During our two day Watch Fair, we welcome thousands of watch lovers to our Princeton store to shop our largest selection of watches of the year. What makes us different from other Watch events is our close connection with the best luxury watch brands in the world. We are able to get the newest pieces, some barely seen in the US yet, as well as limited edition pieces that few have seen anywhere.
For 2017 we have gone even bigger. In addition to showing all watches from all of our locations and special pieces shipped in from brands specifically for the event, we will also be hosting an exclusive TAG Heuer Connected pop-up shop and a Cartier Panthère pop-up shop to showcase these new releases which were some of the biggest of the year.
If you want to learn more about the event click here.
Because we can’t possibly review every timepiece we will be showing, we have made it a bit easier by highlighting the 10 watches we are most excited about at this year’s Watch Fair. Read our choices and let us know what you think!
10. TAG Heuer Autavia Reissue
Almost a year ago, Tag Heuer decided to let the public play a role in its product line by announcing the “Autavia Cup,” a competition in which fans were able to vote on the design of a historic Autavia reissue to be released in 2017. In the end, the fans chose the Autavia 2446 Mark 3, a design from 1966 known as the “Rindt” Autavia after Austrian Formula One world champion Jochen Rindt. The Mark 3 Autavia features a second execution case with a narrower bezel, applied steel markers with luminous dots at their tips, and polished steel lume hands. As Tag Heuer no longer makes manual chronographs, reproducing the original movement would have made the watch prohibitively expense. Instead, they increased the case size to 42mm (the original was 38mm) and added a newly designed automatic movement, the Heuer-03 calbre. The new design also features a date window in the bottom subdial, which makes the watch imminently more sellable. We have no doubt that due to its attractive price, neo-vintage styling, and historic fan-involved development, the 2017 Heuer Autavia is going to be a winner.
9. Panthère de Cartier
Last year’s successful Cartier Drive was pointed directly at their male audience, and for 2017, they have zeroed in on the ladies with the reintroduction of a classic design from the 1980’s, the Cartier Panthère. First launched in 1983, the Panthère features a square dial with small, discreet screws on the bezel. Its integrated lugs blend seamlessly into the five-link bracelet, whose silky movement inspired the watch’s name. Other than enforcing the bracelet and improving its waterproofing, the design remains the same, including the quartz movement. It’s offered in steel, bi-colored, gold, and white gold versions. Some models feature paved diamonds, and for the truly bold, a black enamel panther print that’s unique and unmistakable. In our opinion, the small size is yellow gold makes for a perfect everyday wearer that can stretch into the evening with subtle elegance and striking retro design.
8. Tudor Black Bay 41
Following the popularity of the larger Datejust II in the past decade, the Crown-connected brand Tudor is offering a larger version of it’s pitch-perfect 2016 release, the Black Bay. Now at a larger size that most men will find in line with other modern releases, the Black Bay 41 features the same clean design as its 36mm counterpart. Unmistakable snowflake hands and a diamond-shaped marker on the second hand dominate the dial, and circular hour-markers harken to the ubiquitous Rolex Submariner, perhaps the most iconic watch of all time. This Black Bay comes with all the charm of a modern Tudor – including a rose design on the crown, a reliable automatic movement, and a bracelet that’s identical in quality to Rolex’s Oyster bracelet, the best fitting and comfortable bracelet on the market. Like all Tudors, the Black Bay 41 comes at an affordable price-point, and offers a value proposition that’s difficult to deny for a watch that works in almost any circumstance.
7. Gucci Tiger Watch Collection – La Marché de Merveilles
Gucci’s rebooted La Marché de Merveilles collection features handsome gold PVD 38mm case attached to a retro, bund-style strap, and a reliable quartz movement. Most striking of all is the dial work, which showcase a flawlessly embroidered animal design. Choices include bees and snakes – but our favorite is the roaring tiger, a reminder to everyone who sees it that its wearer is stylish and ferocious. For the ladies, there’s a special design in which the dial’s tiger image runs up and down, past the case and onto the strap itself – a unique design that we haven’t seen anywhere else.
6. Jaeger-LeCoutre Reverso Tribute Moon
This year in Basel, Jaeger-LeCoultre made big-time waves with its round watches, particularly those with sector dials. A bit under the radar, however, they also made some compelling, subtle updates to its most famous design, the rectangular, swiveling Reverso. Most notable was the Reverso Tribute Moon, a stainless steel version featuring a dual timezone display, date, and moonphase complications. The reverse side of the dial, which most would use to keep track of “home” time while traveling, is simply gorgeous: two contrasting shades of blue, textured dial, polished hands, and applied indices. Both dials, front and back, have striking depth to them – recessed elements and a frosted finish on the front dial are indicators of exceptional design and execution, two things we are used to seeing from JLC. This is an exceptional timepiece.
