The hallmark cushion-shaped yellow gold case, 42mm in diameter and pressure resistant to 5 bar, is paired with a stunning green sunburst dial that lends the familiar dial layout with small seconds at 9 o’clock and the date window at 3 o’clock a decidedly elegant twist. This look is further highlighted by the color-coordinated leather strap. It goes without saying that the dial is luminous, and in tune with the color scheme, it emits a greenish glow in the dark.

Inside the Panerai Luminor Due ticks a proven manufacture movement. The self-winding P.900 which consists of 171 components and has a frequency of 4 Hz. It reveals parts of its intricate details through a sapphire case back.

Pricing for the new watch marked at $21,500.

To learn more, visit Panerai, here.

Art Deco, as a descriptor, has become a little overused in the luxe-focused world of watch marketing. Too often, in the absence of a better term, the style is used as a catch-all word for any blend of geometric forms and vintage air. While the verbiage has no doubt worn away its welcome for many, it still maintains a larger-than-life presence in the worlds of art, design, and architecture; in fact, it’s difficult to walk the streets of New York City without seeing its influence on the surrounding skyscrapers. In watch design, the term – as buzzy as it may be – lends itself to the bold usage of atypical dial layouts with chunky numerals and faded hues. When used correctly, it can bring a dash of artistic and aesthetic merit to the wrist, but when used incorrectly, its significance melts away. Here, we’ve collected a number of recent watch releases that approach the usage of Art Deco styling with a great deal of respect and end up creating some very attractive timepieces.

Tissot

The Tissot Heritage Petite Seconde made its debut at Baselworld 2018 and was the hit of the show for the accessibly priced Swatch Group brand. The brushed finish on the dial, the combination of the large, printed Arabic numerals (just look at 9 o’clock!) and vintage Tissot logo, and the sharp, faceted lugs that contoured nicely on the wrist, all directly appealed to the enthusiast mindset. The price at $995, falling right in line with the value that Tissot is known for, only served to sweeten the deal. The design references the brand’s historic production of watches that featured special antimagnetic properties during the 1930s and ’40s. Tissot was one of the first brands to bring wristwatches featuring anti-magnetism to market, and the watches were generally known for their clean dial configuration, steel cases, thin hands, quality movement, and price accessibility. Inside the watch is a manually winding ETA 6498-1.

Panerai

As avid Paneristi are aware, today’s powerhouse Panerai watch brand had its humble beginnings in a retail watch store in Florence, founded by the Panerai family in 1860. As inspiration for the latest version of its Radiomir 1940 3 Days Acciaio – 47mm, the company reached back to that historical early era, in which the family-owned Orologerie Suizzera (precursor to the modern Officine Panerai) sold not only wristwatches and pocket watches but also table clocks and pendulum clocks. It is a particular example of this last item that provided the template for the Art Deco dials of the two watches released last fall. The dial of a pendulum clock displayed on the first floor of Panerai’s Florentine shop on the Piazza San Giovanni is re-created in two distinct dial versions, both in 47-mm cases made of polished stainless steel – ivory (Ref. PAM00791) and black (PAM00790). Both retro-look dials are notable for their large, Art Deco hour numerals; peripheral railway minute track and additional interior ring; and lacquered, spear-shaped hour and minute hands, a style used for the first time on a Panerai wristwatch. Price for both models: $9,200.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Reverso is Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most recognized and historically significant watch. Its Art Deco case style is mirrored in one of the greatest achievements of that period’s architecture as well: William Van Alen’s Chrysler Building in Manhattan. The timepiece and skyscraper share the same geometric forms and modernist ideals that the Art Deco movement is known for. For example, take a look at the horizontal protruding lines of the Reverso’s case and compare them with the ornate and multi-part dome and spire of the Chrysler Building. Recently, Jaeger-LeCoultre released a new Reverso Tribute Small Seconds that is a direct reference to the first Reverso watches that appeared in 1931 on the wrists of polo players. The model comes in stainless steel and features an attractive burgundy-red dial that comes with a matching leather strap from Casa Fagliano. Price: $7,900.

