Watches & Wonders 2023: Rolex Has an Emoji Watch

Oris debuted the technology in a limited-edition watch last year and is now applying it to one of its most technically advanced models, the ProPilot Altimeter (£5,250 or $6,485). First seen in 2014, it includes a mechanical altimeter with a dial showing time, barometric pressure, and altitude. The new version is an upgrade on all fronts: the altimeter, which measures air pressure fluctuations in a sealed chamber, now goes up to 19,700 feet (from 15,000); the power reserve has increased from 38 hours to 56; and the carbon fiber body reduces weight by 70 grams. At 46mm, it’s a specialty item, only now a little more special.

Hermes H08 chronograph

Hermes also uses reinforced carbon fibre, although it mixes the material with powdered graphene, which acts as a hardener for the otherwise extremely light watch case. Hermes describes its H08 watch, a gently square shape introduced in 2021, as an “off-road watch with a sporty spirit,” and now the brand is pushing the sporty element in a series of iterations that pair the lightweight carbon/graphene case with colorful ones rubber straps and dial accents. Most importantly, the launch of a £13,100 chronograph version of the H08, also with the carbon/graphene case. Rather than disrupting the flow of the case profile with traditional chronograph stop/start/reset pushers, the chronograph is operated entirely by a single pusher in the winding crown.

Rolex Yacht-Master 42 RLX Titanium

In addition to the resurrection of chronographs, titanium is another topic at this year’s W&W. Numerous pieces have used this light, strong and corrosion-resistant material, and after competitive sailor Ben Ainslie was seen with a prototype in 2021 – and after Rolex’s first titanium watch, last year’s Deepsea Challenge – it came as no surprise to see the final version of the The company’s Yacht-Master is made from grade 5 titanium. The 42mm £11,800 piece has a satin finish apart from the crown guard, lugs and bi-directional bezel which are polished. An intense black dial adds to the aesthetic, while water resistance to 100 meters and a power reserve of 70 hours make it functional too.

A Lange & Söhne Odysseus chronograph

The Odysseus range is German manufacturer A Lange & Söhne’s entry into the sports-luxury space: Launched in 2019 and produced in tiny numbers, it has quickly become an investment-class grail watch. The new Odysseus Chronograph (€135,000 or $146,256) is also A Lange & Sohne’s first automatic chronograph and takes a novel approach to a very traditional genre. Instead of sub-dials for chronograph functions found on most chronos, the chronograph’s seconds and minutes counters are mounted centrally so as not to obstruct the large day/date display. Discrete pushers (similar to a crown guard) set the date functions And Manipulate the stopwatch elements that offer a bit of eccentric why-the-hell-not flair. When the chronograph is reset, the minute hand immediately jumps back to zero, but the seconds hand makes one lightning-fast revolution for each minute before returning to zero.