Want more insider watch coverage? Get Box + Papers, GQ's newsletter devoted to the watch world, sent to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here.
Don’t get us wrong—we love a good affordable dive watch as much as the next guy. But we’re watch people at heart, which means there’s just something about a high-end, no-holds-barred piece of haute horlogerie that makes the hair on the back of our necks stand up. Flying tourbillons, in-house movements, baguette-cut diamonds, high-performance materials…we love all that stuff. And for the past couple months, we’ve been rounding up the coolest, avant-garde-iest timepieces we can find. Sure, they’re pricey, and sure, they’re not for everyone. But for those who like their watches left-of-center, these should pique your interest.
This month, we’ve got an awesome, high-end chronograph from IWC; an all-gold edition of a small-batch, complicated watch from Leica; an incredible 24-hour dial, flying tourbillon from high-end independent Sartory Billard; and a wildly bejeweled, tourbillon-equipped luxury sports watch from Vacheron. Let’s dive in!
IWC Pilot Performance Chronograph MAP ref. IW388307
IWC has long been known for its pilot’s watches—indeed, by the time it introduced the Mark XI for the UK’s Royal Air Force in 1948, it had been producing dedicated flyboys’ timepieces for decades. The ref. IW388307 builds upon that long legacy by rethinking its famed pilot’s chronograph via a partnership with Mercedes-AMG and its Petronas Formula One team. Available in several versions, the IW388307 is a 41mm chrono in black Ceratanium (a proprietary IWC mix of ceramic and titanium) with an in-house movement and several special touches—namely, the cool base-1,000 tachymeter scale on the bezel and the blue accents on the day-date windows, seconds totalizer, and outer 1/5th-seconds track. With its matching Ceratanium H-link bracelet and 100m of water resistance, this is a serious sport watch with a bezel that could help it compete with the Daytona.
Leica ZM 1 Gold Limited Edition
Back in 2018, legendary German camera maker Leica began producing its very own wristwatches. Earlier this year, the brand released a brand-new luxury sports watch, the ZM 11, which expanded beyond the strictly complicated fare with which it launched. Now, though, Leica is revisiting its older ZM 1 with a limited-edition model boasting a 41mm 18K red gold case and titanium appointments. Featuring camera-inspired aesthetics, its unique design includes dual buttons on the case flank: one on the crown and one at 10 o’clock. Engage the former, and you can toggle between power reserve winding or time setting; the latter, meanwhile, advances the date. Additionally, there’s a power reserve indicator, a sub-seconds display, and a function indicator on the smokey brown dial.
Sartory Billard Flying Tourbillon SB06-24
And now for something completely different: Founded by former industrial designer Armand Billard in 2015, Sartory Billard builds wildly beautiful, semi-customizable watches in France. The brand’s latest, the SB06-24, stemmed from a design challenge from the Cronotempvs Watch Club for a flying tourbillon—which ultimately resulted in the development of a brand-new, in-house movement. Housed in a 41mm case available in platinum, gold, tantalum, titanium, or stainless steel, it features a mesmerizing dial inscribed in a 12-hour format—look closely and you’ll notice that the dual-sided hour hand features a sun (for the daytime hours) at one end, and a moon (for the nighttime hours) at the other. Geared to make a single revolution in 24 hours, this unique display is complemented by the addition of a flying tourbillon above 6 o’clock.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon High Jewelry
Speaking of the tourbillon—an invention of A.L. Breguet that compensated for the effects of gravity upon a pocket watch’s movement—check out this gleaming new Overseas Tourbillon High Jewelry from Vacheron Constantin. Powered by the 5.65mm-thick Calibre 2160, this automatic luxury sports watch will be familiar to devotees of the brand, though not in its current form: Available for the first time in white gold with a matching bracelet and a gleaming blue dial, its most eye-catching feature is the addition of 60 baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel and hour markers. Measuring 42.5mm wide by just over 10mm tall, its sporty profile is perfectly capable of withstanding everyday wear—though with 50m of water resistance, you may want to switch it up before you swan dive into the pool. (The included rubber strap, however, does make it a perfect option for hotter, sweatier days.)