Bulova

At Baselworld 2019, Bulova made the surprise move of launching an entirely new collection filled to the brim with limited-edition models that echo the brand’s New York City heritage. The new Joseph Bulova Collection contains 16 different timepieces in a variety of case styles like tank, tonneau, and round that are borrowed from some of the brand’s most memorable introductions from the 1920s to the 1940s such as the Commodore, Banker and Breton. Now owned by Japan’s Citizen Group, it would be easy to expect the presence of one of the conglomerate’s automatic Miyota calibers inside these cases; instead, Bulova has opted to go the Swiss route by using a Sellita SW200 movement that is visible through an exhibition caseback. Each of the 16 watches is limited to 350 total pieces with prices ranging from $995 to $1,495.

Cartier

Cartier Prive Tonneau – Platinum

While many of Cartier’s iconic watch designs like the Tank and the Santos are informed by Art Deco design and worthy of a mention on this list, it has recently revived another early 20th-century shaped model that went on to become hugely influential, its 1906 Tonneau, with the recently launched Privé line. The Cartier Privé collection kicked off with two two- handed versions in rose gold and platinum in addition to a skeletonized dual-time model. Hearkening back to the original 1906 watch – which was cased in platinum rather than more common gold and featured wrist-hugging curves and vis armurier (or “gunsmith”-style) tube screws to fasten the lugs – the Privé case is double bracketed, with an oblong, curved shape engineered to follow the contours of the wrist. The bezel of the two-hand Tonneau model is formed from a single block of either rose gold or platinum and boasts, according to Cartier, “no overhangs or breaks in the plane” of its surface. The winding crown is topped off with a cabochon in classic Cartier style. The dial – champagne-colored on the rose-gold watch, silvered on the platinum – features polished, rhodium-plated applied Roman numerals and a vintage-style railtrack minutes scale. Both versions of the Tonneau have alligator leather straps, gray with the platinum, brown with the gold, and are outfitted with Cartier’s new Caliber 1917, a manual-winder with a 38-hour power reserve. The platinum watch is limited to 100 pieces and is priced at $26,200. The rose-gold model is priced at $22,400.

Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin released a mid-size version of its fan-favorite Historiques 1921 American collection in 2017. First added to the contemporary lineup in 2008, the Historiques 1921 American has become one of the brand’s most popular designs across social media and online forums. The original watch that the Historiques 1921 American is based on was released in 1921 and produced in limited quantities for American motorists, with its dial rotated 45 degrees for easier viewing while driving. Only 12 pieces of the vintage watch were produced from 1921 to 1931. The version of the watch (Ref. 1100S/000R-B430) in 36.5 mm, like the 40-mm version before it, is a faithful homage to the original that keeps much of the vintage elements intact while further developing the modern luxury elements associated with Vacheron Constantin today. With its straight, wire-inspired lugs and an upper corner crown adding to the case, the watch hosts a distinguished border on its rose-gold, cushion-shaped case. Its grained metal dial is angled to the right for a left-handed wearer, using an outer black railroad minutes track, printed “Breguet” Arabic numerals and subtle corporate script with an applied gold VC logo toward the 12 o’clock position. At the 3 o’clock mark is the running seconds subdial, conspicuously non-angled like the rest of the face, while two black pomme-style hands sweep over the whole dial. Inside is the Geneva Seal-certified, manufacture Caliber 4400 AS manually wound movement with a 65-hour power reserve. Price: $28,600.

1. Rolex Oyster (1926)

Rolex Oyster, Ref. 679, (1926)

In 1926, watches constructed especially for use by divers appear. They have insulated crowns (the crown is the chief point of entry for water into a watch case). It was also the year that Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf introduces the Oyster case, which has a screwed crown, screwed caseback, and securely sealing crystal. It is the world’s first truly water-resistant case. One year later, Wilsdorf asks Mercedes Gleitze, a stenographer vying to become the first British woman to swim the English Channel, to wear an Oyster on one of her attempts. She doesn’t make it all the way, but the Rolex she wears around her neck keeps on ticking.

