Hodinkee Radio: Watches & Wonders 2024 | Day 2 — Cartier, TAG Heuer, Grand Seiko, IWC, Lange and More

Podcast: HODINKEE Podcasts
Date: April 10, 2024
Host: Tony Traina
Guests: James Stacey, Mark Kauzlarich, Danny Milton

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded live from the Lucid Motors studio in Geneva, covers day two at Watches & Wonders 2024, with first-hand impressions of new releases from Cartier, TAG Heuer, Grand Seiko, IWC, A. Lange & Söhne, and Vacheron Constantin. The Hodinkee team dives into everything from ultra-thin watch engineering to wild, esoteric complications, offering hot takes, playful banter, and detailed insights.

Panel Introductions and Day Highlights

Timestamps: 00:01–03:00

• Host Tony welcomes James Stacey, Mark Kauzlarich, and Danny Milton.
• Each shares the standout watch they saw that day, foreshadowing deeper discussions:
  • Danny: Zenith Defy Revival Diver (orange dial, 37mm) — a vintage recreation.
  • James: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra — set to become a major talking point.
  • Mark: Grand Seiko Kodo (constant force tourbillon).
  • Tony: Cartier Tortue Monopusher Chronograph.

Key Discussions by Brand

Bulgari: The Octo Finissimo Ultra

Timestamps: 03:01–05:29

• James is spellbound by the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra: "It's like somebody handed you a magic trick. It doesn't weigh anything. It's impossibly thin."
• At 1.7mm, it's the thinnest watch and thinnest chronometer-certified watch in the world.
  • "The entire watch is thinner than the bezel on an already thin Octo Finissimo" — James (05:13).
  • The case serves as the movement’s main plate, allowing chronometer certification in the cased watch.
• The panel marvels at the design and technological accomplishment, comparing it favorably to previous thinness records (e.g. Richard Mille).

Grand Seiko: The Next-Level Kodo and New Dress Watches

Timestamps: 05:41–07:28 / 32:20–36:21

• Mark describes seeing the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon: "Super intricately skeletonized... doesn't necessarily remind me of any other Grand Seiko... that's actually kind of cool." (05:53)
• James highlights the platinum/titanium case and the avant-garde leap for the brand.
• New SLGW002 & SLGW003: Hand-wound, high-beat dress watches, “the movement’s really tactile, really audibly satisfying to wind.” (33:53)
• Titanium case looks “super high polish," and the gold limited edition is attention-grabbing.
• Special 'fire’ dial treatment on the Spring Drive Chronograph GMT—red that shifts between magenta/orange/purple—captures attention for its unique aesthetic.

Cartier: Heritage, Playfulness, And Evolution

Timestamps: 07:28–21:35

Main Releases

Cartier Tortue Monopusher Chronograph

• Tony's favorite after hands-on: "They shaped the movement to fit the tortue-shaped case, calling back to the 20s/30s monopushers... I really like it." (08:53).
• Mark: “This is what Cartier would have been doing in the 20s.” (09:38)
• Hours and minutes Tortues also admired for comfort and classic style; price for yellow gold/platinum is about $30,000.

Santos Dumont Rewind

• Danny: "The movement is inverted and the numerals are reversed. So in essence, it's telling the time quote-unquote backward... a fun, sort of quirky way." (13:04)
• Panel debates the philosophical angle—Cartier playing with the purpose of time and design. “Time is almost secondary with Cartier in some respects. It's always been design-forward.” (15:45, Danny)

Mini Tanks

• Mark revels in the tiny Tank Louis and Tank Américaine: “The smallest watch in the room... it's like the size of a bead on a bracelet." (17:01)
• Joy in their existence and the playfulness of scale.

Santos Dual Time

• James on the new dual-time movement: “I absolutely adore the idea. It’s a much more conventional, full-size steel Santos... new hour display at 6 o’clock with mini AM/PM indicator.” (19:41)
• “About $9,000—a competitive space for dual time zone watches... neat to see Cartier move in that direction.” (20:45)

Cartier Wrap-up

• Consistent with recent strategy: variations on heritage shapes, limited editions with design twists, fun with complications.
• “They kind of played the hits in a way... but also doing it in a new way that's really well executed.” — Tony (21:35)

TAG Heuer: Innovation Meets Heritage

Timestamps: 23:27–32:17

Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph (Rattrapante)

• Danny’s pick: "This is the halo product for TAG Heuer this year... a powerful statement of a watch" (23:27)
• Price: 135,000 CHF, 40 made. “A passion project... where cost was not what they were trying to control.” (24:04)
• Tony: “It’s the avant-garde kind of stuff I like from TAG... rooted in the heritage of the brand in the way the Monaco is.” (25:37)
• New slimmed, refreshed case—glimpses into the future of Monaco design.

