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Readers' Choice is one of the most important titles in the Square Mile Watch Awards because, unlike the other categories that are presided over by our panel of industry experts, it's dictated by the views of you lovely lot, our dear readers and subscribers.
It's an award that any watch brand should wear proudly – a true sign that it has carefully listened to the whims and desires of the populace, and successfully created a watch that aligns with these interests.
We have to level with you, though, the judging for the 2024 Readers' Choice award might just be as hot as it has ever been, with a whole host of show-stopping efforts from the biggest hitters in the game.
So, pay attention, brew yourself a strong cup of coffee, and cast your eye over this year's shortlist. In the spirit of being helpful, we've provided a brief summary for each entry to provide some context, but ultimately this is all about your opinion, not ours.
With that being said, let's get down to it…
Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked in Sand Gold
It’s difficult to pick a favourite from Audemars Piguet’s 2024 spring novelties. The John Mayer Royal Oak special is certainly in with a shout – its embossed crystal sky dial is a real eyecatcher. And if you’re a Code 11.59 fan, then you’ll be loving the seven – yes, seven – new models in fan-favourite pink gold. But for us, the real gold medal has to go to the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked.
And by gold, we mean ‘Sand Gold’. AP has literally created a new alloy for its latest edition. By swapping the silver for palladium, white gold is converted to an galvanic grey-pink ‘Sand Gold’, the colour of which fluctuates depending on the angle and light.
To complement the new case and bracelet, AP also developed a matching sand-gold hue for the openworked bridges and mainplate of its handsome Calibre 2972.
The interplay between this new finish and the rhodium-toned components of the movement’s inner workings results in one of the most effective openworked set-ups of any watch out there.
Breguet
Type XX Chronograph in gold and ceramic
The new Type XX, debuted last year for the 70th anniversary of the collection, saw the successful reprisal of one of the most emblematic pilots’ watch designs in history. Now, Breguet is rolling out another addition of its flyback chronograph in the shape of a very handsome 18k rose gold number with a contrasting blue dial and bezel.
The original Breguet Type 20 was a two-register chronograph produced in the 1950s under contract for the French Air Force – the Type 20 name stemming from the original specification sheet sent out by the service arm – but the ‘civilian’ Type XX model soon followed in the commercial market, including several gold iterations. This is their natural successor.
It comes with both alligator and fabric straps for whatever mood strikes, and a 60-hour power reserve that’ll see you through the weekend.
It might be more jet setter than jet pilot, but that’s fine by us.
Certina
DS Action GMT Powermatic 80
Certina’s DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 is built for natural-born adventurers. (Action is its middle name, after all.)
The latest iteration of the DS range includes a GMT function: while the central hour, minute and second hands show the local time at home, a slim hand fitted with a luminous arrowhead points to the bezel’s 24-hour scale to show the time at the traveller’s destination; and the sapphire-crystal bezel also rotates, giving you a third time zone.
The Powermatic 80, of course, references the renowned automatic movement loaded with a remarkable 80 hours of power reserve. This cutting-edge calibre is fitted with a NivachronTM balance spring for enhanced protection against magnetic fields (encountered a lot during air travel).
The DS Action is just as capable in the water, though – 200m of water resistance is mightily impressive at this price point.
It boasts a fittingly robust 41-mm stainless steel case with a screw-down and protected crown and a screw-in case back with sapphire crystal insert.
There are three versions, all come with either a stainless steel bracelet or leather strap, easily switched thanks to Certina’s quick-change system.
Grand Seiko
Birch Bark Titanium Hi-Beat SLGW003
At first glance, it would be easy to categorise the new Grand Seiko ‘Birch Bark’ SLGW003 as the latest in a long line of exemplary nature-inspired designs from the undisputed king of texture dials – and, in a manner of speaking, you would be right. But there’s a secret hiding beneath the horizontal wood-like pattern on this beautiful watch: it’s the first modern Grand Seiko to feature a hand-wound high-beat movement in more than 50 years.
Brought to life at Grand Seiko’s boutique mechanical watch facility Studio Shizukuishi in the Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, the Calibre 9SA4 is anything but old-school in execution. It features a novel Dual Impulse Escapement at its ticking heart, for greater efficiency than a traditional movement, as well as in addition to two barrels being able to supply enough power to deliver ten beats per second and an 80-hour power reserve. It really is impressive watchmaking.
For particularly keen-eyed Seikoholics, you may also note this is the only current production piece outside of the super-exclusive (and expensive…) Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon that features a case finished in the brand’s proprietary Brilliant Hard Titanium.
