WatchTime New York returned with aplomb last week as 2021 became the first in-person version of the event since 2019. Held at Gotham Hall, WatchTime New York 2021 further cemented its position as North America’s most important watch event with a stunning collection of new releases from the world’s most illustrious brands. Here, we take a look at the most significant announcements across the three-day event.
[See also: Top Watches in the World for 2021]
De Bethune, Dream Watch 5 Tourbillon ‘Season 1’
Borne from an unexpected collaboration with American rap star Swizz Beatz, this Dream Watch 5 (pictured above) is a leap into the future of haute horology. Beatz contacted the watchmaker out of the blue to challenge them to push the experimental watch series further than ever before. The result is a stunning timepiece formed of polished titanium and seven individually-crafted panes of blue-tinted sapphire crystal. Each pane needed unique curves and proportions to create a perfectly-formed case. It was a huge technical undertaking with stunning results. There is nothing straight or flat about the DW5 case. As a result, the series is limited to just 10 pieces.
$520,000, debethune.ch
MB&F, Legacy Machine Perpetual
The LM Perpetual has been crafted in palladium 950 / ©MB&F
Since its introduction in 2015, the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual has been created in a variety of fine metals, most notably red gold. This latest edition, limited to just 25 pieces, is the first to be crafted in palladium 950. The new Palladium edition features the innovative ergonomic corrector pushers that allow for easy date correction on leap years. Most perpetual calendars can skip dates and are easily damaged, but MB&F built a new system from the ground up that is more reliable and more resilient. Even the corrector pushers deactivate when the date is changing (when the mechanism is at its most vulnerable).
$206,000, mbandf.com
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Arnold & Son, Luna Magna Platinum
Arnold & Son Luna Magna Platinum / ©Arnold & Son
The Luna Magna Platinum was one of the headline acts at the Watches and Wonders event earlier this year. The Luna Magna was minimalistic in its function and style, but blew observers away with the largest 3D moon ever seen in a watch. The stunning moon gradually rotates as its counterpart drifts towards maximum exposure in the sky. This new edition is cased in 950 platinum and limited to just 28 pieces. The off-center dial is made of mother of pearl and sits above the moon. The complicated moonphase mechanism is so accurately set to the lunar cycle that it won’t need adjusting for 122 years.
$61,300, arnoldandson.com
A. Lange & Sohne, Zeitwerk Honeygold Lumen
A. Lange & Sohne, Zeitwerk Honeygold Lumen / ©A. Lange & Sohne
First unveiled in 2009, the Zeitwerk series remains a world-leading feat of engineering in watchmaking. In this latest edition, the jumping hours and minutes indications are joined by a stunning Honeygold case and a proprietary luminescence known as Lumen. Limited to just 200 pieces and available only in its own boutiques, the timepiece’s numerals are coated in an innovative light-permeable substance that absorbs UV light so it can be read in the dark. Its stunning 462-part movement is visible through a transparent case back.
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$145,000, alange-soehne.com
[See also: Most Influential Watch Brands in the World]
