While the Apple Watch is possibly the most popular (or best-known) choice—its new Series 9 is due to be released this September—there are plenty of other smartwatches on the market that offer a range of different features, some of which come from tried-and-true timepiece names.

Citizen CZ Smart

Unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show, Citizen’s Gen-2 CZ Smart watch (above, and also at top), with a range of touchscreen Sport, Casual, and Hybrid Sport styles, won nine Best of CES and Editor’s Choice awards. The timepieces feature a built-in self-case advisor through the proprietary CZ Smart YouQ wellness app, developed using research pioneered by NASA’s Ames Research Center and AI built within IBM Watson Studio.

The watch is designed to help its wearer understand and anticipate patterns of fatigue and alertness: It can offer customized insights and personalized strategies to help manage stress, set activity goals, and encourage self-care and well-being. The watch learns over time by aggregating wearer data, helping to cater to wearers more personally.

The Sport, Casual, and Hybrid watches are available now, and Citizen plans to introduce five additional CZ Smart Hybrid Sport styles this fall.

Garmin Instinct Solar

Not from a traditional watch brand but rather one associated with GPS, the latest offering from Garmin is topping all the lists of smartwatches to consider in 2023. Ideal for those spending a large amount of time outdoors, the watch is capable of lasting up to 51 days on solar-powered battery, has three satellite tracking systems perfect for hikers and adventurers, and offers a wealth of fitness and activity tracking apps. This is only one of a number of new smartwatches released by Garmin this year, including new models for runners, new sizes for its popular Epix Pro, new colors for its petite Lily watch, and more.

Withings ScanWatch

French company Withings specializes in products that monitor health, from sleep sensors to blood pressure monitors to smart scales—and smartwatches. Though it was acquired by Nokia in 2016, founder Eric Carreel purchased the brand back in 2018, making it once again a privately owned company.

One of Withings’ latest offerings is the ScanWatch, a highly rated, relatively affordable option that became available for purchase in the United States only in the past year, for those who need to actively monitor a health condition. It’s the first analog watch with a clinically tested and approved electrocardiogram, automatically detecting changes in heart rate and oxygen saturation level; it’s also the first Withings watch to be FDA cleared. The watch contains a respiratory scanner to monitor breathing disturbances and offers advanced sleep tracking, in addition to the more traditional fitness tracker features. While ideal for those monitoring their health, the watch also offers coaching apps that help wearers improve their fitness, making it a fine and stylish choice for anyone.

Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch

Coming in around $300, Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatch is a fairly budget-friendly option for shoppers looking to get acquainted with the concept of wearable tech.

Powered by Google, the piece is available in a range of styles and materials, from pink silicone to stainless steel; some models include a leather strap or interchangeable dials. The watches offer constant heart rate and sleep health tracking, boast built-in Alexa and Google Pay features, and can make and take phone calls.

Lagos Smart Caviar watch bracelet

While not a smartwatch on its own, Lagos’ just-released watch bracelets are worth a mention for those looking to dress up their Apple Watch. In the brand’s signature Caviar style, the bracelet is available in a range of metals and with or without diamonds or gemstones; some even incorporate colorful ceramic links in shades such as lilac, ultramarine blue, and (hi, Barbie!) pink. Prices start at $650 for a stainless steel style, and run up to $40,000 for an all-18k gold and diamond version.

Top: Citizen’s CZ Smart Casual touchscreen watch

When it comes to the watch’s nuances, Omega is, naturally, going for gold. The piece features a laser-structured diver’s bezel in positive relief crafted from the brand’s own yellow gold alloy, 18k Moonshine Gold—which radiates a more subtle shade of gold—with a single speck of phosphorescent lume at 12 o’clock.

But the face of the watch isn’t the only thing to see here. The back of its stainless steel case features Omega’s proprietary gold in an inlaid medallion bearing the Paris 2024 emblem—and standing out even more in contrast to the laser-ablated background. “Paris 2024″ and the instantly recognizable Olympic rings are etched and polished in stainless steel against that frosted background.

The rest of the watch’s specifications fall in line with what’s expected of a Diver 300M, from Omega’s Seamaster line. It has a 42 mm case and is 13.7 mm thick, and it’s fastened on a stainless steel bracelet featuring the watchmaker’s new Quick Change System—the bracelet can be swapped for a red, white, or blue rubber strap or even a dedicated Paris 2024 woven NATO strap, offered in five different colors.

Currently available only at Omega’s boutique in the 2024 Olympics’ host city, the special-edition watch—although not limited or numbered—is priced at $8,700 (compared with $5,900 for the standard Seamaster 300 in stainless steel).

Top: Seamaster Diver 300M “Paris 2024” special-edition watch in stainless steel and 18k Moonshine Gold, $8,700; Omega (photos courtesy of Omega)

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No, it’s not the Monica and Chandler set. Armitron has debuted Ross and Rachel watches, named for the Friends characters who “stole the world’s hearts,” according to a company press release.

