The past seven days have been all about independents and emerging brands. Yes, Blancpain made the news with a compact Bathyscaphe, but this week’s selection looks wider: a sapphire-dial Czapek following up a hugely successful 2024 limited edition, a debut release from independent watchmaker Alexandre Martin, and Wren listening to its customer base and finally delivering a black diver. Discover the rest of the selection below and enjoy the reading!
Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue
Czapek revisits the sapphire-dial concept from its 2024 Viridian Green with the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue, a 38-piece limited edition joining the current collection.
The 38mm steel case is 10.8mm thick with sapphire crystals front and back, revealing a blue fumé dial created by vapour-deposited metallisation that thins towards the off-centre small seconds at 4:30.
The in-house skeletonised Calibre SXH7 was reworked to be legible from the dial side, with a platinum micro-rotor and 60-hour reserve.
Price: CHF 28,800
Learn more about the Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue here.
Alexandre Martin 1965
Former Greubel Forsey and Petermann Bedat complications watchmaker Alexandre Martin unveils its debut piece, calling it 1965.
The 38mm stainless steel case features a concave bezel and long, stepped lugs for a minimalist, yet appealing design.
Its almost ethereal dial features a grand feu enamel sub-dial crafted by Anita Porchet’s Atelier, and it’s limited to 12 pieces.
Price: on request
Learn more about the Alexandre Martin 1965 here.
Wren Diver One Abyss
Wren Watches answers collectors’ requests for a black dial with the Diver One Abyss, using Musou Black, a Japanese coating absorbing 99.4% of light.
The 41mm steel case with clear DLC coating is 13.3mm thick with a domed anti-reflective sapphire box crystal and 200m water resistance, unchanged from the standard Diver One.
A black ceramic 120-click bezel is fully lumed across its 60-minute scale, with aqua Swiss Super-LumiNova on every dial element.
Price: US$1,195
Learn more about the Wren Diver One Abyss here.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition
Blancpain returns to the styling of the particularly handsome 1968 Bathyscaphe for its 70th-anniversary limited edition, recreating its proportions and distinctive steel bezel architecture.
Its 37.4mm stainless-steel case houses the automatic calibre 1150, delivering a 100-hour power reserve while protected by 300 metres of water resistance.
Limited to 300 pieces, the new Bathyscaphe pairs a sunburst meteor grey dial with vintage-toned lume and a chocolate calfskin strap.
Price: US$18,300
Learn more about the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 70th Anniversary Limited Edition here.
Chopard L.U.C Essence of Shunga
Chopard creates a unique piece for Monegasque ART IN TIME gallery, marking the gallery’s new Ginza location with a tribute to Japanese artistic heritage.
The 40mm 18-carat ethical rose gold case is just 8.1mm thick, housing a rotating disc that reveals six miniature scenes inspired by Edo-period Shunga art, hand-painted in Urushi lacquer.
Each scene was individually hand-crafted by a master Urushi artisan in Japan, moving thanks to the automatic L.U.C 96.29-L calibre with a 65-hour reserve.
Price: €97,000
Learn more about the Chopard L.U.C Essence of Shunga here.
Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph & Senator Chronograph Navigator
Glashütte Original debuts two new 41mm chronographs sharing the same case and calibre but with two very different feelings: the dressier light dial classic and the tool-watch-styled Navigator.
The Navigator’s matte black dial has 3D Super-LumiNova Arabic numerals, while the classic has a galvanic silver dial and blue-coated gold Roman numerals to echo 19th-century maritime observation watches.
Both models run the Calibre 37-24, the in-house automatic column-wheel flyback chronograph with a silicon balance spring, Panorama Date, and 70-hour reserve.
Price: US$16,100 (strap), US$17,100 (bracelet)
Learn more about the Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph & Senator Chronograph Navigator here.
Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted
Wei Koh and Guillaume Tetu launch LEGARE, a Neuchâtel-based brand reviving forgotten horological ideas, debuting with the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted after Albert-Gustave Piguet’s 1932 double-balance pocket watch.
The 37.5mm Grade 5 titanium case is 9.95mm thick, with the movement inverted so its twin balance wheels sit visibly on the dial side, and available in two different finishes.
The two independent balance wheels beating at 21,600vph, averaged by a differential rather than resonance, employ side-angled lever escapements normally used for tourbillons.
Price: CHF 81,944
Learn more about the Legare Chapter 1 AGP Inverted here.
Minerva The Unveiled Chronograph Limited Edition
Minerva dresses its reversed monopusher chronograph in full 18k yellow gold for the first time, pairing it with brown-coated bridges for a warmer take on the Unveiled series.
The 43mm case is 14.78mm thick with a fluted bezel, five sapphire apertures on the case side, and a domed box-shaped crystal.
The hand-wound Calibre M17.26 flips its column-wheel monopusher chronograph to the dial side, with 291 components and a 50-hour reserve.
Price: €84,000
Learn more about the Minerva The Unveiled Chronograph Limited Edition here.
Venezianico Nereide Opale Blu
Venezianico follows up its 2025 Nereide Opale with the Opale Blu, a lab-grown opal dial produced by Kyocera in Japan, limited to 600 pieces.
The classic Nereide case measures 42mm by 12.5mm with a polished tungsten bezel insert, sapphire crystal and 200m water resistance.
Each 0.4mm-thick opal dial shifts between teal, azure, and cobalt as light hits it, and hides a Sellita SW200-1 with a custom rhodium-plated rotor.
Price: €1,350
Learn more about the Venezianico Nereide Opale Blu here.
Norqain Independence Skeleton Titanium DLC
Norqain gives its Independence Skeleton a stealthier look, moving to a Grade 5 titanium case with black DLC coating for the first time, alongside warm red-gold dial accents.
The 42mm case is 11.8mm thick with sapphire crystals front and back, a screw-down crown, and 100m water resistance, weighing notably less than the steel version.
The black skeletonised dial pairs red gold-plated markers and hands with white X1 Super-LumiNova.
Price: €4,850 (pin buckle), €5,180 (folding clasp)
Learn more about the Norqain Independence Skeleton Titanium DLC here.