Guichet dials storming back into relevancy was the watch trend no one had on their bingo card in 2025, but we are all better for it.
Cartier’s Tank à Guichets kicked off the comeback with an admittedly underwhelming design that provided an excellent jumping-off point. More elaborate designs from Bremont, Chronoswiss and others certified the trend, but an unexpected heavy hitter has just thrown down the guichet gauntlet for 2026.
Audemars Piguet’s new Neo Frame Jumping Hour brings a new level of refinement and grandeur to the guichet format. The new collection is based on an archival design, dating back to 1929, and is executed faithfully, but layered with the highest level of modern material detailing.
At first glance, the dial is deceptively simple, presenting the same rectangular hour aperture above a curved, pointed minutes aperture, a design standardized in the 1920s and carried over into the modern trend.
However, the dial’s glossy appearance is achieved with a black PVD coating applied to the underside of a solid sapphire crystal plate, running lug-to-lug with no top or bottom framing. Both pink-gold-toned apertures have beveled edges and a sandblasted finish.
The titular jumping hour disc, so-named because it changes instantaneously, and the slow-rolling trailing minutes disc feature bright white numerals on a grainy matte black background. The former is made of titanium, and the latter is aluminum, reducing strain on the movement to keep the motion smooth and maximize power reserve.
