This week, we turn our attention to watch icons which have been reworked and reissued. Most are faithful to the originals, but many sport interesting new features. Here is our selection of six which captured our imagination.
Six reworked watch icons which captured our imagination
Icons. A thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration. There are many in our industry. And some maisons have more than their fare share. We can rattle off almost any watch in Rolex’s steel sports watch collection, and that would make the list. That is why Rolex is the no. 1 watchmaker in the world. And most of the major maisons have candidates. Here are six which captured our imagination.
As usual, we list these in no particular order. And the intent is not a ranking of my kind, but purely for entertainment and fodder for discussion.
Piaget Polo 79
We kick off the list with the Piaget Polo 79. This is a reincarnation of the classic Piaget Polo Ref. 7761 C701. The concept remains the same. A luxurious gold watch with sporty aspirations, but intended for the gentry. And one with a very strong visual identity.
Released this year, the new Polo 79 is almost identical to the first. But there are subtle differences. Gone is the unusual position of the crown on the case back, now relocated to the conventional placement at 3 o’clock. And while the rest of the design language and architecture refers to the same blueprint, the case size is enlarged from 34mm to 38mm. The proportions are retained so well that without the vintage and new watch side by side, it is hard to tell that the new case is larger. The movement is also renewed, and in place of the quartz ultra thin Cal. 7P, the new watch now features an automatic movement Cal. 1200PI.
Pricing is high though, with the Polo 79 pitched at SGD 106k. But this is pretty much in line with the full gold Vacheron Constantin 222 which is also a revived watch, albeit from 2022.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
Not strictly a rework of an old model, but one which has sprouted out from an older collection series. The new Eternal Calendar is a new branch of the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar, which itself is part of the entire Portugieser collection receiving a refresh this year. The Eternal Calendar is the flagship of the series, and boasts of significant improvements over the basic perpetual calendar, if ever such a wonderful mechanical complication can ever be called basic.
The Portugieser Eternal Calendar starts off one upping the “basic” perpetual calendar with the secular calendar. The standard perpetual calendar keeps the days, months, leap years, but will require an adjustment once every 400 years, due to the over-under correction mechanism of the Gregorian calendar system. The secular calendar does not need a calibration for 4000 years. So the secular calendar is already quite an achievement, but for IWC, this is not enough. It is not a new complication or accuracy record. Patek Philippe have one in their caliber 89 pocket watch, the Frank Muller with the Aeternitas Mega 4, and interestingly Furlan Mari x Domique Renaud x Julien Tixier with their entry into the 2023 Only Watch. Quite impressive company. So to seal the deal, IWC made their moon phase display accurate to 1 day in 45 million years. This is a new record, handily beating the one held by Andreas Strehler which stood at 1 day in 2 million years.
And this technical virtuosity is achieved in addition to the already beautiful aesthetics of the Portugieser. The new Eternal Calendar is blessed with sapphire glass dials, which make the watch look even more beautiful. And at CHF 150k, can be considered to be a reasonable value for money.
Louis Vuitton Tambour
Here is a revamp which is so subtle and elegant that unless you know what you are looking for, you will think this is the old watch. Louis Vuitton reinvents the Tambour, and introduces the Tambour. Even the name remain unchanged. But the new watch brings with it an unprecedented level of finesse to every element of the watch. While it still bears the signature drum-shaped case design, but the new Tambour is hardly akin to its predecessors. And gains LV an entry the arena of the sporty luxury watch with integrated bracelet. A highly lucrative sediment with ferocious competition. A late entry perhaps, but better than never.
It has the makings of a new icon. The powerful Louis Vuitton branding, the serious watchmaking fronted by La Fabrique du Temps, and crucially, the masterful watch design. Look at the watch. It just looks beautiful. The case, the dial, the bracelet all elegantly melds into each other. Not to mention the treatment one gets when one asks to view the collection at the Louis Vuitton boutique. One is whisked into a private room, and a specialist brings the watches to show. Gloved hand and all. And a celebratory bottle of champagne with the purchase. Good vibes all over.
