Each January, the watch world waits with bated breath for the LVMH watch brands to release their newest wares. While these don’t constitute all of the year’s debuts — more come out during April’s Watches and Wonders trade show in Geneva as well as at other points throughout the calendar — they do historically include some of the most exciting new models and references, such as the first Carrera “Glassbox” watches in 2023 and the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar.
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The Armoury launched its new in-house line with three versions of the Temporal Works Series AThis year, the excitement continues with a slew of firsts: TAG Heuer introduces the first split-seconds complication within its Carrera line; Zenith debuts a skeletonized tourbillon in its sporty Skyline collection; Louis Vuitton adds a platinum execution to its Escale Worldtime and more. In addition to the aforementioned firsts, there are also plenty of new dial colors and exciting executions — plus a Bulgari dress watch with both a rose gold bracelet and an ancient Roman coin built into its case. Clearly, there’s never been a more exciting time to be a watch collector. (We know — we say that every year. But we mean it.)
Here are but a smattering of the many new models and references from this year’s LVMH Watch Week.
With the success of the boundary-pushing Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph, TAG Heuer is carting over the rattrapante to its signature Carrera Chronograph collection in the form of the new Carrera Split-Seconds Chronograph. Utilizing the ergonomic “Glassbox” case that debuted in 2023, it features a split-seconds complication operated via a discrete pusher at 9 o’clock, allowing dual events to be timed simultaneously. Powered by the cal. TH81-01 developed in concert with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, the watch offers a substantial 65-hour power reserve despite a beat rate of 5 Hz and utilizes more than 10 different finishing techniques. The first rattrapante ever developed in the Carrera collection, it’s no slouch in the looks department, either, with a smoked translucent dial that makes ample use of black, white and red.
While the watch world has largely been trending downward with respect to case sizes, there’s still a sizable portion of the (largely male) population that prefers a 40+mm timepiece. TAG Heuer is recognizing such collectors via the debut of three new Carrera Chronograph references in steel: Measuring 41mm each, they feature the Carrera’s classic triple-register layout; an outer tachymeter scale and 1/5th-seconds scale; a handsome beads-of-rice bracelet; the brand’s reliable cal. TH20-01 automatic movement; and — in reference to the collection’s beginnings on the race track — a small engraving of a victory wreath on the back-left lug. Available in blue and green, there’s also a black-dial variant with red accents that gives a bit of Blade Runner-type futurism.
One of the quirkiest — and coolest — reissues to come out of Zenith’s Le Locle-based manufacture over the past few years is the Defy Revival, a series of references based on the original Defy’s octagonal case with 14-sided bezel and matching “ladder” bracelet. Already available in several other colorways, the new A3643 brings back a versatile sunray silver-dialed version with applied, luminous indices; a matching sword handset; and 4:30 date window. Maintaining the 37mm stainless steel case that made the original late-’60s Defy so darn compelling, it comes paired to a modern take on the ladder bracelet and utilizes the brand’s Zenith Elite cal. 670 — which packs a 50-hour power reserve — as its power plant. Ideal for virtually any-sized wrist, it’s a compelling piece that still looks fresh after half a century.
Ceramic continues to proliferate throughout the watch industry, replacing stainless steel as a go-to material in many of the most desirable sports watch collections. The new Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph is no exception: Initially available in blue ceramic in celebration of Zenith’s 150th anniversary, it now comes in a black version paired to a cool gradient grey “starry sky”-pattern dial. Applied both to the watch’s octagonal case as well as its matching multi-link bracelet, the Defy Skyline Chronograph offers not only a triple-register chrono, but also the ability to track time down to 1/10th of a second via the El Primero cal. 3600 automatic movement, which beats at 5 Hz. With its blend of advanced materials and good looks, this is a model that continues to impress.
The Skyline collection truly runs the gamut with respect to complications and materials: Indeed, you can buy a 36mm time-only version in steel for under $10K, or you can positively go to town. If the latter is more your speed, then check out the new Defy Skyline Tourbillon Skeleton, the first reference in the collection that melds skeletonized construction with a gravity-compensating tourbillon complication. Housed in a 41mm rose gold case, it features the beautiful El Primero cal. 3630 SK automatic movement, a caliber whose blue PVD bridges come together in a star-shaped motif that flanks the tourbillon spinning at 6 o’clock. Shipping on a matching rose gold bracelet but also accompanied by a blue rubber strap, it’s actually quite the versatile piece…provided you don’t mind attracting a bit of attention, that is.
Anyone remotely familiar with streetwear culture or with modern design more broadly will have encountered the work of lauded British multi-disciplinary artist and creative director Samuel Ross. A protegé of the late Virgil Abloh, Ross excels at seeing the throughlines between disciplines and distilling them down into a single object: In his third partnership with Hublot, he tries his hand at the Big Bang Unico chronograph, riffing on the design by adding his signature honeycomb motif within both the dial and the rubber strap. Primarily a weight-reducing mechanism, the motif also serves to reduce visual weight, while the all-black aesthetic of the ceramic case references vintage military watches and other utilitarian timepieces that Ross grew up admiring. Indeed, with 100m of water resistance and a 72-hour power reserve, there’s a world in which the new Big Bang Unico SR_A becomes the unit watch of a futuristic special forces outfit.
