Visits: 11
GQ is reporting from the Watches & Wonders convention in Geneva this week. Click here to read all our coverage from the event or sign up for the Box + Papers newsletter to get the latest in your inbox.
Everyone at dinner was warned there was going to be a gunshot, but we all jumped and a few even shrieked at the sound of the bang. The sound signaled the start of a bike race, and as the young cyclists bent around the velodrome I turned back to my “local” veal, per the menu, with morels and smoked carrot. This was the scene at Tudor’s party Tuesday night during Watches & Wonders week. The night was more evidence that there really is no party like a watch-brand party.
When we arrived at the location, which was guarded like a state secret, the room was massive but nondescript. Towering black curtains hung from the ceiling all around us, forming a square the size of half a football field. We politely sipped champagne until the servers directed us to sit down for dinner. The curtains suddenly dropped, revealing the velodrome and Tudor’s cycling team speeding along it. The team then participated in four different racing events—the Keirin, an elimination race, the “Longest Lap,” and a team sprint—while we enjoyed dinner.
Watch parties defy reality even when they’re more lowkey. On Monday, in the basement of the Rolex HQ, waiters passed around veggie samosas and arancini and the bartender made the strongest gin & tonic I’ve ever tasted. This was a much more casual event but even here, on the stage at the front of a room where a band played live music, were the large Oscars statues from the actual Oscars. They were driven up from London, where they happened to be, for the event.
No matter the atmosphere, though, these parties usually boil down to the same thing: a bunch of folks standing around talking about which new watches they like from the fair. I’ve heard a lot of the same: Cartier’s stuff is great—particularly the platinum Normale on the bracelet; the new 37mm Tudor Black Bay 54 will sell extremely well; Tag Heuer is killing it with their new chronographs. One influential figure called the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Chronograph the most interesting thing in the fair by a mile. Here’s everything else worth noting from the second day of Watches & Wonders.
The Best Watch I Tried On Today
The coolest watch I got to wear today wasn’t actually a new piece. While showing off its new “glassbox” Carreras, Tag Heuer brought out a box of watches showing the lineage of the piece and the different vintage models that inspired the new one. One of those watches is the reference 1158 CHN, a yellow-gold version of the Carrera from the ‘70s. You don’t see these watches out in the wild often, and even if you do they’re more likely to come on a black leather band than this one’s gold Milanese. So getting to actually handle it and try this rare watch on was really special.
The Milanese bracelet is beautiful, comfortable, and flexible, and comes in matching gold. Finally: a watch with enough gold! Clearly, I’m developing a thing for this metal after I fell in love with Rolex’s new gold GMT yesterday.
This watch came to Tag Heuer’s heritage director Nicholas Biebuyck by way of Zurich. A man walked into the brand’s boutique and said he received it as a high school graduation gift decades ago. Is it worth anything? he asked. Ha! The Zurich boutique now knows to call Biebuyck whenever something interesting surfaces, he says. They worked out a deal and now the watch is part of Tag’s collection. Lucky for me, who got to try it on for a brief moment.
The Best Gag
Most brands just shove a tote bag into your hands after an appointment and send you on your merry way. Hublot, as evidenced by their watches made out of sapphire and its collaboration with Takashi Murakami, is not most brands. After seeing a watch with a “gyrating tourbillon,” I was directed to a claw machine stuffed with goodies. I was heartbroken to find it broken. I told the brand rep I’d come back once it was fixed. A few hours later I got a text: “The Murakami claw machine is working again!” Hallelujah.
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I returned, received a special Hublot coin to push into the machine, and stared at the prize balls filled with socks, card holders, and bucket hats covered with a Murakami design. I stepped up confidently, eyeing a pair of the socks in the center of the machine. I pushed around the joystick to adjust the claw and pressed the button to activate it. The claw lowered and clutched the ball for a moment, but upon its ascent bobbled my prize and dropped it back into the heap. Bummer. I did not get another chance but they did give me a consolation prize: a tote bag and a mini thermos printed with Murikami artwork.
The Best New Watch I Tried On Today
How weird is this? In 1888, Zenith founder Georges-Favre Jacot trademarked the word “pilot” in French (it’s, um, “pilote”). The Wright Brothers wouldn’t make their maiden flight until 15 years later, in 1903. Pilots, as we know them now, didn’t even exist. The word sometimes referred to drivers but Jacot, according to Zenith, also believed human flight was inevitable. That’s pretty crazy, like if I trademarked the phrase “alternative dimension jumper” on a hunch.
Because of Jacot’s premonition, Zenith is now the only brand that can use the word “Pilot” on its watches. (Jacot would trademark the word in English in 1904.) Now, Zenith is adding four new watches to its pilot line that make good use of this. My favorite is the “three hands” (meaning it only tells the time), which is simple and uncluttered. The dial mimics those Solari or “split flap” boards that were used to display arrivals and departures info at airports once upon a time.
The Best Celebrity Sighting
All eyes start to shift one direction when a celebrity shows up. Yesterday, there was a mob outside Chopard trying to get a picture of Julia Roberts. Apparently, David Beckham was roaming around the Tudor booth yesterday.
Today, as I was passing by the Rolex booth, I noticed everyone staring inside. I stopped to look in and saw brand ambassador Roger Federer posing with all the people working the booth. Federer’s collection of Rolex watches is outrageous. Maybe he was here scoping out new additions. As soon as he exited, a crowd of people followed him through the halls of the Palexpo.
