Why the spotlight was on time-only watches at 2024’s ‘Oscars of watchmaking’: made popular by the likes of Rolex, Omega, Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre, the trend has found champions in smaller brands

Jan 19 , 2025

Time-only watches, like this Cartier Tank Français, allow the brand’s aesthetic language to shine through. Photo: Handout

Timepieces

The 2024 GPHG saw a surge in interest for these ‘purist’ watches, with brands like H. Moser & Cie, Parmigiani Fleurier and Chopard highlighting the trend for ‘quiet luxury’

The 24th edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), often referred to as the Oscars of watchmaking, brought to the fore many of the world’s leading brands and horologists. The winners, announced in November 2024, were picked from 90 finalists, selected from 273 submissions. Twenty-one watches were ultimately accorded honours in their relevant categories.

There was a brand new category for 2024 – time-only watches. H. Moser & Cie was the winner here with its Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel.

H. Moser & Cie’s Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel was a winner at the 2024 GPHG awards. Photo: Handout

For those not familiar with the term, a time-only watch is, just as the name suggests, the purest form of timepiece – displaying the hours, minutes, seconds and nothing else. Opting out of crazy complications and complex displays, a time-only watch strips a model down to its base functions, highlighting simplicity, luxurious materials and uninterrupted symmetry.

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is among the most popular time-only watches, albeit not in the purest form. Photo: Handout

In contemporary horology, popular examples of time-only watches include a number of heavyweights, like the Rolex Submariner and Oyster Perpetual, Omega watches like the Trésor and Vacheron Constantin’s Historiques 1921. Connecting with the trend for “quiet luxury”, time-only watches are highly coveted by those seeking a touch of pared-back elegance on the wrist. Anyone yearning for a bit more complexity to their watch face, meanwhile, might opt for a time and date model – timepieces that are essentially time-only, with just a date indicator added to the dial.

We look at some time-only watches that have created a buzz in recent years.

Parmigiani Fleurier calls its Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date “beauty in its purest form”. Photo: Handout

Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date, which the brand describes as “beauty in its purest form”, was a nominee at GPHG awards. First introduced in September 2021, the model is highlighted by a Golden Siena dial textured with the brand’s signature grain d’orge hand-guilloche finishing. A favourite among fans of absolute purity in watchmaking, the Tonda strips the dial of everything but the time indicator, notably having no date window, while a 3.07mm-thick PF703 calibre with automatic winding by micro-rotor beats within.

Chopard’s L.U.C Qualité Fleurier has its roots in 2005. Photo: Handout