Honoring the world’s winningest, record-breakingest tennis player, the new Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Novak Djokovic GOAT Edition offers an exciting suite of advanced technologies, eye-catching aesthetics and Hublot’s signature playfulness. Measuring 44mm, its case is made from a special composite composed of Djokovic’s own Lacoste polo shirts and rackets, while the middle section is made of Titaplast, a polymer with titanium-like properties. Three colors corresponding to Djokovic’s wins on hard courts (blue), clay courts (orange) and grass (green) will be available in numbered series, with more being made available should the GOAT win further matches. The dial, meanwhile, features a tennis racket-like three-dimensional lattice that secures the movement’s components.
A limited edition of 88 pieces, the new Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Horse combines an equine motif with several handmade techniques in a tonneau-shaped sports watch. Measuring 42mm, its case is composed of cool frosted carbon and is paired to a matching bezel secured via six “H”-shaped black-plated titanium screws. The dial — which is inspired by Tang-dyansty artistry — depicts this year’s Chinese zodiac sign using carbon marquetry and 3N gold-plated brass appliqués. Cut, aligned and arranged entirely by hand, the horse pops against a black lacquer dial base while a skeletonized handset ensures that there’s minimal interference with the artwork. Powered by the Hublot cal. MHUB1710 automatic movement and paired to a black calfskin leather strap with a black ceramic and black-plated titanium deployant buckle, the Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Horse kicks off 2026 with a neigh.
Existing at the confluence of jewelrymaking and watchmaking, Roman-founded Bulgari continues to craft timepieces that speak to lovers of both crafts. The new Maglia Milanese Monete combines several distinct métiers in a single watch: There’s the rose gold mesh bracelet — a new development for Bulgari — that interfaces seamlessly with the watch’s rectangular rose gold case. Then there’s the handsome sunray engraving on the case’s top; the diamond setting on the crown and bezel; and the ancient coin of Roman emperor Caracalla from the 3rd century A.D. that forms the outer dial. When this is opened, a beautiful mother-of-pearl timekeeping dial with diamond-set indices and gold sword hands is revealed, while flipping the watch over displays its Piccolissimo cal. BVP100 — the world’s smallest hand-wound round movement.
Master watchmaker Daniel Roth always considered the extra-thin (extra-plat in French) movement a complication in its own right. Elegant and slim, such a movement can house traditional complications to form stunning, dressy creations. Such is the case with the new Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton: Measuring 35.5mm in diameter in DR’s signature double-ellipse shape, it features a specially crafted movement with reworked plates and bridges in 18K 5N rose gold that accommodate an openworked design. The results are nothing short of breathtaking, with the wearer able to peer into the miniature city of componentry. Still, despite the incredible finishing on the movement’s collection of tiny parts, there’s a wealth of negative space, allowing one to see all the way to the back of the watch.
While the daring Gérald Genta Gentissima Oursin is the watch for lovers of the avant-garde, the Geneva collection is ideal for collectors who prefer a more classic silhouette. Not to say that the Geneva is your typical round watch — far from it, in fact: Measuring 38mm in a tonneau-shaped case, it’s available in both white or rose gold and features a single lug that connects to a calfskin leather strap. Mixing satin and polished surfaces and featuring a classic stepped bezel, it borrows somewhat from classical watchmaking language — but then goes completely its own way in the form of a beautiful grained dial in grey or brown. In either case, a white railroad minute track and a thin pencil handset with matching, applied rose gold indices makes for an elegant, highly legible time-telling display, while the Zenith cal. GG-005P automatic movement keeps the tempo.
Like many products within the Louis Vuitton oeuvre, the Escale watch collection (from the French for “stopover”) celebrates travel in all its many guises. Melding the maison’s famed globetrotting complication with a 40mm platinum case, a new take on the Worldtime model indicates the time in 24-hour zones simultaneously using LV’s “Twin Zone” design: Flanking a grained blue dial center, it features a ring with hand-painted miniature flags — a Louis Vuitton watchmaking speciality. Representing the globe’s major cities, this ring is composed of 35 colors that are painstakingly applied by hand using a fine-tipped brush. Powered by the new cal. LFT VO12.01 automatic movement created by La Fabrique du Temps, it allows for easy adjustment of both the time and reference city via the crown.
Hot on the heels of Louis Vuitton’s Montgolfière Aéro table clock from 2024, the maison is once again bringing forth an audacious and unusual timepiece, this time in the guise of an early-20th-century truck that once delivered Louis Vuitton trunks to the brand’s customers in Paris. Powered by a hand-wound, 8-day movement from LVMH portfolio brand L’Epée 1839, its lightweight aluminum frame comes in signature LV saffron and sibylline blue and features callouts aplenty to the history of Louis Vuitton — including a removable, miniature monogram travel trunk hidden within in the truck’s body that holds the movement’s winding key. And if the saffron-colored version of this object isn’t precious enough, there’s also a diamond-set constructed from gilded metal and hand-guilloché.
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