For the first time since its redesign in 2016, Piaget has added a mechanical perpetual calendar to its beloved Polo collection.

Piaget’s history dates back nearly 150 years, beginning as a movement maker and later producing its own watches around the time of the Second World War. Yet, that proficiency in crafting superior movements never faded, and by the mid-century, Piaget had established itself as the leader in ultra-thin calibres with the launch of the manually wound calibre 9P (just 2mm tall) in 1957 followed by the automatic 12P (2.3mm) in 1960, which marked the thinnest automatic movement in the world at the time. However, with these ultra-thin movements, the focus remained largely on time-only watches until the 1980s when the brand made a clear shift to producing high-end complications with watches like the Perpetual Calendar Ref. 15958.

Today, Piaget applies its expertise to its most iconic collection: the Polo. Building on its innovative 12P movement, Piaget’s new 1255P ultra-thin calibre (4mm) offers the benefit of a Perpetual Calendar with moon-phase mechanism. The result is the Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin with highly wearable proportions, thanks to a 42mm case measuring just 8.65mm thick.

Function and form come together in perfect harmony with the Polo Perpetual Calendar’s striking dark emerald-green dial with a gadroon pattern that provides depth and gorgeous play with light. This colour palette provides the perfect canvas for the complications to shine in four symmetrical subdials, which incorporate several finishes in the Piaget tradition. The model is complete with the option of a rubber strap or bracelet, both of which echo the gadroon pattern on the dial. As an added bonus, the model showcases a brand-new interchangeable SingleTouch system for the bracelet so you can easily change out the straps.

The all-new Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin will be available in September. For more details and pricing, please visit the Piaget website.

Getting ahead of the onslaught of watch releases slated to hit at the end of next month with the annual Watches & Wonders show in Geneva, Switzerland, Audemars Piguet just announced a slew of new Royal Oak models to whet collectors appetites. And there are some serious heavy hitters.

The highlights? An 18-karat gold model with a turquoise dial (to join its top competitors in the lucrative trend), an 18-karat white gold “Jumbo” Extra-Thin sporting a handsome new blue-grained dial and a Selfwinding Chronograph in black ceramic (the brand’s other iterations of Royal Oak’s in the material have famously done well in the secondary market).

But how will you get your hands on one? Unless you are already at the top of AP’s VIP list, it can only be done with deep pockets and plenty of finagling and campaigning, no doubt. For those that cannot get the blessing of buying these five-figure timepieces at retail, the good news is the company just announced that it will be launching its own certified pre-owned company by the end of the year. Happy hunting.

Royal Oak Selfwinding with Turquoise Dial

How do you keep pace with your competitors (Patek Philippe and Rolex) when they are making headlines with turquoise dial steel sports watch models that are commanding a markup of 6 times the original retail price (Rolex) to a whopping 57 times original retail (Patek Philippe) in the secondary market? You drop a solid 18-karat yellow-gold sports watch with a dial made of literal turquoise (the stone, not just the colour). It is equipped with the latest selfwinding hour, minute, seconds and date calibre, the 5900, introduced just last year. In addition, this marks the first time a 37 mm Royal Oak has been in yellow gold since 2018 and each dial is unique due to the different machining and finishing techniques required to accommodate the natural composition of each stone. And speaking of the size, it makes for a rather attractive proposition as it can be worn by all genders, and for slimmer wrists, it’s just large enough to compliment an aesthetic that is already meant to garner a room full of looks. It’s a vibe.

Price: approx $86,000

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in Black Ceramic

This is the first Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in 42 mm to be housed in an all-black ceramic case. The case and bracelet material has been massively popular in other models, most recently the Audemars Piguet Black Ceramic Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph and the Royal Oak Selfwinding Carolina Bucci Limited Edition. The black ceramic case and bracelet along with the black Petite Tapisserie dial, previously exclusive to 26238 references in gold or titanium, offers a striking monochrome look while the white markers and 18-karat white-gold bezel screws offer a sharp contrast that is both aesthetically appealing and functional for legibility. The hour and minute hands, small seconds at 6 o’clock, chronograph minutes at 9 o’clock and chronograph hours at 12 o’clock are outfitted with lume for an extra layer of visibility by night. The piece is powered by the 4404 calibre, an in-house integrated chronograph movement featuring a column wheel construction with a flyback function. Unlike its traditional counterparts, this chronograph can be restarted without having to first stop and reset it. For a discreet pop of colour, a 22-carat pink-gold oscillating weight engraved with the AP initials can be seen through the sapphire crystal caseback. If you are looking to exude stealth baller status, this piece may be for you.

