28 September

The day in brief

Seiko opens its first own store in Portugal, in Lisbon, on Thursday. Internationally, Minerva brings back its suspended-balance Exo Tourbillon, Louis Vuitton returns the Monterey to ceramic and Favre Leuba expands the Harpoon Revival with black and blue dials.

Among independents and younger brands, Buci launches its second collection, Circula takes the Facet to 41 mm and the Ming team unveils a new, more affordable brand, the Donut Watch Company. Several of these launches share a common thread: heritage, whether a Villeret calibre, a 1988 design by Gae Aulenti or a 1966 model rebuilt to its original proportions.

Seiko opens its first own store in Portugal

Seiko opens its first own boutique in Portugal on Thursday, 1 October, on Rua Rosa Araújo, next to Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon. The 125 m² space brings together the King Seiko, Prospex, Presage, Astron and Seiko 5 Sports collections, plus limited editions and boutique-exclusive models.

The opening, announced last week, confirms the growing weight of the Portuguese market. According to the company, sales in the country grew 23% in 2025 and 28% in the first half of 2026. Retailers that already sell the brand will continue to do so. The boutique complements that network and gives Seiko a direct showcase in one of Lisbon’s main luxury shopping areas.

Minerva brings back the suspended-balance Exo Tourbillon

Minerva unveiled the Exo Tourbillon Limited Edition 18 on 25 September. The series of 18 pieces in 18k yellow gold has an olive-green guilloché dial and a small off-centre black onyx sub-dial at 12 o’clock for the hours and minutes. The case measures 44.8 mm in diameter and 15.03 mm in height and has a display back.

The watch also reflects the Villeret manufacture’s new status. Founded in 1858, acquired by Richemont in 2006 and part of Montblanc for almost two decades, Minerva began signing watches with its own name again in 2026, while keeping close ties with Montblanc.

The interest lies in the movement. The hand-wound calibre M16.68 underpins the Suspended Exo Tourbillon family, introduced in 2018 and derived from the Exo Tourbillon developed in Villeret in 2010. In a classic tourbillon, the balance, hairspring and escapement sit inside a cage that turns once a minute to average out rate errors in the vertical positions. In the Exo Tourbillon, the balance moves out of the cage and sits above it. The cage can be smaller and lighter, needs less energy to rotate and no longer limits the size of the balance.

That is the key point. The screw balance is 14.5 mm across, an unusual size for a wristwatch. A larger balance has a higher moment of inertia and is therefore less sensitive to external disturbances. This offsets the low frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), a Villeret tradition. “Suspended” describes how the balance is held: a single curved steel arm keeps it in view above the dial. The stated power reserve is around 50 hours.

The announced price is €160,000. At a time when the tourbillon has become commonplace in many segments, this piece is a reminder that the complication only makes sense when the architecture of the regulating organ is designed from the ground up.

Louis Vuitton brings back the ceramic Monterey

Louis Vuitton today presented the Monterey Ceramic, in black or green ceramic, as part of its permanent collection. It marks the return of the material that defined the house’s first wristwatches: the 1988 models known as the Monterey, designed by Italian architect Gae Aulenti and produced with IWC in ceramic cases, a rare choice at the time.

The design keeps the quirks of the original: a pebble-shaped case without lugs, a crown at 12 o’clock and a strap that threads through a loop on the caseback. The 37 mm diameter is that of 1988, but the height rises to 11 mm to fit an automatic movement.

The industrial side is the most interesting part. At La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva, zirconium-oxide powder and pigments are compacted into a solid block, which is then machined into the pebble shape and fired at more than 1,000 °C. After sintering, the ceramic is smaller and too hard for conventional machining, so the final finish is done by hand grinding and polishing.

Inside is the in-house calibre LFT MA01.02. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, has a 45-hour power reserve and shows only hours, minutes and seconds. The bridges are sandblasted with polished bevels, and the mainplate has perlage. Unlike the 2025 gold version, produced as a limited series, the ceramic version is in regular production and sold only in Louis Vuitton boutiques.

