1. Only Watch biennial bumper auction postponed

Excitement was high through this latter half of the year after Only Watch announced its line-up of lots in June for the 10th version of its biennial auction this year. However, the auction was suddenly postponed to an unspecified date in 2024. Only Watch said in a statement that “time for certification, changes in governance and the imminent auction do not coincide”, refraining from offering further details about the situation.

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Funds raised since the auction’s first edition in 2005 are said to have gone towards efforts to combat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but controversy has brewed in recent months over fund allocations, according to Only Watch’s own press release on the postponement. Only Watch provided answers regarding funding strategies, structures, projects and accounting.

To support the cause, watchmakers and high horology maisons across the industry had put forth rare and daring pieces to be auctioned off, such as Urwerk’s light sabre-esque Space-Time Blade vertical clock, and a Patek Philippe grand complication piece with an entirely original movement expected to never be made again.

However, watchmakers appear to be split by the issue. Audemars Piguet pulled its lot from the auction just a few days shy of the press release, according to multiple reports, while independent watchmaker F.P. Journe’s founder François-Paul Journe showed personal support for the auction on his Instagram around the same time.

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2. Louis Vuitton collaborates with Rexhep Rexhepi

The LVRR-01 is the first of the annual pieces released as part of the collaboration, so watch this space to see what the younger Arnault, Louis Vuitton and Rexhepi come up with next.

3. Dubai gets flooded at Dubai Watch Week (with watches too)

One of the world’s most globally important watch gatherings, Dubai Watch Week concluded an eventful weekend on November 20, as 50 brands gathered at the Dubai International Financial Centre to exhibit novelties under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

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4. Leonardo DiCaprio saves the environment … with his wrist

When sustainability and high horology come together, even Leonardo DiCaprio found watchmaker ID Genève hard to resist, as he and several Swiss family offices together raised two million Swiss francs (around US$2.3 million) in a seed round to support the watchmaker this year.

Founded in 2020, the brand is known primarily for sustainable watches, particularly from its Circular collection. This year’s Circular S piece is made from 100 per cent recycled steel which, according to a press release, “has been remelted in a solar furnace, reducing its carbon footprint by a factor of 165”. The watch straps are compostable and made from vegetal sources, and even the packaging is made form mycelium and seaweed.

“I am thrilled to be an investor in ID Genève, a brand that’s driving change in the luxury industry and beyond, by consistently innovating and focusing on circular economy principles,” DiCaprio said.

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5. Watches are on the menu at F.P. Journe’s new restaurant

Independent watchmaker François-Paul Journe expanded his palate as he teamed up with chef Dominique Gauthier to open F.P. Journe Le Restaurant, taking over the 49 Rue de Rhone address in Geneva, Switzerland. Its previous tenant, La Bavaria, founded 1912, was frequented by the League of Nations.

Journe, in charge of decoration, adorned the restaurant with strong horological references. The walls of the dining room show technical drawings of watch movements, and tables are named after other famous watchmakers such as Jost Burgi and Christiaan Huygens. The restaurant’s centrepiece is an astronomical clock from the 17th century signed “Giovanni Burgell Venetia”.

6. Brands release stunning pieces with innovative design

While events and openings filled the calendar these last two months, brands opened the floodgates with releases steeped in cutting edge design. MB&F released yet another futuristic spaceship watch in the form of the HM11 Architect. Inspired by 1960s architecture, the four “rooms” or windows fanning out from a central tourbillon show the time, the power reserve, a horologically rare thermometer and the crown embossed with the MB&F logo.

Also breaking ground in design, H. Moser & Cie in October gave us a dual-retrograde interpretation of the Chinese calendar for its Endeavour collection, and then the all-new HMC 500 micro-rotor movement for a Streamliner that can now go to an extremely wearable 39mm.

Oris opened the year with the now-iconic ProPilot X Kermit, and bookends the year with the ProPilot X Calibre 400 Laser Watch, this time with an unprecedented rainbow-gradient dial using nothing but laser etching. Girard Perregaux, on the other hand, focused on inner beauty by expanding on its Neo Constant Escapement, which won the brand the Aiguille d’Or 10 years ago at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Closer to home, Malaysian watchmaker Horologer Ming nailed its attempt at making the lightest watch ever with the Ming LW. 01, which weighs 8.8 and 10.8 grams for manual and automatic versions respectively. The 38mm piece fully utilised 3D printing and carbon fibre derivatives to achieve the light weight whilst retaining the sleek design language for which the brand is known.

7. GPHG “Watch Oscars” come to a close

The long-awaited winners from this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève were announced in stunning fashion on November 9 by 30 high horology luminaries assembled by jury president Nicholas Foulke. Nineteen awards were given to outstanding timepieces and the masterminds behind them. Audemars Piguet took home the Aiguille d’Or grand prize for its Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4, Ulysse Nardin took home the Iconic Watch Prize for its Freak One, Tudor’s Pelagos 39 won the Sports Watch Prize, and Simon Brette’s debut Chronomètre Artisans took home the “horological revelation” prize, to name just a few of the winners.