PRESTIGE REPORT
A learning experience
The second annual Watches & Wonders show enabled watch lovers to see the latest high-end timepieces and to interact with their creators. Chris Hanrahan reports from Hong Kong on an event that, in spite of the “Umbrella Revolution” going on nearby, drew 16,000 visitors
“WE ARE HERE to learn,” declared Fabienne Lupo. The Chairwoman and Managing Director of the Genevabased Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie was explaining why 13 of the world’s great timepiece brands returned to Hong Kong for the second annual Watches & Wonders show, held between September 29 and October 2.
“We aspire to send fine watchmaking across continents, generations and cultures, to transmit our passion, to impart our knowledge, to share all the richness of what we do,” observed Lupo during the opening ceremony for Watches & Wonders 2014, which was held at the enormous, state-of-the-art Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. “But it is important to remember that exchange is always a two-way street. We are also here to deepen our ties in Asia, to know our clientele better and to learn as well.”
In spite of the pro-democracy “Umbrella Revolution” street protests taking place nearby, the show went off without a hitch. It attracted some 16,000 visitors, which was about the same as in 2013, according to the organisers – even though the event was open to the public for less time this year. The exhibitors comprised 12 Richemont Group brands – A. Lange & Sohne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels – and one independent: Richard Mille. More than 3,000 timepieces were on display during the four-day event.
If the watch brands made the journey to Hong Kong to learn about Asian buyers, they also went there to sell to them, and Montblanc certainly attracted the attention of watch lovers with its entrancing Homage to Nicolas Rieussec Special Edition. In an intriguing innovation, the chronograph’s hand is designed as a double index: each of the two tips of an elongated horizontal blued-metal rhombus points to a calibrated scale on one of two rotating discs. Each index is shaped exactly like the ink carriers on the original chronograph that Rieussec invented in 1821.
In many ways, Watches & Wonders 2014 was a show for the ladies. The new Montblanc Bohème collection, for example, expresses the complications of fine watchmaking, including a perpetual calendar, in a feminine way. The watches’ elegance can be personalised by choosing diamonds for the bezel or the mother-of-pearl dial, and by selecting a leather or stainless steel wristband. “In addition, the contemporary Bohème lady can express her passion for fine watchmaking by wearing a grand complication timepiece,” noted Alexander Schmiedt, Managing Director of Watches at Montblanc International.
One of the reasons that Watches & Wonders 2014 was such a vivid learning experience was that the visitors had opportunities to meet and interact with some of haute horlogerie’s living legends. For instance, Carole Forestier-Kasapi, Cartier’s Head of Fine Watchmaking, flew to Hong Kong to explain to aficionados how exactly she envisaged and developed the brand’s two latest movements: the 9617MC and 1904-FU MC. She mentioned that the company now boasts more than 30 in-house movements.
The calibre 9617 MC is an extraordinary manual winding movement. It is skeletonised in the shape of a dragon, a member of the Cartier menagerie ever since the maison established its first links with China back in 1888. Visible through its sapphire crystal, the movement powers the new Pasha de Cartier 42mm Skeleton Dragon Motif Watch. The timepiece is set with 233 diamonds, with a marquise-cut tsavorite on the front and entirely engraved on the back. The other new movement can be found in the Rotonde de Cartier Second Time Zone Day/ Night Calibre 1904-FU MC. With its 42-mm diameter, this watch inaugurates a new collection of men’s small complication models.
“You either love this brand, or you hate it,” admits Jean-Marc Pontroué. The CEO of Roger Dubuis adds that his is a niche brand that likes to make strong statements, and it marks its 20th anniversary this year by honouring the innovations and skills of its founder. The brand has used the milestone as an opportunity to reinvigorate the Hommage collection, which Roger Dubuis himself launched in 1995.
The Roger Dubuis Hommage Double Flying Tourbillon with hand-made guilloché provides a stunning contemporary interpretation of a timehonoured decorative skill in a model driven by the innovative new RD100 movement. The newly revived collection also encompasses a selection of Hommage Automatics, giving a contemporary slant to traditional wristworn elegance, as well as Hommage Chronographs powered by in-house movements. Unveiled for the first time at Watches & Wonders 2014, the Hommage Minute Repeater offers connoisseurs a wealth of aesthetic, technical and sensory delights. Meanwhile, the ladies have the chance to marry fine watchmaking and gemstones in a selection of VelvetHaute Joaillerie creations that can be personalised.
Audemars Piguet took advantage of the Hong Kong show to unveil its new Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph. It was in 1993 that the company established a fresh sports watch category with the groundbreaking Royal Oak Offshore. The thinking behind the design of its 42-mm diameter case was to create a luxury sports watch that was virtually