Best Watch Design: Furlan Marri “Havana Salmon”

The brand was conceived by Andrea Furlan and Hamad Al Marri during the lockdown of 2020, and the watch was remarkably conceptualized, designed, tested and produced in the space of one year. This is truly a watch for everyone. Heavily influenced by the Patek Philippe chronograph reference 1463, complete with “Tasti Tondi” pushers and case finishing well beyond its modest price tag, the watch was available in five iterations, including the “Tasti Tondi” ref. 1011-A and the winner of this award, the Havana Salmon ref. 1031-A. The salmon and chocolate two-tone dial of the latter is beautifully executed, including applied hours with Roman numerals at 12 and six o’clock.

Ross Povey

Brand of the Year: Cartier

If Patek Philippe is the King of Complications and Rolex is the Ruler of the Sports Watch category, then Cartier has now irrefutably claimed its rightful throne as the Emperor of Élan, so unique and unassailable is its ownership of the shaped watch category. And this is all down to the man leading the maison, one Cyrille Vigneron. He explained to me earlier this year, “We got back on track once we understood that everything at Cartier including technical innovation must serve the needs of beauty. Once we are aligned in this understanding, once the Cartier was once again connected to this core philosophy, then everything worked again.”

Amazingly, Vigneron is the only CEO in the luxury watch world that is advocating for deconsumption. But that’s because he knows his timepieces are endowed with extraordinary “durability,” so timeless and perennial are their appeal. Vigneron is also a leader in advancing the ethics of the watch industry. Case in point is his launch of the aforementioned Tank Must SolarBeat, though he is quick to emphasize that the model has not lost an iota of its beauty by going green. He has also explained that Cartier watches today are entirely genderless; they are not a demonstration of gender but a sign of character. For all these reasons, Cartier is Revolution’s 2021 Brand of the Year.

Wei Koh

Person of the Year: Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani

Many people believed that thinness, as embodied by Bvlgari’s seven world records in the category, was the primary focus but that would be to misunderstand Buonamassa’s concept altogether. Instead, it is the revelation of a never-before-achieved dynamic contrast between aggressive, strong, immediately identifiable design codes, and an extraordinary elegance expressed by the thinness that creates the Octo Finissimo’s magic. Last year, the Octo Finissimo came full circle with the introduction of the “S” model that showed us what an all-steel, water resistant version of the watch would look like. The resulting timepiece is sold out everywhere. This year, Buonamassa added to his arsenal of extraordinary horological finery a double retrograde perpetual calendar model that is one of the most brilliantly and totally original watches featuring this complication.

Wei Koh

Revolutionary Watch of the Year: M.A.D. Edition 1

Yes, we saw the memes about Max creating an affordable watch which he only allocated to rich dudes. Which was hilarious and, yes, we laughed. But it was not totally accurate. For instance, this is the first watch that the vast majority of Max’s own team is able to wear and same for his collaborators and suppliers. It was created as a kind of thank you to them and, yes, to Max’s Tribe of collectors who were also allocated watches. But, no, the massive frustration and Internet breaking over subscription was not part of Max’s strategy with this watch. However, he has recognized there’s a whole hell of a lot of people out there that want one, and let’s just say he is figuring it out in the best way possible.

What I found remarkable about the M.A.D. 1 was, with it on my wrist during Geneva Watch Days, I felt like part of a community. There was no one you showed it to that didn’t smile because the watch was somehow tremendously uplifting and optimistic. It defined its own category of timepiece: part community symbol, part niche micro- brand, part mobile horological art and part totem. Perhaps more than anything, it is a symbol of love for horology, creativity, friendship and family — and that’s why it is so meaningful to all of us.

