The Time+Tide Team picks their favourite watches of 2024
Time+TideIt has felt like the new watch releases haven’t stopped coming this year. Even during the slow season over the summer, we had the Olympics and all the goodies from Omega that brought with it, so there has been a pretty relentless stream of watches to choose from as a favourite in 2024. There have obviously been some standout releases this year, such as the record-breaking, award-winning, millennia-running IWC Eternal Calendar; or even the new most complicated watch in the world, the Vacheron Constantin Berkley Grand Complication – but we all have different tastes here on the Time+Tide team, and so we all connect with different watches. Have a look over our picks: did we choose the one you had in mind or do you think we missed something off our list?
Borna – Otsuka Lotec No. 6
I’ve written about this watch in short so many times, each time remarking that I am still yearning for one. Well, what’s doing it just one more time? Let’s start off with the way this watch looks. It combines steampunk and brutalism in the best way possible, with its screwed bezel and instrument-like aesthetic. It backs up the insane looks with an in-house retrograde module built on top of a Miyota 9000 base, made by self-taught watchmaker Jiro Katayama. The Japanese watchmaker’s achievements were also (finally) officially recognised at this year’s GPHG, where the No. 6 deservingly took home the Challenge Prize.
What makes it even cooler is that Katayama’s venture is now also being supported by Precision Watch Tokyo and Hajime Asaoka (watchmaker behind his eponymous brand as well as Takano and Kurono), allowing him to ramp up production and potentially increase it enough to consider sales outside of Japan. Mark my words, the moment that happens, I’ll be the first in line, unless I figure out another way to get it before then.
Zach – Berneron Mirage 34
The Mirage may have debuted in 2023, but the new models that debuted this past summer at Geneva Watch Days 2024 were even better in my book. Reducing the size down to 34mm from 38mm and introducing stone dials to the model (ahead of such dials becoming a certified trend of the year) was a masterstroke. It would go on to get recognised at the GPHG awards months later, taking home a prize as a symbol of the industry’s validation of his work – which Sylvain Berneron is on the record for saying has drained both his finances and health to make it possible.
It would be easy and naive to categorise the Berneron Mirage as a Cartier Crash rip-off, though the timing of its debut and shared element of a Dalí-esque, seemingly-melting case may have given it a superficial uplift in the limelight. However, akin to how the Toledano & Chan B/1 is not some sort of Steinhart one-to-one recreation of the Rolex King Midas, the real watch aficionados recognise just how wonderfully batshit insane Sylvain Berneron was for undertaking such a project. Any watchmaking veteran would advise against making a watch entirely out of gold inside and out, no less one that is asymmetrically shaped with a stunning case-fitting asymmetrical calibre as well. But Berneron is a veteran of the industry, having spent many years at Breitling, and yet decided to ambitiously push on.
The Mirage 34, in particular the tiger’s eye model, gets my vote for the watch of the year because it is the realisation of everything watchmakers are told is too ambitious. Despite going independent, with all the risk placed at his feet, he produced a handsome watch that cuts absolutely no corners and calls the creativity of so-called Holy Trinity watchmakers into question. Great size, great aesthetic. I would love to see it on my wrist. And off my wrist, it would still spend a great deal of time in my hands, considering how gorgeous the calibre is.
Mitch – Bovet Récital 12
What a year it’s been! There’s been so much going on here at Time+Tide. We’ve opened a new Discovery Studio in London, launched an incredible limited edition with TAG Heuer and doubled the size of our retail team. I’m only now coming up for air… Although I’ve hardly had the chance to stop and smell the horological roses this year, the choice for me was an obvious one. The Bovet 1822 Récital 12 is my watch of the year, with a case in grade 5 titanium polished to perfection, and a silky smooth bracelet (the first time ever for the brand). It’s the Bovet you can wear daily, and I absolutely would.
You might, however, be surprised to hear that the main reason I love it isn’t because of its beautiful movement, hand-guillochéd dial and micro-adjustable bracelet. No, I love it because it represents a time when long-held dreams came true and my hard work paid off. At the end of November I had the pleasure of visiting the Château de Môtiers, Bovet’s facility in the mountains of Switzerland. Although I was in a constant state of awe while there, I managed to spend some time with the Récital 12 on my wrist – at its birthplace, no less.
It might have been the thin mountain air, my belly full of fondue, or the absinthe I was sipping on (the green fairy comes from this region), but I fell in love with it instantly. This watch represents my first trip to Switzerland, the people I met and the friends I made at Bovet. It’s a special one. Mark my words, I will own a Récital 12 one day. I’ll link my GoFundMe page below… Only kidding.
Jamie – Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGW003
Originally, I was going to pick the spectacular, Swiss Railways-inspired Xhevdet Rexhepi Minute Inerte as my favourite watch of 2024… But while that watch finally made its way to customers’ wrists in 2024, making it feel like a 2024 watch, it technically came out in 2023. Such is the challenge with covering independents. However, a watch you can (and really should) buy right now is the Grand Seiko SLGW003, as it’s the most compelling dress watch Grand Seiko has launched in years. This was the watch I picked for my ‘marry’ in our Watches and Wonders 2024 Kiss, Marry, Kill video, and eight months later, it’s still how I feel. Well, strictly speaking, I picked its gold SLGW002 sibling, but upon reflection, I’d rather have the titanium.
Why? To me, the SLGW003 encapsulates all the things that make Grand Seiko such a compelling watchmaker. Here, we have an exquisitely finished and eminently wearable case made from a proprietary alloy, Brilliant Hard Titanium; a gorgeous new horizontal take on a White Birch dial that’s more subtle and more irregular; and a beautiful, innovative in-house movement, the new 9SA4. The double-signed, 45GS-reviving SLGW004 and SLGW005 also utilise this calibre, and while those two watches are very cool, I’d rather own an SLGW003.
