4 Astonishing New Watches All Watch Guys Are Talking About Right Now

Welcome to Watch Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly curation of high-end timepieces for the true watch nerds among us. This May, we dive deep into a travel-friendly JLC, a vintage-inspired Massena LAB, a Byrne with an unusual display, and a hot-pink tourbillon from H. Moser & Cie.

There’s some debate in the watch world about the most useful complication. Is it the travel-friendly GMT? Or the chronograph for timing discrete events? Maybe the “count-up” diving bezel—not viewed by many as a complication, to be fair—is actually the most genuinely useful extra feature on a watch.

This debate will likely continue until long after we’re all gone, buried in our Submariners and Seikos. But certain watch companies work hard to bring us new interpretations of these now-classic complications—even combining them in novel ways—and these in turn make for some of the most fun and compelling timepieces on the market. To wit: The new Jaeger-Lecoultre Polaris Geographic is perhaps the ideal adventure watch.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Geographic

Part of La Grande Maison’s dive-inspired Polaris collection, it displays a second time zone using a system that’s halfway between GMT and world time. But then, it’s also got a day/night indicator, a power reserve indicator, and an internal, rotating dive bezel. And it’s just 11.54 millimeters thick!

To be fair, the Geographic system isn’t new, but its housing within a Polaris case is. It’s also worth revisiting its functionality: Instead of having a fourth GMT hand stemming from the dial center, there’s a small 24-hour indicator between 8 and 9 o’clock that doubles as a day/night indicator. Then, at the bottom of the dial is an indicator pointing to a cut-away, within which is a rotating disk displaying 24 city names. The wearer can set the time via the crown to display an alternate time zone within the 24-hour indicator, or pick from one of the city names, which will automatically set said 24-hour indicator to the correct, corresponding time. While one can’t see all the city names simultaneously like on a more conventional world timer, the Geographic does make for a tidier dial layout.

Atop the “ocean grey” lacquer dial—which results from the application of 35 distinct coats of lacquer—is also a power reserve indicator for the automatic Calibre 939 housed within the case. The signature inner rotating bezel of the Polaris collection is present and accounted for, adjustable via a secondary crown at 10 o’clock. Small pops of orange help draw the eye to pertinent timing information, and two straps (textured black rubber and blue-gray canvas) with an interchangeable folding buckle make it easy to dress the watch up or down.

The new Geographic is part of an entirely revamped Polaris collection. JLC is now offering its sporty model in a brand-new Date version as well as a Perpetual Calendar in the same eye-catching ocean-grey dial color.

At $16,100, the Polaris Geographic lives firmly in luxury territory, clocking in—for context—somewhere between a GMT-Master II and a Cosmograph Daytona in price. Complicated, well finished, and featuring an in-house movement assembled at JLC’s facilities in the Vallée de Joux, it’s the type of watch that’s not likely to be your first purchase…or your last.

Absinthe by Massena LAB and Raúl Pagès

If you’ve been doing this whole watch collecting thing long enough, you’ve no doubt come across William Massena’s name. A noted collector, ex-auction house executive, and ex-Timezone forum moderator—among many other things—he now runs his own brand, Massena LAB, designing awesome watches with other notable watchmakers. His latest piece, dubbed “Absinthe,” is an evolution of a piece that debuted recently in collaboration with independent watchmaker Raúl Pagès. Based upon the unique Patek Philippe ref. 2458 made for famed collector J. B. Champion, Jr, it features a 38.5mm stainless steel case with a beautifully finished, hand-wound movement, caliber M690, designed by Massena and Pagès. The vertically brushed, green ombré dial—inspired by a certain “Green Fairy”—is signed “Observatory Precision” and includes a compelling add-on: Those who wish can send their watches to the HSNY Chronometer Certification Program for testing for an additional fee.

H. Moser Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine Limited Edition Pink Livery

And I thought IWC had long watch names—sheesh. Anyway, H. Moser’s newest creation—which we will be referring to as “Pink Livery” from now on—is a special edition celebrating the 2024 Miami Grand Prix done up in the colors of Alpine F1 and its partner BWT. The second LE in this series, the Pink Livery will be familiar in all but its color scheme to longtime Moser die-hards: Housed in a 42.3mm stainless steel cushion case with 120m of water resistance, it’s powered by the fully skeletonized, automatic HMC 811 movement with a one-minute flying tourbillon and an in-house, cylindrical hairspring. The mainplate and bridges with their anthracite coating are offset by a skeletonized, gold oscillating weight and, of course, a translucent, bright pink main dial at 12 o’clock paired to a matching rubber strap. Limited to 20 pieces, it’s easily the funkiest racing watch we’ve ever laid eyes on.

Byrne Gyro Dial Meca 36mm

Timepiece restoration expert John Byrne launched his independent watch brand in 2021 after being inspired by the set of a show at the Paris Opéra. His Gyro Dial watch faces feature four revolving cube indices that spin 90 degrees either at midnight, noon, or upon interaction with the crown—thus, a single watch can change its aspect to become four distinct watches. His newest model, the Gyro Dial Meca 36mm, offers a thinner case, a smaller diameter, and a new, hand-wound movement paired to a captivating dial that houses the brand’s signature complication. Housed in a hand-finished, tonneau-shaped Grade 5 titanium case measuring 36 mm in diameter, its crown sits safely at 12 o’clock in reference to vintage pocket watches. The rhodium-plated, “Meteorized Blue” dial features the aforementioned rotating cardinal indices, but an exposed mainplate means the wearer gets a clearer view of the watch’s inner workings. Unique and beautifully finished, the Gyro Dial Meca 36mm is a serious horological accomplishment for a company just three years old.

Originally Appeared on GQ

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