From the magazine: LOFT Awards 2023

We're not here at the Grand Prix de la Haute Horlogerie, nor at the Only Watch auction. Here at LOFT, we're driven by passion, without compromise, and that's why we bring you our LOFT Awards every year, where we honor the best watches, brands, and personalities of the year, chosen by the entire LOFT team based on the anguish generated in each of us by not being able to own them. A very easy-to-understand metric with which our collector friends will surely fully identify. Welcome to the 2023 LOFT Awards!

Brand of the Year: Christopher Ward

Our English friends seem to have flipped the switch on the hit-making machine. They're like the Beatles of independent watchmaking. From one day to the next, the brand began releasing new models, almost monthly, all very different from each other, and all spectacular. We're talking about a minute repeater for under $5,000! Please check out the 2023 catalog and see for yourself. In just one year, Christopher Ward has gone from being just another brand in the independent universe to a global player, with its own design language, watchmaking creativity, and a simply superior value proposition, which we believe could help it take the next step and compete with the Swiss giants.

Troll of the Year: Horological Dicktionary

In this hobby, half the fun is the watches and the other half is the memes. And when it comes to trolling, no one comes close to Horological Dicktionary. His bird-with-arms memes are legendary, and his posts about FP Journe and Greubel Forsay are true works of art, capable of making us laugh even if we're reading them for the tenth time. Equal parts acidic, irreverent, and erudite, this mysterious figure has been able to influence the results of important auctions (please check out his stories if you don't believe me) and spark global debates about his true identity. Better than any watch blog, a true genius: @horological_dicktionary .

Best Design: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Marble

There was no hesitation on the team here. Just when we thought we'd seen everything the Octo Finissimo had to offer, the Only Watch auction arrived, and the brand dropped this real bombshell. An Octo with a case and bracelet made entirely of marble, an ode to "Italianness," replete with incredible veins and colors, completely surprising. It's the Octo we didn't know we needed. The best example of "dolce far niente" on a beach in Capri, and by far the watch that drew the most sighs this year, admired by men and women alike. We only pray that the gentlemen at LVMH hear this prayer and bring us a regular production version in 2024. We're willing to sell our redundant organs just to feel the cold stone against our skin.

Best Complication: Omega Speedmaster Chrono Chime

When the year began, absolutely NO ONE would have bet that the best complication would be found in an Omega, much less a Moonwatch. Patek, Journe, Richard Mille—those are the names that usually come to mind when we talk about creating something truly innovative in movement technology. However, this year, Omega launched a very special Speedmaster. It's the Chrono Chime, a patented movement equipped with a chime mechanism that allows you to hear the hours and minutes elapsed while the chronograph is operating. Something like a chronograph for the blind? We're not sure how useful a racing watch that lets you hear the chronograph is, but that's not the point. The point is that it's new, it's very, very difficult to make, and the fact that it's inside a Speedmaster makes it really cool. Omega didn't have to do it, it doesn't need to, and it's certainly not profitable, but we commend them for taking the time to flex their watchmaking muscles and bring such a special creature into the world.

Best affordable watch: Tissot PRX 35

This category is brutal. First, we have to define affordable, because for some, a $3,000 watch is affordable, and for others, it's unattainable. At the end of the day, there were countless candidates, and we must confess we played it safe. The Tissot PRX isn't new (in fact, its design is about 50 years old), but the arrival of the mechanical version in a 35-millimeter size changed everything. For less, much less, than $1,000, you have a watch equipped with one of the best bracelets on the market, a design that exudes seventies vibes, and a Powermatic movement with 80 hours of power reserve. A complete package, delivered with a quality hard to find in this segment, and crowned by two fan-favorite versions: "Tiffany" blue and full gold PVD. With those two, you could put together a complete collection for any occasion and also show off on social media with one of the most Instagrammable watches of the century.

Best Watch: Rolex Yacht-Master Titanium

It was bound to arrive sometime soon; news had leaked online, but until we saw it in person, we weren't going to truly believe it. It was finally true, and here it is: Rolex's first 100% titanium watch. The new Yacht-Master titanium has arrived to steal our hearts, with its 100% matte, almost military look, from the bracelet's finishes to the ceramic bezel. It doesn't even look like a Rolex, and we love it that way! Its 42 millimeters aren't for every wrist, but the surreal lightness of titanium makes it comfortable for everyday wear and transforms it into our favorite sports watch in the catalog. In a year full of surprising releases for Rolex, this was the watch that kept coming back to our conversations and never left our minds, the one we all agreed best represents innovation hand in hand with tradition. Congratulations to Rolex, and good luck to all our collector friends on their odyssey to get one in 2024.