Watchonista Staff Picks: February Releases

As a collector, who will admittedly talk watches with a brick wall, I love reading what my colleagues at Watchonista submit as their latest favorite monthly watch release. But perhaps even more than just finding out which model they chose, I’m fascinated by why it’s their favorite.

So, after a sparring match on Slack over who got to choose the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-thin 39mm (ref. 16202BA) in January, my latest pick just so happens to, again, overlap with at least one of my colleagues: The Breitling Top Time collaboration with Triumph.
 

For me, this piece is an instant winner. Released a little over a week ago, the Breitling Top Time Triumph is where style and speed intersect. You heard it from me; icy blue is the IT dial color. Granted: Maybe it’s just living in the throes of a New York winter, but that blue deeply resonated with me
 

And while I wouldn’t dream of riding a Triumph Motorcycle (or any motorcycle, for that matter), I would certainly wear this, especially when priced at a reasonable $5,500.

I have been a “watch person” ever since my uncle Frank gave me a kid’s Timex, which I faithfully kept in its clamshell box every night, wore to school, and tried to remove before any after-school rock fights with my friends (that part was largely unsuccessful). But, soon on the heels of that, a friend of my mom’s brought over her 49cc Honda “Monkey” mini-bike and taught me how to ride.

I was instantly smitten.

While, these days, I currently own more timepieces than motorcycles, I’d be hard-pressed to choose one passion over the other. Luckily, with the recently announced Breitling x Triumph Top Time Triumph chronograph and Top Time Triumph Speed Twin Owners’ Limited Edition watches, as well as a limited-edition Speed Twin Breitling ride, now I don’t have to. This collaboration is a perfect example of why motorcycles and timepieces really play well together, plain and simple.
 

In truth, I hadn’t been too familiar with the gorgeous striated “Zorro” dial of collectible Top Times, but there’s a reason why they are so coveted. And a British-brand café racer is a bike on every two-wheeler’s list. But when a watch is made in an ice-blue hue that matches the bike’s tank, it creates an authentic style statement without being overly matchy-matchy.

For timepieces, I favor sports chronographs that lean into the badass. For motorcycles, a café racer-style bike with modern engineering is a rocking dream come true. Together? Thanks, Breitling, for colliding two of my worlds in a way that cannot be ignored.
 

A perpetual calendar for dummies seems a little silly, but somehow, H. Moser pulls it off in a unique and desirable way. That is why my favorite February release is the 42mm H. Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Tutorial (ref. 1800-0205).

Amazingly, H. Moser & Cie. has managed to make a watch with a seemingly complicated movement very easy to understand using a “cheat sheet” on the dial. For those that don't know, Moser already makes its perpetual calendars pretty much foolproof and this tongue-in-cheek version is like the cherry on top of a very delicious (and expensive) cake.