Hublot
Essential Grey Classic Fusion
Hublot’s association with football, both specific teams and the FIFA World Cup itself, has led to a somewhat slanted reputation that it specialises in ‘footballer’s watches’ – a term that encapsulates the big, bold and somewhat brash timepieces found on a typically flamboyant player’s wrist. But the Classic Fusion is the perfect example of how the brand’s characterful style translates so effectively into an understated guise.
This particular model, the online-exclusive Essential Grey, sees the Classic Fusion transformed into a sleek monotone timepiece, with a contrasting sunray-finished dial and satin-brushed bezel, that is a silver bullet for any number of outfits.
Available in 42mm or 45mm, depending on your preference, the two models boast lightweight titanium cases and bezels, and an integrated bezel, with the workhorse HUB1110 self-winding movement beating away inside.
This is the third model to receive the Essential Grey treatment – and, in our opinion, it's the most successful to date.
Laurent Ferrier
Classic Auto 'Sandstone'
Laurent Ferrier timepieces are some of the most highly sought-after examples of independent watchmaking currently available on the market – get your hands on one of these bad boys and your cachet among collectors will grow exponentially.
Case in point is the simply stunning Classic Auto ‘Sandstone’: limited to just 20 numbered pieces, it’s an exhibition in attention to detail, with a modest 40mm polished-steel case providing the backdrop for a sumptuous lacquered copper-tone crosshair dial offset by a snailed six o’clock small seconds display and one of the prettiest date apertures you’ll find at three o’clock.
But the eponymous watchmaker Laurent Ferrier, a living genius if ever there were one, saves the best for his movements, in this case a micro-rotor calibre that is meticulously finished in Côtes de Genève decoration.
To us, this is the embodiment of “quiet luxury” – a somewhat modest timepiece, on first inspection, that belies its superlative execution.
Longines
Legend Diver
The Legend Diver collection is a prime example of Longines dipping into its extensive back catalogue and creating something perfectly on the nose for modern audiences - an impressive feat for a watchmaker that has continually reinvented itself since it was founded in 1832.
Based on the Super Compressor Diver from 1959, the Legend Diver is something of a departure from the typical dive watches of the modern era, due to its internally rotating bezel operated via its dual crowns, but therein lies much of its charm.
However, the modern Legend Diver is not just a vintage-inspired timepiece given a fresh lick of paint and left to fend for itself in this hotly contested watch category. In fact this rendition, decked out with a new 39mm case and boasting a string of different colourways for 2024, has been slowly improved since it was first reintroduced in 2007. It’s now Goldilocks-right both in form and function. It’s ISO 6425 compliant, too, so this dive watch can indeed be used to dive.
M.A.D.Editions
M.A.D.1S
Mad in name and equally mad in nature, the M.A.D.1S is arguably one of the most important watches launched this year. That might sound like a hyperbolic statement for a watch that was allocated to 1,500 lucky winners by way of a raffle, but this extraordinary piece of timekeeping has found away to offer avantegarde watchmaking, usually reserved for buyers with tens of thousands of pounds to spend, at an accessible price point of just £2,580 (CHF 2,900).
The brainchild of watchmaking evil genius Maximilian Büsser, of MB&F fame, M.A.D.Editions was originally launched to offer his suppliers and collectors the opportunity to own one of his brilliant designs without the hefty price tag. The result was a slightly clunky impractical watch with a Japanese Miyota movement at its heart. While the design was indeed whacky - the time itself read from two barrels on the case edge rather than on a dial - it came off as a bit of a cheap imitation rather than a genuine MB&F-accredited design.
That’s all changed with the M.A.D.1S, which now boasts a modified Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G101 movement and a vastly slimmer profile clocking in at 15mm thick, a not-inconsiderable 3.8mm difference. It’s still a girthy boy, no doubt, but it’s far less awkward than its predecessors. Some will bemoan that the loss of the minute track from the previous iterations, but this was never a watch where optimal accuracy was ever that important.
All in, it’s a madly impressive achievement.
Parmigiani Fleurier
Toric Petite Seconde
Parmigiani Fleurier’s excellent collections have been subject to an extensive rebrand since the arrival of its new CEO, Guido Terreni, in January 2021. The latest to undergo a transformation is the Toric collection, with the release of the absolutely gorgeous Toric Petite Seconde.
