Watches and Wonders 2023: New Release Overview

amanico · 2023-04-10T15:26:14Z

Explore amanico's candid review of Watches and Wonders 2023, featuring Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, Chopard L.U.C, and Rolex novelties. Discover collector insights and debates on pricing and design.

amanico

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

74 replies20890 views21 photos

Amanico, a seasoned collector, offers his discerning perspective on Watches and Wonders 2023. Despite a condensed 28-hour visit, his initial impressions highlight both disappointments and standout pieces, providing a valuable filter for the year's releases. His candid assessment sets the stage for deeper dives into specific models, guiding collectors through the horological landscape.

Let me start with a disclaimer. I could only attend the Watch Event for 28 hours, so I didn't have the time I used to have before.

Still, I could visit most of the booths, so I decided to make a selection of what I found interesting. This is just my personal selection, here, and not an exhaustive review of all the watches introduced this year.

First of all, the brands which let me cold, this year:

- Panerai: Nothing for me.

- Vacheron: Idem.

- Tag Heuer: They introduced the Cerrera 60th Anniversary has been introduced before W and W. Nothing else interested me.

- Cartier: Not this year.

- Zenith: Niente, nothing, rien, nada...

- Patek; The 5316P with its dark transparent dial is something, but at 900, 000 Euros, well...

- Rolex: The Yacht Master Titanium. Great idea to choose titanium for this watch, but now it is even closer to the Submariner and looses its Yacht Master personality, in my opinion.

- Parmigiani: Nothing for me, this year, unless I missed something.

- Lange & Sohne: I love this brand, but the Odysseus Chronograph... Well, I prefer to wait for my lawyer and stay silent.

Now the watches I reviewed and will review:

1/ Jaeger Lecoultre : A Reverso year, so far, with more evolutions than revolutions.

- The Tribute Duoface Tourbillon:

The Review:

www.watchprosite.com

- The Hybris Artistica Cal 179: An artistic version of an extraordinary watch.

The Review:

www.watchprosite.com

Now the reviews I will post:

- The Reverso Tribute Small Seconds. Some are quite interesting ( steel white and rose gold black dial )

- The Reverso Tribute Chronograph: An Homage to the Reverso Chronograph in rose gold from 1996 and to the Reverso Gran Sport from the very early 2000's.

2/ Ulysse Nardin: The Freak One. A real Freak, but not my favorite, though:

The review:

www.watchprosite.com

3/ Chopard. Three reviews I will post:

The Alpine Eagle 41 XPS, one of the true stars of this show. One of my very favorites.

The LUC 1860 Lucent Steel, another marvel.

And the LUC 1963 Heritage Chronograph:

4/ Ferdinand Berthoud: I will post a review on some of their watches, including the FB3 SPC:

5/ Montblanc. Two Minerva marvels, with the:

- Unveiled Secret aged steel, an evolution from last year offer:

- the unveiled Timekeeper in lime gold and in steel, which is an interesting and original novelty:

6/ Angelus with one iteration, the Chronodate,

And a very interesting Chronographe Médical, in collaboration with Massena Lab.:

7/ Arnold and Son. A brand I always wanted to know more about and which I like for a long time.

- The Double Tourbillon in white gold with malachite or aventurine dial:

- And the Ultrathin Tourbillon, in rose gold:

8/ Tudor Black Bay GMT Opaline. A new dial for a now famous model.

So, a total of 16 reviews. 3 already posted, 13 to come.

Not the greatest year, Watches and Wonders this year, in my opinion.

Stay tuned!

Best,

Nicolas

Key Points from the Discussion

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Chronograph, while visually appealing, raises questions about its dial design for the non-chronograph side and its wearability on smaller wrists.
Many collectors found the overall Watches and Wonders 2023 releases to be less exciting than previous years, with few truly standout novelties.
The Chopard L.U.C 1860 and the two Chopard time-only pieces were frequently cited as highlights of the show, with their Lucent Steel models garnering particular attention.
The Tudor Black Bay 54 was praised for its smaller size, a refreshing move in a market often trending towards larger watches, though some found it too similar to existing models like the Black Bay 58.
The Rolex Yacht-Master Titanium's design was criticized for losing its distinct personality, becoming too similar to the Submariner.
The Rolex Day-Date with emoji dials was seen as a bold and unconventional release, a 'modern day 'F U watch'' that defies traditional horological expectations.

The Discussion

andrea~

Apr 10, 2023

I am also happy with what Ressence did and with that beautiful LUC.

DarrenKats

Apr 10, 2023

All also on my most interesting (and interested in) list!

Aquaracer1

Apr 10, 2023

The 2 Chopard time-only are the stars of the show for me. Not much else excited me from this years show. The Black Bay 54 did catch my attention. Not to buy, because BB58 is the perfect size for me. But because they are experimenting with smaller when most others are going bigger. That’s a refreshing differentiator for me

mahesh

Apr 10, 2023

esp. the fuse-chain remontoir mechanism is extremely well made.

vitalsigns

Apr 10, 2023

I agree that there was not much of interest. Surprising, in fact, as I usually discover some excellent new releases. But not this year. The only real standout for me is the JLC Reverso Chrono with the cool blue dial. A very nice piece, and I'm happy to see a return of JLC's shaped chronograph, even if the price is...hmmm...very aspirational. Cheers, John

Mr.Gatsby

Apr 10, 2023

I love your personal take on W&W. Chopard definitely has put on a great show this year as did JLC. The prices however are ridiculous. For me Tudor always interests me. BB54 for my personal favorite. I like your choice, I only wish it were smaller Best Gatsby

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