CH24.PLCH24 Watch of the Year – 15th anniversary edition!
Already for the 15th consecutive time CH24 selects and awards the most interesting new timepieces form the past […]
2023 watches we dream of – or what we’d like to find under the Christmas tree
We go through hundreds of watches every year – so did you ever wonder, which ones we’d like to get from Santa? Here is our “Dear Santa…” wish list.
Christmas is that special time of the year we spent with our loved ones. It is also that time we want to make people close to our hearts happy with those gifts that sometimes take so, so long to find, not to mention please the recipient. If some of you like to play Santa and look for that right watch, this year we’d like to give a helping hand… or rather a helping wrist, and reveal which watches would we (CH24 team) and our friends – acclaimed journalists and collectors – love to find under the Christmas tree, and then of course in our collections. So… “Dear Santa… ”
Robert-Jan Broer (founder of Fratello Watches) – @rjbroer
Rolex GMT-Master II Yellow Gold
One watch introduced in 2023 that sticks with me (more than I would like to admit) is the Rolex GMT-Master II 126718GRNR. This yellow gold GMT-Master with Jubilee bracelet and black & grey ceramic bezel ticks many boxes for me. With all the travelling throughout the year, the GMT is an incredibly useful complication for me, and being in precious metal, it’s a perfect companion for those evening dinners. But who am I kidding? I’d rock this every day of the year.
Magdalena Piekarska (editor of CH24)
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph
My this year’s favourite is a steal Reverso Tribute Chronograph form Jaeger-LeCoultre with a grey-blue dial. One one hand very minimalist and classic – just like the first Reverso from 1931. On the other, once you flip the case around, modern, contemporary and even industrial. Skeltonized dial reveals wheels and blued screws, along with two rather unusual counters: a big 60-seconds one and a 30-minutes counter, shaped like an arch (not only particular, but also with a retrograde hand). I love that the front dial comes with only a pair of hands, not even a seconds one, and the back, busy dial presents all the functions. Rectangular push-buttons, matching shape of the case, are much more comfortable to use, than most of the regular, round buttons on majority of chronograph watches out there.
Kristian Haagen (journalist, author and collector) – @kristianhaagen
Cartier Tank Louis Cartier Platinum
The Tank Louis Cartier in platinum with a fascinating blue Art Deco dial left me with a big smile. I tried it on when it was presented in Milan earlier this year. This stunning limited edition of only 170 pieces offers a manual wind cal. 1917MC movement and reveals its precious material by the radiant red ruby on the winding crown. Despite its modest 25.5 mm diameter, it packs a wrist-worthy punch.
Raluca Michailov (CEO Lifetime Magazine – Collectible Watch Stories) – @ralucamichailov
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (Ref. 126506)
I was not a fan of Rolex until … I was. Just like that. As I grew up… more mature (not older), I began to appreciate more an more their watches, their aesthetic and, of course, the mechanism. The platinum Daytona I have been dreaming of for the past few years is a timepiece that I quite disliked when I first saw it in photos and that I promptly and irremediably fell in love with, the minute I saw it. I will never stop admiring the ice blue dial, paired with the chocolate brown bezel. I also love the fact that it is a substantial watch, one that you can really feel on your wrist.
Frank Geelen (editor-in-chief Monochrome-Watches) – @fgeelen
Chopard L.U.C 1860
The watch I would love to get for Christmas is the Chopard LUC 1860 with salmon dial. It’s actually impossible to choose “just” one and I guess it’s one of the downsides of my job; I’m exposed to way too many great watches. Sure, that titanium Yachtmaster is on my wishlist, and so it the Audemars Piguet ‘Beast’ in ceramic and the AP Royal Oak Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar, and the Chopard Alpine Eagle 8 HF, and the Ulysse Nardin Freak X and… yes, that’s the problem. Try and choose just one. This small 36 mm Chopard LUC dress watch is just the most elegant dress watch that I’ve seen in… I guess my entire watch-collecting career, so that’s why it made it to the top of my list.