Price: approx $120,000

Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin with Blue-Grained Dial

As seen above, a simple dial change can make a big difference. Here, the coveted “Jumbo” Extra-Thin model received a boost with a handsome blue-grained dial. The decor is inspired by a 1992 model created for the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak collection. The dial texture was achieved by using a blue-tone PVD with a translucent coating using a finer and brighter grain that pops more significantly in the light. Not surprisingly, this 39 mm by 8.1 mm 18-karat white gold update is a limited edition, which means it will be even harder to get retail than other Royal Oaks. Housing the latest ultra-thin 7121 movement introduced last January with an 18-carat pink-gold rotor visible through the caseback, we think it’s worth the fight.

Price: approx $110,000

Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in Black Ceramic and Yellow Gold

Another Royal Oak Offshore to receive the black ceramic treatment was elevated a touch further by adding 18-karat yellow gold for a striking two-tone combo. The Offshore line is celebrating its 30th anniversary, so you can expect more hits from this particular collection throughout the year. At 43 mm, this is a heftier timepiece and to match its more sizeable presence, this iteration comes with a Méga Tapisserie decorated dial (larger squares in the waffle pattern).

The yellow gold flourishes extend to the caseback where it frames the sapphire crystal revealing the 4401 flyback chronograph movement in a column wheel with a vertical clutch construction. As with the black ceramic offshore above, it also offers the wearer the ability to start, stop and restart the chronograph in one action. The hands start and stop without the sense that the hands are jumping forward making for a smoother transition. The patented zero resetting mechanism allows the counter hands to instantly reset to zero.

Whether you will be timing anything other than how fast it takes someone to notice your wrist candy, however, remains to be seen.

Price: approx $85,000

Selfwinding 34 mm and 37 mm and Selfwinding Chronograph in Blue Smoked Dials

There is nothing wildly different in the trio of 18-karat white gold Selfwinding models released save for small nuances that may sway a customer between the brand’s various offerings. Without having seen these pieces IRL just yet, the smoked blue dial is a deeper, moodier hue than previous iterations in steel featuring a Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 dial. Those models also came with diamonds on the bezel, but the distinction in dial colour here is likely to accentuate the fact that these are the more elevated purchase due to the white gold casing. The midnight-looking hue is achieved through PVD, while the smokey effect is executed by spraying coloured varnish onto the dial’s periphery while the dial is rotating. It has a nice effect on the Tapisserie dial that is surely more striking in person.

Savvy insiders will be able to distinguish that your Royal Oak is a cut above the rest thanks to this regal new hue distinction.

Price: Price Upon Request

Winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona is a great way to cop a Daytona, the grail watch of the decade. Technically, it would only take you 24 hours compared to the legendary 10-year-plus wait lists at retail. But it won’t be easy.

First, you need to be in almost superhuman physical and mental condition, so your body can withstand the steady punishment of G-force pressure over a sustained period, driving at speeds up to 200 mph. You’ll need a supercar with an engine built to withstand 24 straight hours of abuse. Plus, several sets of spare tires and a pit crew of up to a dozen technicians, mechanics and data crunchers. And you’ll need the courage of a gladiator.

Twenty awe-inspiring drivers from four teams accomplished all of those things over the weekend at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The race was extra thrilling this year because it debuted a new class of cars, the Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh), the fastest entries in this year’s 61-car grid. The top performers in the new class were Acuras and Cadillacs, and they were a sight to see. The winning LMDh team, led by driver Tom Blomqvist, took the trophy in car number #60, an Acura ARX-06 by Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian.

“This race is so special and that’s mainly because of the watch,” says Blomqvist, who started and finished the race. “Ask any driver and they will say it’s the dream to win a Daytona. I have to thank my team; they have done a phenomenal job with this new car and were so good with our strategy, staying calm and relaxed throughout. The feeling on the last lap was incredible, nothing beats it.”