The Toric collection, a favourite of one King Charles III, has always been a celebration of neo-classicism but its latest iteration adds a little more neo to the classic stylings to bring this timepiece right up to date. Fans of the previous collection will be delighted to see the pie pan-style dial and coin-edged bezel have been retained, but the simplified dial design and austere finishing on the indices and small seconds display at six o’clock are much more in-keeping with modern tastes.
It also features a 18k gold case, gold-plated dial that is also brushed with gold to create a gorgeous grained effect, and a lesser-spotted gold movement, which overall wears wonderfully against an olive green alligator pin-buckle strap.
Flip the watch over and you’ll find the masterfully decorated micro-rotor movement, a Parmigiani signature, which might just be one of the prettiest feats of engineering you’ll see in watchmaking.
You’ll find plenty of boundary-pushing timepieces on this list, but very few that come close to the aesthetics of this beauty.
Patek Philippe
World Time Ref 5330G
Patek Philippe is unquestionably the leader of the pack when it comes to world time complications and its latest rendition, the World Time Ref 5330G, proves why it sits on the throne.
Patek has managed to incorporate an ingenious date indication into the 5330G’s dial, without even slightly inhibiting the display. On first view, the red tip highlighting the date appears to be suspended in midair, but is in fact affixed to a transparent glass hand that stretches out from the centre of the dial.
The really clever innovation is that the patented date display is synchronised with the local time, which means that it automatically adjusts backwards and forwards as the wearer navigates different time zones. In other words, should you find yourself flying from Tokyo (GMT+9) in the morning to Hawaii (GMT-10), with just a few pushes your watch will not only let you know the time, but that you have travelled back a day in the calendar.
More than its functionality, the 5330G is also a knockout in the looks department. It features a cool blue-grey opaline dial with an engraved ‘carbon’ pattern at its centre, and comes on a quite striking denim-style calfskin strap, which dresses down the watch into something that could almost be deemed smart casual – quite appropriate as a travel companion, we suppose.
Piaget
Polo 79
It might have been one of the first new releases of 2024, but the Piaget Polo 79 is still one of the most talked-about watches of the year.
Why a £67,500 sports watch encased in 200g of pure 18k gold would appear to have captured the cultural zeitgeist so successfully during a cost of living crisis probably says more about how removed from reality haute horlogerie truly is, but nevertheless this vintage throwback is a welcome refrain to a time when the likes of Andy Warhol and Nancy Sinatra proudly displayed the original 1979 Polo watch on their wrists.
The new Polo 79, of course, brings with it a number of contemporary improvements, chief among which is a shift from a battery-operated quartz movement to Piaget’s in-house 1200P1 automatic micro-rotor movement.
The case has also grown from a demure 34mm to an era-appropriate 38mm, which only allows for the gadroons – the decorative motif of alternating polished bars and brushed segments that typifies this watch – more room to show off.
In a year that marks the 150th anniversary of Piaget, the Polo 79 ensures that it’s a golden celebration.
Rolex
GMT-Master II 'Bruce Wayne'
Only Rolex could release a monotone variation of an iconic collection and turn it into one of the most hyped releases of the year, but that's exactly what's happened with this new GMT-Master II model.
The 'Bruce Wayne', the 'Guinness', or simply the 'Gris Noir', whatever nickname you prefer, Rolex has plumped for a demure black and grey colour combination on its Cerachrom 24-hour bezel that has gone done a storm with City types looking for a fresh timepiece to complement their worsted suit.
Other than the new bezel, a shock of green on the GMT hand and "GMT-MASTER II" text are the only new additions to an otherwise unchanged affair – but, then again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That means the watch is powered by the caliber 3285, ticking away for 70 hours and featuring the usual Rolex bells and whistles, and boasts a jumping hour hand that skips time zones when you're travelling.
Rolex may have had a quieter year in comparison to the Celebration dial and 'Emoji' watch of 2023, but this new GMT-Master II variant is likely to have a much louder fanbase than either of those two models.
Richard Mille
RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal
It's only appropriate in the year that Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam winning tennis player, finally decided to hang up his racquet for good that his long-time supporters Richard Mille should create a new timepiece in his honour. The watchmaker has labelled it as the "climactic conclusion" to one of its most successful collections – and, indeed, sports partnerships.
Back in 2010, the tennis star and Richard Mille joined forces to launch the original RM 27, which kickstarted a new era of ultra-lightweight mechanical sports watches, or 'ultra sports watches' for short. The cornerstone of the RM 27 was its use of highly advanced materials on the case and movement, and an ability to withstand exceptional amounts of g-force; the kind generated by the powerful left forehand of one Rafael Nadal.
