It’s Complicated To Choose: Lex’s Three Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases
This year, I wasn’t looking for something I could own. This year’s Watches and Wonders, I was ready to be amazed, surprised, and blown away by impressive stuff. I was in the mood for complications, not retro-chic dress watches or buffed-up icons. Well, the salon didn’t disappoint, and the participating brands made it complicated for me to choose. But here goes, my three favorite Watches and Wonders 2026 releases.
You’ve seen the first one on Mike’s list, and now you see it again on mine. And that’s for good reason because the Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition is amazing in different ways. First, the lightweight titanium 42 × 48mm minute repeater with a mere 11.7mm thickness is a very wearable watch. Second, it displays original, mind-blowing mechanical ingenuity. And third, it’s clever and fun.
Lex’s three favorite Watches and Wonders 2026 releases: Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition
The Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition is a fully new development inspired by the Masterpiece 2, and it makes an impression with its slimmed-down proportions and fascinating mechanical architecture. The movement and its sublime finishing represent the serious side of this watch, as does the price of CHF 390,000. But apart from the fine watchmaking that went into this creation, I also like the lighthearted approach to probably high horology’s most serious complication, the minute repeater.
Aside from the vibrating resonance movement that’s utterly fascinating to watch, this Armin Strom creation has a party trick every owner of a repeater watch needs and now wants. On demand, the Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition chimes 12:59, the time that brings out the best in a repeater watch. This limited edition of 25 pieces is always ready to help you impress your peers.
Ulysse Nardin Super Freak: I will bring it home to Mother
The heart wants what the heart wants, and apparently, I want what Mike wants because he also put the Ulysse Nardin Super Freak on his list of favorite releases. After writing the intro article, I was anxious to see the latest iteration of the Freak, and it didn’t disappoint, to put it mildly. The 44mm white gold Super Freak clearly sits in the tradition of experimental, exuberant Freaks and presents itself in a very complicated yet transparent way. This Freak has nothing to hide and everything to show.
At the center of the Super Freak is the new in-house automatic caliber UN-252, comprising 511 components. It features a double-tourbillon configuration combined with a flying carousel system. Two inclined flying tourbillons, each set at a 10-degree angle and rotating in opposite directions, complete a full revolution every 60 seconds. It might take a couple of minutes to find out what part is where, but that’s part of the Super Freak’s appeal.
To read the time, pay attention to the tourbillons. They are mounted on a lightweight titanium bridge that also serves as the minute indicator. The entire carousel rotates once per hour, respecting the Freak’s characteristic display format. According to the brand, more than 97% of the movement’s components are in constant motion. To wind and set the watch, twist the case back. Who needs a crown? Not me during this year’s Watches and Wonders, anyway.
The Super Freak is a limited edition of 50 pieces. And if the price weren’t €348,100 / US$393,600 / CHF 320,000, I would take it home to Mother.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Jumping Date: A tour de force from Le Sentier
What if you take the ultra-complicated caliber 978, refine the finishes, and make them more accessible to admiring eyes by partially openworking the dial to allow the tourbillon, signature jumping date mechanism, and 24-hour display to shine even brighter? One thing that happens is that the Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Jumping Date makes it to my list. Jaeger-LeCoultre might not be as unconventional as Armin Strom’s on-demand minute repeater, but this complicated Master watch also has a quirky feature — a date display around the main dial.
You might think your Oris Pointer Date does exactly that for a fraction of the price, but you’re wrong. Because of the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, this layout creates a problem. After all, when you pay six figures for a watch, you don’t want a hand blocking the view of that magnificent tourbillon for a few days. And that’s why JLC came up with a jumping date mechanism powered by the calendar driver, viewable at the 9 o’clock position. This component triggers a rapid glide of the date hand at midnight on the 15th of each month.
The three-dimensional look and level of finishing of this price-on-demand timepiece are also fascinating. You’ll find straight graining, perlage, beveling, sandblasting, and black polishing; the watch showcases next-level refinement. On the movement side, you’ll get to admire flourishes, such as Côtes de Genève and a 22K pink gold rotor. “Creating unobstructed views” could indeed be the motto of this timepiece, as the rotor, with its strategically placed cutout to allow light to pass through the dial-side window, clearly shows.
I picked something unobtainable from JLC because I wanted to just enjoy the highest level of watchmaking from the watchmaker of watchmakers without thinking about how I would finance the new Master Control Chronometre Date Power Reserve. I’ve managed so far.