Speaking of the movement, the 9SA4 is the first high-beat, manually wound movement that Grand Seiko has released in over 50 years, and it’s both visually and technically impressive. A 5Hz beat rate and 80-hour power reserve is already something to write home about, but something I didn’t mention in our video is that its click is shaped like a Japanese wagtail: a bird recognized as special to Morioka, the town where the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi is found. It’s a playful touch from a brand that’s often rather conservative – I love to see GS having a bit of fun. The SLGW003 has whimsy and class in equal measure, and that’s why it gets my vote.
Russell – Hermès Cut
I noticed that I have picked one of the least expensive watches on this list – and I could not be more comfortable with my choice. I saw the Hermès Cut for the first time at Watches and Wonders this year, and I instantly understood what the brand made famous by its bags was trying to do with this release. This mid-size, rounded-square sports watch has so many interesting features and details built into its design, that it manages to elevate itself, in my eyes, above pretty much all other sports watches in its price bracket. It does this with a considered typeface, a clean and balanced dial composition, a case structure that feels unique yet familiar, and a quick change system that is far too easy to use.
Out of every watch that has been released this year, this is the one I would own today, and it would see instant and prolonged wrist time. If I wasn’t on a watch-buying ban (until I buy a house), I likely would have picked this one up as soon as possible. The ability to change the bracelet to one of the many tastefully-coloured rubber straps with such ease makes this watch feel like it fits into the fashion-centric world of Hermès.
While the movement here might not be a reflection of high horology when you compare it to the watches many of my colleagues opted for, there are still some lovely details on display, and it fits with the everydayness of this watch. This is very much a timepiece that you can go anywhere with and do anything in but with an elevated sense of style. And if that isn’t something to aspire to, then I don’t know what is. Now I just need to buy my house so I can justify buying this watch…
Andrew – Toledano & Chan B/1
I’ve already spoken about this watch at length – as I mentioned in my unboxing review of it, I’m responsible partly for not only drinking the Kool-Aid but also making the Kool-Aid when it comes to the Toledano & Chan B/1. It’s my watch of the year not only because of its striking good looks but also because it’s emblematic of a shift in watchmaking we’ve seen in 2024: shape-led design, led by independent brands, and featuring unusual shapes and much more avant-garde design than we are seeing from big box brands.
There’s something about the wear of the watch that just integrates onto the wrist. It looks so angular and sharp – inhumanly brutalist and blocky – but there’s just a curiously ergonomic advantage that this watch has. Alfred Chan and Phil Toledano have really put a lot of thought into the way a seemingly sharp and angular design actually wears on the wrist. The material is 904L steel, so it has this very familiar sort of liquid, warm, feel to it that you get from a Rolex… It’s been hard to take off my wrist. Long live the B/1 – I look forward to seeing what future iterations of this striking design will be.
Pietro – Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph Rose Gold
I wasn’t sure if I should choose this watch, not just because there were many other exceptional contenders this year, but most importantly because it’s not a completely new model. But regardless of the material change since its previous edition, sometimes you must go with your heart, and despite my preference for white metals, here is my favourite watch of 2024: the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph in rose gold (ref. Q389256J).
When the first edition of this Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph came out at last year’s Watches and Wonders, it was already among the best watches of the fair. But this recent edition has brought it to the next level. The opulence of the rose gold engraved dial and the solid gold movement brought out all the Art Deco decadence that made this watch iconic in the first place. It might not be the most expensive, nor the most complicated watch of the year but I feel this Midas’ touch gives this model the importance and heft it deserves.
I’m lucky to be in the position to handle so many watches during the year, and sometimes it’s difficult to find something that fully satisfies my expectations as I’d always find something to change or to compare with other watches. Well, on this watch, I wouldn’t change a single thing: the design looks more cohesive in rose gold, especially when you turn it to the chronograph side. It’s rich, warm and more importantly, speaks to me and I’d see myself wearing it one day. It might be slightly bigger than the watches I’m used to, but I’m lucky enough to have the wrist for it.
It’s the first-ever limited edition on this base and this just adds to the story. I don’t like limited editions for rarity’s sake, but I think it adds a bit of magic to a piece, especially coming from a brand like JLC that usually doesn’t do limited editions. Knowing there’s just a small group of people sharing the same watch makes me guess if we have anything else in common.
Alex – Patek Philippe Cubitus
Put the pitchforks down, there’s a method to my madness here. Patek Philippe’s controversial release marks the last brushed steel nail in the coffin of the big box luxury sports watch, and I couldn’t be more excited – that’s why it’s my favourite watch of 2024.
In this industry, we endlessly give our flowers to the design and innovation of the ’70s integrated luxury sports watches on a daily basis. Bouquets of praise and reverence rightfully amass at the feet of the Genta giants – with a painful caveat being that now any watch that shares even a modicum of their design is up for the most tired conversation in all of watch collecting. The dreaded “poor man’s…” prefix. It’s at the point a single flathead screw or shade of royal blue somewhere on the case can now brand a release a clone of the past.
Now, one of the original driving forces of this type of design, Patek Philippe, has perhaps proven with the Cubitus that we have nothing interesting left in the tank. As Zach has postulated, it might put Patek customers off for good. But I’m glad it exists! If history is to repeat itself, we’re (hopefully) going to now see brands turn from tradition and embrace innovation. Otherwise, Seiko might make the Swiss sweat all over again!