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LIST: Andrew’s top 3 picks from SIHH 2019 between $10k and $35k, including Panerai, IWC and Ulysse Nardin LIST: Andrew’s top 3 picks from SIHH 2019 between $10k and $35k, including Panerai, IWC and Ulysse Nardin

LIST: Andrew’s top 3 picks from SIHH 2019 between $10k and $35k, including Panerai, IWC and Ulysse Nardin

Andrew McUtchen

This price bracket is a sweet spot for SIHH and the going gets tough when it comes to picking the standouts. One of the benefits of Felix and I splitting our picks this year is that we can cover more ground. That said, we still maintain our habit of not sharing our choices before we go to air. Sometimes there are brand double-ups, more often not. Regular viewers will know that we take spontaneity very seriously. Collusion is just not an option if it’s at the expense of an authentic moment of shock and/or awe. So, to my choices …

Panerai Submersible Carbotech 42mm PAM 000960

The pricing has raised eyebrows, but there have been zero complaints about the imaginative styling and colourway chosen for the next gen of the Panerai Carbotech, which expresses itself here with an entirely new handset. The 42mm case size will open this stealthy, stylish watch to a new audience.

The IWC Spitfire Timezoner

The ingenious ‘timezoner’ complication, which allows you to change time zones with a twist of the bezel, is so simple to read and to use that it’s little wonder IWC purchased another brand — Vogard — to acquire it.

The Ulysse Nardin Freak X

A dramatically more affordable Freak was the main story for Ulysse Nardin this year, and it has opened the eyes of a large new group of potential wearers — me included. Of the black, petrol blue and two-tone offerings, I couldn’t go past the urban appeal of black.