5 Under-the-Radar Yet Memorable Releases from Watches and Wonders 2026

Sometimes the B-sides are the best. Even if they’re not the best, though, there are always cool and interesting novelties that get overlooked in the avalanche of Watches and Wonders releases or outshined by the headline announcements. It might even be a mere update to an existing collection that just happens to hit right. Some cool stuff inevitably gets buried. Here are a few that unexpectedly left an impression this year. 

Chopard Traveler One

This is the same sporty Chopard LUC Traveler One you know, but with a new colorway — and in matte titanium, making it even sportier. It was overshadowed by the popular Alpine Eagle releases, but I was struck by this particular execution of it when I got it on my wrist. Matte titanium is on the rise in the watch industry, and we wholeheartedly approve. This is one of the coolest recent releases to make use of it, however, and with the green and yellow here the overall product is strikingly original and, well, just kind of awesome. It boosted the want for a Traveler One more than ever. $20,300

Learn more on Chopard’s website, here.

Corum Heritage Golden Book

Recently under new management, Corum relaunched this year with a full roster of updated models as well as obscure vintage reissues in the Heritage collection, an example of which is the Golden Book. It might not be the most pragmatic daily wear, but you can perhaps appreciate that something like this exists. I do, anyway. Open the cover and on the dial is an Ernest Hemingway quote: “Now is no time to think of what you don’t have. Think of what you can do with what you have.” …Which is a little like saying “don’t think of a pink elephant,” but never mind — it fits. The case is in 18k gold with titanium, and the movement is Corum’s manually wound CO157 (solid caseback). CHF 28,000

Learn more on Corum’s website, here.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual 34

This was a surprise. The unexpected part was that and that it didn’t feel too petite, as a 34mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual might be expected to do — and that I simply liked it on the wrist so much. The weight was part of that, as the added heft of Everose (pink) gold gave it considerable presence while remaining wearable. Apparently, a lot of other editors had a similar reaction, according to the Rolex representative that presented the novelties. This model was part of the brand’s celebration of 100 years since the Oyster watch was first released in 1926, and there are other dial variants as well as pink gold models and 28mm options. $38,100

Learn more on Rolex’s website, here.

Vacheron Historiques American 1921

There was palpable excitement over Vacheron Constantin’s flagship release, the Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points. But seeing the brand’s quirky driver’s watch in person with its new iteration was strikingly fun. The Historiques 1921, as it’s called, has a cushion case and dial rotated 45 degrees for reading with one’s hands on a steering wheel. It was reissued some years ago with regular updates since, and the new models feature a grained dial (echoing that of the new Overseas Cardinal Points) and come in pink gold cases of 36.5 mm and 40mm. $37,200; $45,000

Learn more on Vacheron Constantin’s website, here.

Cartier Privé Cloche

Cartier’s Privé collection has become one of the highlights of Watches and Wonders each year. Since 2017, they’ve focused on a historical model to give special attention and reproduce with care and refinement for dedicated collectors. For the 10th edition thereof, the brand released no fewer than six of them. By far the quirkiest and most easily overlooked was the Cloche (“bell” in French) which was introduced in the 1920s and also brought back for the Privé in 2021. Here, it’s in a small-wearing 37mm x 28.6mm x 5.7mm yellow gold case with the hand-wound Caliber 070. Even among the brand’s famously shaped watches, this one is on the eccentric side — but Cartier, of course, pulls it off. $37,600

Learn more on Cartier’s website, here.