The Watches We Loved in 2022
2022 was quite a year for watches. We saw everything from mechanical innovations to revivals of classics to some totally out-there expressions of time, and we loved to see it. (Well, most of it.) To that end, we challenged our four watch addicts aficionados at RedBar HQ to narrow it down to their three personal favorites of 2022.
Greg’s picks
Akrivia / Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II (Reference Number: RRCCII)
You can’t ask for much more out of a dress watch. The original Chronomètre Contemporain featured one of the most beautiful movements ever created. Not content to rest on their laurels, the movement was completely reworked to add a dead-beat seconds complication while retaining the signature visual balance. Now, take that new movement and combine it with an interesting dial, and one of the best cases I’ve ever had the pleasure to handle, and you’ve got a clear winner. Absolutely top-tier finishing rounds out a great combination of aesthetics, engineering, and horology. Now, if only Rexhep would return my calls!
Zenith x Voutilainen x Phillips 135-O (Unique Piece)
Here’s a watch I didn’t see coming. Zenith teamed up with indie watchmaker Kari Voutilainen and auction powerhouse Phillips to put out a unique piece benefitting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. (In addition to the unique piece, there was also a ‘regular’ run of 10 pieces.) Kari and his team refurbished and finished each of the new old stock Zenith 135-O competition grade movements and provided wonderful dials. I loved the interplay between the pre-quartz era watchmaking of the 1950s and a modern take on classic watchmaking. It all came together in a stylish and very special watch that gives a new meaning to the phrase “neo vintage” (argue with me about that term at a future RedBar meeting.)
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (Reference Number: 26579CS.OO.1225CS.01)
If we’ve met, you may know my affinity for blue watches. Over the years as Audemars Piguet released more and more ceramic models, I silently hoped for something a bit more… azure. Boy did they deliver with this bright blue ceramic perpetual calendar for 2022. The idea of a modern ceramic with a classic QP complication is just the right amount of crazy. Does it look a bit plasticky at first glance? Sure. Does it feature a new movement? No. Would I happily rock one? Hell yes.
Troy’s picks
Zodiac Super Sea Wolf(s)
This might be cheating, but rather than picking just one watch to start, I can’t help but be impressed by several of the Super Sea Wolf models that Zodiac has released this year. Whether it be the brightly colored and jovial variations, the STP-11 with its ceramic case and deep denim dial, or the Meteorite dial which seemed to have sold out faster than you can say “wait seriously, that watch cost less than $2k?” Seeing these sorts of materials, usually reserved for high price point, often inaccessible watches, available to a broader market can only be a good thing for the industry and the watch enthusiast community at large.
Grand Seiko 44GS 55 th Anniversary LTD (SBGW289)
Few watches gave me more heartache than the GS 44GS ‘Sakura-Kakashi’. This watch represents everything, and I mean everything, that Grand Seiko is and should be. It is understated, elegant, subtle, and resplendent. Its frosty pink dial is delicately adorned with finely polished indices and thin, sharp sword hands. The dial is inspired by the cherry blossom, as it might be seen on a chilly morning, gently dusted with morning frost. The flower is a symbol of nature and Japanese identity more significant than I would ever be able to properly articulate, so I won’t try. (Editor’s note: Kathleen can articulate it. Just ask her next time you see her.) And at 36.5mm wide and just 11.6 mm thick, this reimagined classic had just about the finest wrist presence of any watch I put on in 2022.
H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Vantablack
Moser’s use of Vantablack continues to be one of the downright coolest material applications in watchmaking today. What could be more bonkers than harnessing the inky depths of the void itself and encasing it in 40mm of sumptuous 5N red gold? I mean, you could always pierce the dark-of-the-night-dial with a magnificently decorated flying tourbillon and top it all off by adorning this postmodern masterpiece with the achievement of metallic origami that is the Streamliner’s bracelet… Unrelated, can I borrow like 120 grand?
Adam’s picks
Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante
My first pick for my favorite watch of 2022 is the Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante. We all know that this business is predicated on continually reinventing the wheel, year after year, and I don’t mind saying that it’s getting hard to surprise me at this point. Well, Parmigiani surprised me, and not because they went completely nuts, but because they didn’t. They took a time honored, if relatively dull complication - the GMT - and then implemented it in a way that is as novel as it is obvious. And as for the watch itself, the PF has been a favorite of mine since its debut, but this neat trick pushes it over the edge and makes it a must-have for me. Alas, if only my wallet agreed with me.
