THE FINEST WATCHES AT SIHH
THE 2019 EDITION OF THE SALON INTERNATIONAL DE LA HAUTE HORLOGERIE, HELD IN GENEVA FROM JANUARY 14 TO 17, WAS EXCEPTIONAL IN SEVERAL WAYS. THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT THE SHOW IS HELD IN JANUARY: FROM 2020 IT WILL TAKE PLACE JUST BEFORE BASELWORLD, IN APRIL, GIVING GUESTS THE CHANCE TO VISIT BOTH EVENTS IN A SINGLE TRIP. THIS YEAR’S SIHH SAW THE PRESENCE OF 35 LUXURY WATCH BRANDS. TOGETHER THEY OFFERED A FASCINATING PORTRAIT OF HOW
THE SECTOR IS CHANGING IN RESPONSE TO NEW MARKET CONDITIONS.
At the IWC stand, a Spitfire was at the center of attention. This supremely graceful fighter plane, built in 1943 and lovingly restored, is a fine example of how a utilitarian machine can become an object of beauty. Its streamlined forms were drawn by designer Reginald Mitchell, working around the power of the 27-liter, 12-cylinder Rolls-royce Merlin engine, and he gave it slim, elliptical wings that provided optimal maneuverability and low drag. Pilots lucky enough to fly it spoke of the Spitfire using the language of love, its superb performance matched by its perfect looks.
IWC, a company that highlights just one of its family of watches every year, used the Spitfire as an analogy for the concepts underlying its new pilot’s watches. Christoph Grainger-herr, the company’s CEO, explained, “Just like the Spitfire, our watch collection of the same name combines form and function. The design is inspired by the pure functionality of the iconic Mark 11 navigation watch.” IWC supplied the Royal Air Force with Mark 11 watches from 1948, and the new Pilot’s Watch Automatic Spitfire is a fascinating interpretation, combining all the advantages
offered by the in-house caliber 32110 with design features based on the watch created 70 years ago. The new Automatic Spitfire has a soft-iron inner cage providing protection against magnetic fields, a solid caseback with an engraving of the legendary aircraft, and a bronze case framing the olive-green dial with sword-shaped hands and bold Arabic numerals. The new Spitfire collection comprises many complex timepieces but arguably it is this reference, IW326802, that best expresses IWC’S heritage in the area of classic pilot’s watches.
One of the trends to emerge at SIHH was that of moon phase displays as 2019 marks the 50th anniversary year of the first moon landing. One of the most original watches of this type was Arceau l’heure de la Lune by Hermès. In this piece, two mother-of-pearl moons remain fixed on the dial, while the two subdials, one for time, the other for date, rotate slowly, completing a circuit in 59 days and thus displaying two moon phases, one for each of the Earth’s hemispheres. The mechanical movement powering this watch is complex and sophisticated, and it is designed in such a way as to maintain the two subdials horizontal throughout their rotation around the dial. Detailing is splendid, with a dial in meteorite or aventurine, and the top lunar disc incorporating a depiction of Pegasus perfectly integrated into the natural mother-of-pearl texture.
A. Lange & Söhne celebrated its own special occasion: the tenth anniversary of its mechanical wristwatch with digital display, the Zeitwerk. The company has added another function to this new timepiece namely the date, displayed around the edge of the dial, shown by the rotation of a small red-colored segment that moves exactly at midnight. This extra complication adds to the challenges inherent in a watch of this type, in which energy absorption is not constant, with peaks of increasing magnitude every minute, every ten minutes, every hour (when three time discs move at the same instant), and every day at midnight. The mechanical movement has to accumulate switching impulses to cope with these momentary energy demands. Its patented constant-force escapement also ensures that the energy transferred to the balance is equal at all times, even though the torque produced by the mainspring gradually diminishes. The Zeitwerk Date achieves all this with the characteristic Lange understatement, which is such an attractive feature of the brand.
Another theme that emerged strongly at SIHH was that of GMT watches, perfect for contemporary travelers, who often need to keep track of two time zones. Cartier’s Privé Tonneau XL Skeleton Dual Time is a brilliant example of the brand’s skill at creating watches that look totally different. It combines the tonneau shape with a specially designed movement that splits in order to power two displays, one for each time zone. It is a large piece, 52.4 mm from top to bottom, but slim at 11.9 mm, with a curving profile ensuring that it wears comfortably on the wrist. The skeletonized movement is brilliantly engineered so that the gear train
is aligned on the vertical axis, with the wheels cleverly arranged to follow the curve of the case. The crown at 2 o’clock is used to wind the manual movement and to set local time on the top subdial. The second time zone is adjusted in one-hour jumps by pressing the crown at 4 o’clock.
Jaeger-lecoultre is a brand set apart from most others by two significant characteristics: 186 years of uninterrupted history, and 180 watchmaking skills under one roof, including some age-old techniques that the brand is helping to preserve, such as guillochage and grand feu enamel. The Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon uses a large number of these skills, but above all it is a dazzling masterpiece of micro-engineering. The multi-axis tourbillon is accompanied by a constant force mechanism, Westminster chimes, and a perpetual calendar, which includes the date shown by a third hand on the dial. A lot of the mechanism is visible dial-side, making this watch a piece of kinetic art, a grand complication with a modern, compact design, made to be worn. A true masterpiece.
When Ulysse Nardin introduced Freak back in 2001, it was an incredible innovation, a watch in which the movement was part of the minute hand and so performed a complete rotation every hour. The design has been progressively developed ever since, and Freak X is the latest version, with hour and minute hands that resemble boats in plan form. Simpler and more accessible than its ancestors, its visual focus is the super-light balance wheel in silicon with nickel flyweights, placing the heart of the watch in full view.
Two other popular features at SIHH were the continuing popularity of blue dials, and a growing number of retrograde functions. Vacheron Constantin’s minimalist classic Patrimony has a dual retrograde display for day and date, arranged with absolute clarity and providing a fascinating sight during the transition from the 31st of the month back to the 1st, or from Sunday back to Monday. All adjustments are performed from the crown, so that there are no pushers disturbing the case’s slim elegance. A transparent sapphire caseback provides a view of the complex in-house movement, a delightful contrast to the serene beauty of the dial.