Before Watches & Wonders 2023, Louis Vuitton, Breitling, and Girard-Perregaux all unveiled spectacular new watches, and Omega and Swatch’s MoonSwatch set numerous global cities ablaze.
The final Chinese emperor’s Patek Philippe watch was unveiled by Phillips Auction House, while Hublot named Daniel Arsham as its new ambassador.
In the interim, watch heads have had enough to talk about as the countdown to Watches & Wonders becomes louder and louder.
Omega and Swatch just unveiled a new MoonSwatch, Louis Vuitton created a tribute to Chinese opera, H. Moser & Cie is bringing the future to us with a QR Code watch, and Philips recently helped a Patek Philippe that belonged to the last Qing emperor appear.
Here are some of our favorite watch-related moments from March 2023. This month saw a rise in brand collaboration, as evidenced by the new MoonSwatch that Omega and Swatch released, the alliance between Girard-Perregeaux and Aston Martin, and the appointment of Daniel Arsham as Hublot’s newest ambassador.
A MoonSwatch with a gold seconds hand that was created under a full moon and comes with a certificate to verify it was made just when we believed the commotion surrounding the MoonSwatch had finally subsided (or never truly went away). Fans and buyers stood in line for hours on March 7 in the places where the watch was sold, which is a laughable response to say the least.
Meanwhile, Hublot announced on March 6 that Daniel Arsham had joined the brand’s growing roster of ambassadors. The artist has frequently explored the concept of time in his work, and as part of the collaboration it was announced he would unveil an installation called Light & Time – a temporary 20 metre sundial near Swiss mountain resort Zermatt using the Matterhorn as a backdrop.
On March 15, Girard Perregeaux announced its collaboration with Aston Martin to bring an all-ceramic British racing green watch to the Laureato collection in two sizes – 38mm and 42mm – for a limited edition run. The ceramic construction is seven times harder than steel, is not affected by ambient temperature changes, and boasts colour that will not fade over time. The pieces come in at US$25,000 for each of the 188 pieces for the 38mm, whilst the 42mm version is limited to 388 pieces and comes in at US$25,800.