Wei Koh

Most Fun Watch: Louis Erard × Alain Silberstein “Le Triptyque”

Le Triptyque consolidates the young but cheerful and robust partnership between Louis Erard and French architect-turned-watch-designer Alain Silberstein. Their first great shared success, the 2019 Le Régulateur limited edition with 178 pieces per color, was sold out very quickly and became some of the most essential and enjoyable watches of 2019/2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alain Silberstein’s signature style is based on the most advanced stage of the Bauhaus culture of the first half of the 20th century, where minimalist, essential and functional forms were sporadically sprinkled with geometric shapes in yellow, blue and red. This definition of contours gave life and color to the much-loved and desired Alain Silberstein timepieces that the artist created in the 1990s and is the same one that he has given to the Louis Erard pieces that today share his signature. The success of the partnership between the brands was rooted in the absolute creative freedom Louis Erard granted Silberstein to “play” with the regulator-type watch. Silberstein had never designed a regulator-type watch; one with the hour, central minute and seconds indications separated into independent registers. That elementary starting point served as a launching pad to elevate Louis Erard’s status and remind the world of Silberstein’s genius.

The limited edition Triptyque series is composed of a regulator watch (Le Régulateur II), a monopusher chronograph (Le Chrono Monopoussoir), and a three-hand with date and day of the week (La Semaine) — each of these references is available in 178 pieces, of which there are 78 boxed sets that comprise all three watches. Collectors can be assured of serious watch cred because Le Chrono Monopoussoir is also a finalist in the Chronograph category of this year’s GPHG, while La Semaine is contending in the Men’s Watch category. The latter is quite a sight to behold, thanks to its unique presentation of the days of the week with cute, little faces, a feature that Silberstein debuted in his watches 30 years ago (long before the boom of emojis)! All three watches come in 40mm titanium cases, highlighted by sidebars that give the watch a tonneau profile and add an architectural touch. The case material is a combination of micro-blasted grade 2 titanium and polished grade 5 titanium. The dials combine the colorful and essential Silberstein shapes: the red triangle-shaped hour hand, the blue arrow minute hand and the adorable yellow squiggly seconds hand. All three timepieces are Sellita-powered with their respective calibers customized and fine-tuned by Louis Erard.

Israel Ortega

Best Concept: Cartier Tank Must “Solarbeat”

What Cartier has done is take one of their most classic forms, the Tank Must — originally a 1970s interpretation of the iconic century-old design by Louis Cartier — and powered it with a next-generation engine, the SolarBeat movement. It’s a brilliant move. It’s also a move very much in keeping with Cartier’s relationship to technical innovation; it has to serve the overall design of the watch rather than be innovation for innovation’s sake.

Make no mistake; the SolarBeat is an innovative watch. It’s quartz, but not as you know it. Instead of relying on power cells that need changing every few years, this Tank takes its power from cunningly conceived photovoltaic cells, which take the form of the Roman numerals and railroad track. Now, this is a smart implementation of technology. The new movement and the cells give the SolarBeat at least 16 years of autonomy, which is quite remarkable. On top of that, the watch is presented with non-leather straps, which have been made using apple scraps and other materials. In this way, the Tank Must SolarBeat is a reframing of the luxury watch as a truly sustainable object. In many ways, it has always been thus, especially with a model like the Tank, which never really goes out of style.

Felix Scholz

Most Uplifting Watch: Oris Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy”

Leave it to Oris not to release one smile-inducing watch, but a trio of them. Collectively called “Cotton Candy,” this delicious assortment is the soul-soothing saccharine hit many of us didn’t know we needed. I mean, honestly, what do you think the reaction to a full bronze retro diver with a lipstick pink dial would have been in 2018? Today, though, these divers aren’t just surviving; they’re thriving. The bronze case is bright and fun, the full bronze bracelet is a flex, and dials are, well, great. Whether you prefer sky blue, wild green or lipstick pink, the dials are incredible; not just the colors, which present a smooth, glossy expanse that would not look out of place in the window of a fine patisserie, but the clarity of the applied hour markers and how they synergize with the case, and how the whole ensemble appears under the domed sapphire crystal.

