Doesn’t time go by so fast? LVMH Watch Week is back for its sixth iteration and there are plenty of new and old faces to marvel at, says Hetty Lintell.
LVMH Watch Week is still a relative newcomer to the global watch industry calendar, but it’s quickly becoming a shortcut to knowing what’s in and what’s out. There were some initial scheduling setbacks — the LA fires led to the cancellation of the Californian showcase, so things kicked off in New York (January 21-22), before moving to London (until January 24) and finally, Paris (January 30-31) — but that didn’t stop a record-breaking nine brands from taking part.
TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, Bulgari, Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta have all appeared before, but, this time round, they’ve been joined by three icons: Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and L’Epée 1839.
Here, we take a look at three of the most notable timepieces to launch this week.
Something extra
Daniel Roth was a pioneer in independent watchmaking when he launched his eponymous brand in 1988 — initially focusing on his favourite tourbillon movement (which increases accuracy).
Roth isn’t a huge name for the Arnault-owned juggernaut, but it would be remiss not to mention this Extra Plat Souscription, an updated version of the Tourbillon Souscription, which originally debuted in 1990. It is wonderfully elegant and thin (extra plat translates to extra thin) with a restrained two hand (there’s no second-counting hand) — surely what watch-lovers yearn for in a dress watch. Roth himself has said that ‘there is nothing nicer than an extra thin watch on the wrist’.
As with the Tourbillon Souscription, the Extra Plat Souscription was developed and produced by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and features the same Clou de Paris dial base pattern. It launches with 20 pieces in yellow gold, priced at 45,000 CHF.
Year of the snake
2025 is the Chinese Year of the Snake so it is fitting that Bvlgari are launching their newest iterations of their Serpenti Collection right now and with an in-house first — a brand-new, self-winding mechanical movement — hidden inside. Meet the Lady Solotempo BVS100 Automatic.
Bvlgari were already known for having some of the thinnest movements on the market, but now they can add some of the smallest to the list of accolades. The Lady Solotempo technology powers the Bvlgari Serpenti Tubogas and the Bvlgari Serpenti Seduttori (above). The Serpenti’s curvilinear design demands that the movement be as dainty as possible. The result? A feathery weight of just five grams.
Pole position
The year is off to a speedy start for TAG Heuer thanks to the revival of the brand’s historic partnership with Formula 1: they are the Championship’s new Official Timekeeper. Congratulations are in order all round because it also happens to be the sport’s 75th anniversary.
In celebration, the watchmaker has unveiled the Formula 1 Chronograph collection (£4,300), featuring super lightweight and hard-wearing titanium cases and striking bursts of colour that bring to mind the energy of race day. The 44mm timepiece also features a micro-perforated aluminium tachymeter bezel inspired by racing brake discs.
Then there is the special Oracle Red Bull Racing collaboration piece to commemorate the fact that TAG has been the official partner and timekeeper of the F1 team since 2016. Keep an eye out for the caseback, engraved with the brands’ respective logos.
And we shouldn’t neglect to mention the new Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye — a tribute to the Porsche 911’s first-ever rally debut at the 1965 Rallye Monte-Carlo. The Porsche in question (above) was given all of the necessary adaptations a road car needs to take part in rallying: a rollover bar, a pair of extra front headlines and… a Heuer Rally Master timekeeping device.
The first Carrera chronograph came about around the same time when Jack Heuer — grandson of founder Edouard Heuer — designed a watch inspired by Porsche and the Carrera Panamericana race of 1954, that enabled a driver tell the time with just a glance in the heat of the action.
The updated, limited edition Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye pieces come in stainless steel (911 pieces) and 18K 3N yellow gold (11 pieces).
