Swiss Watch Shows Canceled
This time of year is typically a very exciting one for watch fans. The Swiss watch shows are in full swing and we’re waiting for news from our favorite brands as they announce their new pieces for the coming year. We are all obviously well aware that this year is about as far from typical as any of us could imagine. But despite the new reality, the watch brands have not been deterred from launching new product! We have seen some fantastic launches from our brands and we’re expecting many more in the coming weeks and months.
Many watch companies in recent years have gone away from launching their new product at a single, centrally located show in favor of other options. This includes three of our brands; Breitling, Omega and Bremont who have been either putting on their own show, or multiple launch events throughout the year to release new pieces.
New Releases
Despite the fact that all three of the brands that I mention have had to cancel their events for 2020, they have begun announcing their new watches. If the past couple of months are any indication, I would imagine that we will see the new product launched through all of their digital channels as soon as it is safe for them to get the employees back to work. Over the next couple of posts we’ll have a look at these three Brands and the watches that they have launched so far in 2020. The first brand that we’ll look at is Breitling…
Breitling
Breitling is no longer attending the shows in Switzerland, instead opting to host several gatherings for retailers and press they’re calling “Breitling Summit”. These new product launch Summits are held in different locations around the country and around the world. I attended the Summit for the Premier launch 2019 in Las Vegas as well as the Summit in Los Angeles where they announced the re-design of Avenger. They had a Summit scheduled for Miami at the end of this month which we were of course going to attend in anticipation of the big announcement. I hope that they do a digital release, but we’ll see what they have planned in the coming days. Stay tuned!
So far we have seen a couple of very cool Limited Editions highlighted by the introduction of some fantastic re-introductions, one of which came just this week! On 3-26 we witnessed the triumphant return of the Top Time! It was beautifully executed particularly if you’re looking for a sub $5000 chronograph. Breitling elected to keep the case size down to 41mm which is perfect for today’s tastes but what I found particularly interesting is that they elected to go with a Valjouix movement in order to keep the price down. These movements are very reliable, and most Breitling pieces that are produced with this movement rather than their in house are above $5000, Bravo! The retail price is $4990 and we’re expecting to receive shipment in May. Pre-orders are now available!
Top Time Limited Edition Place a Pre-order
The other re-edition was the beautifully clean looking AVI 765 Edition. It is a really well done re-release of one of their classic pieces from the early 1950’s. I have really enjoyed Breitling’s re-editions and it appears we will see many more coming in the near future.
We also saw a Joint launch between Breitling and Bentley, one of Breitling’s longest running partnerships. The watch that they released in conjunction with Bentley’s release of the Continental Mulliner Convertible is an extension to the Premier Chronograph B01 collection which is inspired by Breitling’s vintage Premier collection and powered by their fantastic B01 chronograph movement.
The Bentley Premier Chronograph B01
Breitling has a very cool video showing what a Rattrapante (split second Chronograph) looks like both inside and out. Check out the video and the line extensions to their Navitimer Rattrapante collection below. I noticed on their website a version with a gold case only, but I also saw a stainless version with a panda dial on their instagram. FYI, A split second chronograph is a complication addition to a chronograph that is used to time multiple events simultaneously.
Navitimer Rattrapante Collection
Watch for a new blog where I take a look at the releases from Omega…