Wadim Zalewski (editor of CH24) – @vanguard.watches
Longines Legend Diver 39
Summing up the year 2023, Id’ like to find a brand new iteration of a classic watch under my Christmas tree – the Longines Legend Diver – but in a 39 mm case, with black dial and a “Beads of Rice” bracelet as a must. It is a watch I was eagerly waiting for every since the discovery, that the 42 mm one is too big for my wrist. Unfortunately, while the newest Legend Diver seams like a perfect watch size-wise, the price tag might prevent it from joining my collection this year. Might be that instead of Santa I’ll have to negotiate with the Ester bunny?
Mateusz Musielak (social media manager at CH24) – @mattmusielak
Stepan Sarpaneva Midnight Sun
Could there be a watch more associated with Santa Claus than one that comes straight from frosty Finland? The Midnight Sun from Stepan Sarpaneva is a timepiece probably not for everyone, and I don’t just mean its limitation to 20 pieces. As an absolute fan of originality in the approach to watch design, Sarpaneva’s studio creations have always been on my radar, however, it is only with the unveiling of the bracelet named Moonbridge that I believe we are in complete form. The Midnight Sun is original straight to the bone – the case in Sarpaneva’s classic Crown style, lots of hand-applied, multi-coloured Luminova creating the mood of a polar night, and the aforementioned unusual bracelet create a coherent and distinctive whole. The route from Rovaniemi to Poland goes by air via Helsinki, where Sarpaneva is based, so Santa – do your thing!
Jakub Filip Szymaniak (editor at CH24) – @jfszymaniak
Simon Brette Chronometre Artisans
If you have a few or more watch components that are important to you, and you seek them in new projects, you might discover, that the perfect watch does not exist. This year however, my aesthetic sensibilities has been put to the test, as everything I like and appreciate in a watch has been presented in the Simon Brette Chronometre Artisans. Highest quality of hand finishing, partly open architecture, manual winding, large balance wheel held by a beautiful bridge, and all with references to classic watchmaking of the past centuries, but in a modern form and modest size. It’s been a long time since any new watch made me appreciate its creator so much and fall in love at first sight.
Łukasz Doskocz (editor-in-chief at CH24) – @lukaszdoskocz
De Bethune DB28 Starry Seas
I firmly do not believe in letters to the Santa Clause. Why? Because I have never received what I asked for (in those letters)… although it might not be Santa’s fault after all. If I were to stop the prejudice and write one, I’d ask for something… unusual. I love watchmaking classics and minimalism, both for the aesthetics and wear ability. On the other hand I appreciate extravagance and atypical design more and more. And that is why, dear Santa… if you’re real… can I have the De Bethune DB28 Starry Seas. What a watch!
Jan Lidmansky (watch journalist) – @watch_the_food
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179
The revolutionary achievements of the previous decade in the Reverso family are extremely difficult to build on. However, the house of craftsmanship at Le Sentier has done so with all the grace. The watchmakers have succeeded in significant reduction of the Gyrotourbillon’s construction and placing in it in the Gyrolab balance wheel with not the traditional hairspring, nor the Gyrotourbillon’s used spherical hairspring, but actually its half in the form of a semi-spherical hairspring. The entire gold case, not just the outer rotating structure, thus measures only 13.63 mm in height. Its incredible, how you can see all the details via skeletonized parts, isn’t it?
Tomasz Kiełtyka (founder of CH24) – @tomaszkieltyka
Singer Reimagined 1969 Timer
Santa delivers gifts, that are supposed to bring joy and smile on our faces. I had both those emotions this year thanks to Singer Reimagined. 1969 Timer is simple on one hand, but packed with tones of small but tasty details on the other. Details that could please the eye for a long time. It’s equally good on the technical side too. Santa – I am counting on you!
And which of this year’s novelties would You like to find under the Christmas tree? Even if you don’t believe in Santa, let you fantasies loose and drop us a comment.
