Watches and Wonders 2026 in Geneva last week, like previous editions, took the curtains off a whole bunch of interesting watches. While there is a lot of variety, many are essentially variations on existing themes and not quite pathbreaking, so to speak. As far as traditional watchmakers go, some of their new watches, however, do stand out.

Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2026, the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” merges traditional watchmaking artistry with contemporary design. The semi-transparent dial provides insights into the elaborate calendar mechanism: the fascinating mechanics can be observed even in the dark, thanks to the delicate nuances of luminosity. This watch is limited to 50 pieces and exclusively available in platinum.

The constructive complexity is also exhibited in the newly developed self-winding movement L225.1 that combines the eponymous complications with functional particularities such as the stop-seconds mechanism for the tourbillon — this is visible only through the caseback and not from the front — and the typical Lange outsize date. Lavish decorations address the superior standards regarding artisanal finish. All of this manages to contemporise the traditional looks of the Lange 1.

If whimsy is what one is looking for, it would be very difficult to beat the Patek Philippe 5249R-001. This is the first automaton wristwatch in its contemporary history, inspired by a pocket watch designed by Louis Cottier in 1958 that displays the hours and minutes on demand. Based on Jean de La Fontaine’s fable The Crow and the Fox, the animation of time plays out on the surface of a rose gold Officer’s-style case and a brown “Matara” dial.

Made in a 43mm rose gold case with retrograde hands, this depicts the fable of a fox flattering a crow to sing and thereby lose a piece of cheese it was holding in its mouth. The fox grabs the falling piece. All this is on a watch and it’s a self-winding one to boot!

Bvlgari, which has been in the race to make the world’s thinnest watch, and has one of the thinnest 40mm watches ever made has now turned its attention to reducing the diameter as well. So it unveiled the Octo Finissimo 37mm with redesigned proportions and an ultra-thin in-house movement delivering a 72-hour power reserve no less!

The watch has been developed over three years at Bvlgari’s Swiss manufacture with its compact micro-rotor caliber. It also achieves a 20 per cent reduction in volume compared with the movement of the 40mm Octo Finissimo. It comes in four distinct versions, from ultra-light titanium with two finishes to a precious yellow gold edition and a minute repeater.