Arcanaut Arc II Fordite
My second pick is the Arcanaut Arc II Fordite, which, I’m pleased to say my wallet did say yes to. The brainchild of Anders Brandt, a Danish entrepreneur with a creative streak, the Arc and Arc II are exemplars of the clean, sleek design that Danes are known for. Toss in partner James Thompson of Black Badger fame and you wind up with a watch that is both understated and outré. Thompson brings his mad scientist ethos to the fore with meticulously chosen, cut, and finished dials created from Fordite, a material salvaged from, appropriately enough, an old Ford factory floor’s paint shop, where layers upon layers of paint have collected over the years. And yes, he does apply some nuclear grade Badgerite - his proprietary lume material, developed with Tritec in Switzerland - to the tips of the hands. The end result is everything I love about this hobby rolled into a single stainless steel, sapphire, and rubber wrist-borne piece of art.
M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 RED
My third pick, unlike the subtly executed Parmigiani, is as unapologetically apeshit as the mind behind it. I am, of course, referring to the M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 RED, which is MB&F’s love letter to the watch community at large. Inspired directly by the “friends” watch, which they released last year to much acclaim, but only sold to those who had contributed to the brand or had purchased one of their megabux horological creations, the RED was meant for any and all. And who could resist? Here was a watch devised by none other than Max Busser, replete with a top mounted tungsten “battle-axe” rotor, a cylindrical “dial”, and a metric shit ton of lume, all for a biscuit over $3K USD. Of course there was no way that supply could ever meet demand, hence the novel lottery system they devised. But even though most would-be owners went home empty-handed, Max & Friends have assured us that the watch isn’t a limited edition and that more are on the way. Gotta love that guy!
Kathleen’s picks
It was quite difficult for me to narrow this down to three watches, because there were a number of really fantastic releases this year. Once I did narrow them down, though, Adam went ahead and stole one of my picks, the Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, and due to his blatant appropriation of my clearly brilliant (and let’s face it, popular) opinion, I landed on the following three watches.
Grönefeld 1941 Grönograaf
It will likely come as no surprise to anyone who knows me or who has read my treatise on the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire OnlyWatch that I have a deep appreciation for the watches produced by the Grönefeld brothers. Therefore, it should also come as no surprise that the Grönefeld Grönograaf is one of my favorite watches of 2022. The first chronograph produced by the brand, it takes on this seemingly ubiquitous complication with a new twist: a regulator that controls the speed of the reset function, allowing for a “soft” reset instead of the somewhat aggressive amount of force a typical chronograph’s hammers have to apply to the cams in order to do the quick reset of the chronograph hand to the zero position. They also utilize ruby rollers in the reset hammers instead of typical steel hammers, which provides the appropriate amount of force without the friction of metal-on-metal. All in all, it’s an innovative application of both materials and design that addresses a mechanical problem that most chronograph wearers would never notice - the friction and force required to perform a typical reset - and, in my opinion, will quite possibly make this movement a more durable one in the long term.
Besides all of that technical innovation and the absolutely stunning movement finishing that is a hallmark of the Grönefelds’ work, it’s just absolutely mesmerizing to watch the governor spin to do its job in softly returning the chronograph hand to its neutral position.
Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
Another favorite of mine this year is the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, and I am in good company, as this watch won an award in two categories at the GPHG. I love many things about this watch, not least being that Hermès continually brings really interesting expressions of complications to life in technically interesting but also delightfully whimsical ways. In this case, they’re taking a frequently used complication - a dual time zone - and executing it in a novel way, displaying the home time in an aperture at the 12 o’clock position, while the local time zone is displayed on a subdial that travels around the main dial. It’s pretty simple to operate, with a pusher that moves the satellite dial around to point to the city where you are and correspondingly adjusts the hour hand to match the correct time zone, but quite a technical feat to accomplish. And in true Hermès style, the main dial takes inspiration from another maison within the company, specifically a scarf design called “Planisphère d'un monde équestre”, or “Planisphere of an equestrian world”, in which the continents on the map are named after equestrian themes. (It will also likely come as no surprise that I own this scarf in more than one colorway.)
Fears Brunswick 40 Pink Dial
In my third paragraph of not surprising anyone at all with my choices, the Fears Brunswick 40, specifically the pink dial version, is one of my favorite releases of the year. It’s a slightly larger version of the original Fears Brunswick, keeping the elegant cushion case shape but adding a sportier element with the brushed and polished 5-link bracelet. The bracelet itself, like everything Fears does, shows astonishing attention to detail, with a Bristol flower (a nod to the brand’s origins in Bristol) enameled inside the clasp. And like all Fears watches, the dial itself is just gorgeous, in a soft pink matte enamel that draws the eye, and the numerals executed in their signature typeface with a striking coating of black gold. It strikes the perfect balance between elegant and sporty, looking equally at home under a crisp shirt cuff as it would with more casual attire.
Contributors: Greg Wirtz, Troy Barmore, Adam Craniotes, Kathleen McGivney. Images provided by the respective watch brands or taken by the authors.
