WATCH OF THE YEAR 2015

Łukasz Doskocz1.09.20155 min. of reading

Hereby we introduce 6th edition of CH24.PL “Watch of the Year”. 31 nominated timepieces compete for the title of most interesting premieres of last 12 months.

“Watch of the Year” by CH24.PL in numbers is, thus far, 5 editions (first one in 2010), over 150 nominated timepieces, 40 laureates and 5 final dinner galas. 4 of them were held at the Sobanski’s Palace (seat of Polish Business Roundtable) and it will be here that this year’s edition will end. On the day of 5th of November all the winners of the 2015 WOTY shall be announced, along with the “Grand Prix”, the “Special Jury Prize” and “Public Choice” – your vote in selecting the best watch from all the nominated pieces.

You can cast your vote by selecting one timepiece on the special WOTY official website here – www.zegarekroku.pl/en/

International jury of the 2015 WOTY combines a mix of experience, knowledge and passion presented by watch experts and collectors form across Europe. Beyond CH24.PL team (Tomasz Kiełtyka, Łukasz Doskocz and Tomasz Jakubas) this year’s watches were selected by: Dariusz Chlastawa (chairman of the Polish Watch and Clocks Collectors Club), Elizabeth Doerr (Quill&Pad – Germany), Kristian Haagen (Timegeeks.dk – Denmark), Miguel Seabra (Espiral do Tempo – Portugal), Frank Geelen (Monochrome-watches – Netherlands) and Jan Lidmansky (watch journalist – Czech Rep.). We believe that this selection guarantees best possible choice with utmost professionalism and objectivity.

And here are all the nominees of the 2015 Watch of the Year.

Classic Watch

6 nominated watches in this category present a perfect mix of traditional watchmaking. Classic timepiece should be modest, minimalistic and elegant, exactly like each of the nominees. Zenith Elite with manufactured automatic 6150 calibre fulfills those criteria just as well as the Master Co-Axial certified Omega Globemaster and blue Galet Square by Laurent Ferrier. Your perfect suit companion can also be complicated, when they are designed as light as the refreshed Lange 1 by A. Lange & Sohne, the perpetual calendar Slim d’Hermes or manually wound chronograph in toneau shaped case in the form of Harmony by Vacheron Constantin.

Sports Watch

It can sometimes be quite deceiving to call a watch a sports one just because the interpretation of the term can be very different. Usually the “sportiness” of a watch is established by its design and construction, making the watch capable to be a proper daily beater. Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control is a watch resembling a cockpit of a sport car, just as the vintage-inspired Carrera Calibre 18 by TAG Heuer. Calatrava Pilot Travel Time is Patek Philippe’s brave effort to create something fresh and new in contrast to classical pieces the brand is known for. Rolex, faithful to its DNA, brings out the gold Yacht-Master with a rubber Oysterflax band. Master Compressor Extreme LAB 2 by Jaeger-LeCoultre, although highly complicated, will work perfectly in even the most harsh environment.

Complicated Watch

Complications are the clou of mechanical watchmaking, and each of the 5 nominated pieces deserves the highest respect. Lange & Sohne surprisingly mixes and matches tradition with modernity, and Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is a perfect example. Maybe even more visually impressive is the Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geospheres Vasco da Gama with the name as impressive as the functions inside. H. Moser & Cie. Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time might be the simplest watch here but its manufactured movement with a rotating escapement and second time zone is no slack. Same can be said about the Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph from Vacheron Constantin with its super-flat watchmaking complexity hidden under the handsome dial. Duometre Spherotourbillon Moon is yet another dual-powered watch by Jaeger-LeCoultre that comes with a spherical tourbillion and – this time – a moon phase indication.

Innovation in Watchmaking

If complications are a salute to tradition, watchmaking innovations are a welcome try to bring some fresh air to this quite conservative industry. Royal Oak Acoustic Research by Audemars Piguet takes an attempt to revolutionize one of the high complications – minute repeater. Chronograph was the subject of works of Breguet, that in the Tradition Chronographe Independant presents a separate mechanism for a precise stop-watch. Tourbillon – an invention from the early XIX century by Abraham-Louis Breguet – has been improved by Ulysse Nardin in the Ulysse Anchor Tourbillon with the help of silicon. Last two nominations, HYT H3 and Hautlence Vortex, reinterpret the very way that time is measured and indicated. HYT uses liquids and Hautlence a retrograde mechanisms. Both completed with unique, avant-garde design.

Ladies Watch

Watches made for the ladies are one of the most dynamically developing branches of watchmaking this days. Ladies have different and often changing tastes, both since some time a trend can be noticed – more and more attention is paid equally to the design and mechanical side of the timepieces. All 5 nominated watches are mechanical and they present full set of complications, from the tourbillion (Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur), through the minute repetition (Jaeger-LeCoultre Randez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater), chronograph (Vacheron Constantin Harmony Chronograph Small Model), up to moon phases (IWC Portofino Midsize) and asymmetrical dial (Audemars Piguet Millenary). All endowed with very female details (read diamonds) and aesthetics.

Watch priced up to 10.000PLN

5 very different and very interesting pieces make up for the list of nominations in the last, budget category. Smartwatches are our times inevitable reality and just from this perspective we couldn’t skip Fredrique Constant Horological Smartwatch – first Swiss-made intelligent timepiece in a very elegant style. It’s usually quite hard to find a mechanical watch with a slim movement and case for that kind of money, but with its Chronometrie Ultra Slim Montblanc proved it can be done. Diver’s watch is no doubt the most popular type of a watch bought this days, especially by the younger clientele, and the divers are the three final nominees. All of them, which can also be no surprise, are historically inspired and vintage styled. Eterna Super KonTiki, Oris Divers Sixty-Five and Longines Heritage Diver 1967 are true, proper diver’s watches with automatic movements, turning bezels and readable dials. Longines has also been equipped with a chronograph.

CH24.PL “Watch of the Year” is partnered by Polish Watch and Clock Collectors Club and Manager MBA magazine. Full list of winners will be presented on November 1st with the final gala, including the “Grand Prix” and “Special Jury Prize” awards revelled on November 5th in Warsaw.

More on “Watch of the Year” to be found on the official website www.zegarekroku.pl/en