Maybe they were on a break. Maybe they weren’t. But Ross and Rachel had 10 memorable seasons of on-again, off-again romance on the NBC sitcom, occasionally living together and eventually becoming parents.

Armitron seeks to celebrate such enduring love bonds through the Ross and Rachel timepieces, says Bobbie Weichselbaum, CEO of E. Gluck Corporation, its parent company. “Within these classic his-and-her watches, we’ve artfully captured not only precise craftsmanship but also the very essence of everlasting love and commitment,” Weichselbaum tells JCK.

“Timeless elegance and unparalleled design come together in the Ross and Rachel, making them the perfect companions for couples embarking on their journey of love—a truly cherished choice for the 2023 wedding season,” Weichselbaum says.

The Ross and Rachel could be worn by (or given to) anyone in the bridal party, Armitron said in a press release. The watch design is coordinated so the couple wearing them fit together, kind of like lobster claws.

Let’s pivot to how the watches look. The Ross features a stainless steel case, bracelet, and coin edge bezel, with a choice of three dial finishes: glossy white, sunray silver, or glossy black. The watch embodies harmony, elegancy, and functionality, Armitron said in its press release. There is no dinosaur embellishment available, but even if you aren’t a paleontologist, you could pay for the $95 watch with a dinosaur check, allowing you to share some of your prehistoric love.

Just remember: If you are marrying someone named Emily, you can’t say Rachel’s name at the altar or bad things will ensue. Anyway…

The Rachel has a stainless steel case and bracelet with adjustable links. It comes in either silver with a sunray silver dial or gold with a glossy white dial. This $85 timepiece promises to stay on if you want to climb out of the window at your wedding or if you go backpacking across western Europe and find yourself just outside Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo.

If you wear the Rachel, you don’t have to have a wedding veil made by blind Belgium nuns, have a ring the size of your fist, or look like a floating angel, but you certainly will have a watch that you can enjoy long into your marriage.

Now that’s closure.

Top: Armitron introduced Ross and Rachel watches for bridal parties as part of its 2023 product line. (Photos courtesy of Armitron)

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In this newly created role, Kelly will oversee operations and continued growth for Fourtané’s flagship location, along with a new retail expansion into women’s fine jewelry, slated for later this year.

Kelly was previously chief commercial officer for Hodinkee, the editorial and e-commerce website for luxury timepieces. Prior to joining Hodinkee, Kelly spearheaded the re-introduction of Rolex sister brand Tudor into the U.S. market. He has also worked at Vacheron Constantin and Blancpain.

“We are thrilled to have Russell join the Fourtané team at this crucial moment when our business is poised for significant growth,” said Josh Bonifas, a second-generation family owner of the store, in a statement.

(Photo courtesy of Fourtané)

Growth was led by a 14.4% jump in May and a 14% increase in June, compared with those months in 2022.

Watch exports to the United States—the world’s largest market for Swiss watches—slowed down slightly in terms of growth in June, but they still rose by 8.8%. Overall, Swiss watch exports to the United States increased 9.9% in the year’s first half.

Other major markets also grew significantly in June, including China (up 9%), Hong Kong (46.2%), Singapore (12.7%), and Japan (10.1%). Europe was more mixed; the United Kingdom, France, and Italy showed growth, but Spain and the Netherlands did not.

“While the sector benefited from positive momentum in the luxury market, it also saw significant demand for entry-level watches, with volumes in this segment growing strongly,” according to a FHS statement.

Watches with an export price between 200 and 500 Swiss francs (about $230–$580) rose by 20% in June, after the category posted declines in recent years. Watches made with precious metals accounted for the highest contribution by absolute value, though all materials had an increase in June.

The FHS noted that while demand was healthy, watch manufacturers “continued to face a shortage of labor, as well as supply difficulties.”

(Photo: Getty Images)

Like Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament where players from around the world gather each year, Rolex is known for its tradition and grandeur. With a distinct meteorite dial (Gibeon, to be exact) that came from an asteroid or planet older than Earth, Alcaraz’s timepiece nods to the legacy that preceded him on Wimbledon’s courts, and in the sport of tennis as a whole.

Meteorite dials were discontinued from Rolex’s Daytona portfolio earlier this year, making the tennis player’s watch even rarer. But Rolex currently has a similar Rolex Cosmograph Daytona model in 18k yellow gold with the same bezel and Oysterflex bracelet available for those looking to sport the style (for $30,600).

As for Alcaraz, this likely won’t be the last time we see him wearing a Rolex—or claiming a championship trophy, for that matter. He became a Rolex brand ambassador at just 18 years old and wore another Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (Ref. 116500LN) to accept his first Grand Slam title, at the U.S. Open, in 2022. Hey, it might just be his good luck charm.

Top: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (Ref. 116519LN) in 18k yellow gold with black Cerachrom bezel and meteorite dial on an Oysterflex bracelet

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Known as CR7, Ronaldo topped Forbes’ 2023 list of highest-paid athletes, earning $136 million from sponsorships and contracts with soccer teams Manchester United and Al Nassr. He is an avid watch collector.