2. Panerai prototypes (1936)

Panerai watch, PAMPR004 (1936)°

The Italian Navy commissions Panerai to develop the first prototypes of a watch that will evolve into the model now known as the “Radiomir.” The watches, water resistant to 30 meters, go into production two years later. The early Radiomir watches have movements and proprietary cases – cushion shaped and 47 mm in diameter − made by Rolex. They are named for the radium that makes their dials legible even in murky water.

3. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (1953)

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, initial model (1953)

Blancpain presents its first dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters. (Fifty fathoms is equal to 300 feet, or about 91 meters. It is the maximum depth divers can go at the time with the equipment then available.) The watch is the result of a request by Captain Bob Maloubier, who was a secret agent for the British during WWII and then became leader of the French military’s combat diving corps. He asked Blancpain to make a watch with a black dial, large Arabic numerals, clear indications and a rotating bezel. “We wanted in effect that each of the markers be as clear as a guiding star for a shepherd,” Maloubier later recalled.

4. Panerai crown protection (1956)

Panerai crown protection (1956)

Panerai receives a patent for a curved, crown-protecting bridge. Now a hallmark of the company’s Luminor collection, the bridge contains a locking cam lever that pushes the crown against the case so that it fits tightly against the crown’s seals.

5. Breitling’s first dive watch (1957)

Breitling Superocean (1957)

Breitling launches its first dive watch, the Superocean. The watch is water resistant to 200 meters, thanks in part to its monocoque (i.e., one-piece) case and its especially sturdy crystal. The watch’s bezel can be locked in place so that it won’t be knocked off position during a dive. A chronograph version of the watch comes out in 1959.

6. First Rolex Sea-Dweller (1967)

First Rolex Sea-Dweller (1967)

Rolex introduces the Sea-Dweller, a deeper-diving version of the Submariner. Its distinguishing feature is its helium valve, through which helium that has entered the watch case during time spent in a diving chamber can be released. The watch is produced at the request of the French company COMEX (Compagnie Maritime d’Expertise), which specializes in deep-diving equipment and services, chiefly for offshore oil and gas extraction. The watch is water-resistant to 610 meters.

7. First dive computer (1983)

The first dive computer is introduced. In the 1990s, the use of dive computers becomes widespread, and dive watches are relegated chiefly to the role of back-up equipment.

8. ISO invents dive watch standard (1996)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issues standard 6425, defining the features that a watch must have in order for it to be designated a “dive” watch. They include requirements for water resistance (the watch must be 25 percent more water-resistant than claimed on the dial), legibility under water, resistance to thermal shocks and ability to measure elapsed time. Standard 6425 supplants the standard issued in 1984 and is still in effect today.

9. CX Swiss Military 20,000 Feet (2009)

CX Swiss Military 20,000 Feet (2009)

CX Swiss Military unveils the 20,000 Feet, which breaks the Rolex Deepsea’s record for water resistance (20,000 feet is equal to about 6,100 meters) and enters the Guinness Book of Records. (CX Swiss Military had held the deepness record from 2005 until the Deepsea appeared in 2008.) The watch is a chronograph with a 28.5-mm-thick case and a domed back. According to CX Swiss Military, it is actually water-resistant to 7,500 meters, thus providing the 25-percent margin of safety required to meet ISO 6425.

10. IWC Aquatimer collection (2014)

IWC Aquatimer Deep Two (2014)

IWC updates its Aquatimer collection, fitting it with an outer, bidirectional bezel and an inner, unidirectional one. The most impermeable of the new Aquatimer models, the Aquatimer Automatic 2000, is water resistant to 2,000 meters.

Discover the complete history of the dive watch in our download — available in the WatchTime Shop — which includes even more highlights and firsts, like the Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 and the first Omega Seamaster!

