It's been a quiet past few weeks on Haulogerie as I took some time away to focus on family, work and life. But I thought it prudent to jump right back into the swing of things this week especially, what with the plethora of amazing new watches being unveiled over the course of the last seven days.
A handful of new watches caught my eye, examples including the novelties from Moritz Grossmann, Frederic Jouvenot and IWC, as well as a stunning piece unique 1815 Chronograph from A. Lange & Söhne.
Moritz Grossmann DATE Turquoise
Moritz Grossmann is an incredible watchmaker that resides in the quaint town of Glashütte. Perhaps jumping on the bandwagon of bright blue dials, Moritz Grossmann has unveiled its version of the hyped up blue dial with the DATE Turquoise. However, this piece is different in its distinct guilloché style in a bright turquoise colourway, not that dissimilar to the ice of a glacier or the glistening surface of the sea under a bright sun. Metaphors aside, the Moritz Grossmann DATE Turquoise is right on the money.
For starters, that radiating guilloché stylised dial that seems to ebb and flow from a common origin point in the middle of the small seconds register to the jumping date display surrounding the dial around the chapter ring. From the stunning blued steel lance-shape hands to the meticulously detailed and highly ornamental Calibre 100.3, the Moritz Grossmann DATE Turquoise is above and beyond your typical "on-trend" watch.
The Moritz Grossmann DATE Turquoise is limited to only 18 pieces and is priced at €42,500.
Verdict: Against the grain but a definitive point of differentiation from an ever-growing pool of the same-same.
Frederic Jouvenot Helios Albedo
Craftsmanship, intuitiveness and an eye for the seemingly impossible are all often prerequisites in the creation of what is considered a masterpiece. Take the new Frederic Jouvenot Helios Albedo, as an example. It features a 100-component 24-hour jumping cage that powers a three-dimensional time-telling patented system that is unlike anything out there.
The "dial" has a central minute rotating disc surrounded by 12 black-polished micro-structures and 12 sunbeam hour displays with 12 jumping hours indicating the day and the night, indicative of its name Helios, meaning sun, and Albedo, meaning astronomy.
The Frederic Jouvenot Helios Albedo is limited to 28 pieces and is priced to order at 44,000CHF.
Verdict: Novel, architectural and discreet. Bask in the joys of horological anonymity while knowing what is on your wrist trumps most of which you will come across.
Piece Unique A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph
New from another Glashütte-based watchmaker is the piece unique 1815 Chronograph 'Hampton Court Edition'. With its sole purpose of being auctioned off in Geneva by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo on the 6th of November 2022 with the proceeds of the sale of this unique piece will go to The Prince's Trust, set up by HRH The Prince of Wales that helps support young people aged in developing essential life skills to access job opportunities, A. Lange & Söhne kind of had free reign to really flex its creative might with this one off piece.
It features a lovely black solid-silver dial with rhodié-coloured sub-dial registers and markers, along with an engraved hinged cuvette caseback that can be opened to reveal the enormity of that exquisite L951.5 calibre.
The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph 'Hampton Court Edition' is a piece unique to be auctioned off by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo on the 6th of November 2022.
Verdict: If the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph 'Hampton Court Edition' wasn't a piece unique it would quickly become the most sought after Lange references after the Odysseus.
IWC Refreshes Two Portugieser Models
The Portugieser Automatic and the Portugieser Chronograph are two of the most iconic, recognisable and Schaffhausen-associated watches the maison produces. Their distinct designs are longstanding and haven't changed all that much since their respective introductions to the world. This hasn't changed with this new and apparent refresh, but it does give the pieces a new lease of life.
Both models now sport contrasting white and blue dials, with similarly matching coloured straps, leather for the Automatic and rubber for the Chronograph. Both models are distinctly recognizable in their design, with a white polished lacquered finish been offset by the deep azurage blue finished sub-dials. Each new reference is a lovely, clean, understated and sophisticated rendition of a tried and true model that continues to evolve.
The IWC Portugieser Automatic IW500715 is priced at $18,800AUD and the IWC Portugieser Chronograph IW371620 is priced at $12,900AUD.
Verdict: Refreshed and ready to roar into the warmer months of the year.