Felix Scholz

Best Jewelry Watch: Rolex Day-Date 36 Ref. 128158 RBR

This year’s Best Jewelry Watch award goes to the Rolex Day-Date 36 in yellow gold. The reference 128158 RBR is a true showcase for the pure brilliance of Rolex’s ability to go to town with embellishments, yet keeping it classy and almost discreet! So, just how much bling is on this thing? Let’s start with the case. The 36mm 18K yellow gold case is set with 254 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 2.52 carats) on the lugs, case sides and lug caps. Then there is the yellow gold bezel that is set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 1.36 carats).

Ross Povey

Best Limited Edition: Chopard L.U.C QF Jubilee

This is a seriously good-looking watch, and within it lies a beautiful movement. The 22-carat gold micro-rotor equipped L.U.C 96.09-L automatic movement, which is both COSC and Qualité Fleurier certified, is a mere 3.3mm thin with a 65-hour power reserve thanks to two barrels and is decorated with perlage, polished chamfers and Geneva stripes. All of this loveliness can be admired through the sapphire caseback which has the individual number engraved thereon.

Only when all five points of the validation criteria have been met can a watch be bestowed with the “FQF, la Haute Horlogerie certifiée.”

This watch marks 25 years since Karl-Friedrich Scheufele introduced the beautiful micro-rotor equipped caliber 1.96 that led to the founding of the L.U.C series, which showcase Chopard’s very finest watchmaking. We love this watch because of how simply and beautifully it has been executed when one considers the technical prowess of the maison. This self-restraint should be applauded, and so we did!

Ross Povey

Technical Breakthrough: Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer

A watchmaker of immense technical and mathematical talent, Lederer is a founding member of the AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants) whose career, in many ways, represents a long examination into the heart of a mechanical watch, from the gravity escapement in his first timepiece — a table clock with a 1,000-year perpetual calendar, sidereal time and high- accuracy moonphase — to the innovative tourbillons produced under BLU (Bernhard Lederer Universe). Based in St. Blaise near Neuchâtel, his company MHM (Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie et Micromécanique) has been a go-to specialist for movement construction and parts production for many esteemed brands.

Cheryl Chia & Ross Povey

Best Complication: De Bethune × Voutilainen “Kind of Magic”

This year, the two have come together not just to pay homage to their mentor, Charles Meylan, but also to give the world the horological gift that is the De Bethune × Voutilainen Kind Of Magic unique piece created for the 2021 Only Watch charity auction. Theirs is a timepiece that starts with the De Bethune Kind of Two as a platform, therein allowing each watchmaker a side of the watch to adorn with their own watchmaking language.

For all of these reasons and because it brings together two of our favorite living breathing master watchmakers, we could not think of a better timepiece to be awarded the title of 2021’s Best Complication.

Sumit Nag

Best Dress Watch: Patek Philippe Calatrava “Clous De Paris” Ref. 6119G

Well, the new reference 6119G and 6119R are proof positive that even when Patek makes a simple watch, it does so with acute sensitivity to detail, beauty in design and now an awesomeness in movement innovation that sets the brand in a class all to itself. These two new watches are named “Clous de Paris” as they both feature bezels with the famous engraved hobnail pattern, first seen in a Calatrava back in 1934 for the 96D (D for décor). From a design perspective, this new 39mm watch gets everything right. In particular, the white gold version with a slate gray dial and gold applied hour markers has to be one of the loveliest time-only watches in recent days that exemplifies sobriety.

But flip the watch over and revel in the new caliber 30-255 PS, which takes over from the caliber 215 PS. The previous manual wind movement was a diminutive 21.5mm in diameter and didn’t fill the case of a larger more modern watch. As such, Thierry Stern asked his team to create a larger movement but, importantly, one that was the same 2.55mm in thickness as the original movement to keep the watch wonderfully thin and elegant. The objective was 65 hours of power reserve.

For anyone after timelessness and elegance in a watch, look no further. It is for this reason and much more that we have awarded the Patek Philippe Calatrava “Clous de Paris” ref. 6119G the title of 2021’s Best Dress Watch.