Merken

Merken

Merken

(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

Watches in movies have fascinated watch fans since collecting timepieces became (at least) as interesting as getting an autograph from your favorite actor. From Steve McQueen’s Monaco in Le Mans (1971), Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) Seiko Giugario in Aliens (1986), Christian Bale’s Datejust in American Psycho (2000), Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT and Martin Sheen’s Sheen’s Seiko 6105 “Captain Willard” in Apocalypse Now (1979), to Casio’s CA53W on the wrist of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future (1985), James Bond’s (Sean Connery) Submariner 6538 in Dr. No (1962), and many more, these pieces quite often became as famous (among collectors) as the movies they were in. In some cases, like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual in Doctor Strange (2016), Kate Becket’s (Stana Katic) Omega Speedmaster in the television series “Castle” (2009-2016), or the clock without hands in Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957), to name just a few, these pieces have even played a much more important role than simply being a prop. Time to look at some noteworthy appearances on the screen:

Pulp Fiction (1994):

“This watch was your birthright, […] so he hid it, in the one place he knew he could hide something.”

Tarantino’s masterpiece not only earned John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman Academy Award nominations, it also featured a family heirloom with perhaps one of the most unusual stories, prizefighter Butch Coolidge’s (Bruce Willis) great grandfather’s gold watch (a Lancet trench watch). As we learn in Captain Koons’ (Christopher Walken) monologue, Orion Coolidge had initially bought the Lancet in a General Store in Knoxville at the turn of the century. When he was enlisted to serve in World War I, Orion gave the watch to his son Dane, who would later wear it as a soldier during World War II. At the Battle of Wake Island (December 8 – 23, 1941), Dane realized he might not make it home and gave it to an Air Force gunner named Winocki and asked to give it to his wife and his son (Butch’s father). He in turn was shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam war and put in a prison camp, still wearing the gold watch. The only way he thought he could save it was to hide it from the Viet Cong in the last place you would want to wear a watch. Five years later, on his deathbed, he handed the watch over to his friend Koons (Christopher Walken) who also had to hide the watch in the same way to keep it safe until the day he could finally give it to Butch.

Interstellar (2014):

‘Look at this! It was him! All this time!’

Christopher Nolan’s epic science fiction film wouldn’t be the same without Joseph Cooper’s (Matthew McConaughey) Hamilton Khaki Field wristwatch, perhaps the best product placement in the history of watch marketing: Shortly before he set off to leave earth (and our galaxy) as the pilot of the spaceship Endurance, Cooper gave the watch as a keepsake to his 10-year-old daughter “Murph” to compare their relative times for when he’d return. He later uses the watch from inside a massive tesseract to communicate with her across different time periods by manipulating the second hand of the wristwatch, using Morse code to transmit the quantum data collected from inside the event horizon, thus enabling humanity’s exodus and survival.

The watch became known by fans of the film as the “Murph” watch and was eventually released by Hamilton in 2019.

Apollo 13 (1995):

“Houston, we have a problem.“

Ron Howard’s movie about the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission is only one of the many must-see space movies with the Omega Speedmaster Professional in it. But since the watch was used by John Leonard “Jack“ Swigert, Jr. (played by Kevin Bacon in the movie) to time a 14-second maneuver that proved critical in returning the crew back to earth, this undoubtedly was one of the Speedmaster’s most important roles.

Jaws (1975):

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat!“

In Steven Spielberg’s classic shark movie, Richard Dreyfuss, playing Matt Hooper, wore a fairly regular dive watch that evolved into a frustrating mystery for the world’s watch nerds for decades. Until 2010, when Gary and Christian Stock were able to reveal that it was an Alsta Nautoscaph. The duo reached out to Dick Warlock, the stuntman who went into the cage with the shark in the water, and stunt coordinator Ted Grossman.

