may be an ‘aha’ second or two within the following dialogue.
RC: Howdy, expensive WOW colleagues. I’ve been on a horological curler coaster experience for the previous two months, professionally and personally. For the latter, I ought to say for the file that I didn’t win one of many 10 M.A.D.1s watches provided as prizes to rejoice the twentieth anniversary of MB&F. It’s my second failed try and win a M.A.D.1s raffle. Effectively, perhaps in the future.
DG: Ah sure, the raffle system from MB&F… To not rub salt into your wounds however I used to be just lately talking with a trade colleague and he signed up for the M.A.D 2 raffle simply on a whim, saying he’ll in all probability by no means get it and guess what? He turned up a few weeks in the past with one on his wrist. He even went all the way in which to the M.A.D. Home in Geneva to select it up throughout Geneva Watch Days. Other than that, I additionally discovered it extremely amusing that there was the twentieth anniversary raffle that may give away 10 Legacy Machine 101 Longhorn priced at CHF 58,000 every to “Tribe” members! What a solution to rejoice a milestone.
AS: I’m M.A.D. as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore! I didn’t enter the newest raffle for the M.A.D. watch, or reasonably I might haven’t entered had I not been robotically enrolled… There’s a restrict to how a lot hope I can muster and the way a lot disappointment I can take. After all, I didn’t win however I’m now a three-time loser. So, thanks for that, I suppose… If there’s ever a M.A.D. Loser version, depend me in MB&F! Additionally, on a happier word and for the file, completely satisfied anniversary Max and all of the Buddies!
DG: Yeah, not profitable the prospect to purchase a watch is one factor, however not profitable a free watch in all probability stings somewhat extra. I suppose one other manner to have a look at it’s also just like the lottery; there are individuals taking dwelling lifechanging cash each different month it will appear. And right here I’m by no means having gained a lot as lunch cash from one in all these items…
AS: Effectively, I did win a watch as soon as, however I feel it means extra to have the prospect to purchase the factor, or win it at public sale (if you nonetheless must pay). I’m not positive how I really feel concerning the watch I gained (to whom it’d concern, if you’re studying this, it isn’t the watch you might be considering of) however anyway… It’s laborious to imagine that it was 20 years in the past that the MB&F story started, and 2005 was additionally the 250th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin. Because it occurs, that was my very own debut on the planet {of professional} watch punditry so I suppose I’ve my very own twentieth anniversary to rejoice…simply not with a M.A.D. watch!
RC: The day is October 22 now
AS: Effectively, you guys know that there’s actually a brand new look ahead to me however that’s elsewhere on this subject
DG: I actually just like the Laureato Fifty as properly, I like how they went delicate with their celebrations. Only a good, elegant three-hander, in contrast to another manufacturers which we are going to in all probability get into later (though these are good too, albeit extra complicated). And what a motivation to get the Laureato Fifty then Ashok! Most individuals will accept a start yr watch, however it is a start yr assortment, and even a restricted version to rejoice the identical birthday as you do! I might say it will be the right solution to recover from the MB&F raffles, however it appears you already purchased one other grail watch this yr.
“In an trade that locations a lot emphasis on custom and heritage, the power to say ‘look, now we have been round for greater than two and a half centuries,’ actually helps to cement positions, no less than by way of seniority” — Daniel Goh, Editor-in-Chief, WOW Malaysia
AS: Effectively, as I wrote within the story concerning the watch I purchased (one in all them), typically the watch finds you, even in case you by no means went searching for it. However I recall studying your story Dan, about watch assortment anniversaries versus model anniversaries – that was in relation to the Hublot Large Bang I feel? One thing just like the Laureato and, after all the Large Bang, offers manufacturers the prospect to focus singularly on only one facet; to go laborious on the product, so to talk. Manufacturers typically do themselves in with all these anniversaries… I’ve seen so many Jaeger-LeCoultre ones that I’m not even positive what the subsequent celebration will likely be for; that is only one instance however you can even insert A. Lange & Söhne, Blancpain, Breguet, Cartier and lots extra apart from, simply going alphabetically. The distinction right here is that the Laureato is just not one thing that frequently will get the highlight so it makes extra sense to be tactical than strategic. I feel collectors care extra about watches than they do about manufacturers, though there are exceptions.
