A Glimpse at the Future of Watchmaking Through LVMH Watch Week 2022
Inspiring releases from four brands defining the way we tell and wear time
This year, the third annual LVMH Watch Week took place over a series of hybrid presentations, both virtual and in-person—allowing some journalists to view the 2022 models from the luxury holding company’s four time-telling brands up close. We got hands-on with these wristwatches to understand their material, finishes, legibility and weight; to scour them for details that separate them from past editions and nostalgic inspirations. Once again, the week included prestigious product launches and teases of what’s to come from these legendary horological maisons.
TAG Heuer
Though there were many impressive announcements from TAG Heuer (including the impressive Autavia 60th Anniversary range), it’s the bold Aquaracer Professional 200 that stood out most of all. With a precise balance of elegance and rugged design, the 40mm stainless steel wristwatch has been crafted as a high-functioning sports watch that’s a fit for fashionable occasions, too. It’s available with either an automatic mechanical or quartz movement, making it more accessible.
Zenith
As rainbow-influenced design has made its way into so many corners of the watch world, no integration is quite as effective as Zenith’s DEFY El Primero 21 Chroma, where each color of the gradient plays off the 44mm matte white ceramic case. Limited to 200 pieces, this high-frequency El Primero 21 1/100th of a second chronograph model features an open dial that reveals the magnificence within.
Bulgari
Once again, Italian watch and jewelry house Bulgari tantalized with releases for their renowned Serpenti line. This year, they took the form of four Serpenti Misteriosi “secret watches”—meaning the dial has been hidden, here, for example, in the head of the snake. Not only are these watches a premier example of pushing the decorative boundaries on iconography, they also include an internal technical innovation developed by Bulgari in Le Sentier, Switzerland: the new Piccolissimo micro-movement. It’s one of the smallest mechanical movements of its kind.
Hublot
Of Hublot‘s stellar swathe of announcements (including the return of yellow gold as one of their featured materials), many will find the limited release range, Big Bang Integral Time Only, to be the most surprising, especially as the case measures in at a comfortable 40mm. In titanium, black ceramic and 18k yellow gold, the well-proportioned timepiece—with an integrated bracelet—feels fresh and refined. There’s exquisite finishing and plenty of Hublot signatures. Inside, there’s also Hublot’s MHUB1710 self-winding movement.
Hero image courtesy of Hublot
