Round-UpBest of Baselworld 2017 – Top 29 New Watches for Men

Another year, another Baselworld, come and gone. For starters, it was as busy as ever with at least a thousand brands showcasing their new watches and over 100,000+ attendees of press, buyers, and fans, who flocked in to see the world’s premiere watch show. The numbers were staggering.

But our four days at Basel were a mix of gruelling meetings, great after-parties, and some spectacular timepieces. Smaller, slimmer, colourful, innovative and affordable was truly the theme of 2017. But none of this is to say that the traditional mechanical watches weren’t there. There were plenty of classics that made a return and some new ones that took our hearts away. In short, it was a good year to be at Baselworld.

For those who missed it, we’re bringing you a roundup of the 30 best men’s watches we saw at Baselworld 2017:

1. Carl F. Bucherer Manero Flyback Chronograph

The brand Carl F. Bucherer has seen a lot of bold changes and this year it’s the Manero that will see the brand’s newest designs. The Manero Flyback Chronograph, a watch we reviewed earlier, saw its new cousin unveiled at Baselworld with a champagne dial and an 18k gold 43mm case. The ‘King of Chronographs’ has made a return with the Manero Flyback in its most luxurious form.

Powered by Bucherer’s most efficient COSC certified CFB 1970 movement, the watch is a return to the sixties and seventies with the same bi-compax layout of the dial inspired by the dashboards of vintage automobiles – featuring the same inner ring tachymeter, triangular gold indexes and two chrono counters.

Securing the watch would be the new ‘cognac-coloured’ Louisiana alligator leather strap with an 18k rose gold pin buckle.

Availability: May 2017
Expected price in India: 17,00,000 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

2. The Omega Speedmaster Anniversary – Trilogy Edition

In 1957, Omega introduced three watches for professional use: the Railmaster for scientists and engineers, the Seamaster 300 for divers and the Speedmaster for sports & professional drivers. 60 years later, Omega is giving one a chance to own all three. Omega has introduced a special box “Speedmaster Trilogy” edition this year with all three watches inside.

The trilogy box has also been done in the same, original packaging of the 1957 watches, with the Seahorse on the lid along with the retro Omega logo. The box also contains two spare straps: leather and NATO, as well as tools to change them. An absolute treat for all speedy fans out there! The Trilogy set, however, is going to be limited to 557 pieces in total. But don’t worry, these watches will also be available separately, limited to 3,557 pieces in total.

Availability: September 2017
Expected price In India: 13,40,000 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

3. Oris ‘ChronOris’ Date

Seems as though all the cult classics are making a return this year. The ChronOris Date is a modern version of the vintage classic released by Oris almost 47 years ago. The ChronOris was first introduced in 1970 and was a stop-seconds chronograph, used and loved by many professional race car drivers. The new ChronOris Date is a reinterpretation of the same 1970s watch, featuring a slender 39mm stainless steel case. The dial has a very retro edge featuring several chapter rings in varying shades of silver, grey, and black with bright orange accents on the seconds hand and indexes.

Availability: July/August 2017
Expected price in India: 1,26,000 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

4. Movado Ultra Slim

We said something about smaller-slimmer and more colourful timepieces this year at Basel, and who knows better about making them other than Movado. Thinner, sleeker cases and the brand’s simple, minimalist aesthetic, have been their forte for so many years, and this time around they released their beloved Ultra Slim watch collection with a never ending range of versatile styles . Crafted in solid stainless steel, or yellow or rose gold PVD-finished steel, the brand also announced that all versions of this watch will come with impeccably top-stitched leather straps. And the watch is not very expensive either.

Availability: Available for Pre-Order
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

5. TAG Heuer Autavia

A watch for the people, chosen by the people. Earlier this year, TAG Heuer announced it was going to pick one of 16 Autavias  by allowing online users to vote for their favourite one. The one chosen was the 1966 Autavia Ref. 2446, a three register chronograph worn famously by Formula 1 champion and legend – Jochen Rindt. Featuring a classic reverse panda dial and the old-school Heuer and Autavia logos, this watch won our hearts and we can’t wait for it to come to Indian shores later this year.

Availability: Available for Pre-Order
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

6. Corum Golden Bridge Rectangle

The iconic Golden Bridge that only made its debut in India last year, revealed a new version Golden Bridge, in a new, Art Deco-influenced rectangular case. Like its round-cased predecessor, the watch features Corum’s very own manual-winding movement visible in the centre of the open dial and also features a beautiful engraving and finishing on the 18k gold bridge plate of the movement. The bridge movement is also surrounded on both sides by 18k gold structures. But the watch isn’t only about show because the linear Calibre Co 113 has a frequency of 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and a solid power reserve of over 40 hours.

Availability: Available for Pre-Order
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

7. Rado Hyperchrome Captain Cook

Retro is in everyone! Rado released the HyperChrome Captain Cook this year, which is a reinterpretation of Rado’s original diving timepieces from the 1960s. This watch stood out for its honest homage of design cues from the brand’s old timepieces and (dare we say) other popular deep dive watches of the 60s. Though it’s rather slim for a dive watch (11mm thickness) but the oversized indexes, chunky arrow-hands, rotating ceramic bezel and retro design make this a must own for sure.

Availability: August 2017
Expected price in India: 1,15,000 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

8. Nomos Metro Neomatik

An independent brand with about 260 employees that specialize ONLY in mechanical timepieces. Nomos as a brand has grown so much in a few years that today they’re right up there with the biggies. Sounds interesting, right? We were quite fascinated too and so we paid a visit to their booth at Basel to see what they have to offer. The one watch that stood out, which also happened to be their best-selling watch: the Metro ,was the one that caught our fancy. A mix of elegance and technical prowess is probably why the watch has done so well for years. Oh and the watch is a mere 3.2mm thick, which is thinner than 9 postage stamps!

Availability: Available Now
Expected price in India: 1,85,000 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

9. Favre Leuba Bivouac

Favre-Leuba celebrated its 280th anniversary this year with a groundbreaking watch that is sure to turn heads in the world of horology, a watch that sets new standards and achieves something previously thought impossible, by pushing the boundaries further than ever before.

The brand launched the Bivouac 9000, a re-incarnation of a milestone the brand achieved many years ago. This time, the watch is capable of measuring altitudes of up to an incredible 9,000 meters above sea level! The Bivouac is definitely a sign from the brand that “technical innovation” is going nowhere and is here to stay!

Availability: October 2017
Expected price in India: 4,95,300 (Estimate)
To pre-order this watch, call +91 8725028900 

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