DG: Yeah, however for Hublot, despite the fact that it was a group anniversary as an alternative of a model anniversary, I feel the Large Bang was just about… properly the Large Bang for Hublot. Within the sense that the Large Bang assortment and its ethos virtually outlined Hublot. Type of like how the Bell & Ross BR 01, which additionally celebrates its twentieth anniversary, outlined Bell & Ross because the model with a sq., cockpit gauge-inspired aviation watch. This design language and identification persists right now.
RC: Again once I was a easy collector, I used to be solely partially conscious of anniversaries. I didn’t must consciously anticipate upcoming model or assortment anniversaries for work causes. However now I do, and I’ve gone from wanting one yr forward to wanting two years forward already. That’s the reason I can inform proper now that Girard-Perregaux will rejoice 160 years of the Three Bridges in 2027, for instance. And, to answer to Ashok, we may even see some good Reverso fashions in April as the gathering ought to rejoice its ninety fifth anniversary subsequent yr.
DG: I feel additionally why anniversaries appear extra prevalent as of late is, one: I really feel like there have been extra manufacturers added to the luxurious watchmaking trade within the final a long time. And two: I feel on this period of the trade, manufacturers actually perceive the worth of anniversaries. Take Breguet and Vacheron Constantin for instance. They rejoice 250 and 270 years respectively and in an trade that locations a lot emphasis on custom and heritage, the power to say ‘look, now we have been round for greater than two and a half centuries,’ actually helps to cement their positions, no less than by way of seniority.
AS: I’ve gone the alternative solution to Ruckdee with regard to anniversaries, and I actually do admire when manufacturers hold it low-key in most situations. , put it aside for when it actually counts, as Daniel rightly factors out with Breguet and Vacheron Constantin. After all, I have to carry The Crown into this as a result of that’s one model that frequently deflates anniversary speak and simply does no matter it pleases. In keeping with Rolex, that is an anniversary yr for the GMT-Grasp however the model has saved it on the down-low, as no one says anymore. There was a pleasant exhibition in Hong Kong and Singapore, however that’s it. Too many particular editions and birthdays don’t imply a lot, in my view; they’ll have unintended unfavorable outcomes. Funnily sufficient, I feel it was the Bell & Ross founders who have been or are fairly dismissive of name anniversaries. I requested them about it years in the past and so they simply checked out one another and shrugged. However, they really feel otherwise about mannequin milestones.
On that word, I do know we are going to get into some information about perpetual calendars later however it’s value noting that the world’s first wristwatch perpetual calendar debuted in 1925 from none aside from Patek Philippe. The motion was from a pocket watch that debuted within the nineteenth century, however the Geneva model can declare to have gotten this complication on the wrist first. For proof, see it for your self on the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva! This information should be the winner for manufacturers preserving it low-key this yr, particularly provided that we’re protecting the perpetual calendars and chronographs for Patek Philippe in our cowl story this subject and the model didn’t even recommend a lot as a sidebar on the 1925 information!
DG: I too was unaware that it was the seventieth anniversary for the GMT-Grasp and in addition the eightieth anniversary for the Datejust. I’m not stunned although that Rolex didn’t make a giant deal out of it. It’s typical for the model that wears the Crown, simply one other day on the job of creating exact and dependable watches. Oh, I didn’t know that concerning the Patek Philippe perpetual calendar. Ashok is ever the king of obscure historic information! However typically, I feel I’d reasonably discover out this fashion than studying it in a press launch.
RC: So, what do anniversaries really signify in watch circles? Is it “Milestone Advertising” in a manner? It does result in one thing extra as a result of manufacturers have to push themselves to leverage their heritage and innovate on the similar time. No?
AS: Optimistically, pushing custom and innovation on the similar time is good, as now we have seen at Breguet and Vacheron Constantin. However this isn’t sometimes the case – anniversary releases are simply collectibles more often than not. Probably the most attention-grabbing issues occur on the advertising entrance. As in, how the manufacturers discuss themselves and what all that historical past means. We noticed it even within the examples of the youthful Bell & Ross and Hublot – though for Hublot, it’s midlife disaster time so I used to be anticipating a basic three-hander with a white dial. Simply kidding! Milestones are for staying firmly in character.
