This guide covers the best watches released at Baselworld 2019. You can read our other Baselworld 2019 coverage here, or skip right to the best watches below.
There were a couple of surprises at Baselworld 2019, but the show also saw some anticipated iterations, updates and a lot of vintage re-releases. With the Swatch Group’s many prominent brands absent from the show this year for the first time as well as more brands participating in SIHH earlier in the year, Baselworld felt smaller and more focused than in the past. Brands continued to draw on their heritage with many new releases celebrating notable anniversaries of some kind or another — among them, the 50th birthdays of major watchmaking innovations in 1969.
Even if technical or design innovation wasn’t the show’s central theme, there were a lot of satisfying new watches to enjoy. Reproducing “heritage” watches or new watches based on them has often allowed brands to focus on simple models with mass appeal and proven design longevity. This intersects well with trends toward smaller, more wearable sizes and entry-level pieces. While industry insiders may see creative stagnation, many consumers will welcome retro styles with modern specs.
Tudor Black Bay P01
Why It Matters: Given the teaser photos on Instagram, the watch community at large may have been expecting a new Submariner, but what it got was something decidedly different. The Black Bay P01 is based on a model Tudor designed for the U.S. Navy and patented in the 1960s — but the government never purchased it, and Tudor never put it into production. With a unique bezel-locking mechanism and bracelet, 12-hour bezel and automatic Tudor calibre MT5612 powering the time-and-date dial, the P01 is most definitely a departure for the brand, and a welcome one at that. Even if you’re not keen on the aesthetics, it’s hard to argue that this watch doesn’t follow the brand’s “Born To Dare” ethos, a sentiment that’s sometimes lacking in the watch industry.
