Founded in Le Locle in 1865, Zenith has built its identity around a single movement milestone: the El Primero, launched in 1969 as the world's first automatic integrated high-frequency chronograph. The A384 was among the founding references, introduced in the early 1970s, distinguished by a sharp tonneau profile, an angular case, and a visual boldness that set it apart from the round-cased chronographs of the era.
Insider: Patek Philippe Celestial Sunrise and Sunset ref. 6105G-001—The Sky Over Geneva, on Your Wrist
Patek Philippe's Celestial complication occupies its own category as a watch that displays not just the time but the sky itself, mapping the apparent motion of stars, the moon's orbit and phases, and the arc of the sun as seen from a specific latitude in a celestial chart. The reference 6105G-001 is the newest iteration of this idea, and it arrived at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 with an architecture that genuinely surprises.
Insider: Louis Moinet 1816 Chronograph in Two Versions—One of Our Favorite Watches from the Independents
For Watches and Wonders 2026, Les Ateliers Louis Moinet returned to the 1816 Chronograph—introduced here last July—with a new edition that adds a touch of color to an already compelling timepiece. The architecture remains unchanged: named for the year its creator invented the chronograph, built around a dial layout drawn directly from the original compteur de tierces.
Insider: Rolex Yacht-Master II OysterSteel ref. 126680—A Real Regatta Countdown Running Counterclockwise
Rolex doesn't revive discontinued references unless it has something definitive to say. At Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, the Crown said it loudly: the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II is back, and it is meaningfully better, at least mechanically and horologically speaking. First launched in 2007 in yellow gold, then in steel in 2013, and pulled from the catalog in 2024, the regatta countdown chronograph watch returns.
Insider: L. Leroy 'Bal du Temps' Minute Repeater Tourbillon—Two Centuries of Timekeeping, Struck on Demand
The L.Leroy 'Bal du Temps' Minute Repeater Tourbillon is available in three references, and each has a distinct chromatic identity: ALD blue for the platinum (Ref. LL306/1), anthracite with gold for the red gold (Ref. LL305/1), and rhodium silver with an ALD-blue hand for the titanium (Ref. LL307/1). Each material tier reads as a genuinely different watch rather than the same design in different metals.
From the Editor: My Favorite Ten Watches at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026—Live Photos on My Wrist
Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 was, by any measure, one of the strongest editions in recent memory, even when I look back at the SIHH and attending the show for 13 years now. Between the Rolex centenary, the Nautilus 50th anniversary, Tudor’s 100th birthday, Parmigiani's 30th anniversary, and independent watchmakers going above and beyond, the floor delivered exactly what serious collectors come to Geneva for.
Introducing: Patek Philippe Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton—Ref. 5840P-001 (Live Photos)
The Cubitus arrived at the end of 2024 as Patek Philippe's boldest statement in a generation, with a square case with rounded edges, a sports-watch disposition, and an unmistakably contemporary personality. Honestly, we didn’t like it back then, but the new Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton is not that bad, at least not as bad as the rest of the collection, and there are some positives to this watch
Introducing: Arnold & Son HM Pietersite Steel—The Most Unique Stone Dial We've Ever Seen (Live Photos)
There are dials that display the time, and then there are dials that demand you stop to look. The Arnold & Son HM Pietersite, which we handled at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, belongs firmly to the latter category. The brand has set a slice of Namibian pietersite—the so-called "stone of storms"—into an ultra-thin dress watch that references John Arnold's Cornish heritage through its swirling, storm-sky patterns.
Introducing: Myst de Cartier—The Objet d'Art Timepiece with an Expandable Bracelet (Live Photos)
There is a meaningful distinction between a watch that incorporates jewelry and a jewelry object that tells time. The new Myst de Cartier, introduced at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, belongs definitively to the latter category—and makes no apology for it. It is one of the most ambitious métiers d'art objects Cartier has presented at the fair in years.
Introducing: Patek Philippe Annual Calendar with Moon Phases—Ref. 5396R-016 (Live Photos)
The 5396R-016 arrives for Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 in 18K rose gold with a sunburst sand beige dial, a combination that leans warmly tonal and unambiguously traditional. For collectors who find the perpetual calendar an overcorrection for a mechanism that only requires one annual reset anyway, the 5396 remains the strongest argument for the annual calendar format.
