Three new vintage watches: Different approaches, but all winning recipes

Between SIHH in January and Baselworld in March — or, as we call it, the "midwinter rush"— brands are scrambling to get their new watches in front of collectors to gauge reactions while there's time to make final tweaks before production.

Here, we look at a vintage-inspired chronograph, a sleek dress watch, and an enamel-dialed nod to the 18th century. These three watches are perfect examples of taking an archetype and executing it with gusto:

Breitling Chronoliner



Breitling fans tend to fall into one of two camps: rugged vintage chronographs or shiny, blingy modern watches. The last few years, it has slowly been adding watches that recall its glory days. This is one of those watches. The Chronoliner is still modern-day huge (46mm across), but it has all the little vintage details. The subdials are a creamy colour instead of pure white. Hey, Breitling, more of this please.

Price: Not yet announced

A Lange & Söhne 1815 '200th Anniversary FA Lange' Edition

The 1815 is Lange's flagship basic dress watch and this is the first time it's been offered in the black dial/white metal combination colourway — a 200-piece limited-edition run commemorating the 200th birthday of the brand's founder, Ferdinand Adolph Lange.

Price: $33,500

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Deadbeat



Here, a deadbeat is actually a good thing. A so-called "deadbeat seconds" complication mimics that quartz-like ticking. The large central second hand on the Grande Seconde is the perfect palette to show off this esoteric complication. It's a beautiful execution that nods to history without looking too antiquated.

Price: Not yet announced.