WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

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WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022 - Editorial
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Our hand-picked collection of newly released watches is here, this time in a slightly different format than before…

Every three months, the WorldTempus Selections brings you a curated ensemble of watches — all of them launched within the last few months — representing our current horological obsessions each season. While summer may be ending, we’re not quite into autumn just yet (although my neighbour has already started decorating the area around his front door with cute mini-pumpkins). Usually, we’d hold off on our next round of WorldTempus Selections until we’re properly into autumn, but here’s the thing: Our hearts and minds are still bursting with the exciting new launches we encountered at Geneva Watch Days! So here's a special edition of WorldTempus Selections, just so we can get our coups de coeur off our chests (and into your dreams). 

Classic: De Bethune DB25 Perpetual Calendar (chosen by Brice Lechevalier)

You must be out of your mind, Suzanne, you’re probably thinking. De Bethune, a classic watch? This avant-garde brand renowned for innovation and creativity? Classic? To which I reply with a resounding “Yes!” While De Bethune is indeed lauded for watches which challenge and advance the current status of mechanical watchmaking, the new DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm takes us back to the more modest case diameters of a bygone time. Paired with the comparatively sober DB25 design (rather than the modernist DB28), we feel confident in calling this watch an instant classic. 

WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

 

Modern: URWERK UR100V “UltraViolet” (chosen by Sophie Furley)

I highly doubt you can name me a more modern watch that was officially launched at Geneva Watch Days 2022. The URWERK UR100V “UltraViolet” is yet another reinterpretation of the highly philosophical UR100 that draws in astronomical units of time as well as our more familiar units of solar hours and minutes, but that doesn’t mean it’s alienating or esoteric. You can check out our interview with URWERK chief designer Martin Frei for a glimpse into what goes on in the mind of this creative powerhouse, but you really don’t need a deep or complicated reason to fall in love with this watch. You only need a second to be seduced by its compelling colour and how good it feels on the wrist… just ask Sophie Furley! 

WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

 

Retro/Vintage: H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, aka “Black Hole Sun” (chosen by Marie de Pimodan)

I’m so glad Marie stepped up to name this her “love at first sight” watch of Geneva Watch Days 2022, otherwise I’d be having a crisis of indecision right now as to which watch to nominate myself. I wrote recently that this watch might be one of the most conceptually perfect watches of all time, and I stand by that statement 100 per cent. The intense brain stimulation it gives us through its use of cutting-edge materials, the vast horological satisfaction we get from its impeccable movement construction, the immense pleasure felt when having it on the wrist — plus the extra kick of oxytocin from observing its sleek retro case design… It should be illegal to make anyone feel this way. 

WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

 

Formal: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sejima Special Edition (chosen by Jean-Christopher Teigner)

Our colleague Jean-Christophe is a classy guy. You don’t see him coming to the office in T-shirts, shorts and Birkenstocks — nothing less than a crisply ironed shirt, smartly pressed trousers and chic leather shoes will do for this man. When he says a watch is worthy of a red-carpet look, you can trust him to the end of days. Of course, the rest of us plebs at WorldTempus/GMT agree with him, and now I’m sure you will too. No one here needs to be convinced of the innate elegance of the Octo Finissimo, but you might be wondering how appropriate it is to wear a steel watch on formal occasions. My dear WorldTempus family, we are in 2022. You can wear a steel watch anywhere, paired with anything. Even if you’re in a T-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sejima Special Edition will elevate you to the top of any “best-dressed” list in the world. 

WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

 

Sports: MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO Beverly Hills Edition

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — it’s difficult for me to be objective about this watch. But for our WorldTempus family, I’ll try my best. (Puts on a noble expression.) The patrimony of this watch is flawless. The Split Escapement in its name is descended directly from the mechanism put in place by master watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, the man behind LM Perpetual and this year’s LM Sequential EVO. The finishing is among the best you’ll see in a watch in this price range (although I’m sure this isn’t news to you, if you’ve ever seen an MB&F Legacy Machine). The EVO appellation is applied at MB&F to the watches made intentionally to be robust, with increased shock- and water-resistance, which makes LM SE EVO the ideal pick for this category. The fact that this particular limited edition is made for Westime, a key MB&F retailer based in Los Angeles (a global mecca of healthy living and fitness trends) is the cherry on the cake. 

WorldTempus Selections: Geneva Watch Days 2022

 

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