When time become precious

Reflecting on time gained and time lost puts us on the uphill slope of opportunities to seize while managing daily life conditioned by precise calculations and rhythms. A better way, then, is to put on your wrist that wonderful invention known as a watch, which is able to regulate the rhythms of our day, but also gives us the illusion of being able to synchronise the hands with the beats of our heart to escape from the grip of a soul-destroying reality. The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie of Geneva offers an international panorama dominated by the presence of the Swiss industry. This year’s event resulted some of the best figures of the past few years and demonstrated a generalised trend of returning to classic shapes and vintage design with decidedly modern creations, the fruit of cutting-edge technical innovation, and a marked propensity for complications. This was demonstrated, for example, by Vacheron Constantin which has redesigned its Malte collection with four new models: Tourbillon, Petit Seconde, Petit Modèle, and Edition 100ème Anniversaire, all very sophisticated but classical with the original tonneau shape (a symbol since 1912). Inside, the new hand-wound Calibre 2795, with Hallmark of Geneva, is concealed within a shaped case in 18-carat rose gold measuring 38x48.2 mm, with brown alligator Mississippiensis leather strap and déployante clasp in the shape of a Maltese cross. The extraordinary finish is seen in the sandblasted silver-toned dial with black minute-tracks, 10 baton-shaped and 2 Roman numeral applied hour markers in 5N 18-carat rose gold. These same characteristics animate the precision of the cockpit style design of IWC’s Pilot’s Watches, like the Top Gun, which withstand 30 g, have a wide range of functions and are made of high-tech materials like ceramic and titanium. The year 2007 saw the introduction of Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Top Gun Edition, with split-seconds hand able to measure intermediate times while the stopwatch hand continues to run. When the push-button at “10 o’clock” is pressed again, the split-seconds and stopwatch hands are synchronised. The 2012 range offers tradition and innovation at the height of aviation. Also flying high is the very limited edition (10 pieces) of GirardPerregaux’s Laureato Tourbillon with Three Bridges, homage to the model made in 1889, which has a very distinctive design. Its octagonal platinum bezel alternates satin-brushed and polished finishes to powerful effect. Technical and artistic genius based on the three blue spinel bridges highlights the rhythmic dance of the visible tourbillon mechanism: at 12 o'clock for the barrel bridge, in the centre for the central bridge and at 6 o'clock for the tourbillon bridge. With 72 components of technical and aesthetic perfection, it is decorated with upper and lower frames that are chamfered and polished by hand, and has the Girard-Perregaux 96000004 mechanical movement with automatic winding. The virtues, instead, of the Datograph by A. Lange & Söhne make it the perfect chronograph. Its big date indicator, subdials for the small seconds and contrasting minute counter on a black dial form an equilateral triangle. These characteristics are enhanced in the Datograph AUF/AB, which is further developed with power reserve indicator (at 6 o’clock) in a large-sized platinum case (41 mm), baton rhodiumed gold hour markers on the dial to replace the Roman numerals II, VI and X, to highlight the clean design, and a flyback that combines 3 steps - stop, reset and restart - in a single one.

One single push of the button will start the Calibre Lange L951.6. But only with the new Cluster, a name that refers to the three-dimensional setting technique, does one enter the magical world of Harry Winston with his asymmetrical mix of pear, brilliant and marquise-cut stones. This watch is studded with 362 diamonds that embrace the wrist. The dial of this watch, which seems like a piece of jewellery ( High Jewellery Timepieces collection) with its refined hands, is covered with a sparkling carpet of diamonds with “neige” setting, surrounded by flashes of changing reflections. This same class animates the heart (the new automatic CRMA1 movement) of the RM 037 by Richard Mille, the painstaking work of the Swiss master watch-makers of Le Breuleux, who assembled case, dial and details of the movement. Anchored to a skeletonised grade 5 titanium plate, the automatic winding calibre sports an oversize date at 12 o’clock and a function window at 4 o’clock. Two subtly shaped pushers are located at 4 and 10 o’clock. The pusher at 4 o’clock allows one to select the winding (W), neutral (N) and hand setting (H) functions with a simple push. The watch also has a device that allows the crown to be integrated to the case and not by means of a stem to the movement. The special case with bezel, caseband and caseback undergoes 44 different stamping operations and highly sophisticated techniques, according to sound traditions that also combine innovation, and features a new rotor with variable inertia. The past returns in the blue dial of the new model of Royal Oak Ultra-slim by Audemars Piguet, with brilliant “Petite tapisserie” pattern (cuts or squares with grill structure and thin lines), initially seen in the 1972 model, with caseband, bezel, crown, bracelet and déployante clasp, generous 39 mm case in stainless steel, sapphire crystal and caseback with eight hexagonal screws in the white gold octagonal bezel, and Calibre 2121 handwinding movement with date aperture. Greubel Forsey, instead, uses a GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) complication based on a second time zone indication with a globe that provides an original picture of time all over the world. From 18:00 to 6:00, the night-time hemisphere is indicated by the blackened half of the ring around the globe, while the daytime hemisphere - from 6:00 to 18:00 - is indicated by the whitened part: an exclusive tourbillon. The new Patek Philippe, linked to a sense of freedom and nonconformism, split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar the CH 29-535 PS basic caliber, features the traditional assets that impress true connoisseurs - manual winding, two column wheels, horizontal clutch - the most modern of its category. The experts were surprised for this chronograph: a model based on the competence of the independent, family-owned manufacture. Tank Anglaise by Cartier, a new range and heir to the iconic timepiece created by Louis Cartier in 1917, combines the attractive lines of a rectangular dial inside a case (47x36.2 mm) with gently smoothed corners in brilliant white gold. The watch’s chemin de fer minute track and Roman numeral hour markers graphically sum up its essentiality of form and content. The same elements characterise the choices of Panerai, which are enhanced by Italian design and unique Swiss watch-making skill. This is seen in the aesthetic power of Radiomir 8 days GMT, 45 mm case in pink gold which interprets a sophisticated version of the Calibre P.2002, along skeletonised bridges and three barrels, with wheelwork and circular graining on the plates in an interplay of superbly finished details: hand-chamfered bridges, gold engravings on the movement, inscriptions in relief and details on the bezel. The second time zone, 24-hour indication and day-night indication at 9 a.m. or 9 p.m., dial with sandwich construction, luminescent hands and numbers together with the sapphire crystal, even on the caseback, create an incredible effect. Lastly, from Piaget, the Swiss company located in La Côte aux Fées in the Giura Canton, the Secret Watch with dragon in 18-carat white gold, embellished with brilliant and baguette-cut diamonds, is a one-of-a-kind example that is almost a piece of high jewellery. The Dragon’s silvered dial incorporates a quartz 56P movement, and the bracelet with its wide curved scrolls in white gold with diamonds lies somewhere between Haute Horlogerie and the world of dreams: created especially for women who love watches that transform into jewellery.