2024 IN CONCLUSION

This year brought a truly diverse selection of timepieces, for which we applaud the committee. It also demonstrates the challenges that watch brands today face: consumers expect creativity, craftsmanship, and timekeeping inventiveness and excellence. That demands a lot, especially from young watchmakers starting on their brand-building; to make a single success is far less challenging than the consistency audiences expect today. “Aiguille d'Or” Grand Prix IWC’s “The Golden Needle” win this year was practically a shoo-in and a given. The Portugieser Eternal Calendar, which has a secular perpetual calendar that accounts for the centennial leap days, along with a moonphase display that is accurate to 45 million years, emphasises the longevity of mechanical watchmaking. The refreshed design by Christian Knoop is equally spectacular, giving the entire collection a captivating visual…