The year is coming to an end and, as such, it’s time to reflect a bit on the bounty of new watches we saw this year. As watch lovers, there’s a part of us that appreciates every watch that comes out — more watches is a good thing and means the industry and the hobby are chugging along. But we are also a group with very strong opinions, and inevitably some releases get panned and some get praised. The aBlogtoWatch team is no different, and this year we each had a few releases that stood out above the rest of the field. While it can be hard to choose a favorite out of the hundreds of watches released, here are our favorite watch releases of 2024.
Ariel Adams: Hublot MP-10 Tourbillon
Choosing any one watch as an absolute favorite for an entire year is really an unfair proposition for someone who works at a place like aBlogtoWatch, so I asked myself what wild and exotic high-end watch stuck in my mind the most as something I could dream about wearing? It is the Hublot MP-10 Tourbillon, which was released back in January 2024. What I like most about the Hublot MP-10 Tourbillon is its purity in direction and its novel form. This is not a timepiece that is inspired by anything aside from the imaginations of today’s micro-mechanical engineers in Switzerland who design timepiece movements. I distinctly recall the presentation for this watch, which included zero pomp and circumstance but rather a couple of engineering nerds trying their best to go through a technical PowerPoint presentation. A boring presentation is a good sign that a product has merit since it doesn’t require a lot of marketing fluff. It also means that only the most dedicated enthusiasts will dig into the details and ask themselves, “How does this work?” and, “What new ideas are in here for me to discover?” The resulting timepiece is so distinctive that you must appreciate it for what it is, rather than what it might remind you of.
Ripley Sellers: A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”
I always approach choosing my favorite watch release of the year by imagining the same hypothetical scenario: I’m given a blank check to buy any timepiece that debuted within the past twelve months, and the one stipulation is that I will never be allowed to sell it. As there were numerous grail-worthy watches launched in 2024, I found myself torn between several incredibly different offerings. However, when I think about what timepiece I would actually want to have in my personal collection forever, my top pick this year is the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” that debuted at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024.
Most of the other watches that were in the running for my favorite release of 2024 offer highly avant-garde appearances, although a significant portion of my fondness for these models is directly related to the novelty of their designs, and I’m not certain that I will feel quite the same way about them in another decades. On the other hand, nearly all A. Lange & Söhne watches offer fairly timeless appearances, and along with being impeccably finished, a big part of why I love the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is simply because it is outlandish enough to capture my imagination. Despite being a variation of an existing model, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is truly one of the standout releases of 2024, and it takes all of the most exclusive features from the German manufacturer’s catalog and combines them into one heavy-hitter timepiece with a price tag that is well over half a million dollars.
Jake Witkin: Breitling Chronomat B01 42 NFL Buffalo Bills Edition
The lifecycle of watch collecting is an odd one. It’s filled with equal amounts of wonder and obsession as it is with fatigue and jaded judgment. For 2024, the new release fatigue has been hitting hard. It has been a year of few genuinely new exciting concepts and plagued by new color this and new color that, and, of course, the never-ending one-upmanship. It’s getting a little stale, and I want to watch brands have fun again. So, for my favorite watch of the year, I have chosen the one I find fun. Most football fans in the U.S. can pick their own, but my favorite watch of the year is the Breitling Chronomat B01 42 NFL Buffalo Bills Edition. While limited, there are plenty of pieces out there for the fans who want it, and we’ve seen that the brand isn’t afraid to have fun and create products that are easy to enjoy. Is it the first watch I would buy if I was spending $9,200 USD? Probably not, but I wouldn’t say no to strapping it on to smash some tables in 15ºF weather during a Lake Effect snowstorm and eat chicken wings from Gabriel’s Gate with enough bleu cheese to make the visiting team sick, and that’s fun for me. Go Bills.
Mike Razak: Venezianico Redentore Bellanotte
I think when we consider what might be the best release of any given year, we’re often inclined toward complicated or in-your-face designs that are just as likely to cost $50,000 as they are $500,000, but year after year, the watches that seem to stick in my mind are much simpler. Last year it was a Spinnaker collab with Seconde/Seconde/ and the year before that it was a so-ugly-it’s-awesome Citizen Eco-Drive diver, both priced right around $500. This year, a similarly affordable watch stole my heart: the Venezianico Redentore Bellanotte. It turns out that I’m a sucker for an offset dial (the Glashütte Original Panomaticlunar and the Armin Strom Tribute remain favorites), and the layering of mother-of-pearl, aventurine, and rhodium-plated architectural pieces is stunning and belies the $700 price tag. The watch was representative for me, too. First, of the time I spent studying abroad in Italy well over a decade ago, but more saliently of the erosion of high-end brands’ monopoly on once-expensive complications and artistic dials. Along with a number of other watches, the Redentore Bellanotte is proof of a more accessible watch market where you don’t need to spend six or even five figures to get a stunning timepiece.
David Bredan: Seven “Incredibly Specialized” Seiko Watches
Bar none, the most wholesome, fun, and exciting watch releases for me were these seven “Incredibly Specialized” Seiko watches that you probably either haven’t seen or already forgotten about. Well, let me remind you, because these are worth remembering. Launched as part of Seiko’s “Power Design Project” where a theme — this time, tool watches — is set and Seiko team members, engineers, designers, and watchmakers are invited to let their imagination run free to find the best solution. For 2024, each of the seven concepts were so focused on a single and indeed “incredibly specialized” function that they all became more or less useless as a regular watch. Seiko’s approach to this project, the absolutely remarkable timepieces and the presentations done by their respective designers were something that leaves me impressed, charmed, and positively baffled almost an entire year later.
Sean Lorentzen: TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
Despite the fact that 2024 was packed with fascinating releases, when the time came to choose my overall favorite for the year, my winner gets in on a technicality. Yes, the prototype of the TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph was originally presented for the controversy-shadowed Only Watch 2023, but the production model makes several major changes (plus, people can actually buy them). It may have taken the famously chronograph-centric brand far too long to release a commercially available rattrapante, but the results are nothing short of spectacular. It’s a fitting halo piece for the brand, and the first properly futuristic-feeling Monaco in decades. For a nameplate as rooted in avant-garde design and mechanical innovation as the Monaco, this is a massive step forward.
Ed Rhee: Piaget Polo 79
My vote for best watch release this year is the Piaget Polo 79, in all of its golden, gadrooned glory. The integrated case trend is a bit long in the tooth at this point, but the Polo 79 is an easy exception with its opulent solid-gold construction highlighting the aforementioned gadroons — the horizontal decorative edges — adorning the entire watch. The finishes alternate between polish and satin, giving the watch a luxurious depth, as if the full solid 18-karat yellow gold treatment wasn’t enough. Along with its svelte 2.35mm thick 1200P1 micro-rotor movement, the Piaget Polo 79 weighs in at a hefty 200 grams that’s as fabulous in the metal as it is in photos.
Let us know what your favorite release was from 2024 — and what you’re looking forward to in 2025!