DG: I agree with Ashok, I feel normally these sorts of anniversaries are a possibility for the model to remind their audiences of what they’ve managed to perform in nevertheless a few years they’re celebrating and in addition make a press release of intent of the place they’re transferring in the direction of the long run. As for the releases, I feel yeah they’re simply collectibles (in lots of circumstances) however that is nonetheless very a lot depending on preferences proper? Like even whether it is an anniversary watch however the design or ethos doesn’t resonate with collectors, they might in all probability cross on it. Conversely, if say the Classique Souscription was launched in another yr, I might have nonetheless thought it was an completely attention-grabbing timepiece regardless.
RC: I perceive what you imply completely on aesthetics nonetheless being a main consideration. Identical as you, I might not purchase a watch simply because it’s launched to mark an anniversary. Having mentioned this, I’m reminded although of how, in 2022, many scrambled to get their arms on a Royal Oak with the “50 Years” rotor regardless of them already having one or a number of Royal Oaks. I’m positive hypothesis was on their thoughts because the anniversary unfolded at the moment (which was peak watch funding insanity).
“I might not purchase a watch simply because it marks an anniversary” — Ruckdee Chotjinda, Editor-in-Chief, WOW Thailand
AS: The Classique Souscription is the world’s most fun watch with only one hand! Sorry, I can’t assist myself there. I imply, there’s one other well-known instance of such a watch however this effort from Breguet is cool in that low-key model I discussed. It reminds those that watches used to simply have the one hand, and but it’s also all about what up to date industrial processes can obtain; some may also keep in mind that Swatch Group has achieved single-handed watches earlier than, however for a extra area of interest and now obscure model. On that word, did you guys realise that it’s also an anniversary for none aside from a distinguished maker of actions? Sellita turns 75 this yr! Is that not completely loopy?
RC: Whoa! Wait one second there. No, I didn’t know that it’s their anniversary, nor did I do know that they’re that mature! Okay, I feel I have to learn extra to broaden my information of the trade. However, anyway, thanks for telling us.
DG: Nor did I (know concerning the Sellita dates)! I really feel like motion makers can’t actually shout about anniversaries in the way in which manufacturers can. Maybe aside from “Oh within the final 75 years now we have produced some ridiculous variety of actions and our purchasers embrace…” and begin naming manufacturers, which within the age of in-house, would in all probability not bode properly for mentioned manufacturers. So maybe it’s additionally to not antagonise their purchasers.
AS: I’m ashamed to confess that I assumed Sellita began out as a response to ETA threatening to chop off non-Swatch Group manufacturers within the 2000s. It was a peer who corrected me on that some years in the past so I used to be really searching for data this yr on the motion maker’s strikes in Europa Star. That journal is the one place that will get into the weeds of what suppliers and factories are doing. Effectively, no less than in English… By the way in which, it’s 100 years of Europa Star in 2027.
RC: Effectively, I confess to not having heard about Sellita till the Swatch Group state of affairs additionally. I did attempt to get in contact with them as soon as round 2017, however no one replied to my e-mail a few potential go to. Perhaps I’ll give them a strive once more.
Anyway, the place our anniversary dialogue is anxious, this in all probability goes again to when Ashok mentioned one thing concerning the “advertising entrance” which Audemars Piguet has dealt with so properly as soon as once more this yr with the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the model. On prime of the model and historical past narrative, there’s a new perpetual calendar motion that units every little thing by means of the crown (launched earlier within the yr), and simply this month the RD#5 watch, which mixes, for the primary time within the Royal Oak assortment, the flyback chronograph and flying tourbillon. I feel we don’t have the area to enter the technical particulars, however I’m bringing it as much as serve for example of the working example.
DG: I merely love how manufacturers use moments like this to showcase applied sciences that advance watchmaking strategies. On the RD#5, I agree it’s gorgeous by way of innovation, and Audemars Piguet selected the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary to say “Hey look, you already know the perpetual calendar and the chronograph? Two age-old issues, properly now we have up to date them in essentially the most fashionable of how.” One other good instance of this that I can recall is Zenith, which celebrates its a hundred and sixtieth anniversary. It heralded the revival of the chronometry award-winning Calibre 135-O motion and improved upon it for the brand new G.F.J assortment. The draping of every little thing in blue, which incorporates the three full ceramic variations of the Defy, Chronomaster and Pilot, I didn’t fairly get.
