With the Fifty Fathoms became Blancpain one of the pioneers in the field of diving watches, but also in the sky, they are a trailblazer. With the Air Command, originally launched in the mid-1950s, they were part of a new era of rapid developments in aviation. Past, present, and future are now united in the new Air Command that Blancpain launched today.

The days that a watch would be available with either a black or a silver dial are long gone. Color is the new credo, as many brands now release watches in a rainbow of different hues. Recently, the colorful dials of the new Oyster Perpetual 41 even eclipsed the news of the revised Submariner. Blancpain and Jaeger-LeCoultre also offer a colorful take on existing favorites as they launch their new models.

A new model by Richard Mille is always exciting but gets even more impressive when the brand makes it in entirely new material. Grey Cermet, as it is called, is as light as titanium and yet almost as hard as a diamond. It took Richard Mille, working closely together with the IMI Group, years to develop this material. It consists of a metallic zirconium matrix with ceramic inserted in it. As these are very different elements, combining them in a single material was particularly challenging. Especially since the use of nickel and cobalt, often used to combine these materials in a homogeneous matter, was not an option as they wanted to conform themselves to the REACH Standards. This ensures safety in production and the use of chemicals in the European industry.

The Senator-collection of Glashütte Original is a line of refined classic timepieces, proud of its German pedigree. Made in the small town of Glashütte, near the historic city of Dresden, they represent in many ways the best that the brand has to offer. While this includes complicated pieces such as a perpetual calendar and tourbillon, it is the chronograph that sets the pace.

It is still interesting to see that the development of certain mechanical complications doesn't stop. A great example of this is the chronograph, where brands continue to find new ways to take it to the next level. 2019 was a year in which chronographs broke records and celebrated anniversaries, as it has been 50 years since the very first automatic chronographs hit the market. So no wonder that 2019 was a great year for chronographs.

If there is one thing that Van Cleef & Arpels excels in, it is in creating classic watches with a twist. Even this twist is often subtle but sets the watch apart from others. An excellent example of this is the legendary 'Pierre Arpels'-model, which is essentially a very classic wristwatch, yet by fitting it with Vendome-lugs, it obtained a timeless appeal that still lasts today. The same can be said of the Midnight Heure d'Ici & Heure d'Ailleurs, yet with this watch, the twist can not only be found in its design but also in its movement.

Hublot is the undisputed king of sapphire cased watches, and for several reasons. First of all, they can create sapphire in different colors, like blue and yellow. Creating sapphire cases, in general, is still not an easy task. The few brands that offer sapphire cased watches usually only make about two dozen of them or so in a limited edition. However, this type of watches is probably the only one where being able to produce them in 'volume' is more difficult than making just a few. Hublot also doesn't do that with just a single watch but offers an entire collection of sapphire cased watches, of which all have shapes that are complex to make. This also goes for the Big Bang Unico Magic Sapphire, which offers the clear advantage of sapphire, to Hublot's signature watch.

If there is one brand that has seawater running through its veins, it is Panerai. Throughout its history, the world's oceans where its playground, and even today this strong connection continues. For some years now, Panerai has put its money where its mouth is and sponsored the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. Here the world's oceangoing heritage, consisting of some of the most beautiful yachts ever conceived, still battle it out for the highest honor in challenging regattas.

A stroke of genius: sometimes there is not a better way to describe a certain creation, and one of the best examples of this in the world of watches is the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. It is the brainchild of watchmaking legend Kurt Klaus, who designed a very innovative perpetual calendar module to fit on top of the ETA/Valjoux caliber 7750 automatic chronograph. His design gave new meaning to the term ingenuity as his perpetual calendar not only included the year in full as well as a moon phase that only needed to be adjusted one day every 122 years, but it can also be set just by using the crown.

While the SIHH takes place in the Palexpo halls of Geneva, this is not the only place in the city where you can find the latest and greatest watches. In the downtown area, brands that are not officially part of the SIHH setup shop on boats and in the exclusives hotels near the lake. For them, Baselworld is often the main fair to introduce their new models, but that didn’t stop them to bring a few novelties to Geneva as well!

Military watches have always had a great appeal to collectors, especially when it concerns vintage examples. One of the most sought after pieces is the Breguet Type XX.

One of the first people to prominently wear a Richard Mille was Jean Todt. It was the beginning of a deep friendship between the charismatic watchmaker and the racing car legend. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jean Todt's illustrious career, Richard Mille created a collection of limited editions, and among them this beautiful RM 11-03 Jean Todt.

This month in Watches & Whisky: the Yamazaki 18 years old Single Malt, paired with one of the most beautiful Lange: the 1815 Chronograph!

No dial glistens quite like a mother of pearl. But it takes more than a beautiful dial to make a tempting watch, as these three brands understand all too well!

If there is one brand that understands the power of steel, it is Patek Philippe. They were one of the pioneering brands that made this robust metal precious. This has become somewhat of a legacy for the brand. Next to the Nautilus, also the Aquanaut has become a steel powerhouse for the brand. But it doesn't stop there, as the ref. 5960/1A testifies.

One of the most challenging complications to make is a chronograph. Hublot's UNICO is a prime example of how precision, robustness and user friendliness can be united in a single design, as we take a closer look at this benchmark movement.