Since its founding in 1888, Carl F. Bucherer has always called Lucerne home. The brand is one of a small number of Swiss watch manufacturers that are both independent and still family owned. Founded in 1888 by its namesake Carl F. Bucherer, the company is now in the hands of the third generation — the grandson of the founder, Jörg G. Bucherer. Whilst Lucerne has always been the brand’s true home, with its medieval buildings amongst the mountains on the shore of Lake Lucerne, the brand enjoys satellite homes around the globe. This pan-global presence is now celebrated through Carl F. Bucherer’s flagship watch, the Heritage BiCompax Annual, in a new palette of colors and international destination casebacks.

If the past two years have taught us anything, it is that anywhere in the world is only a click away. OK, the pandemic taught us a lot more than that, but digital face-to-face meetings have helped to make the planet feel a lot smaller… The new Hometown Edition celebrates Carl F. Bucherer’s actual hometown and 15 other cities that it is proud to call home. Eight of the cities are within its home country of Switzerland, and there are editions for French, Austrian and German cities too. Other locations include Beijing, London, Mumbai, New York and Tokyo.

Carl F. Bucherer CEO Sascha Moeri says, “The entrepreneurial spirit that characterizes the Bucherer family has always included international travel. In essence, they paved the way for today’s contemporary business travelers. They set out to see the world and found themselves at home wherever they were, finding new opportunities and becoming closely acquainted with the people in the places they visited. As a result, we are represented in most of the world’s cosmopolitan cities and, in the spirit of the Bucherer family, find ourselves at home in all of them!”

The basis for the Hometown Edition is the Heritage BiCompax Annual that was introduced in 2018. The watch fuses a traditional vintage aesthetic with the thoroughly modern caliber CFB 1972, which is not only a chronograph, but also an annual calendar. Annual calendars are clever complications that can “remember” which months have 30 or 31 days, and only require adjustment on March 1 each year. The Heritage BiCompax Annual Howntown Edition neatly displays the month between the hour markers at four and five o’clock, and has a double date window under the 12 o’clock marker. The movement also boasts a power reserve of 42 hours.

Each of the limited Hometown Edition watches has a sapphire caseback that features an engraving of the featured city’s most important landmarks, as well as the city name. The different dial colors were picked after consultation with the brand’s boutique teams in the respective cities, and have a gradient finish that is silver at the center and gradually changes into a darker hue at the outer edge of the dial. I have to say that I love the mint, but all the colors are vivid and nicely executed.

As Sascha Moeri says, “There’s something special about a hometown — the place where we have our roots and where our values were formed. No matter how far away from it we travel, it always defines us and occupies an important part of our hearts and souls. The Carl F. Bucherer Heritage BiCompax Annual Hometown Editions honor those connections and will be treasured by watch enthusiasts who are proud of the tribute to their favorite cities on their wrists.”

Tech Specs

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage BiCompax Annual Hometown Limited Edition

Ref: 00.10803.08.92.XX (depending on city)*

Movement: Self-winding caliber CFB 1972; 42 hours of power reserve
Functions: Chronograph minutes and seconds counters, annual calendar, big date, hour, minutes, small seconds, tachymeter scale
Case: 41mm; stainless steel
Dial: Gradated shades of yellow, brown, burgundy, green, or mint (depending on the watch) with black counters
Bracelet: Black calfskin leather strap with either flanks and stitches in yellow, brown, burgundy, green, or mint (depending on the watch) and with a quick release system, stainless steel pin-lock folding clasp
Price:
Availability: Limited to 88 pieces for all watches except the Beijing watches, which are limited to 188 pieces and individually numbered

*Colors:
Basel – Burgundy, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.87
Beijing – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.91
Beijing – Burgundy, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.88
Berlin – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.86
Bern – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.93
Geneve – Burgundy, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.97
London – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.92
Luzern – Brown, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.85
Mumbai – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.89
München – Yellow, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.96
New York – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.81
Paris – Brown, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.84
St. Gallen – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.94
Tokyo – Mint, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.82
Wien – Mint, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.95
Zermatt – Brown, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.98
Zürich – Green, Ref. 00.10803.08.92.99