Monthly Archives: January 2015

Clé

Cartier

The Paris brand oozing creativity has dazzled everyone once again at the 2015 SIHH. A new collection was unveiled among the simply magical timepieces on show. You’ll fall head over heels for the smooth, sophisticated and subtle curves whose slim 40mm case hugs the wrist and is available in white or rose gold. The “key” to its success lies in the winder topped with a sapphire that works like a key! The silver-tone dial surrounded by a slim bezel is reminiscent of a guilloché keyhole with its date display at 6 o’ clock. The true blue hour, minute and central seconds hands glide above the blue Roman hour numerals. The time functions are brought to life by the self-winding 1847MC calibre. Price: 17,500 CHF (white gold)

Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph

Vacheron Constantin

Instead of presenting one anniversary piece to celebrate its 260th birthday, Vacheron Constantin has unveiled a whole new collection called Harmony. The first 7 models were unveiled at the SIHH. In tribute to its exciting past, the brand drew inspiration from its cushion-shaped watch from 1928 with a modern twist without detracting from its beauty. Its new features include a stunning single pusher self-winding chronograph with a split second hand whose platinum case is so slim (5.20mm) and silver-tone dial so balanced that you will be left speechless. The dial bears the hours in blue Arabic numerals beneath blue leaf-shaped hour, minute and small seconds hands plus a red tachymeter scale. The small seconds counter lies at 9 o’ clock, the chronograph hour counter at 3 and the power reserve indicator is at 6 o’ clock. Price: 361,000 CHF

MONTBLANC – Heritage Chronométrie ExoTourbillon Minute Chronograph Vasco da Gama

Montblanc

In May 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama reached India using rudimentary navigation tools and the stars, namely the Crux constellation. The Hamburg brand wanted to capture the explorer’s instinct and tenacity in a limited edition watch (60 available). This neo-poetic take on the self-winding ExoTourbillon in a 44mm white gold case showcases a starry aventurine sky with a Montblanc cut diamond at the top and a little blue disc lapped by the waves. Spear-shaped hour and minute hands burst from the top half of the dial with a red crescent-tipped hand to provide the date. Two semi-circular counters at 4 and 8 o’ clock with double-tipped hands track the chronograph hours and minutes while the exotourbillon reigns supreme on a silver background at 6 o’ clock. Price: 50,700 CHF

BLANCPAIN – Villeret Large Date

BlancPain

Jehan-Jacques Blancpain opened a watch studio in his home village of Villeret (Bernese Jura) in 1753. The brand’s studio became a production facility in Brassus in the heart of the Joux Valley. Blancpain continues to pay tribute to its roots and the history of traditional watchmaking with the Villeret collection. It has now unveiled a stunning new model which has a large date display on its opalescent dial. It is true to the watch collection’s signature design features: blank dial adorned by applied Roman hour numerals beneath two leaf-shaped hour and minute hands and a slim central seconds hand. What’s new is a large dual display bearing the date in black at 6 o’ clock. The self-winding movement brings the watch to life from inside the 40mm gold double stepped case. Price upon request

BREGUET – Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde 7097

Breguet

There are some watches that you never tire of admiring on your wrist, if you’re lucky, or in a window display. Their beauty dazzles us and their mechanism intrigues us. This is certainly the case for the entire Tradition collection and especially this new piece adorned with a small retrograde seconds. Like its ancestors, its dial unveils its self-winding movement’s inner workings (bridges, cogs, escapement and other components) above the plate. Off-centre at 12 o’ clock, a dial with a guilloché heart showcases the hours with Roman numerals and two openwork blue steel Breguet “pomme” hands. A graduated brushed metal semi-circle hovers above the dial: this is the famous retrograde small seconds to which this Tradition model owes its name. The 505SR1 calibre brings to life the time functions from the heart of the 40mm white gold case with finely indented sides. Price upon request

