As December rolls by, we tend to sit and reflect on the year that was and ponder what the future holds. And as per Deployant tradition, we also like to look back on the watches that came to be this year. I, personally, have enjoyed the trend towards design-focused watches and the rise of smaller timepieces. I suspect it’s the result of my increasing age and experience in watch enthusiasm. My Christmas wishlist for this year reflects this shift in preference. They’re all fine watches and are therefore expensive, so I’m hoping Santa can dig into the coffers of the North Pole Sovereign Wealth Fund and get me at least one of these precious watches.
A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Jumping Seconds with pink gold dial
It doesn’t take a deity-like figure such as Santa to figure out that A. Lange & Söhne is my favourite watch brand as I’ve always been open about it. The brand has changed and evolved a fair bit in the past ten years – for better or worse – but it continues to make some of the finest watches out there. There have been no fewer than three honey gold novelties and other new models presented this year by the manufacturer but my heart belongs to the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds with pink gold dial. It’s an old model at this point but the new paint job is absolutely lovely. I’ve always been a sucker for the regulator dial models of the collection and now there’s one with one of my favourite dial colours. The white gold/black dial remains the best looking variation in my opinion but this ‘salmon’ dial iteration comes close to dethroning it. With a very atypical dial, backed by a mechanically fascinating movement, the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds with pink gold dial is this watch geek’s top Christmas wish.
Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription
The next watch that I’d like to find in my Christmas stocking is the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription. The Extra Plate Souscription was introduced in January this year but has remained seared in my mind ever since. It’s a simple hour/minute-only timepiece but it is a design masterclass. From the nuanced, double ellipse case to the ornately guilloched dial, and from the full yellow gold construction to the absolutely elegant proportions, the watch checks all my boxes. It is obviously classical yet commands attention. The fact that it is a tasteful tribute to the original Daniel Roth models from the 1990s is the icing on the cake. There will only ever be 20 pieces available but I’m sure Santa has the connections to land me one if he deems me good this year.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds
My third and final choice is yet another design-focused piece: the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds. The watch is almost entirely clad in pink gold, from the signature reversible case to its delicate Milanese bracelet. Even the dial, hands and hour markers are gilded. It’s not often at all that you see a Reverso on a factory bracelet. Once again, this is a simple, uncomplicated timepiece taken to the next level by a design-first philosophy. I like this Reverso simply because it is an elegant, shiny object of beauty. I get that its colour is more autumnal but if Santa would kindly indulge me this winter, I’d be ever so grateful.
Final Thoughts
It’s been yet another good year for fine watchmaking. Genuinely, there were so many watches to choose from for my wishlist, but the Richard Lange, Daniel Roth, and Reverso make the cut. Honourable mentions go to the Lange Minute Repeater Perpetual and Grand Seiko SLGW007 ‘Moonlit Birch’. But more important than luxury watches are our dear friends and family. Let us remember to spend time with them this holiday season (and anoint them with unsolicited wristwatch knowledge). From me and the Deployant team, to you our readers: merry Christmas and a happy new year.