RC: Sure, Daniel, it’s nice for Zenith to have celebrated the a hundred and sixtieth anniversary on the exact same land the place it began for them. As for the draping every little thing in blue, properly, I can take a look at it two methods. One: I can’t image myself proudly owning and sporting a ceramic watch in that brilliant a shade – the G.F.J. with blue dial and platinum case is completely high-quality with me. Two: there are individuals who do embrace extra dynamic hues, and this should be how Zenith manages to design celebratory watches which can be concurrently steeped in heritage but younger in spirit?
DG: I additionally assume, for manufacturers resembling Audemars Piguet, the anniversary is especially significant as each descendants of Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet are nonetheless actively concerned with the corporate their forefathers constructed. Jasmine Audemars, the great-granddaughter of Jules Louis Audemars, and Olivier Audemars, great-grandson of Edward Auguste Piguet, are nonetheless representing household pursuits within the firm. It will be extremely attention-grabbing to have an off-the-record dialogue with them.
AS: On the RD#5, I used to be correctly stunned there! Who would have thought to reinvent the chronograph, so good on the oldsters at Le Brassus. This information actually compelled me to consider the technicalities of what makes a wrist recorder of elapsed time tick and I had a pleasant time going by means of the documentation. Advertising of a unique kind I suppose however actually proper up my alley. I occur to be visiting Audemars Piguet (this may have already got taken place when you see this story, expensive readers) so I’ll see who they trot out. As for Zenith, I’m reminded that I’ve but to make the pilgrimage to the manufacture in Le Locle the place George Favre-Jacot began all of it; it’s beautiful that the model determined to place his initials into it for the a hundred and sixtieth, in a extra sentimental vein. In spite of everything, anniversaries are about sentimentality, and that performs properly with collectors who’re dedicated to 1 model or one other.
RC: They’re certainly. And on prime of no matter psychological technique that’s applied in the long term, anniversaries both offer you one other excuse to purchase a watch or compel you to think about a alternative that was not in your to-buy checklist and even your radar beforehand. I feel that, as a buyer, I used to be very desperate to see what Omega was bringing out for the fiftieth and the sixtieth anniversaries of the Speedmaster in 2007 and 2017. I can’t say that I’m nonetheless that dedicated to the model, however, I do stay up for what they could provide for the seventieth anniversary in 2027!
“I’m wondering concerning the enchantment of anniversary editions although. These are hit-or-miss affairs, however finally it’s the neighborhood that decides on that” — Ashok Soman, Editor-in-Chief, WOW Singapore
AS: I’m wondering concerning the enchantment of anniversary editions although. These are hit-or-miss affairs, however finally it’s the neighborhood that decides on that, as you suggest there Ruckdee. I can consider a Daytona that collectors obsess over that was by no means meant to be an anniversary version however simply occurred to come back out in the appropriate yr. To return to the G.F.J. for a second, Zenith did job there by making all of it a tribute to excellence in chronometry, noting the monitor file of the manufacture in observatory awards. That makes the gathering extra broadly related, monitoring with each heritage and innovation, as now we have been saying. In all probability the very best form of technique as a result of individuals won’t ever keep in mind what anniversary was being celebrated, and so forth. Okay, leaving individuals like me apart!
DG: Yeah, and in case you take into account the truth that of their manufacturing planning, manufacturers in all probability have a stricter timeline to stick to for anniversary editions. Come what may, they should get these kinds of items prepared in time for that milestone celebration and I really feel like that will put a pressure on the perfection of mentioned timepiece. The present CEO of AP did say in an interview that it famously doesn’t put deadlines on its improvements because it feels prefer it stifles creativity. And famously, improvement within the watch trade counts years as an alternative of months or weeks so I’m wondering how anniversary deadlines have an effect on this type of factor.
Take Vacheron Constantin’s loopy La Quête du Temps automaton astronomical clock for instance. I’m wondering how near 2025, or distant from, did they handle to finish this factor. Did they really full it final yr and resolve to maintain it for a extra impactful advertising yr? Or have been they scrambling all this yr, blowing by means of sources to get this achieved inside 2025? All questions that in all probability aren’t related to whoever purchased the piece however attention-grabbing to a curious particular person like me.
RC: Vacheron Constantin by no means mentioned when the development was completed, however it did say that the undertaking started seven years in the past. It may have been prepared since final yr for all I do know. And, as of final month, on the time of unveiling, a choice was not made about the way forward for that clock, whether or not it was going to be offered and to whom or how.
