9 spectacular watches that descend from true icons

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater

The showpiece addition to the Reverso Tribute line, this Minute Repeater pays homage to the collection’s Art Deco heritage while pushing boundaries in acoustic horology.

Limited to 30, the 51.1mm by 31 mm pink gold case houses the new Calibre 953, featuring seven patents including crystal gongs and trebuchet hammers for pristine chimes.

The dual dials exemplify the maison’s Metiers Rares artistry, with a teal-blue guilloched enamel front and an openworked reverse revealing the repeater mechanism. With a 48-hour power reserve and a micro-adjustable folding buckle, it’s a technical triumph wrapped in sheer elegance.

Patek Philippe Calatrava 8 Day Reference 5328G-001

The collection that defined the aesthetics of a modern dress watch has a deserving heir — in this 41mm white gold model showcasing the new manually wound Calibre 31-505 8J PS IRM CI J. The textured blue dial with black-gradient rim presents an eight-day power reserve at 12 o’clock with a ninth reserve day indicated in red, and an instantaneous day display via an aperture, alongside the date display and small seconds at 6 o’clock.

Among its technical innovations are the advanced Pulsomax escapement in Silinvar with two series-coupled barrels, and a patented cam system with dual-function spring for the day/date mechanism.

Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Tribute to the Tour de l’Ile

One of three single-piece editions that pay tribute to Geneva, this model with a Grand Feu miniature enamel dial reinterprets a 19th-century lithograph with exquisite fidelity. Housed in a 40mm platinum case, it flaunts a white gold dial showcasing Genevan enamelling: layers of pastel pigment, each fired at 800 deg C, transform Jean DuBois’ original monochrome engraving into a luminous tableau of the island tower. The technique required one month of handcraft and absolute precision, which was perfected in the city’s 18th-century workshops. Beneath an officer-style caseback, the self-winding Calibre 2460 bears the Poincon de Geneve and the finest finishing.

Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon

Breaking yet another record with its 1.85mm thinness, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon spectacularly integrates a skeletonised flying tourbillon into a 40mm microbead-frosted titanium case. The BVL 900 manual-wound movement delivers a 42-hour power reserve while maintaining structural integrity through a tungsten carbide main plate — a veritable engineering feat.

Inspired by Rome’s Basilica of Maxentius, the skeletonised architecture enhances light diffusion, revealing meticulously finished components. The integrated titanium bracelet, including its folding clasp, measures just 1.5mm thick. Eight patents underpin innovations like the bi-material caseback and modular construction.

Hublot Big Bang 20th Anniversary Red Magic

Two decades after disrupting watchmaking’s status quo, Hublot celebrates its Big Bang with five limited editions — including this Red Magic, at 100 pieces. The 42mm case blends the original 2005 design’s signatures — layered construction, pinched lugs, and knurled bezel edge — with the modern Unico movement.

At its heart beats the in-house automatic chronograph calibre featuring a special commemorative gold rotor. The brand’s pioneering red ceramic, achieved in 2018 after years of pigment and pressure trials, shines alongside a carbon-fibre dial. The strap, a nod to early Big Bangs with its treaded rubber, is now paired with the One Click quick-release system.

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Soiree

The first Pont des Amoureux watch won the Poetic Complications prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve in 2010, and the collection has grown from strength to strength. Telling the story of a couple who meet on a bridge in Paris, with the woman and man indicating the hours and minutes respectively through a double retrograde movement, the watch is automated, on demand, to end in a kiss.

This 38mm rose gold creation, one of four, depicts the evening — with grisaille enamel for the sky, enamel decal and gold engraving on the caseback, and a bracelet entirely set with diamonds and pink sapphires.

Cartier Prive Tank a Guichets

Cartier reinterprets its 1928 Tank a Guichets with four new iterations that preserve the original’s brutalist-inspired digital display while introducing contemporary refinements. The collection features three standard models in yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum, alongside this limited 200-piece platinum “Oblique” edition that rotates the display apertures 90 degrees counter-clockwise for a driver-style layout.

Measuring 37.6mm by 24.8 mm with a slender 6mm profile, each maintains the original’s 12 o’clock crown position and satin-finish case that contrasts with polished horizontal brancards. The specially developed 9755 MC manual-wound movement powers the jumping hour and dragging minutes.

Piaget Sixtie

Inspired by Jean-Claude Gueit’s radical late-60s designs and Yves Saint Laurent’s trapeze silhouette, the Piaget Sixtie revives the era’s audacious geometry and flamboyance. This model’s pink gold case, with its gadroon-edged bezel, echoes vintage icons like Andy Warhol’s Piaget watch, while the interlaced trapeze-shaped link bracelet drapes like liquid metal.

The white solar satin-brushed dial contrasts with gold baton hands and Roman numerals, with sparkling diamonds elevating its feminine appeal. Its asymmetrical 29mm by 25.3mm form encases the 57P manufacture quartz movement, balancing horology and high jewellery, and weighing barely a whisper on the wrist.

Chanel J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon

Although Chanel entered watchmaking over 30 years ago, its J12 collection has become iconic. It has now been reimagined in an exclusive matte blue, highly resistant ceramic developed over five years. This model’s 38mm case showcases Chanel’s mastery of the material, its deep hue shifting between blue and near-black.

Its Calibre 5 manual-winding movement’s flying tourbillon, set with a 65-facet solitaire diamond, spins beneath an openworked dial, while 34 baguette-cut sapphires totalling about 4 carats line the black-coated steel bezel. Limited to 55 pieces, each bracelet is hand-polished for eight hours, uniting high horology with Chanel’s jewellery heritage.