Carrera Glassbox Panda Chronograph & Bracelet

• Tony: “It plays off of the 7753 SN vintage Carrera... the real headline is they've added a bracelet for the first time to the Carrera chronograph.” (28:16)
• Now a stronger competitor to Tudor and Breitling; bracelet available on new and existing blue/black dial Carreras.
• Danny: “From an OEM perspective, it's cool to be able to have a bracelet out there” (29:39)

Rose Gold Skipper

• Danny: “When I saw it in press images, I was jarred... the Skipper is so iconic in steel.” (30:52)
• Panel expresses skepticism: would have preferred white gold or platinum.

A. Lange & Söhne: Celebrating Anniversaries with Icons

Timestamps: 36:21–40:32

• Mark on the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen: “Cool display for a really cool watch... pinnacle of 25 years of the datograph for Lange.” (36:55)
• $620,000, 50 pieces; the updown limited edition is $131,000, 125 pieces.
• “Ridiculously awesome watches. Not what I would call commercial product.” — James (40:19)
• Noted for exclusivity, meticulous finishing, and innovative mechanical updates (e.g., reworking power reserve indicator).

IWC: Portuguese Line Gets Complicated — The Eternal Calendar

Timestamps: 41:11–45:19

• Big year for the Portuguese lineup—updates on time-only, perpetual calendar, and the new “eternal calendar.”
• Danny: “What we saw was a lot of upgrades, updates, and then one again, sort of hero piece... a uniformity in a trio of colors: obsidian, dune, and dawn.” (41:28)
• Mark explains the Eternal Calendar:
  • “Joins a small group of brands with a secular perpetual calendar... a calendar that is smart enough to skip leap years every 100 years except those divisible by 400.” (42:42)
  • Accurate to the year 3999 (“reason is, governing bodies haven’t decided what to do with the year 4000 yet”) (43:33)
  • Moonphase accurate to 45 million years (“completely unnecessary, but remarkable flex”) (44:14)
  • Same case size as regular perpetual calendar; price on request.

Vacheron Constantin: The World's Most Complicated Watch

Timestamps: 45:32–48:11

• Mark: “Vacheron Constantin... beating their own record, the world's most complicated watch. The Berkley Grand Complication: 63 complications, 2,877 parts, one year to build once designed (which took 10).” (45:38)
• Adds a Chinese traditional perpetual calendar and agricultural calendar (e.g., “Bug Day”).
• “The watch is a little over 90mm in diameter, 50mm thick, weighs 2.1 pounds... only one guy, William Berkeley, will ever get to fully experience what this watch can do.” (47:00)
• Panel expresses awe at both the engineering and the collector’s ability to live with it.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind:
  "It's a riff on something that's effectively straightforward, but you're tweaking it and just having a bit more fun... I think it's actually changing the mechanics of a watch to make it harder to tell time is truly a much more unexpected way for Cartier to behave."
  — Danny Milton (13:04)

• On the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra:
  "I'm holding it like it's made out of ice on a hot day. Thin blades of ice."
  — James Stacey (03:06)

• On Grand Seiko Kodo:
  "Every time I'd hand it off to somebody, I'd look at my pictures and be like, oh, can you hand it back? Because I need to take another photo of this thing."
  — Mark Kauzlarich (05:53)

• On the Vacheron Grand Complication:
  "You can barely comprehend what's going on with that watch. It's a watch that you really can't comprehend unless you live with it, which only one guy... can."
  — Mark Kauzlarich (47:00)

Additional Highlights

• The Hodinkee team will continue coverage throughout Watches & Wonders, with more independent watchmaker highlights and catch-up on additional brands.
• Fun dynamics: plenty of self-deprecating jokes, insider banter (James as "Mr. Worldwide" of GMT watches).
• Behind-the-scenes: Joe Wyatt, editor, bought a Swatch x Blancpain 50 Fathoms “Ocean of Storms” (48:29).

Final Thoughts

The episode blends deep geekery with accessible takes, offering enthusiasm for innovation and playful critique for watches that push the boundaries of design, tradition, and complication. Stay tuned for future episodes covering even more from Geneva and off-site manufacturers.

For more images, technical details, and hands-on impressions, refer to the episode show notes.