James Bond: Goldeneye (1995):

“Now, 007, do please try to return some of this equipment in pristine order.“

The seventeenth movie in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 officer James Bond, took product placement in the watch industry to a new level: In a time where people were still crazy about Swatch watches, Omega had pulled a badass marketing stunt and equipped Bond (originally a Rolex guy) with the Seamaster Professional 300 (loaded with gadgets like a laser and a remote detonator). The watch is not only a major plot device several times in the film; it created a tenfold increase in pieces sold for Omega, and helped introduce a new generation of buyers to the world of Swiss luxury watchmaking.

Daylight (1996):

“Don’t you have something better to do?“

With an IMDB rating of only 5.9 and a critics consensus on Rotten Tomato that the movie “feels designed to annoy the audience into submission,” Daylight was certainly not Silvester Stallone’s greatest role. Nevertheless, Kit Latura’s (Stallone) performance in a tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey brought the needed exposure for the Italian watch brand Panerai and led to significantly more demand (as well as more appearances in other action movies).

Safety Last! (1923):

“You’ll do time for this!“

The American silent film starring Harold Lloyd (playing himself as a salesclerk at the De Vore Department Store) includes one of the most famous images from the silent film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic to attract people to his employer’s store. A number of different buildings from 1st Street to 9th Street in downtown Los Angeles were used, with sets built on their roofs to match the facade of the main building, the International Bank Building at Temple and Spring Streets.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014):

“So what does this do? Electrocute someone?“

Matthew Vaughn’s hilarious movie about a spy organization and its latest recruit Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) fighting a global threat from a twisted tech genius also brought three Bremont watches to the big screen. Even more impressive, Bremont Co-Founder Nick English himself managed to make a cameo appearance as a Kingsman.

Bulova: The world’s first television commercial (1941)

“America runs on Bulova time.“

While obviously not a movie, the world’s first TV commercial still deserves to be on this list: It aired on July 1, 1941, on NBC’s WNBT-TV before the beginning of a baseball game in New York between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. The ad was only 10 seconds long and cost the company $9 ($4 for airtime and $5 for “station charges”). Almost as impressive: In 1926, Bulova had broadcasted the first national radio commercial.

American Hustle (2013):

“Don’t make such a big deal! Just get another one.“

American Hustle tells the story of con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is working for FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) in 1978. Speaking of a con: Louis C.K.’s portrayal as FBI supervisor Stoddard Thorsen introduced viewers to a Rolex GMT-Master II in gold, more than two decades before this particular version of the watch was actually released by the Geneva-based brand.

A watch with a second time zone can elbow its way into the limelight and loudly announce that its owner is a globetrotter. But the additional display can also hide discreetly and become visible only when the wearer commands it to appear. Intuitively readable 12-hour dials are available, as are unambiguous 24-hour scales and all sorts of unconventional displays. The target group plays an important role because a second time zone can provide worthwhile service to very different types of people.

Flight Time
Pilots, who frequently land in different countries, use UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) exclusively for radio communications, flight plans and logbooks. A watch with a second time zone is tremendously helpful for aviators. And it’s not surprising that some watches were developed especially for this purpose and are styled like traditional pilots’ watches.

The best-known representative of this genre is surely the Rolex GMT-Master, developed in 1955 in response to a list of requirements specified by Pan American World Airways. At that time, the distinctive rotatable bezel was the only option for setting the time in the second zone because the 12-hour and 24-hour hands could not be reset independently. The position of the 12-hour hand could be reset in one-hour increments only after 1982, when Rolex introduced a new movement. The time in a third zone could also be shown by rotating the bezel to correspond with the 24-hour hand, but this meant that the time in the second zone couldn’t be read until the bezel was returned to its original position.

With its red and blue “Pepsi” bezel, the Rolex GMT-Master II is easy to read ($9,250).

Arguably the most eye-catching and original version is the one that Rolex offers with a distinctive blue-and-red 24-hour scale. This colorful model, which its fans have nicknamed “Pepsi,” shows the daytime hours from 6 am to 6 pm in red and the nighttime hours in blue. In the past, this color scheme was used to quickly differentiate daytime and nighttime hours. Tudor, Rolex’s sister brand, began using the same color scheme on the Black Bay GMT in 2018 and floats along with the retro wave, while Rolex has been building its classic for more than half a century with only minor visual modifications.