Introducing: Patek Philippe Calatrava 24-Hour Alarm—Ref. 5322G (Live Photos)
Patek Philippe has always treated the alarm complication with the same seriousness it applies to repeaters and perpetual calendars. This position is reinforced at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 with the introduction of the new Calatrava 24-hour Alarm ref. 5322G, a new Grand Complication built around a 24-hour alarm that chimes via a single hammer striking a classic gong.
Introducing: IWC Pilot's Venturer Vertical Drive—The Crownless Watch for Space (Live Photos)
IWC has spent ninety years building watches for aviation. Pilot's watches—purpose-built, legible, robust— are among the most consistent expressions of the brand's identity. The new Pilot's Venturer Vertical Drive presented at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 does not extend that tradition so much as it uses it as a launch point for something categorically different.
Introducing: Cartier Santos-Dumont on Bracelet and Obsidian Dial (Live Photos)
The Santos-Dumont has always lived at the elegant end of the Cartier canon, dressier than the Santos de Cartier, closer in spirit to the original 1904 commission for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Until now, it has been primarily a strap watch. For Watches and Wonders 2026, Cartier introduces three Large Model Santos-Dumont references fitted with a new metal bracelet.
Introducing: Chopard L.U.C Strike One Titanium (Live Photos)
Chopard first introduced its chime-in-passing complication in previous precious-metal configurations several years ago. The L.U.C Strike One Titanium changes the conversation: the same Poinçon de Genève-certified movement, the same patented monobloc sapphire gong system, now housed in a Grade 5 titanium case that weighs almost nothing and costs considerably less.
Introducing: Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 2TV.1 Mesure du Temps 1787—Its Most Spectacular Movement Yet (Live Photos)
For a decade now, Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud has built its reputation on a deliberate paradox: movements of extraordinary complexity visible only through the case back, partially through the dial, and via portholes on the caseband. A way in which the beauty of the movement remains somewhat mysterious and reserved for the wearer.
Introducing: Slim d'Hermès Squelette Lune Titanium—Much Lighter Than You Think (Live Photos)
The Slim d'Hermès collection has always been Hermès Horloger's argument for restraint as mastery—thin, measured, and disciplined in a way that the H08 expressly is not. The Slim d'Hermès Squelette Lune, which we first covered ahead of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, debuted in new titanium and platinum executions in early 2026 and was then shown at the Hermès booth at the fair.
Introducing: Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Lapis Lazuli and Clous de Paris Bezel (Live Photos)
Of the new Piaget Andy Warhol references unveiled at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, it is the Lapis Lazuli ref. G0A51244 that will likely hold the longest in memory. It is not the most extravagant in the lineup, as that territory belongs to the diamond-set Bronzite Andy Warhol piece—but it is the one that most successfully balances the collection's inherent drama with a sense of collector-appropriate restraint.
Introducing: Piaget Andy Warhol Watch Bronzite Dial and Baguette-Diamond Row (Live Photos)
Piaget has always understood that the Andy Warhol watch occupies an unusual position in the landscape of fine watchmaking. It is simultaneously a historically grounded collector's piece and a canvas for the kind of material audacity that the Maison has practiced since the 1960s. At Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, the Bronzite High Jewelry piece ref. G0A51237 takes that proposition to its logical extreme.
Introducing: Patek Philippe Annual Calendar with Moon Phases 'Shantung Texture Dial'—Ref. 4946G-001 (Live Photos)
Where the Patek Philippe ref. 5396 annual calendar reads classically, the ref. 4946 has always aimed at something more contemporary. The new Patek Philippe ref. 4946G-001 arrives for 2026 in white gold with a blue-gray dial given a double vertical and horizontal satin finish described as a ‘shantung’ texture—an evocation of the raw silk fabric by the same name.
Introducing: IWC Ingenieur Tourbillon 41 Gold—A Stunning Olive Green Statement Piece (Live Photos)
Since IWC relaunched the Ingenieur in 2023 with the Automatic 40, IWC Schaffhausen has been building the collection outward with clear intent—new sizes, new materials, and complications that feel earned rather than forced. For Watches and Wonders 2026, that progression reaches its apex. Fifty years after Gérald Genta's original Ingenieur SL defined the template, IWC introduces the collection's first tourbillon.