In distinction, the Breguet gold that premiered within the 250th anniversary watches was developed in a really brief time after the brand new CEO got here aboard, because of the sources obtainable to the model inside the Swatch Group.
AS: I all the time supposed that manufacturers labored like us, which means backwards from the proposed time of launch. Actually, that’s what most manufacturing guys say, in my discussions with them. Most just lately, it was Pascal Narbeburu of Van Cleef & Arpels… This model’s Poetic Problems assortment turns 20 subsequent yr I feel. Anyway, the exception is when the model already has a great deal of industrial capability, like Breguet, and may flip one thing round fairly shortly. I too was stunned when Kissling talked about this however it makes some sense; we all know that Guido Terreni did one thing related at Parmigiani Fleurier when he launched the Tonda PF.
DG: These are each glorious factors and I feel allude to the truth that though the model may be celebrating a long time or centuries of historical past, at any given milestone the course may be very a lot contingent on the capabilities and philosophies of present management. Which is why, when individuals discover out I’m an editor of a watch journal and ask me ‘what’s your favorite model?’ I really feel like I don’t have a particular reply as a result of manufacturers, the massive manufacturers no less than, ebb and stream with the standard of their management. Which I feel can typically be the case with anniversaries. Take Breguet for instance. It celebrates its 250th anniversary this yr however the Breguet of final yr or two years in the past appears fairly completely different from the extra thrilling Breguet of right now.
RC: I turned much less loyal to manufacturers about 15 years in the past, however that could be a topic for a unique article, I feel. Nothing unhealthy occurred. I simply felt the necessity to broaden my horizons. I’m now much less verticalised, if there’s such a time period to explain collectors.
AS: Oh the horror! Most-favoured model is just not actually a factor for us I suppose…nor collectors save those that specialize in one model. I feel there isn’t any particular phrase to explain such collectors, aside from ‘specialist’ however that can also be fairly bland, paradoxically. It’s value remembering although that durations of collectability can typically match up with particular tenures. Take into account Angelo Bonati’s management interval at Panerai for instance, or Max Busser’s reign at Harry Winston. Oh sure, Panerai too is celebrating 165 years? If one counts all of the years as a retailer in Florence. Altering tacks however on the identical monitor, there are actually TAG Heuer fans who eagerly search for the watches made within the years of Jack Heuer; because it occurs, Heuer was based in 1860 too, identical to Panerai. There are a great deal of tales right here, simply within the names of the corporations, as you may see, however we will not get into that right here lest we by no means end!
RC: Effectively, if Girard-Perregaux can depend the years of Bautte, which predated the start of Fixed Girard, then Panerai counting their pre-watchmaking years is just not an issue actually. Maybe, what actually issues objectively is how the manufacturers carry themselves right now, like Daniel talked about. Numerical claims, the place the years are involved, should not have a direct influence on the standard of the watches being produced or the course wherein they’re headed.
AS: I’ll say right here, for the file once more, that watchmakers will not be the very best record-keepers however I do lower them some slack as a result of they’ve been round for 100 years or extra, in plenty of circumstances. It does imply that anniversary years see the discharge of extra paperwork or tales that we by no means knew…like Zenith’s Pilot watches two years in the past, to quote only one current instance. Because it occurs, these have been glorious watches, which speaks properly to Ruckdee’s level there on the standard of the present manufacturing crop (however may also say one thing about Julien Tornare’s tenure on the model, as Daniel famous). Blancpain additionally has one thing like this for this yr, which all three of us will expertise in Le Brassus no much less
RC: Pricey readers, all I can say is that this. It’s already uncommon for WOW TH to be on the identical press journey as both WOW SG or WOW MY. However for this upcoming journey in November (keep in mind that we’re writing this text in late October), WOW TH was requested to be current on the Blancpain manufacture in Le Brassus for a secret presentation, along with each my SG and MY counterparts! One can solely guess on the degree of significance of the timepiece being unveiled.
DG: Even for WOW SG and WOW MY, if not for Watches & Wonders Geneva it’s uncommon we’re on the identical press journey until it’s in Malaysia or Singapore really. So sure, thrilling instances forward, and see you each in Le Brassus!
AS: We will endeavour to have our first correct sitdown in particular person at the moment. Effectively, by the point this subject is in your arms, expensive readers, it can have already got handed…or not. Tune in once more to search out out!
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #82 Festive 2025 Challenge
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