Fans of vintage watches, this is a piece that carries history. It is noteworthy that some historical editions were considered “Jumbo”-sized with dimensions that are considered small by today’s standards. One of Vacheron Constantin’s most talked-about new releases for the year, for instance, is the Historiques 222, a re-edition of its 37mm yellow gold “Jumbo” wristwatch, a 1977 sporty-chic model with an integrated bracelet designed by Jorg Hysek.

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Not just a vintage watch by design, Tudor’s new Ranger model pays tribute to several of the brand’s milestones. Firstly, the 39mm steel tool watch is inspired by the spirit of the British North Greenland Expedition of 1952. Several expedition members were equipped with Tudor’s then new Oyster Prince, the brand’s first waterproof, automatic timepiece. However, the Ranger name appeared earlier, having been registered by the brand’s founder Hans Wilsdorf in 1929. The model’s defining aesthetics, including its arrow-shaped hands and the large, lumed Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, only appeared later, in the 1960s.

Audemars Piguet marks the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak with an update of the Royal Oak “Jumbo”. This year, the slim, 39mm steel model, also a direct descendant of the original 1972 Royal Oak designed by Gerald Genta, receives several updates that make it all the more covetable. They include a new self-winding movement that is more efficient, and has a power reserve of 55 instead of 40 hours, as well as a specially designed 50th-anniversary rotor.

Related: Audemars Piguet adds glitzy colour to its Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon

In the ‘20s and ‘30s, the Minerva watch manufacture, now known as Villeret and owned by Montblanc, was producing professional chronographs for the burgeoning aviation industry. Montblanc pays homage to some of those early pilots’ watches with the 1858 Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Red Arrow, a 42mm steel timepiece combining a fluted bidirectional bezel and a red arrow — key elements of those models — and the in-house calibre M13.21.

A combination of the words automobile and aviation, the Autavia name was first used by Tag Heuer in the ‘30s for its dashboard timers for cars and planes. For the Autavia’s 60th-anniversary year, the manufacture has created two new flyback chronographs. Powered by the new Calibre Heuer 02 COSC Flyback, the two 42mm steel Autavia wristwatches are distinguished by features inspired by the brand’s dashboard timers — distinctive chronograph pushers, an oversize crown, and large, lumed Arabic numerals.

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