The Coolest Watches That Deserve All The Hype

The only type of complications that we crave for.

By Brandon Chia - published 13 Jun 2024

Innovation is always welcomed in the world of horology and some of the newest releases in 2024 have broken records or reshaped preconceived notions of what a timepiece can be in this contemporary age. From Hublot’s latest collaboration with artist Daniel Arsham to the thinnest watch ever created by Bvlgari, here are the coolest watches that deserve all the hype this year.

HUBLOT’S ARSHAM DROPLET

Hublot has longstanding relationships with artists such as Richard Orlinski and Takashi Murakami but their newest collaboration with Daniel Arsham has redefined pocket watches with the Arsham Droplet.

Inspired by organic fluids found in nature, the brand has created a limited-edition teardrop watch crafted from titanium and sapphire crystals with rubber bumpers in Arsham’s signature green colour. The pocket watch can be worn as a necklace or converted into a sculptural table clock with a titanium and mineral glass stand.

BVLGARI’S OCTO FINISSIMO ULTRA COSC

The competition to achieve the thinnest watch in the world has been intense and Bvlgari has pulled ahead with the ninth world record that sets the new standard with the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC at 1.7mm.

The research and development team had to rethink the composition of the watch. The caseback, crafted from extremely dense and hard tungsten carbide, serves as the mainplate for the watch where the manually winding BVL180 manufacture calibre with 170 components is assembled.

PIAGET’S ALTIPLANO ULTIMATE CONCEPT TOURBILLON

Piaget understood the assignment of precision and knocked it out of the park with the thinnest tourbillon in the world. The ultra-thin Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon measures only 2mm in thickness and 41.5mm in diameter, yet the watch can still keep up with the extra power needed by the tourbillon. The position of the watch components such as the dial displaying the hours and minutes remained the same despite the shrunken dimensions.

IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN’S PORTUGIESER ETERNAL CALENDAR

The Swiss manufacture launched a fleet of incredible timepieces at Watches and Wonders 2024 including the Portugieser Eternal Calendar that boasts a moon phase accuracy of 45 million years.

While a perpetual calendar is programmed for a four-year cycle, considering the leap day, this timepiece takes it up a notch with a 400-year gear that takes into account the skipping of leap days that will happen three times over the next four centuries.

VACHERON CONSTANTIN’S LES CABINOTIERS - THE BERKLEY GRAND COMPLICATION

When it comes to complications, it’s more the merrier and Vacheron Constantin created the most complicated watch in the world with 63 complications.

The main innovation of this watch is the introduction of the traditional Chinese calendar in the form of a perpetual calendar, which includes all the calculations associated with Chinese culture. The watch is programmed until 2200 and follows the irregularities regarding the years and lunar months that fluctuate year to year.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE’S DUOMETRE HELIOTOURBILLON PERPETUAL

For over two centuries, the watchmaker of watchmakers has been known for creating unique movements that inspire manufactures of haute horlogerie.

The new Duometre watch features the new heliotourbillon, a tourbillon constructed on three axes, with a new in-house calibre 388 to create kinetic energy and a spinning top effect that ensures superb chronometric accuracy. This new addition can be viewed from the front and the side of the case, which sports a curved window.