Watchmakers Turn to the Unloved ’80s for a New Batch of Reissues

Nostalgia has long been the engine of trends in luxury wristwatches—the 1960s and ’70s in particular produced models with immense staying power, and both decades have been extensively mined for revivals: your Rolex Daytonas, Heuer Monacos, Patek Philippe Nautili. By comparison, the decade of big hair, spandex, and Hammer pants is mostly recalled as a creatively fallow time in the watch world, an era dominated by colorful quartz-powered Swatches and digital nerd-chic G-Shocks. For a handful of heritage watchmakers, though, the ’80s were an opportunity to experiment, to introduce variations on classic collections, and to rethink existing models that had become dated. And, lo and behold, like Dynasty and Magnum P.I., some of these overlooked classics are getting a second act.

In 1985 legendary watch designer Gérald Genta revamped the Pasha, which was specially commissioned in the 1940s by the Sultan of Marrakech. Notable for its screwed-down crown protector, art deco numerals, and square minute track on a round dial, it resurfaced in 2020 with a modern automatic caliber. From $5,700; cartier.com