5 iconic watches that just got modern design updates, from the Rolex Yacht-Master 42 and Cartier Tank Privé Chinoise, to the Vacheron Constantin 222 in yellow gold

Apr 27 , 2022

For the 2022 relaunch of the 222, Vacheron Constantin opted for yellow gold. Photo: Vacheron Constantin

Legendary watches can live on for decades or even centuries, but creating such longevity takes work, meaning new materials, design updates and technical improvements to stay relevant. Here are five pieces continuing to evolve.

1. Vacheron Constantin 222

The 222 is back! Originally designed by Jorg Hysek and launched in steel in 1977, gold and bimetal versions soon followed. For the 2022 relaunch, Vacheron Constantin opted for full yellow gold, joining other brands that have opted to bypass rose gold. Amid the sporty-chic watches with integrated bracelets released in the 1970s, the 222 stands out thanks to its graphically strong bezel profile, which creates a distinctive shadow play.

2. Cartier Tank Privé Chinoise

The Cartier Tank Privé Chinoise got an update for its 100th anniversary. Photo: Cartier

For its 100th anniversary, the Tank Privé Chinoise is re-released with a radical update. Riding the current wave of open-worked timepieces, the Chinese window-like dial with black and red lacquer detailing creates a temple portico-inspired architecture with horizontal beams overlaying the vertical ones. The quadrilateral, measuring 39.5mm by 29.2mm, is graphically strong and very legible – an important feature in open-worked dials. The three versions – in yellow gold, platinum, and platinum and diamonds – are powered by a new MC skeleton movement developed by Cartier exclusively for this timepiece.

3. Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris QP

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s sporty 42mm Polaris QP. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre

With the release of the Polaris diving watch in 1968, Jaeger-LeCoultre entered a new era of large sports watches. The current 42mm piece combines a sporty look with a highly technical perpetual calendar, and is still very much a functional watch. The classical two-crown design is intact, with one setting the time and the other the inner rotating dive-time bezel – and it is waterproof down to 100 metres. But as a timepiece also suited to land-based activities and looks, the Polaris collection is offered with easily interchangeable straps of brushed metal, rubber with clous de Paris, patinated calfskin or black alligator.

4. Zenith Chronomaster Original

The 38mm version of the Zenith Chronomaster Original. Photo: Zenith

This 38mm version from the master of chronographs based in Le Locle in the Swiss Jura celebrates the El Primero movement that was first presented in 1969 – the original high-frequency chronograph movement. The rose gold version is the most elegant and features all the design cues immortalised through six decades, including the star-adorned crown, mushroom-shaped push buttons, red chronograph hands and tricolour subdials.

5. Rolex Yacht-Master 42

Rolex’s Yacht-Master 42 features a yellow gold case and double-lock Oyster clasp. Photo: Anders Modig

In terms of icon status, this is the new kid on the block. Yacht-Master dials are said to have been prototyped in the 1960s, but the first Yacht-Master collection from Rolex came out in 1992. First presented in yellow gold, followed by rose gold, bicolour, platinum and white gold, the brand has now gone full circle back to making the case and double-lock Oyster clasp in yellow gold, elegantly complemented by a black Cerachrom-inlaid bezel. The colours make it by far the most elegant and sophisticated Yacht-Master – it works as well with a suit as it does afloat the high seas.

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Timepieces

The Yacht-Master has run the gamut of rose, bicolour, platinum and white gold since it was first prototyped in the 1960s – now it’s back in the OG yellow gold
Meanwhile, the Tank Privé Chinoise is re-released with an openwork dial for its 100th anniversary, and Zenith’s Chronomaster Original gets an elegant rose gold version