Chrono24 didn’t specify how much Ronaldo’s holding company, CR7 SA, invested, but his cash infusion came with new investments from a majority of existing shareholders.

Past investors in the company include the family of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, former Richemont director Gianni Serazzi, and Yoox Net-a-Porter founder Alberto Grignolo. Based in Karlsruhe, Germany, Chrono24 has been valued at over $1 billion.

“No one brings passion for luxury watches to the world stage quite like Cristiano,” said co-CEO Tim Stracke, who founded Chrono24 in 2003, in a statement. “[That] makes him the perfect teammate as our company moves further into global expansion and our next chapter.”

Top: Chrono24 CEO Tim Stracke and new business partner Cristiano Ronaldo (photo courtesy of Chrono24)

Fitted with thinly sliced discs of turquoise, lapis lazuli, tiger’s eye, malachite, and opal, the timepieces kicked off a trend that has made a comeback in recent years, as watchmakers, including Piaget, embrace the retro look anew. This time around, however, they’re using materials—from Verde Alpi marble to petrified wood—that have never been used on wristwatch dials.

In the case of the Bulgari model highlighted below, that stands to reason. The watch was made expressly for the 2023 Only Watch, an auction of unique timepieces that raises money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic degenerative muscle disease. The biannual auction’s 10th edition is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. local time at the Palexpo exhibition hall in Geneva.

Along with Bulgari’s watch, we present a few other winning gem-set timekeepers.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon Only Watch

Clad in a thin layer of Verde Alpi, a luxurious green marble quarried in the Aosta Valley of Italy, the Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon by Bulgari stands out as one of this year’s most talked-about Only Watch submissions. And it’s not just the DLC-treated titanium case and bracelet that bear thin layers of marble. The dial is set with a marble wafer measuring just 0.6 mm in thickness with a perfectly cut subdial to make way for the tourbillon. Beauty and brains in equal measure!

Piaget Terrae Watch

Introduced earlier this month as part of Piaget’s ambitious Metaphoria high jewelry collection, the Terrae watch offers a bejeweled take on the brand’s cushion-shape Black Tie model, famously worn—and beloved—by Andy Warhol. Featuring a petrified wood dial offset by a bezel and markers made of baguette-cut emeralds, the one-of-a-kind piece is a winning example of how an unusual color combo—in this case, tones of brown and green—can make a wristwatch utterly unforgettable.

Rolex Day-Date 36 mm

With its bevy of colorful new Day-Date 36 models bearing gemstone faces and diamond-set bezels, Rolex sees the hard stone trend and raises it to the next level. Encased in the brand’s proprietary Everose gold (paired with green aventurine), 18k yellow gold (carnelian), or 18k white gold (turquoise), the stylish timepiece is a testament to the enduring appeal of stone dials, now groovier than ever.

Top: Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 in 36 mm 18k yellow gold case with carnelian and diamonds, $58,700; Rolex

For its fantastical contribution to the 2023 Only Watch auction, Jacob & Co. rejected those constraints. In keeping with the biannual event’s colorful theme, the brand in late June unveiled the Astronomia Revolution 4th Dimension, a one-off timepiece whose rose gold movement structure is set with a rainbow of 35 bespoke-cut gemstones: hessonite garnet, yellow citrine, blue sapphire, tsavorite, rhodolite garnet, topaz, and pyrope garnet.

Created in partnership with the tourbillon specialists at Concepto Watch Factory, the piece, which is estimated at 700,000 to 750,000 Swiss francs (about $780,000 to $835,000), is equipped with a four-axis tourbillon—the first ever fitted in a wristwatch, according to Jacob & Co.

“From the beginning of the Astronomia collection, I wanted [the tourbillon] to spin as fast as possible, and then we reached one minute with Astronomia Revolution,” Jacob Arabo, founder, chairman, and creative director of Jacob & Co., said in a statement. “I wanted it to be an extraordinary tourbillon, and then we reached four axes. This is the first time a timepiece breaks the triple-axis tourbillon barrier. Together, Jacob & Co. and Concepto Watch Factory decided this level of ingenuity and expertise had to be bestowed upon such a unanimously recognized charity as Only Watch.”

Founded in 2005 by Luc Pettavino, Only Watch is an auction of unique timepieces that raises money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic degenerative muscle disease that primarily affects boys, including Pettavino’s son Paul. The auction’s 10th edition is scheduled to take place in Geneva on Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. local time at the Palexpo exhibition hall.

Like the stained glass facade of a cathedral, the Astronomia’s gem-set backplate is a mix of bright colorful elements. Each gem is cut into a bespoke shape and set with the culet facing up, lending the piece a spiky, geometric vibe reminiscent of a sci-fi landscape, a nod to Arabo’s abiding love of all things space-related.

Arnault, son of LVMH chairman Bernard, will move to Bulgari in an unspecified senior role, according to the newspaper report, which cited “well-informed sources.”

Tornare has headed Zenith since 2017, while Frédéric Arnault has headed TAG Heuer since 2020.

LVMH did not respond to a request for comment from JCK.

(Photo courtesy of LVMH)