If you can believe it, summer’s halfway over already. But don’t despair! On the horological front, brands both large and small are continuing to bring the heat: Worn & Wound’s WindUp Watch Fair in Chicago saw several companies release new wares, while others dropped special limited editions to coincide with events (Omega’s new Olympic-themed Seamaster), anniversaries (Bulova’s Jet Star), or just because. Join us as we survey the very best watches in July 2023, from sub-$1K tool watches to unbelievable desk clocks and everything in between.
Itay Noy Seven-Day Cycle
One can always count on Israeli watchmaker Itay Noy for a thoughtful take on an old complication. In this case, Noy reimagined the (daily) calendar watch through a Biblical lens — “God finished the work he had done, and he rested on the seventh day.” [Genesis 2:2] — ditching the more typical day display window for a series of skeletonized cutouts that become illuminated by a colored disc underneath. In one variation, each day is given a numerical value — i.e. “first day” — with the seventh day displayed as “rest day.” However, the watch can be customized according to one’s religion/preference, thus changing the “rest day” to a different day of the week. (Check out the blue-dial version with a date for a more contemporary take on this system — it’s one of our favorite Itay Noy watches to date.)
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Caliber IN.S200 automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Price: $4,900
Ulysse Nardin UFO Clock Limited Editions
In 2021, Ulysse Nardin debuted a spectacularly modern take on the idea of the marine chronometer in a package that couldn’t be farther from that of the original, 18th-century version: Housed within a glass-enclosed, pill-shaped housing, it sways when pushed — and then rights itself! In 2023, UN is releasing three special, colored limited-edition versions for its retail partners in just 30 examples each: green for Yoshida in Japan, ice blue for Bucherer, and champagne for The Hour Glass in Singapore. Produced with Maison L’Épée in Delémont, which is famous for its inventive table clocks, this is the last version of a timepiece that stands out as amongst the most innovative of the decade.
- Diameter: 263x159mm
- Movement: Ulysse Nardin Calibre UN-902 manually wound
- Water Resistance: N/A
- Price: $68,600
Longines Flagship Heritage Moonphase
If you’re after a dressy, complicated watch, you could do much worse than the latest from the Longines Flagship collection, the Flagship Heritage Moonphase. Available in three handsome versions and coming in right around $3K, it’s a well-sized (38.5mm) dress watch offering a poetic complication, a solid, automatic movement and the clean, midcentury design that the brand has exploited to excellent effect through numerous editions. At six o’clock on each variant sits a combination moonphase-date display powered by a module attached to the watch’s ETA-manufactured base movement, the Longines Caliber L899.5. For our money, the blue dial is a total show stopper, as well as a versatile everyday option.
- Diameter: 38.5mm
- Movement: Longines Caliber 899.5 automatic
- Water Resistance: 30m
- Price: $3,050
Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono Alinghi Red Bull Edition
Just when you thought all the cool watches had dropped during spring’s Watches & Wonders Geneva trade show, Tudor comes out of left field with a killer surprise: Two new Pelagos watches made in partnership with the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team. Both pieces represent several firsts for the brand, the most notable of which is their use of carbon composite cases with stainless steel backs and titanium bi-directional bezels. Made to celebrate Tudor’s 2022 partnership with Alinghi Red Bull Racing, each is a stunner of a watch — but for our money, the brand new Reference 25807KN chronograph, with its dual-register, 45-minute design, snowflake handset, matte purplish-blue dual, and single-piece blue fabric strap, is the standout model.
- Diameter: 43mm
- Movement: Tudor Manufacture Calibre MT5813 automatic
- Water Resistance: 200m
- Price: $5,075
Unimatic U1S-8B
Unimatic, the Italian watch company founded by Giovanni Moro and Nunziato in 2015, is one of the most beloved “microbrands” in the world. Its latest addition to the Serie 8 sees it delving into an aesthetic that will no doubt be familiar to fans of vintage tool watches — that of “gilt” dials. The U1S-8B, in particular, seems to reference vintage Rolex Submariners with its golden accents surrounding the lume plots and within the minute track, as well as on the highly legible handset — though it’s meant to evoke the “refinement and grandeur” of Venice, according to Unimatic. Coming in at roughly $1,000, it retains the minimalist design codes for which the brand has become famous while adding a subtle calling card for those in the know. And at 41.5mm wide by just 11.6mm thick, it’s a great size for diving or for everyday wear.