The Tudor Black Bay GMT follows the retro trend ($3,575).

Oris conceived its Big Crown ProPilot Worldtimer as a pilots’ watch, too, but this model shows the second time zone in a totally different way. The little subdial with hours and minutes for the home time is intuitively readable, thanks to its 12-hour format. Oris also integrates an accompanying day/night display: the little window on the subdial is black at night and orange during the day. UTC is always expressed in 24-hour format, so this Oris watch is more suitable for showing the local time at the wearer’s destination.

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Worldtimer is a pilots’ watch with a day/night indicator ($3,600).

Work Time
A second large target group for watches with a second time zone consists of top-tier executives who work for international companies. A second time zone is a useful addition to a watch worn by a person who travels frequently or who contacts partners in other parts of the world. In line with the prevailing dress code, wearers of business attire would be well advised to choose elegantly unostentatious wristwatches. Sinn integrates the extra time zone in an especially understated manner on the dial of its Frankfurt Financial District Model 6099. This watch allows you to conceal the hand for the second time zone under the ordinary hour hand because both hands work in a 12-hour format, but it doesn’t show you whether the indicated hour belongs to the day or the night.

The Sinn Frankfurt Financial District Model 6099 has a concealable second hour hand ($4,190).

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s rose-gold, Art Deco-style, Reverso Tribute Duoface Large likewise keeps the additional function discreetly out of sight. The slate gray dial on the front side of this model shows the hours, minutes and seconds. The second face comes into view after you have inverted the main part of the case, a neat little flip that can be accomplished without having to take this watch off your wrist. The dial on the back of the watch now faces away from the wrist and shows you the time in a second zone. A small subdial with a 24-hour display lets you distinguish between daytime and nighttime hours.

Understatement similarly characterizes the second time zone on the new Leica L2, which makes do entirely without a second hour hand. Instead, you turn the second crown to rotate a 12-hour ring around the dial’s periphery until the ordinary hour hand points to the correct hour in the second time zone. An inconspicuous day/night display at 4 o’clock corresponds with this scale and makes it easy to see if now is a good time to call home or if your loved ones are already fast asleep. The straightforward design and several details (such as the brand’s distinctive red dot on the crown and the fluting around it, which recalls the ISO-setting wheel on a Leica camera) alert connoisseurs to the fact that this watch is made by renowned camera-maker Leica.

The Leica L2 indicates a second time zone without using hands (approx. €10,000).

Vacation Time
Business trips tend to be formal occasions, but vacations are usually more casual, although just how casual may depend on the destination. An eye-catching and colorful watch is a good choice at the beach and at a beach bar. For example, Omega’s Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m Big Blue, with its blue ceramic case and orange elements like the 24-hour scale for the second time zone, will attract attention. This timepiece also satisfies all the requirements expected of a divers’ watch, so it can be worn both above and below the water while vacationing in Polynesia.

The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m GMT Big Blue is colorful and eye-catching ($11,700).

People who prefer to fly to London or New York rather than to the South Seas can also find suitable watches with a second time zone that won’t seem garish when they’re worn in a café or a museum. For example, Panerai’s Luminor Due 3 Days GMT Power Reserve is a slimmer version of Panerai’s usually burly, martial timepieces, which recall the brand’s tradition of supplying wristwatches to navy frogmen. This model also shows the second time zone in a way that predestines it for stays in the U.S. The hour hand for the second time zone is on a subdial that is marked with “pm” on the left half and “am” on the right half. The corresponding hand circles the subdial in 24 hours.

The Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days GMT Power Reserve Automatic Acciaio has “am” and “pm” indicators ($11,100).

Watches that show the time in a second zone are available in a remarkably wide variety of styles. There’s an appropriate design for every occasion. Watch brands continue to surprise aficionados by inventing totally new ways to show an additional time zone, as Leica recently did with its rotatable scale.

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