Watches & Wonders 2023 Reaffirms The Popularity Of Integrated Luxury Sports Watches

Although we saw plenty of very cool and innovative watches, it’s hard to ignore the continuing popularity of the luxury sports watch. With iconic entries like the Royal Oak and Nautilus still being very hard to obtain – both for their premium prices and limited supply – we’re always happy to spot alternatives. From indie brands to mainstream names and haute-horlogerie manufacturers, these six novelties presented during Watches & Wonders reaffirm the ongoing appeal of a good luxury sports watch.

Czapek Antarctique Révélation

One of our favourite independent watchmakers, Czapek, has been playing around with its super sleek Antarctique recently, with the Révélation being the latest creation. This model completely opens up the automatic micro-rotor movement for the world to see. The modern construction of the skeletonised movement fits the shaped case perfectly, with the indices placed on the tinted sapphire crystal minute track. It comes on a brushed and polished integrated steel bracelet, which has an interchangeable system and an extendable folding buckle. The price is CHF 38,000.

For more information, please visit Czapek.com.

Quick Facts – 40.5mm x 10.6mm – stainless steel case, brushed & polished – sapphire crystal front & back – screw-down crown – 120m water-resistant – smoked sapphire crystal minute track & small seconds sub-dial – applied hour indices – hour and minute hands with Super-LumiNova – calibre SXH7, in-house – automatic winding with micro-rotor – skeletonised construction – 152 parts – 28,800vph – 60h power reserve – integrated steel bracelet with interchangeable system and extendable folding buckle – limited to 100 watches per year – CHF 38,000

A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Chronograph

When the Odysseus was first introduced, many people were taken aback by its unusual yet captivating style. It features a lot of key elements that make any AL&S watch stand out yet looked… different. Upon closer inspection, though, it is really a very good watch, now elevated even further with the very complex Odysseus Chronograph. The chronograph uses two central hands instead of sub-dials: one for the seconds (the red one) and one for the minutes (the polished one). The signature outsize day and date displays are still there, which can be adjusted when the chrono is running. The price is upon request but expected to be around EUR 135,000.

For more information, please visit ALange-Soehne.com.

Quick Facts – 42.5mm x 14.2mm – stainless steel case – pushers for chronograph & day/date adjustments – sapphire crystal front and back – black-grained dial – lancet-shaped hour and minute hands – lozenge-shaped central chronograph minutes and seconds hands – outsize day/date windows – small seconds – Lange L156.1 Datomatic, in-house – 28,800vph – 50h power reserve – decorated and assembled by hand – stainless steel bracelet with deployant buckle and precision adjustment – boutique exclusive edition of 100 pieces – price upon request

IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Titanium

We dubbed the new Ingenieur Automatic 40 Titanium by IWC the ‘MONOCHROME’ edition because of its pure tone-on-tone case, dial and bracelet. The Ingenieur made a return to the original 1976 Gérald Genta design, with the inclusion of the crown guards (sort of) from a later generation. Being a signature material for IWC, the titanium case is finished with sandblasted and polished surfaces. The grid-like pattern on the dial gives it a modern touch, despite being there in the 1976 original. The movement is housed in a soft-iron inner case, another historical connection. It is priced at EUR 15,800, which, admittedly, is quite steep.

For more information, please visit IWC.com.

Quick Facts – 40mm x 10.7mm – grade 5 titanium case, sandblasted – bezel with functional screws – screw-down crown with guards – sapphire crystal front & back – 100m water-resistant – stamped grid-pattern in grey galvanised soft iron dial – black markers and hands with Super-LumiNova – framed date window – IWC calibre 32111, automatic – pawl-winding system – 21 jewels – 28,800vph – 120h power reserve – grade 5 titanium bracelet with concealed clasp – EUR 15,800 (incl. VAT)

Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS

One of the highlights by Chopard this year has to be this Alpine Eagle 41 XPS. That’s not just because of the very handsome ‘Monte Rosa’ salmon pink Eagle’s eye dial but also its extra-thin 8mm case. Finished in Lucent Steel A223, a special alloy that shines brighter than regular steel, this is really a stand-out watch. The case and bracelet are almost uniform in thickness, which greatly adds to the comfort! On the reverse side, you get a full view of the Chopard L.U.C. 96.40-L, driven by a gold micro-rotor to provide a healthy 65 hours of power reserve. The Alpine Eagle 41 XPS retails for EUR 24,400.

For more information, please visit Chopard.com.

Quick Facts – 41mm x 8mm – Lucent Steel A223 case – sapphire crystal front & back – screw-down crown – 100m water-resistant – Monte Rosa Pink iris-like dial – white gold applied indices – baton hour and minute hands, small seconds hand with Super-LumiNova – Chopard L.U.C. 96.40-L, in-house automatic – micro-rotor – 176 components – 28,800vph – 65h power reserve – COSC-certified chronometer – integrated Lucent Steel bracelet – EUR 24,400

Speake-Marin Ripples Date

When Speake-Marin introduced the Ripples in 2022, we were surprised by its charismatic design! It featured a lot of the elements we know and love about Speake-Marin, such as the heart-shaped hand, the offset small seconds sub-dial, and a micro-rotor movement. The dial featured a very broad horizontal grooved pattern in dark grey, contrasting with the shaped stainless steel case. Speake-Marin now introduces the Ripples Date, which includes, well, a date! It is neatly integrated into the dial and is very legible thanks to the relatively large framed window. This new Speake-Marin Ripples Date costs CHF 23,900.

For more information, please visit Speake-Marin.com.

Quick Facts – 40.3mm x 9.2mm – stainless steel ‘City’ case, brushed & polished – sapphire crystal front & back – crown with crown-guards – 50m water-resistant – grey brushed ‘Ripples’ dial – rhodium-plated heart-shaped hands – applied hour indices – small seconds sub-dial – framed date window – calibre SMA03-TD, automatic with micro-rotor – 28,800vph – 52h power reserve – integrated stainless steel bracelet with folding buckle – limited to 250 pieces per year – CHF 23,900

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante

Parmigiani Fleurier presented a genuine world first at Watches & Wonders this year with the Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante. Working on the same principle as last year’s GMT Rattrapante, this features a set of superimposed minute hands. The trick is they can be split to time events, replicating the functionality of a diving bezel in a sense. The pushers on the left advance the secondary minute hand in 1 or 5-minute increments. As time moves forward, the regular minute hand will eventually catch up. The pusher in the crown allows you to align the two on demand if needed. Set in the familiar Tonda PF architecture, it retails for CHF 28,000.

For more information, please visit Parmigiani.com.

Quick Facts – 40mm x 10.7mm – stainless steel, polished & brushed – knurled platinum bezel – sapphire crystal front & back – crown with integrated pusher – 2 pushers to advance the minute hand – 60m water-resistant – sand grey dial with guilloché pattern – applied indices – central hour and minute hands – secondary minute hand in gold for rattrapante function – calibre PF052, micro-rotor automatic – 271 components – 21,600vph – 48h power reserve – integrated steel bracelet – CHF 28,000