Excellent choices for best watches of the year Tony, I can't disagree with any of them (though personally I love the original Mirage with the very clever and elegant custom numerals).
Something that I think has gone under the radar, and I don't see being talked about very much in the end of year conversations (which have maybe been dominated by shaped watches and stone dials), are the hand wound hi-beat SLGW Grand Seikos. The SLGW002 and 003 are the nicest and best-wearing birch dial / Evo9 GSs yet, and the movement is really attractive and quite a rare thing - who else makes an entirely in-house hand-wound hi-beat with an 80 hour power reserve and a proprietary escapement design, let alone at the asking price?
The SLGW005 was the one I went for in the end as it's the truly modern 44GS-adjacent watch I always wanted them to make, but I still covet the 003.
I look for watches that are not super hyped, a little hard to find, and a good buy. Chrono24 says they both sell for about $12K. I haven't seen one in person. But from photos they appeal to me. The JLC now has a new Polaris geographic in grey. I like it but not the color. I think I like the Vacheron Quai de Lille best.
Nice article! I did not read your article about the Berneron when it first came out. A lot of cool innovations from design and technical standpoints. I was impressed about reversing the handstack to get a more tapered crystal, very cool
Enjoyed the article. Great info. Liked your list, and was pleased to hear Rolex won their suit. What do you think of some discontinued models such as the JLC Polaris world time with a blue dial, or the Vacheron Quai de Lille stainless with a blue dial?
Well done, Tony. I really love the format, and think it’s the future of independent watch journalism. As more and more big watch blogs become marketing/sales arms of watch retailers, I prefer getting my news from you and others like you.
Excellent choices for best watches of the year Tony, I can't disagree with any of them (though personally I love the original Mirage with the very clever and elegant custom numerals).
Something that I think has gone under the radar, and I don't see being talked about very much in the end of year conversations (which have maybe been dominated by shaped watches and stone dials), are the hand wound hi-beat SLGW Grand Seikos. The SLGW002 and 003 are the nicest and best-wearing birch dial / Evo9 GSs yet, and the movement is really attractive and quite a rare thing - who else makes an entirely in-house hand-wound hi-beat with an 80 hour power reserve and a proprietary escapement design, let alone at the asking price?
The SLGW005 was the one I went for in the end as it's the truly modern 44GS-adjacent watch I always wanted them to make, but I still covet the 003.
i agree! i'm not a big grand seiko guy, but those hand-wounds are nice (and very enjoyable to wind).
I look for watches that are not super hyped, a little hard to find, and a good buy. Chrono24 says they both sell for about $12K. I haven't seen one in person. But from photos they appeal to me. The JLC now has a new Polaris geographic in grey. I like it but not the color. I think I like the Vacheron Quai de Lille best.
also have not seen in person so can’t comment but in general the Polaris has been compelling to me in some iterations
Nice article! I did not read your article about the Berneron when it first came out. A lot of cool innovations from design and technical standpoints. I was impressed about reversing the handstack to get a more tapered crystal, very cool
Watch of the Year for a reason! Thanks for reading
Enjoyed the article. Great info. Liked your list, and was pleased to hear Rolex won their suit. What do you think of some discontinued models such as the JLC Polaris world time with a blue dial, or the Vacheron Quai de Lille stainless with a blue dial?
hm why do you ask about those 2 specifically?
Well done, Tony. I really love the format, and think it’s the future of independent watch journalism. As more and more big watch blogs become marketing/sales arms of watch retailers, I prefer getting my news from you and others like you.
thanks for reading, richard