Favre Leuba expands the Harpoon Revival

Favre Leuba has added two versions, with black and blue dials, to the Harpoon Revival. The reissue of the 1966 model was presented in April at Watches and Wonders with a grey dial to mark the original’s 60th anniversary. The blue is the series’ first colour variant.

Its case is faithful to the original proportions. The steel case measures 36.8 mm in diameter, 10 mm in height and 43.5 mm lug to lug, the dimensions of the original. The sunburst dial has horizontal indices at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock, a date window at 3 o’clock and the “Harpoon” signature in period typography. The watch is water-resistant to 50 metres and has a sapphire crystal and a tool-free quick-change strap.

The movement is the FLD04, based on the La Joux-Perret G100: automatic, running at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) with a 68-hour power reserve. That is a meaningful figure at this frequency. For decades, 4 Hz automatic calibres in this price range offered around 40 hours. The extra autonomy lets the watch rest over a weekend without stopping, without giving up the higher frequency that supports rate stability.

The price is CHF 1,800. In a segment full of oversized reissues, Favre Leuba, a house founded in 1737, is betting on 36.8 mm, a size the market has come to accept again.

Buci launches the Nouvelle collection

Buci, the Parisian brand founded in 2022 by Nousseïma Baraket, launched the Nouvelle, its second collection, on Kickstarter on 25 September. After a first line inspired by poetry, the brand again draws its language from writing. The Arabic numerals were drawn by hand by a Parisian calligrapher, with deliberately irregular proportions. When the hour and minute hands overlap, they form the shape of a fountain-pen nib.

The 316L steel case measures 36 mm in diameter and 9.88 mm in height. It has a fluted caseband inspired by the edges of a book’s pages, a domed sapphire crystal and a display back. There are two dials: Essentiel, in an aged-paper tone, and Contemplation, in deep blue. The movement is a Swiss hand-wound mechanical calibre, a choice that helps keep the case slim.

The series is limited to 300 numbered pieces. On Kickstarter, until 15 November, the price is €1,550; afterwards, it will rise to €1,850. This is a route increasingly taken by young independent brands: funding production before launch and testing demand without building up stock.

Circula takes the Facet to 41 mm

Circula, the German brand from Pforzheim, presented a 41 mm version of the Facet on 25 September. The integrated-bracelet sports watch was previously available only in 38 mm, and the brand cites customer demand for the new size.

The steel case is 9.9 mm thick and water-resistant to 100 metres, with faceted surfaces alternating brushed and polished finishes. There are four dials: Petrol and Snow White, with a gear-inspired pattern, and Anthracite and Blue, with a grained texture. The movement is the La Joux-Perret G100, with a 68-hour power reserve, the same base used by Favre Leuba. The price is $1,690 on a strap and $1,990 on the integrated bracelet.

The Ming team launches the Donut Watch Company

The team behind Ming, led by Ming Thein, unveiled the Donut Watch Company on 25 September. It is a second, lower-priced brand, and its first model is the Glazed. The pieces circulating among the press are prototypes. The final price and launch date have not yet been announced, and the official website is currently collecting expressions of interest.

The Glazed has a 35 mm polished steel case with sculpted lugs and is water-resistant to 50 metres. Its translucent, frosted dial reveals a Japanese automatic movement, and the seconds are shown by overlapping discs. It applies Ming’s language of sculptural lugs and light played through transparent materials to a watch that, according to WatchPro, should cost less than £700.

What to watch

In Portugal, the event to follow is Seiko’s Lisbon opening on Thursday, and which boutique-exclusive models reach the local market. In the United States, A. Lange & Söhne presents the Concours d’Elegance on 4 October at the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, which runs from 1 to 4 October. In New York, the Windup Watch Fair takes place from 16 to 18 October at CENTER 415 and remains one of the main showcases for independent watchmaking and microbrands. As for Minerva, this edition confirms its focus on calibre architecture. How independent the brand becomes from Montblanc is worth following in its coming releases.