As someone who has seen races on TV, I have to say there is nothing like experiencing the action live. I had the privilege of watching the race in person over the weekend as a guest of Rolex. You have to be on the grounds to really get a sense of the energy at the Daytona International Speedway. You hear the constant thunderous drone of the engines (in fact, you can hear them blocks away), and you physically feel the vibration as 61 cars come flying past on a straightaway at 200 mph. The adrenalin is palpable and contagious. On the first day of the race, my heart pounded every time the cars roared past (as it did when I did a hot lap before the race started).

Sharing a space with a room full of gearheads in the Rolex suite, they eagerly explained how the cars, engines and track protocols work—there is so much more to it than just driving around in circles all day and trying not to get killed. The auto writers were excited to check out how the new LMDh class cars would perform, and even I could see how impressive they were.

“The new LMDh class is both a technological and an aesthetic achievement,” Kyle Hyatt of Jalopnik told me during the race, “but it’s too early to say whether it will usher in a new era in the sport. The complexity of the cars with their new hybrid systems will mean some teething issues for the manufacturers, as we saw this weekend [one of the hybrid batteries failed late in the race], but once things are sorted out, it should be very exciting.”

I also gained insight from legendary American race car driver Hurley Haywood, who was available for a quick chat pre-race. Hurley, who is now retired, has five Rolex 24 At Daytona victories under his belt: 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1991. When asked about the new LMDh cars, Hurley said he was astonished by how high-tech they are: “The prototypes have a very unusual and complicated system, like a spaceship ready to take off. The steering wheel has 30 buttons, and the drivers have a 30-page manual that they have to memorise to make sure they push the right button at the right time. When I was racing, we had three lights, and if any of those three lights came on we knew we had a problem and we had to stop and figure it out. Now you’ve got 30 lights, all in different colours, as well as commands coming from the pits. Guys that are good on video games are where the next generation of drivers are going to come from. They can assimilate all that information very quickly and then make the right move.”

“I don’t think I could drive one of these cars,” he added. “When you’re driving, you have to concentrate 100 percent all the time on driving. Now you’ve got that same condition, plus you’ve got the commands from the pits, so that concentration is interrupted. When I was in the car, it was: don’t talk to me unless I’m on fire, or unless something really bad is happening.”

The winners in the other three car classes were:

– Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2): the #55 Proton Competition Oreca LMP2-07 Gibson securing victory by a remarkable 0.016 seconds.

– Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3): the #17 AWA Duqueine D08-VK, which led for the closing two hours.

– Grand Touring Daytona (GTD): the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 prevailed in GTD Pro, while the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 raced to their first GTD class win.

The History of the Rolex Daytona Race

Rolex has been associated with the sport since the beginning, bringing the cachet of the world’s most coveted watch to the speedway. Between 1903 and 1959, the races took place on the actual beach, on a hard-packed stretch of sand just above the surf—cars would often skid into the water on some of the turns. Anyone could enter the races, and legend has it that a number of the best drivers had been involved in contraband alcohol traditionally distilled in the Appalachian mountains in the southeastern United States, so they were well practiced in evading the federal agents who regularly chased after them.

When Sir Malcolm Campbell broke his own speed record on the beach in 1935, he had a Rolex Oyster strapped to his wrist. Dan Gurney, the champion who started the champagne-spraying tradition among winners, wore a Rolex Datejust when he won the first Daytona Continental (as it was called back then), in 1962.

By 1963, the Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6239 joined the action, a year after Rolex made its Daytona racing sponsorship official (this year’s prize was a two-tone Ref. 116503). The watch was originally introduced as the Cosmograph, but the Daytona signature was added a year later to commemorate Rolex’s official sponsorship role in 1964. By then, the action had regrouped at the new hard-surface racetrack. With urban development and the deterioration of the sand, beach racing had come to an end in the mid-1950s, and the new Daytona International Speedway took its place in 1959.

Driver Tom Kristensen, who holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, (also sponsored by Rolex) once said: “Ask anyone in the motorsports world to name a watch and the first to be mentioned is bound to be the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. It has a history and class around it that everyone trying to aim for the top in motor sport understands and respects. Motorsport is all about getting the best out of your machine through optimisation and technology, and anyone who is interested in that is also interested in mechanical watches.”

