Baselworld 2018 may have been significantly smaller than in previous years, but the show certainly made up for it with an exceptional range of new watches, quite a lot of them with much more budget-friendly prices than in previous years (which still cannot be said for the bratwurst stand outside the fair).

WatchTime?s editorial team spent 315 hours on the ground in Basel, visited 138 brands (50 of which have already been covered here), and is now working on the Baselworld special for one of the upcoming issues of WatchTime magazine. Until then, we?re certain you will appreciate a slightly more personal selection of some of this year?s highlights.
Participating editors: Logan R. Baker (LRB), Mark Bernardo (MB) and Roger Ruegger (RR). What was this year?s most unexpected release for you"
RR: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic. Not so much because of the watch itself (after all, Bulgari has already broken several thinness records in the last four years and the design is well established), but because of the timing: In March 2017, Bulgari launched the thinnest automatic wristwatch, in December 2017 the title went to Piaget, and now team Bulgari scored again. For me, that?s as close to watching a horological soccer game as possible. Speaking of which: Hublot?s smartwatch for World Cup Referees also came as a surprise, as well as the new ?Autobahn? from Nomos.

MB: To be honest, I was a bit surprised that Tudor, after years of forging its own identity s...