Those novelties from Watches & Wonders that you may have missed and a bit of Rolex

Text: Thomas Denke

Now we are entering the final stretch of Watches & Wonders and the news has been pouring down thick and fast ever since it got going last week. Social media has been flooded with news that few watch enthusiasts have missed. As so often, the focus lands on the best known manufacturers and then on their most prominent releases and models. But at the same time a lot of fun things are released that do not get quite the same attention. Eqotime’s Thomas Denke has picked out a couple of favourites from Louis Vuitton and Hermés that have flown a bit under the radar. He also has a small comment on the updated Rolex Explorer II

Hermés H08

First out we have to mention Hermés' release of the model H08. The model seems absolutely superb with its cushion-shaped case in either composite material or in titanium. The size seems optimal with its 39×39 mm and it comes in three variants; composite material, satin-brushed titanium and titanium with DLC. We find it a bit hard to pick out which of the three is the favourite but conservatively inclined as we are, the satin-brushed titanium model on an orange bracelet is doing really well.

Inside the watch resides Hermés' own movement H1837 and the delight is water protected to 10 ATM. A given summer favourite!

Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem

Our second choice has to be the Tambour Carpe Diem. A watch filled with classic watchmaking art and packaged in a format that signals extra everything. We let the pictures speak for themselves.

The case is in 18k gold where the dial and hands are in hand-engraved and hand-painted enamel with detail work of world class. Apart from the snake and the skull, the dial is adorned with genuine diamonds and an hourglass. The movement, which consists of just over 400 components, is the hand-wound LV525 with Jacquemart animations, retrograde, jump hour and power reserve indicator. The power reserve is 100 hours and for being so filled with form and function the watch is not excessively large with its barely 47 mm and a thickness of 14,5 mm. Price? We do not dare to ask.

Updated Rolex Explorer II

The discussions about Rolex's releases have run hot, on Eqotime’s editorial staff too. The new dial variants for among others the DJ are great fun, as is the possibility of getting the GMT Master with a jubille link. We also like that the Explorer I goes back to 36 mm even if we are perhaps not entirely on the ball when it comes to the two-tone variant. We are not saying that we do not like it, but we probably need to let it sink in a bit before we start to love it.

Then we have the news around the Rolex Explorer II. Here we almost think that Rolex has taken a bit of undeserved beating in enthusiast circles. The updates of the model are restrained with small changes to among other things the case and the link. But the big news is that it has been fitted with the new movement 3825. Something I actually like. Because if we are to be completely honest it is no small matter to give a model a completely new movement. If we put it a bit in perspective you could almost compare it to a car model getting a completely new drivetrain.

And that is how I choose to regard it, a manufacturer that for over 100 years has striven towards perfection and often done so in small steps takes a big stride and provides a model with its completely new movement. Sure, it would have been fun with a completely new model or a proper facelift. But a new movement is also big news purely technically, even if the whole thing so to speak happened on the inside…