Most Clever
Parmigiani’s Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante
It doesn’t get cleaner than Parmigiani’s new platinum Tonda PF. To maintain the watch’s sleek dial, the brand rethought the function of a diver’s watch. While typically a diver would spin their instrument’s bezel around to indicate when they needed to resurface, this watch uses a second minute hand that’s hidden underneath the primary one. Say you want to remember to go visit your horses, or whatever rich people do: You set the second minute hand ahead, and wait for the two hands to overlap again. It’s an simple but novel take on this complication that keeps the Tonda PF as uncluttered as possible.
Best Trademark
Zenith’s Pilot Automatic
It’s been an entire week and I still can’t get over the fun fact Zenith dropped at its W&W presentation. All the way back in 1888, Zenith founder Georges-Favre Jacot trademarked “Pilot,” meaning the brand is now the only one that can put the word on its watches. The result is this cool-looking new Pilot watch with a dial that takes inspiration from those retro “split flap” boards that airports once used to display flight info.
Dr. Frankenstein’s Favorite Watch
Panerai’s Radiomir California
Panerai dug into a fascinating part of its history for the brand’s big new 2023 release. The apocryphal story is that during the 1970s, California-based dial restorer Kirk Rich worked on Panerais but couldn’t track down matching numerals for each watch. He started mixing Arabic and Roman numerals together to complete his pieces. The mish-mashed look earned the nickname “California dials.” Panerai is bringing the style back officially with a watch that uses Roman numerals on the top half of the dial and Arabic markers for the bottom.