5. Tudor Heritage Steel and Gold
Two-tone watches are no longer a thing of the past. On the heels of the all-steel Black Bay 41, Tudor has also introduced a gold and steel version of its incredibly popular dive watch, the Heritage Black Bay. And this one has something special under the hood: Tudor’s caliber MT5612, its in-house, three-hand with date movement. Both the end-links and the bezel are solid gold, while the crown and links are “gold-capped,” a process which creates a thicker and stronger layer of gold over the steel than traditional PVD. The watch comes on a bracelet or a handsome distressed leather strap, and like most Tudor offerings, is packaged with an additional fabric strap to add versatility to the piece. With its subtle date window and hints of gold, this is a rare watch that works with a suit in the boardroom and a golf shirt on the weekends, and unlike most desk-divers, isn’t one you’ll see on everyone’s wrist.
4. Jaeger-LeCoutre Master Thin Ultra Réserve de Marché
Jaeger-LeCoutre’s Master Thin Ultra Réserve de Marché is a masterwork of design. The balanced dial features three of the most practical complications: sub-seconds, a 40-hour power reserve, and a circular date indicator. As a watch for someone who appreciates haute horlogerie, but who also wants to wear something that makes sense for his or her daily routine, there’s no denying the appeal of this mainstay from Le Sentier. Like everything JLC, those who are in the know recognize its deep roots, design prowess, impeccable quality, and the brand’s full intention to push the envelope when it comes to complication integration. Here, all four of these elements are wrapped up neatly in one undeniably appealing package.
3. Hamilton Intra-matic 68
Though it can be difficult to find them, a number of Hamilton watches from the 1960’s and 70’s have become darlings of the vintage watch world in the past decade. In response to this cult status, Hamilton has designed the Intra-matic 68, a fitting homage to two of its most popular models. Though primarily based on Hamilton’s “Chronograph B,” the Intra-matic 68 also integrates design elements from Hamilton’s Chrono-matic with a date window and automatic movement. This reissue hits so many marks. From its dome-shaped dial and curved hands, to its vintage-style pushers and solid steel caseback, to its perfect reverse-panda dial, the Intra-matic 68 looks like watch that was designed forty or fifty years ago, yet Hamilton has intelligently updated its size for a modern age. This budget-friendly chronograph packs inspired vintage design and contemporary wearability – easily making it one of our top picks this year.
2. Breitling Navitimer Rattrapante
If you know anything about a rattrapante, you know this complication is no easy feat to design, and not only has Breitling developed its own in-house rattrapante for its newest edition of the iconic Navitimer, but it also integrated into the movement an isolating mechanism to improve efficiency, a design that required two patents by itself. Breitling calls this version of the Navitimer “The Ultimate Mechanical Chronograph,” and it’s hard to disagree. The Navitimer Rattrapante is available in two case materials, steel and red gold, and features an exclusive bronze-colored dial, and a discreet date window at 4:30. Other than those changes, this new model looks the part with the Navitimer’s instantly-recognizable design. The movement is nicely decorated and visible through a sapphire caseback, and the automatic movement has a minimum power reserve of 70 hours. It’s not often that such an iconic toolwatch gets such a significant, sophisticated upgrade to its interior, but by doing so, Breitling has given us the ultimate package.
1. TAG Heuer Connected Modular
With the same forward-thinking approach that inspired them to launch the first Tag Heuer Connected watch last year, it’s no surprise that Tag continues to hone its product by introducing the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45. While Tag’s original smartwatch gave its wearer the ability to customize the dial and display of the watch, the Modular takes this one step further. Now, not only can the dial be customized, but the lugs and strap can be easily swapped out as well, and if you miss the feeling of a mechanical watch on the wrist, Tag offers a mechanical module that can also be swapped in. For those who really want everything this system has to offer, Tag even offers a module with a bone fide tourbillon. All told, there are over fifty variations of the Connected Modular available at launch. As with the original version, the Connected Modular stands as proof of Tag Heuer’s philosophy that while the watch world may be rapidly changing, there is a way to hold onto the past and look forward at the same time.
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