- Diameter: 41.5mm
- Movement: Sellita SW200-1 b automatic
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: ~$1,015
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Bulova Jet Star
Just in time for its 50th anniversary, Bulova is bringing back the Jet Star, a cool, stainless steel watch with a funky, angular case, a stainless steel bracelet (as well as a blue leather strap), a colorful dial, and notable guts: Whereas the original was automatic, the new version is powered by Bulova’s Precisionist movement — an 8-jewel quartz caliber vibrating at 262 Hz with an accuracy of 5 seconds per month as well as sweep seconds. Though it’s available in three different versions (including one with a very 1970s-esque gold-toned case), we dig the silver dial with blue and red accents the best. Produced in a run of 7,300 pieces and costing well under $1,000, it’s sure to be a hit.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Bulova’s Precisionist quartz
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $695
Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition
Based on Oris’s signature Big Crown Pointer Date, this limited-edition run of 2,297 watches celebrates Hank Aaron, a legend of the MLB and one of the greatest American athletes of all time. Executed in grey and red to match Aaron’s Braves uniform, its 40mm stainless steel case features the brand’s famed calendar configuration with half moon-shaped pointer date indicator, cathedral handset, and stylized Arabic indices. Paired to a blue leather strap, it also includes a red, white, and blue NATO strap and ships in a special box featuring Aaron’s number, 44, on the lid. Sales will benefit The Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, which provides scholarships to disadvantaged youth.
- Diameter: 40mm
- Movement: Oris Caliber 754 automatic
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $2,500
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Paris 2024” Special Edition
This new special-edition Seamaster Diver 300 celebrates several exciting events: first, it begins a one-year countdown until the Paris 2024 Olympics. Secondly, it honors Omega’s 31st edition as Official Timekeeper of the Games — a role it began fulfilling in 1932. The watch itself will be familiar to longtime Omega fans: Measuring 42mm and only available for now in Paris boutiques, it’s fashioned from stainless steel and 18K Moonshine gold, reminding one of the gold being striven for at the Games. Featuring a laser-structured diving scale in positive relief against a gold background, the watch’s bezel pops out against its white “wave” dial with gold accents, making for a handsome tool watch that commemorates a momentous occasion.
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800 automatic
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $8,700
Vulcain Cricket Nautical
The Nautical Cricket is one of those examples of real-world problem solving that led to a design both functional and beautiful. Equipped with Vulcain’s signature alarm system, the watch would chirp audibly underwater and signal to a diver when it was time to ascend. Additionally, it featured a remarkably no-decompression scale right on the dial, allowing the wearer to calculate no-stop limits on the fly. Reproduced here in an upsized 42mm size available with either a green or blue minute track with “fauxtina” or bright white Super-LumiNova lume, it’s simply a stunner of a watch — regardless of whether it takes the place of your dive computer or not. (And if you do go diving with it, we’d recommend swapping out the black leather strap it ships on for something more water-resistant!)
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Caliber ‘Vulcain Cricket Manufacture V-10’
- Water Resistance: 300m
- Price: $4,862
Massena LAB x Revolution Uni-Racer 1949
Unfortunately, this one is sold out already — but it’s just so damn cool that we had to include it. A partnership between legendary watch world personality William Massena and watch magazine Revolution, the Uni-Racer 1949 takes the Massena LAB 39mm Uni-Racer platform and gives it a special dial based on a pièce unique from none other than Patek Philippe. What was originally a 33mm ref. 130 chronograph has been updated to slightly more modern proportions, outfitted with a Swiss movement from Sellita, and given a special Super-LumiNova color and acrylic crystal to evoke the vintage original’s aesthetics. You’ll have to scour the secondary market to pick up one of this limited edition of 120 pieces…but it’ll be worth it.
- Diameter: 39mm
- Movement: Sellita SW510 M Elaboré hand-wound
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Price: $3,750
A Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar and Lange 1 Time Zone
New references from A. Lange & Söhne are always a cause for celebration, and this July, we were given two: the wildly complicated and beautiful 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar in 18K white gold with a pink gold dial, and a new edition of the useful Lange 1 Time Zone in platinum with a rhodium-colored dial. For the uninitiated, the former contains both a perpetual calendar complication and a split-seconds chronograph, while the latter is a dual-time zone watch with a day-night indicator and a daylight-savings time indicator for the second time zone. If you happen to be in the market for something like the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, you better act fast — it’s a limited edition of just 100 pieces.
- Diameter: 41.9mm (both)
- Movement: Lange Calibre L101.1 hand-wound (1815); Lange Calibre L141.1 hand-wound (Lange 1)
- Water Resistance: N/A
- Price: $319,000 (1815); $73,000
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