38 new watches show the industry is ticking along just fine in 2020

Despite the pandemic and manufacture closures, 2020 is gaining its fair share of new watches.

From the bold and beautiful to the businesslike, these are the timepieces brands are relying on to tempt you back . . . and there’s one to satisfy every need.

WFH

Working from home you can wear what you want … with time to indulge your investment.

MB&F Bulldog
Noting the “relationship between man and watch is as nuanced as the one between man and dog”, designer Max Büsser has come up with something that lives up to its name. There’s a rounded body in titanium or red gold; two aluminium time-display eyes; a collar studded with projections that allow you to wind the watch or set the time; and stout but flexible “legs” that wrap around your wrist. Not to mention “a big heart beating steadily at 2.5Hz (18,000vph).” Its hinged jaws even open and shut. A closed mouth means your Bulldog is wound down and ready for a nap. Rows of shining teeth mean it’s “full of fight”. $150,000 range.

Chopard Happy Sport Sun, Moon and Stars
What could be better than a glimpse of the sun, the moon and the stars when you’re stuck inside? The tableau here – a gold-flecked dial with diamond-set “dancing” stars – is described as “a reproduction of the heavens that appear to be infinitely reflected in the shimmering inky blue waters of Venice’s Grand Canal”. (A distant destination for now, but one providing endless possibilities for contemplation.) Framed in gold and steel with a self-winding movement, a ticket to this experience is $11,600.

MB&F H.Moser Collaboration
Independents MB&F and H. Moser & Cie have collaborated on two steel-cased models. The Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser x MB&F is Moser’s adaptation of the MB&F FlyingT. The LM101 MB&F x H. Moser is MB&F’s "Moserised" take on the LM101. The former (shown above) retains MB&F’s inclined dial matched with an open tourbillon, now at 12 o’clock, adding a lustrous fume background, Moser’s specialty. Price? $120,000 odd. On the LM101 MB&F x Moser, the gradient dial highlights the dramatic suspended balance. Power is MB&F’s manual-wind calibre, with 60 watches available – $80,000 range.