Watches And Wonders 2024: A Show Of Range

In the second instalment of our report on Watches and Wonders the horological trade fair took place in Geneva in April we highlight standout new releases from 10 brands, ranging from stealthy tool watches to statement pieces you couldn't miss, even if you tried.

- LYNETTE KOH, STEPHANIE IP AND JON WALL

HUBLOT

Hublot presented eight novelties at the show, from a Spirit of Big Bang Carbon Blue Great China Limited Edition to the unusually restrained 38mm Big Bang Integrated Time Only, which returns in a pair of two models, one in black and the other in blue. For many, the most eye-catching new releases are likely to be the Big Bang MP-11 Water Blue Sapphire and the equally transparent Spirit of Big Bang Sang Bleu Sapphire, both of which illustrate the brand's increasing use of - and confidence with - a material that's extremely difficult to work with.

The former, which comes in a massive 45mm see-through case of delicate blue (the colour is achieved via a special chemical process), features Hublot's HP-11 seven-barrel movement that gives the watch a staggering power reserve of two weeks. A 50-piece limited edition, the watch is supplied on a matching rubber strap with a titanium deployant clasp - and for those worried about this pristine case being scratched, Hublot says it's "resistant to knocks and scratches".

Likewise, much of the same properties apply to the 42mm Spirit of Big Bang Sang Bleu Sapphire, only this time the transparent case is pigment-free. A further collaboration with the Swiss tattoo artist Maxime PlesciaBüchi, the watch is said to be the result of eight years of research and wears as if "tattooed on the wrist, combining intensity and softness, strength and subtlety".

PIAGET

Piaget marks its 150th anniversary this year, a milestone for which the maison's celebrations began in February with the stunning re-edition of the all-gold Piaget Polo, a cult watch from the '70s that has now been reborn as the Piaget Polo 79. It was, as we mentioned when we first wrote about the watch, a sign of great things to come from the brand. And at Watches and Wonders, we weren't disappointed.