Tudor goes big, Lange perfects sound, and Hermes plays with time

[GENEVA]

Tudor

The Tudor Black Bay family welcomes a new member, the Black Bay 68. This new 43 mm diver is “a bigger take on a classic”, as the brand puts it, so no prizes for guessing that it is larger than its predecessors. Its name pays homage to a pivotal year in Tudor’s history – 1968 – the year that the brand’s now-iconic “Snowflake” hands made their debut.

The Black Bay 68 arrives in two distinct dial variations: a classic silver and a signature Tudor Blue. Both offer a clean and legible aesthetic, emphasising the brand’s tool-watch heritage. Eschewing the faux-patina that often graces heritage-inspired pieces, the 68 opts for a more contemporary feel, with its crisp indices and hands.

The 43 mm stainless steel case naturally makes a strong statement on the wrist, offering a substantial presence without being overwhelming. It is paired with an oyster-style three-link bracelet, a departure from the more vintage-inspired, riveted bracelets of earlier Black Bay models.

Powering the Black Bay 68 is the MT5601-U movement, which has been certified by METAS (the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology) and is a testament to Tudor’s commitment to precision and performance. The certification guarantees not only accuracy certified by COSC, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, but also resistance to magnetic fields.  

A. Lange & Sohne

A. Lange & Sohne, the prestigious German watchmaker, has unveiled its latest horological masterpiece: the Minute Repeater Perpetual. This exquisite timepiece combines two of the most sophisticated complications in watchmaking – a minute repeater and a perpetual calendar.

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With a gentle slide of a lever, the Minute Repeater Perpetual chimes the hours, quarter-hours and minutes in a melodious symphony of low- and high-pitched tones. This acoustic marvel can produce 720 unique sequences, one for each minute in a 12-hour cycle.

Its perpetual calendar function accurately tracks dates, days, months and leap years well into the future and won’t need adjustment until Mar 1, 2100 – a date so distant it feels like science fiction.

Crafted from 950 platinum and limited to just 50 pieces, this timepiece is as rare as it is remarkable. Its black enamel dial, painstakingly created in-house, provides a striking backdrop for the calendar displays and the signature Lange outsized date.

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The watch’s heart, the new L122.2 calibre, is a manually wound movement comprising 640 parts. It is a mechanical ballet visible through the sapphire-crystal case back, through which one can marvel at the intricate gong hammers and the centrifugal governor spinning at over 2,000 revolutions per minute.

With the Minute Repeater Perpetual, the artisans at A. Lange & Sohne have orchestrated a symphony – not with violins or cellos, but with minuscule hammers, delicately tuned gongs, and a movement so intricate it seems almost alive. You could say it is a sonorous tribute to time itself.

Hermes

Hermes revisits its captivating Le temps suspendu (Time suspended) complication, originally launched in 2011, in two new watches unveiled at Watches and Wonders Geneva. With a simple press, time seemingly pauses, offering a whimsical escape focused on savouring the present moment.

This distinctive complication now graces the iconic Arceau line with the Arceau Le temps suspendu, a refined 42 mm timepiece. Its open-worked dial, set within a slender white or rose-gold case featuring the collection’s signature asymmetrical lugs, showcases the intricate Time suspended module. The Manufacture Hermes H1837 movement resides within, visible through the transparent case back. Available with sunburst blue, brun désert, or rouge sellier dials, it reinforces the Arceau collection’s enduring elegance.

The Time suspended complication also finds a home in the Hermes Cut collection. Introduced in 2024, the Cut’s sharp lines and bold geometry are amplified by this playful addition. The 39 mm rose-gold case houses the Time suspended module, driven by the Manufacture Hermes H1912 movement. The inclusion of a unique and conversation-starting counterclockwise small seconds indicator offers a bold alternative to traditional time display.