Wei Koh

Lifetime Achievement Award: Alain Silberstein

This is the same way I felt when I saw Alain Silberstein’s HM2.2 collaboration with Max Büsser back in 2009, and it is the same way I felt when I saw Manuel Emch’s collaboration with Silberstein on the Louis Erard Le Régulateur last year, and again in 2021 on the limited edition trilogy of watches known as Le Triptyque. What I and the rest of the world realized is that Silberstein’s design language is one of the most significant voices in modern watchmaking history and that it feels as vibrant, relevant and cool as ever. Seated in the lobby of the Hotel Beau Rivage during Geneva Watch Days, I introduced Danny Govberg of Watchbox fame to Silberstein, and Govberg’s exact words were, “Wow, I’ve wanted to meet you for decades. I love your watches.”

At the same time, you have a whole new generation of young collectors that connect with the wonderful primal geometric design DNA of Silberstein, who seems to be gathering more momentum than ever. An architect by trade, in 1987, he rented a booth in Baselworld and changed the course of watchmaking history by injecting a freshness, modernity and relevance that the world had not yet experienced. These same qualities are vibrantly alive in everything that Silberstein touches today, from Louis Erard to his Utinam clock, the KB2! We couldn’t think of anyone that is a better personification of lifetime achievement than Alain Silberstein and, even better, we suspect his best work is yet to come.

Wei Koh

Best Collaboration: Bamford × Girard-Perregaux “The Casquette”

That’s certainly the case with the unique (literally) collaborative take on that avant-garde ’70s design, the Girard-Perregaux Casquette. Originally from an era when a digital watch costs more than a car, the Casquette featured a red LED display in a futuristic case that eschewed the conventions of watch design and placed the time in a screen-like readout. This year, Girard-Perregaux celebrates 230 years, and this oddball design, from a tumultuous and important era in watchmaking, is a great reminder that watchmaking history is more than marine chronometers and classic chronographs.

Felix Scholz

Best Ladies’ Watch: Chopard L.U.C Flying T Twin Ladies

The L.U.C caliber 96.24-L was initially launched in 2019. It features the Chopard Twin technology with two stacked barrels, micro-rotor and highly precise adjustments — particularly a 3.5Hz one-minute tourbillon with stop seconds function — and bears both the COSC certification and Poinçon de Genève. The caliber is a tour de force in the realms of chronometry and decoration, and even better, Chopard L.U.C has managed to pack all of this into a movement that measures a mere 27.4mm in diameter and 3.3mm in thickness.

This is why the maison is able to fit the movement into cases of more elegant proportions such as the aforementioned 35mm and 36.5mm instances. And while the 35mm L.U.C Flying T Twin Ladies is, as its name suggests, targeted more towards women who might appreciate the finer points of its technical excellence, the timepieces, given their size, also appeals to gentlemen with a penchant for wristwatches decorated with fine diamonds and mother-of-pearl dials. Particularly notable is the platinum version of the L.U.C Flying T Twin Ladies, with its 18K white gold dial entirely set with diamonds, as are the bezel, case middle, lugs and even the micro-rotor.

Sumit Nag

Best Sports Watch: Blancpain Air Command Flyback Chronograph

Enter the 2021 Air Command. It was as though Blancpain had listened to a recording of me complaining about the 2019 reissue to Alexa. The 2021 Air Command has natural colored Super-LumiNova. The comfort level is greatly enhanced with the satin-brushed grade 23 titanium case. The propeller rotor is out; instead, a well-thought- out, openworked oscillating weight in gold with snailed sunburst finishing is seen through the caseback. Throw in the striking sunburst blue dial and a matching bezel with blue ceramic insert, and we have a perfect sports watch. There is one minor wish for improvement — the current water resistance rating is 30 meters, which can be increased to 100 meters. To be fair, Audemars Piguet’s ref. 15200 (or 15500), the quintessential sports watch, is also only water resistant to 50 meters.

In the words of Don Draper of TV series Mad Men, “Make it simple, but significant.” That pretty much sums up why the Air Command deserves our Best Sports Watch award of 2021.

Bhanu Chopra