What’s hot from Baselworld 2019: three stand-out watches belie fair’s diminished status
- A retro Breitling Navitimer, a Chopard dress watch with a pop of colour, and a brash Tudor chronograph that marries steel with gold are all worth digging deep for
- They are proof that, despite some brands skipping the event, world’s biggest watch fair is still has a lot to offer
Baselworld, the world’s biggest watch fair, closed two weeks ago and I’ve diligently looked through most of the big releases from the brands that still exhibit at the now diminished event. I feel confident enough to opine on “what’s hot” and “what’s not”, but I won’t dwell on the latter because, being a lad of a generally sunny disposition, I don’t go into the terrible in this column, and who wants to read about things that are awful, anyway? Wait, you do? Well, tough, there’s enough negativity in the world, already.
OK, what did I love? The three that I would dig deep into my pocket for are the Breitling Navitimer Ref 806 1959 Re-Edition, the Chopard LUC XP and the Tudor Black Bay Chrono S&G.
First, the Breitling. I know what you’re thinking. “Another Navitimer? Jesus, if you love the Navitimer so much, why don’t you marry it?” Well, marriage between man and horology is still frowned upon. For now. Yes, it’s another Navitimer, but it’s a gorgeous re-edition of the 1959 version. And by “re-edition” I don’t mean a sort of close-but-not-exactly rendering that has modern concessions such as a larger case size, sharper lines and new materials that you usually get. No! This bad boy is as good and close a carbon copy of the 1959 watch as one could get.
The only changes are that it has water resistance, uses Superluminova for the numerals and markers instead of radium and has a B09 movement. For true lovers of heritage Breitlings, this is a boon, and the 1,959 pieces will be snapped up in no time. What of the features? Well, it has the overstuffed iconic Navitimer dial, includes a slide rule bezel that no one knows how to use, the chronograph function and 70 hours of power reserve, and all this for 7,900 Swiss francs (US$7,910).
If the Navitimer is at one end of the design spectrum, throwing everything at the dial, then the Chopard LUC XP is at the other, where less is more. The XP got a slight refresh for 2019 and, to be honest, it could have been launched at the men’s clothing and accessories fair Pitti Uomo rather than Baselworld, as the new blue dial and matching merino wool strap are about as on trend, fashion wise, as high-end watches get.
