Feels Like The First Time

First impressions matter. Traversing the grounds of Watches And Wonders 2023 in Geneva, the world's largest watch fair, our editors single out the timepieces that thrilled them at first sight

- Alvin Wong

PATEK PHILIPPE
Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar

By all accounts, I do not belong to the target market for the Aquanaut Luce. A subset of Patek Philippe's dive watch collection, the Aquanaut, the slightly more diminutive Aquanaut Luce (Italian for 'light'), was released in 2004 to court women aficionados. Even so, this new annual calendar triggers a primal desire to possess it-certainly an unfamiliar emotion for me to have for a women's watch.

The Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar oozes gravitas but not just for its sake. The watch's calendar mechanism automatically computes the 30th and 31st days of the months, except for February. This means you only need to set the date once every year. Such fuss-free practicality backed by top-notch horological engineering is a big win in my books. Intelligent functionality aside, the watch's mechanical innovation is complemented by gorgeous aesthetics. The pairing of rose gold with slate-blue is a dream. And the 39.9mm case sits snugly on my wrist, as it will also do on so many gentlemen's? A revelation that there is going to be a battle of the sexes for this beauty.

A LANGE & SÖHNE

Odysseus Chronograph

The audacity that A Lange & Söhne has to premiere just one watch at the world’s largest watch exposition certainly raises eyebrows. It is a chest-thumping, big brand-energy type of move that could’ve easily gone south. Even so—and unsurprisingly—the Odysseus Chronograph knocks it out of the park with its solo act.