Four stunning premieres that deserve close attention.

We gave you a head's-up that many brands wouldn't be unveiling absolutely all their novelties at the largest jewelry and watch trade show, Geneva's Watch & Wonders. They only began revealing their top premieres for true connoisseurs of haute horlogerie at the beginning of summer.

1. Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Alarm Ref. 1938P

Patek Philippe's President Thierry Stern celebrated the 85th birthday of his father and Honorary President Philippe Stern with the gift of a watch that many collectors and investors around the world are dreaming of getting their hands on.

The son dedicated a watch to his father that houses Philippe Stern's favorite Patek Philippe complication of a minute repeater with an alarm. To power it, the masters at the grand maison created the new R AL 27 PS caliber based on the automatic manufacture R 27 movement.

It was given 227 more components, and now totals 561. The slider system for switching chiming modes uses a lever and column wheel, just like in a chronograph. It's a totally reliable and ingenious system that makes it impossible to activate both the repeater and the alarm function at the same time, which would instantly lead both to malfunction.

The selected chiming mode is indicated by the color of the bell-shaped cut-out aperture at 3 o'clock: white, black, or red. Philippe Stern's portrait is illustrated on the black dial using the miniature Grand Feu enamel technique. The case measures 41 mm in diameter and 14.2 in height.

Philippe Stern also loves officer's-style cases, so his son has made the metal caseback of the Ref. 1938P swing open. Thierry Stern has chosen to have the inside of the caseback engraved: "À mon père, 85 ans de passion horlogère" (Fr. "To my father, 85 years of watchmaking passion").

They initially wanted to create the unique version for the Only Watch charity auction, but then Thierry Stern must have thought: What sort of present would that be if my father only gets one look at it before it's gone?

Let's keep this one in the family. Moreover, the family's famous Genevan Patek Philippe Museum now has a thematic area dedicated to the repeater. There will be a heated battle for the 30 limited edition pieces, each priced at CHF 890,000.

2. F. P. Journe Chronographe FB

Fans of François-Paul Journe were treated to a big surprise to mark a little occasion: a classic flyback chronograph to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first F. P. Journe Boutique in Tokyo. This is Journe's first hand-wound two-pusher chronograph with flyback function (no split-seconds), hence "FB" in the model name.

It was preceded by the automatic Octa and manually wound monopusher LineSport Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante. Moreover, the brand-new model has a new 1518.2 movement with a balance frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vph) and a large 80-hour power reserve.

It's based on the more complicated split-seconds 1518 caliber. The Chronographe FB has a very unusual dial with pad-printed salmon numerals set against a dark gray background with partially opened 60-second and 60-minute chronograph counters.

The 40-mm case is made of polished titanium with the chronograph pushers and winding crown in rose gold. Calling Journe's watch an anniversary edition is a bit of a misnomer. Draw your own conclusions: it's dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Tokyo boutique, which actually opened in 2003.

It also pays tribute to Journe's first Tokyo Boutique Anniversaire Series in 2005, but availability is limited to 200 pieces this time, not 20.

It's no secret that availability of Journe's limited editions had always been capped at a maximum of 99 pieces up until now. Any idea why? Apparently the maestro hates seeing triple-digit numbers on his watches, at least that's what he's said up until now.

The English abbreviation "FB" for "flyback" in the model's name is also hard to explain, as the watchmaker prefers not to speak English, and has always used French words in model names. The watchmaker also made the shocking announcement that this series would be his last ever limited edition.

In other words, all future models will be unlimited. And finally, Journe promised not to make any more pieces based on the same movement after the 200 Chronographe FB watches, not even the cherished Souverain watches.

Overall, this chronograph full of contradictions looks set to send Journe's followers on a pilgrimage to Tokyo's Omotesando luxury shopping district soon, where they can buy or order their idol's last limited chronograph for CHF 90,000 (excluding VAT).

3. Voutilainen KV20i Reversed

Auction-goers favorite Finnish watchmaker based in Switzerland, Kari Voutilainen, has unveiled a model which you could say confirms his credo of creating watches that look ordinary at first glance — simple watches that are as complex and unusual as you can get when it comes to how they're made.

The new KV20i movement with a balance frequency of 10,000 vph and a 60-hour power reserve, completely decorated by hand at his workshop, is housed upside down in the case. Watchmakers have a tendency to scrap dials in order to emphasize the beauty of the movement's decoration or draw attention to certain unique mechanisms in it.

Both rationales have been applied here. First of all, the upside down caliber demonstrates a huge balance wheel with a Phillips overcoil and Grossmann interior curve, as well as a unique escapement with direct impulse using two escape wheels.

And as always, the movement has been given Voutilainen's signature perfected finish. At the same time, KV20i is a significantly advanced version of Voutilainen's first movement with the two escape wheels — the discontinued 28TI.

The Voutilainen KV20i Reversed has a case measuring 39 mm in diameter and comes in different versions: steel (CHF 118,800), rose gold (CHF 121,600), plus white gold and platinum (CHF 124,800). No limit has been set for the series yet, but fans know very well that Voutilainen will stop accepting orders as soon as he feels he's taken on enough.

4. Laurent Ferrier х Hervé Di Rosa Classic Micro-Rotor Di Rosa

The curious fruit of a collaboration has been unveiled. The remarkable watchmaker and founder of namesake brand Laurent Ferrier has teamed up with the French painter Hervé Di Rosa — a major figure in modern art's "Figuration Libre" movement and the co-founder of the "Modest Art" movement.

It turns out that Di Rosa loves watches and is an old friend of Ferrier's. "Time is the only true power," says Di Rosa. "The only divine thing a man can have besides life is time passing on his wrist." Now he's illustrated this phrase on the sculpted dial of the Laurent Ferrier Classic Micro-Rotor Di Rosa watch.

Di Rosa's Dirosapocalypse was adapted for the dial, which in turn drew its inspiration from a bas-relief carved out of African Iroko wood. But is Laurent Ferrier's Classic Micro-Rotor a masterpiece of watchmaking and engineering art? It sure is!

Ferrier implements his natural escapement in the June novelty — a take on the great Abraham-Louis Breguet's invention. Instead of using a jeweled pallet fork, it uses a silicon detent lever, which transfers the impulse directly to the escape wheel, which in turn is connected to a second escape wheel.

This significantly reduces energy waste, improves the regulating organ's efficiency and accuracy, and negates the need for lubrication in the watch's vital organs. And collectors the world over know that Laurent Ferrier is a virtuoso when it comes to decorating watch movements.

He didn't spend such a long time assembling and decorating the most important watches at Patek Philippe for nothing. The watch has a polished steel case that measures 40 mm in diameter.

It houses an automatic movement with a natural escapement micro-rotor, double direct impulse escapement, a balance frequency of 21,600 vph, and a 72-hour power reserve. Seeing as Di Rosa was only able to collaborate on five engraved cut-out dials, that's the number set for the limited edition. Each of them costs CHF 80,000 excluding VAT.

Credits provided by the manufacturers: www.patek.com, www.fpjourne.com, www.voutilainen.ch, www.laurentferrier.ch