Which brands are innovating the most these days?

I believe most brands re-releasing their current models, with minor changes or colours, are because they are so perfect that you cannot do much to them anymore, plus, releasing a all new model may not guarantee its success.

However, there are still a lot of innovative brands, but many of them are luxury brands and super expensive, like FP Journe, Ulysse Nardin (freak), Richard Mille (love it or hate it, you have to admit its innovations), Urwerk, Devon, JLC or Cartier Masse Mysterieuse (a movement in a movement).

But if I have to give an award for being the most innovative for the last 10 years, I'd give it to Bulgari for their Octo Finissimo line, 8 times record breaking.

Well, there is some innovation, but mostly where collectors are not looking - in the world of quartz.

We had kinetic movements, solar ones, mecaquartz, and there is the springdrive. This Berny uses an e-ink display which one normally only sees in smartwatches, but this runs on a normal battery.

With mechanical movements, there is ALS, but their truly innovative watches are beyond the means of most people (well, also their not so innovative watches, but the innovative ones in particular).

There is also not that much demand: if you needed further complications, and didn't want to use your $2000 smartphone for timing your cooking, you can use a $10 Skmei or a $30 Casio - replicating these complication mechanically is uneconomical. Richard Mille makes a mechanical watch with a timer, costing north of 1 million $ - count me out.

For most of us, watches have become half tool half jewelry. I am not sure there is much room to substantially innovate on the tool side. Perhaps we get some new designs that help on the looks side, e.g. that Citizen

Not much going on here in watch shape, but a glorious dial.

Design wise, I really like all the variety of Zelos. They have a wide range of models that they improve upon each time they do a new release.

Absolutely right, it's mostly revivals of old designs...

But there are some light glimse IF we are talking about great & affordable designs and not just strange "funny" watches...

Yes, that digital is also a unique combinatiom of 100m, 10 years battery and showing more time info directly (without extree button presses) than any other Casio - but it suddenly become rather rare and are sold for 3 times the original price at eBay!!

And yes, Diesel's mrDaddy is a bit too HUGE and almost impossible to wear - but it is very unique, rather amazing, very interesting and slightly impressive!

And there are also some MORE light glimse IF we are talking about great, new & crazy expensive designs... Yes, I mainly like black and gold - but why not!!

I'll have to take a closer look at them at some point. I recall reading a bunch of complaints about the QC of their watches when I discovered them, which made me move on to researching other brands.

We had kinetic movements, solar ones, mecaquartz, and there is the springdrive.

Fair point. I do find some of those developments quite interesting, as I don't have anything against quartz watches in general.

There is also not that much demand: if you needed further complications, and didn't want to use your $2000 smartphone for timing your cooking, you can use a $10 Skmei or a $30 Casio - replicating these complication mechanically is uneconomical. Richard Mille makes a mechanical watch with a timer, costing north of 1 million $ - count me out.

I wasn't thinking so much about innovation in terms of features, so much as new designs/materials and improvements to mechanical movements to make them more reliable. Perhaps it doesn't make sense to invest much in better mechanical movements if they are going to cost as much as the Spring Drive, but I don't see much reason not to innovate more on the design side of things.

For most of us, watches have become half tool half jewelry. I am not sure there is much room to substantially innovate on the tool side. Perhaps we get some new designs that help on the looks side, e.g. that Citizen

Agreed. I just can't believe that every possible good design has already been thought of (and has become prominent). In practice I see something like 100 designs in total that have been recycled/tweaked to death.

Check out the Christopher Ward Bel Canto.

Exactly! All the true innovation is happening in digital. Look at what Bulova has recently done with their static drive. That's true innovation. And yes, smartwatch too! The health metrics is innovation that's making a difference in people's lives. But watch collectors refuse to acknowledge this.

It's an innovation in cost, but not of design. I was recently perusing a mag, and a very high end brand had already produced something very similar. In fact, I first thought it was an ad for CW. The CW now looks like an homage to that design.

To me, some of the coolest-looking watches are the cheapest ones out there.

I appreciate a moderately expensive watch just as much as the next guy, but I have no qualms rotating $25 watches into my weekly attire.

I don’t think QC is as much of a concern nowadays. Zelos’ releases over the last couple years have been pretty rock solid.

Elshan, Zelos’ owner, is super active in his community and offers great support for any issues that may pop up.

I second checking Zelos out. I may be slightly biased though.

Established brands do experiments, too. They might be barely visible and lie in small details that mostly impact performance. For example Frederique Constant Monolithic that uses silicone oscillator providing enormous power reserve and high frequency vibration.

From brands innovating in terms of design I think Urwerk and Trilobe are quite impressive

Recently, even Cartier made an innovative piece unlike any other from their line-up and essentially put whole movement into rotor

Van Cleef & Arpels makes impressive timepieces unlike any other (for example one below that resembles ballet performance)

H Moser & Cie