The Daytona has evolved over the years with continual upgrades, including new movements, stronger materials and minor design tweaks that improved yet preserved the original look. Here’s a brief timeline:

1963: Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239

The first Daytona, Ref. 6239, was introduced under the name Cosmograph, Rolex’s first chronograph with contrasting subdials, and the first to have a tachymeter scale engraved on the metal bezel rather than printed on the dial.

1964: Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239

The “Daytona” signature was introduced to commemorate Rolex’s sponsorship of the motor race at Daytona Beach. Models produced over the next few years can be dated according to the placement of the logo: From 1964 to 1967, “Daytona” was placed at 12 o’clock under the word “Cosmograph.” From 1967 onwards, it was placed above the subdial at 6 o’clock.

1988: Rolex Daytona Ref. 16520

The Ref. 16520 was the first Daytona fitted with an automatic movement, the Rolex calibre 4030, based on the Zenith Calibre 4030.

2000: Rolex Calibre 4130

An in-house movement, calibre 4130 was added to the model in 2000’s Ref. 116520. The 4130 is a high-performance chronograph movement with a vertical clutch and a Parachrom balance spring, resulting in better amplitude and greater accuracy.

2016: Rolex Daytona With a Cerachrom Bezel

A milestone year for the Daytona, with the introduction of what is widely referred to as the perfect combination of elements: a steel case with a black Cerachrom bezel and the automatic calibre 4130.

2017: Rolex Daytona With an Oysterflex Strap

Rolex introduced the gold Daytona on an Oysterflex rubber strap in 2017. As the first in the series to be produced in precious metal with a rubber strap and Cerachrom bezel, this is also destined to become a collector’s favourite.

Japan’s original wristwatch has been upgraded for modern wear.

Launched in 1913, Seiko’s Laurel timepiece took the horological industry by storm because it stood out from the pocket watches that dominated the scene at the time. The piece was designed by the company’s founder, Kintaro Hattori, and is considered the first Japanese wristwatch, although its movement was designed for small pocket watches. Grand Seiko is now offering a special-edition version of the model in celebration of its 110th anniversary.

Dubbed the Seiko Watchmaking 110th Anniversary Limited Edition, the reimagined watch has a striking vintage profile. The Ref. SBGW295 is set in a 38 mm case that, in a concession to advances in materials technology, is crafted from brilliant hard titanium. (The material results in a lightweight case that’s resistant to corrosion and scratches.) A closer look reveals its curved, urushi-lacquered dial topped with gold maki-e hour markers. The minute and seconds hands are also curved down towards the dial by hand to enhance legibility.

Urushi lacquer is synonymous with traditional Japanese craft and can be traced back to Japan’s Jomon Period (13,100 BCE-400 BCE). The lacquer used for the watch has been exclusively sourced in Japan, which is rare: most urushi is produced abroad. To achieve the 110th Anniversary watch’s jet-black dial colour, Grand Seiko added iron to the lacquer which was further enhanced through a special treatment to prevent the colour from changing over time.

The maki-e hour markers, meanwhile, were brought to life by urushi master Isshu Tamura. His process included stacking layers of lacquer on top of one to create both the markers and the Grand Seiko brand mark at 12 o’clock to create a 3-D look. Then, 24-karat gold power was then applied on top of those elements and polished with special tools.

Beyond its good looks, the 110th Anniversary Limited Edition watch also houses a hardworking movement. Equipped with the manually wound calibre 9S64, the timepiece maintains an accuracy equivalent to +5 to -3 seconds per day. It also has a frequency of 28,880 vph and achieves a power reserve of 72 hours. You can view the movement through the model’s openwork case back.

You’ll be able to switch up the look by changing the straps that come with the watch. The first incorporates a traditional Japanese weaving technique called yoroiori that was used for making samurai armour. The second option is crafted from leather sourced for its softness, texture and comfort.

Limited to just 500 pieces, the Seiko Watchmaking 110th Anniversary Limited Edition watch will be available next month for approx $18,000. Visit the Grand Seiko website for more details.