Conquest Classic Moonphase

Longines

Longines patented the Conquest in 1954 to embody the timelessness of watches. The Classic collection wins over hearts and wrists alike as it strikes the perfect balance between elegance, tradition and performance in the form of this new 42mm model. Three versions are available (steel, rose gold or steel and rose gold) and it has a multitude of functions on the dial (black or silver subject to model) without making it hard to tell the time. Four hands track the hours, minutes, date and chronograph seconds in the centre of the dial. A subdial at 9 o’ clock brings the small seconds counter and 24 hour counter together whilst the hour counter lies at 6 o’ clock. The minute counter at 12 o’ clock features two displays presenting the day and month. The self-winding L678 chronograph movement brings all the functions to life from inside the case. Price: 3,210 CHF (steel) – 4,800 CHF (steel and rose gold) – 10,900 CHF (rose gold)

JAQUET DROZ – The Bird Repeater Geneva

Jaquet Droz

Watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz opened his 3rd workshop in Geneva whose landmarks now appear on the mother-of-pearl dial of this modern piece that’s half-watch/half-automaton. Lake Geneva lies in the background with the famous Jet d’Eau fountain, Bains des Pâquis lighthouse (both built at the end of the 19th century) and the pre-Alpine peak of Salève. A pair of elegant and stunningly realistic goldfinches perch on the edge of a rose gold nest in which two fledglings call for food and an egg is about to hatch in the foreground. An understated elegant onyx disc bearing the hours and pearlescent minute track with two rose gold lancine hands hovers above these taupe grey birds flecked with black, scarlet, white and bright yellow. The features and time functions are brought to life by the self-winding RMA88 movement inside the 47mm rose gold case. Price: 486,000 CHF

1966 41mm

Girard-Perregaux

“This is my favourite time. They call it blue time when everything is so beautiful, so smooth and so bright,” sang Françoise Hardy in 1969 and it’s that very calm and glowing blue that radiates from the latest in the 1966 collection. This timeless piece is named after the year the first high frequency movement was designed by Girard-Perregaux. Its precious rose or white gold case houses a self-winding movement which provides a 54-hour power reserve and brings to life the hour, minute, second and date functions. These functions lie on a blue delicate sunburst dial with slim baton-shaped indices and applied quarter markers. Leaf-shaped hands and a slim central seconds glide above whilst the black-on-white date display at 3 o’ clock features the sole Arabic numeral on the piece. Price: 15’200 CHF (rose gold) – 16’300 CHF (white gold)

Golden Wheel

Arnold&Son

The little London workshop founded in 1764 has now become a major brand based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is highly creative in watchmaking terms and keeps the imaginative spirit of its founder, John Arnold, alive. The brand’s rich heritage enables it to dip into its archives and take inspiration from past watches to create future timepieces. An example of this is the Golden Wheel which embodies the technical “features” of a 17th century watch to showcase an automatic chronoscope twinned with a dead-beat second. The first complication lies on the dial as a mother-of-pearl semi-circle gliding over 3 sapphire discs bearing the hours. The silver-tone chapter ring displays the minutes between 10 and 12 o’ clock on the 44mm rose gold case. A slim seconds hand with an openwork tip lies on a thick rose gold wheel and tracks the seconds on the upper half of the chapter ring. Price: 46,764 CHF

Portuguese Annual Calendar

IWC

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the jewel in the Schaffhausen (North Switzerland) watchmaker’s crown, the Portugaise has a new self-winding movement (calibre 52850) with an impressive power reserve (168 hours/7 days) and an exclusive complication: the annual calendar. The star of the show (American-style display) presents the month, date and day in three white windows at 12 o’ clock on the dial. Two leaf-shaped hands spring from the centre to tell the time on applied hour numerals and the minute track; the small seconds counter lies at 9 o’ clock whilst the power reserve indicator stands at 3 o’ clock. There are two versions of the watch available: the 44.2mm case comes in steel or rose gold with a silver-tone or midnight blue guilloché sunburst dial (on the steel model only). Price upon request