The latest addition to the line-up, the Richard Mille RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, takes this concept to the most extreme lengths yet, weighing just 11.5 grams (RM's lightest ever watch) and able to withstand accelerations in excess of 14,000G. It won't shock you to learn both such feats are a world record for a manual-winding tourbillon wristwatch.
It features a monobloc case crafted from a material called Carbon TPT® B.4, first utilised in Formula 1 due to its incredible strength-to-weight ratio. Add in a skeletonised movement that features a bridgeless flying tourbillon and you have one of the most impressive sports watches on the market that can actually withstand the rigours of sport itself.
The RM 27, much like Rafa, has become a modern day legend. If this is indeed the end to its lineage, it's a heck of a way to bow out.
TAG Heuer
Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph
Immortalised by Steve McQueen in his 1971 racing movie Le Mans, the iconic Tag Heuer Monaco watch has been worn by individuals as diverse as Stanley Kubrick, Sammy Davis Jr. and, naturally, championship-leading F1 driver Max Verstappen.
To mark the 55th anniversary of the collection’s launch, the Swiss watchmaker has released a model that features a split-seconds chronograph complication for the very first time in the brand’s catalogue. Measuring two separate intervals of time concurrently, the split-seconds (or rattrapante) function is not only one of the most useful tools for the motorsports enthusiast, but also a particularly tricky complication for a watchmaker to create.
Here, Tag has pulled it off to aplomb, deftly incorporating it into one of its most iconic silhouettes. The watchmaker has plumped for a sporty black DLC-coated titanium case, with a number of multi-faceted finishes applied across the square-shaped design, accented by either a racing red or Monaco blue, with some of the new calibre TH81-00 proudly displayed on the semi-openworked dial configuration.
As for the calibre itself, it was designed in collaboration with movement construction experts Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier and features a high frequency column-wheel chronograph with 65 hours of power reserve.
Tudor
Black Bay 58 GMT
It wasn’t long after the Black Bay 58 first launched in 2018 to great acclaim that fans were clamouring for a GMT complication to be added to, this, Tudor’s most vintage-leaning collection in its lineup. That it has taken the watchmaker six years to give in to these demands is some mighty impressive patience – and proof that good things come to those who wait.
Tudor’s grand opening of its state-of-the-art Le Locle manufacture in 2023 has brought with it the capabilities to improve the hardware ticking at the heart of its latest releases, evidenced by the METAS-certified Master Chronometer MT5450-U movement utilised in this new model. The certification is a guarantee of high build quality and movement function that stands up to the demands of daily wear – a marked step forward for any watch at a comparable price point. What this looks like in practice is a 4Hz movement with an accuracy of -2/+4 seconds and power reserve of 65 hours a day, plus a 200m water resistance and magnetic resistance to 15,000 gauss. That Tudor has managed to achieve such feats inside a case that is only 0.9mm thicker than the standard BB58 is particularly impressive.
But all of this fails should the watch aesthetics leave the user cold. Thankfully, the Tudor has opted for a rich red-black ‘Coke’ 24-hour bezel that plays off wonderfully against the gilt-effect numerals and accents on the matte black dial. Yes, the comparisons to the Rolex GMT-Master II were inevitable, but the Black Bay 58’s vintage flair is a marked point of difference from its sibling brand, which makes comparisons between the two quite frankly a lazy conflation.
The Tudor Black Bay shifted the goalposts of what we expect from the ‘accessible luxury’ segment of the watch market. This latest addition proves that it doesn’t intend to stop innovating any time soon.
Vacheron Constantin
Patrimony Retrograde Moonphase
The Patrimony collection is Vacheron Constantin’s ode to the classic watchmaking techniques it’s inherited from the past. Created in 2004, the lineup of timeless dress watches is an exercise in less is more, shining the spotlight on pure unbridled horology.
To celebrate the Patrimony’s 20th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin has revamped the collection’s core range with two manual-wind time-only pieces in a smaller 39mm, as well as our highlight, the Patrimony Retrograde Moonphase, featuring a scarcely seen duo of complications on a 41mm case.
Atop a contemporary sunburst silver dial, accented with pink gold indices and a pearl minute track, the retrograde date pleasingly sweeps across the top of the dial before returning back to the first of the month with a flick. As for the moonphase, Vacheron has ensured it is precise to the lunar cycle itself – cycling from start to finish in exactly 29 days, 12 hours and 45 minutes – which means that the display requires only a single manual correction once every 122 years.
It may not be as eye-catching as some watches on this list, but its understated brilliance more than justifies its inclusion.
