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Our Favorite Watches From Watches & Wonders 2021
We saw dozens of new watch releases enter the world during the year's largest trade show, Watches & Wonders Geneva, last week. Some, like Breitling, even appeared just before the start of the festivities! There were big watches and small watches, two-tone watches and green watches, and even some kinda weird watches. Through it all, we asked our intrepid editors to pick their favorite releases from 2021's big show. Who knows, some of their choices just might surprise you.
James Stacey: Cartier SolarBeat Tank Must
If you're going to go quartz, why not solar? I have been hunting for a Cartier Tank for the better part of a couple of years, and the sheer range of choice ensures that anyone can find a Tank for their wrist. But, if you want to get into modern Cartier with some kind of a budget and no loss of style, the new SolarBeat Tank Must has to be on your radar.
Priced from $2,480, this techy Tank has a subtle execution that doesn't scream solar, but rather looks, well, like a proper Tank. While mechanical models will always hold the heart of the enthusiast, I see a huge amount of appeal in this watch as the go-to dress option for folks that usually wear sport watches. With a steel case, two sizes, and a gorgeous mix of blued steel on a silver dial, the SolarBeat Tank Must is an exciting addition to the Tank range that manages to add a new kind of appeal without sacrificing any of the elements that make Cartier so special. Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat
Danny Milton: Cartier Tank Must
Colorful Cartiers Batman! That was basically my internal monologue when I first saw images of these new monochromatic Cartier Tank Must watches. Then I thought, "I must see these Musts," (okay, I didn't actually think that verbatim). While I haven't seen them in the metal yet, my excitement hasn't waned a bit. Sure, there's precedent for these colorful pieces going back to the Must de Cartier Tank Vermeil watches of the '80s, but there's still something fresh and exciting about this release. When Cartier goes minimal and colorful, count me in. Cartier Tank Must
Jack Forster: Cartier Prive Collection Cloche de Cartier
Every single year, at every single trade show, I have to go through this charade of picking a favorite, and I absolutely hate it because even in a slimmed-down version of a traditional trade show, like Watches & Wonders, there are a cornucopia of potential candidates, and I am terrible at making up my mind. I'm not going to try anyone's patience by listing all the candidates because you're here for results, not an insight into my neuroses, but it's…tough.
That said, if I were picking one watch to wear every day, the Cloche is right up there. It's one of my all-time favorite designs from Cartier (which is a company that even taken alone, offers an absurdly vast range of choices in elegant daily drivers). The Cloche is not, I think, for everyone – the design is idiosyncratic, verging on quirky, and the odd orientation of the dial and asymmetry of the case probably puts it out of the running for a significant fraction of the watch-loving public. But that's precisely what I like about it. I wouldn't go so far as to call it oddball charm – the design is too aristocratic for that – but it is true that it is the very features that take it out of the running for some folks, that make it what it is. Being offbeat: it's not a bug, it's a feature. Cartier Cloche de Cartier