Our favourite is the monochromatic all grey version in steel. Retails at a rather competitive SGD 28k.
Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGW 003
Of course Seiko and Grand Seiko are no strangers to the imagination game. They have many candidates who qualify for this genre, with many derivatives of their iconic 44GS in 1967. Here we see yet a new interpretation. The dial uses a bark motif which first seen on the SBGZ009 from 2023 (and also the SLGH005 which also carries the 9SA5 movement – a very similar movement to the review watch, but with automatic winding), with key differences. The SGBZ009 (and SLGH005) had a grain which runs vertically, but the SLGW003’s grain run horizontally. A first for GS, which surprisingly delivers a huge aesthetic impact, even though this change is quite subtle.
This is the first time the bark pattern is represented with horizontal grain, instead of vertical. And the former watches with the bark motif carry the pattern over to the case, the novelty has a more standard finishing of polished and brushed surfaces on its case. Also, the SGGZ009 carried a much more lavish Micro Artist Studio hand wound Spring Drive movement and corresponding higher pricing, whereas the SLGW 003 runs a high beat 36,000 bps hand wound movement.
The movement is a reconstruction of the 9SA5 high beat automatic movement first released in 2020. The 9SC5 in last year’s Tentagraph is also a development over the same base 9SA5 movement. The movement carries the GS innovations of the Dual Impulse Escapement, a free-sprung balance running a hairspring with overcoil, and the horizontal gear train.
Our choice of the bright hard titanium version, pictured above which retails for just a tad below EUR 11k.
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse Ref. 5738/1R
And the grande dame herself. A recreation of the original Golden Ellipse which was released in 1968 (Ref. 3548, manual wound), the theme behind the Golden Ellipse is to have an elliptical case with dimensions that respects the golden ratio. The icon saw many updates, and the current version was released in 2018 for the 50th anniversary with an alligator strap (Ref. 5738R). For 2024, the watch receives a new, soldered on gold bracelet.
This is an iconic watch, if ever there was one. From the magnificently beautiful aesthetics suggested by the proportions of the golden ratio, to the elegance of the thin case, the superbly integrated bracelet. Of course, the movement is no slouch. The Golden Ellipse is equipped with no less than the Cal. 240 which is finished to the exacting requirements of the Patek Philippe Seal. This is one workhorse movement which remains very attractive and sets a high standard for finishing.
Pricing is admittedly steep at SGD 87k, a premium of some SGD 34k for the bracelet. But to us, who have seen and tried the Ref. 5738/1R on the wrist, it is certainly worth every pretty penny. And if the bank manager is not cooperative, the alligator strap version will suit nicely too.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin 16202ST
Audemars Piguet’s 2022 release of the 16202ST Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin that looks pretty much identical to the previous 15202ST. Almost, but not quite. The 16202ST is 0.1mm thinner than the 15202ST. And everything remains pretty much the same. The case design, the octagonal bezel with exposed screws, the petit tapisserie dial, with the simple time only hand layout. All tweaked subtlety, but yet remain much the same. In this case, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the oak tree. The watch remains pretty much similar to the original Royal Oak Ref. 5402ST which created a whole new genre in the watchmaking world way back in 1972. The Royal Oak has of course seen numerous relaunches with reworks, and our vote goes to its latest iteration 16202ST which retain almost all the DNA of the original.
But what we cannot see from a casual look is the movement. Even compared to the caliber 2121 in its immediate predecessor, the caliber 7121 is technically superior. It runs at higher beat rate of 28,800 bph and longer power reserve of 55 hours. The movement is fitted with an anniversary rotor and best of all, it retails at the same price as before at SGD 53k. And good value or not, unless one is connected to the AP boutiques, securing one is a tall order.
Concluding thoughts
So here are our icons. What are your iconic watches from the past. Have they been breathed a new lease of life and now available new again?
