Once again, at the annual SIHH 2018 fair (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) held in Geneva, several novelties worthy of mention have been presented this year. While it is true that the vast majority of exhibitors belong to the same business group (the Richemont group), it is no less true that in recent years (and there are now 25) brands that are unrelated to it have been incorporated, in a process that began with Audemars Piguet and Parmigiani, continued with independent watchmakers such as Kari Voutilainen or Laurent Ferrier and has culminated in 2018 with a brand as iconic as Hermés, something that begins to seriously worry the hegemonic fair until very recently: Baselworld, which already had its own problems. These are my impressions of SIHH 2018.
Ferdinand Berthoud
Even Chopard's most niche brand,Ferdinand Berthoud, which produces exclusive series of 20 watches, has decided to exhibit this year in Geneva. Its Chronomètre FB-1R.6-1, the atelier's second creation, is inspired by the Marine Watch No. 7 and, unlike its predecessor, presents the hour through an aperture at two o'clock while the minutes are displayed in a subdial at nine o'clock. It does maintain, however, the large central seconds hand. As it also maintains the tourbillon (now hidden behind the dial) and the chain and spindle transmission, a small mechanical marvel in itself. The most traditional watchmaking technique is allied here with the latest in technology: the steel from which the case is made has been treated using a “thermochemical carbon diffusion process in the gas phase”, which in practice translates into an exceptional hardness of 1200 Vickers on the surface, making it extremely resistant. The different F. Berthoud models are produced in series of 20 units for the number of chronometers that the King of France ordered from the watchmaker for the Royal Navy.
Richard Mille
Taking the chronology with which I visited the different exhibitors, it would now be the turn ofRichard Mille, which is characterized by two things: it is the only independent that does not appear at the –pardon the redundancy– presentations and it is also the only one that does not let you touch its watches at the end of them. Of course, the innovations it brings usually make people talk. Last year they told us about graphene as a construction material (ultralight, ultra-resistant), and this year they told us how they were the first to apply sapphire crystal... laminated! That is, they have interposed a more or less flexible sheet between two sapphire crystals that fit perfectly to make it resistant to the impacts of a polo match (it could crack with a strong blow, but never explode). It's not nonsense: in fact, that – protection in polo matches – is the origin of a venerable one: the JLC Reverso used by British polo players in India. The guest and friend of the brand was Pablo McDonough, one of the best polo players in the world, who told us how he was going to debut the new RM53-01 after beating his 53 in countless matches. The caliber of the RM 53-01 (series limited to 30 units) is made of grade 5 titanium and features a construction suspended between braided steel cables just 0.27mm in diameter that run between tiny pulleys. All this makes the set capable of resisting shocks of up to 5000 G. The price? Superior to that of a good polo horse, in the words of our protagonist.
Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron ConstantinIt bases its prestige and its history on 175 years of good work, during which it has had time to develop everything from Fine Watchmaking to artisan trades. Tourbillons, perpetual calendars, minor complications such as the GMT or the moon phases, enamels... without forgetting the micromechanics, which has allowed it to develop the caliber 2160, an automatic with an ultra-flat tourbillon mounted on the seriesTraditionelle, one of whose versions is made of platinum, both the case and the stitching on the strap. With the new collectionFiftysix–inspired by a model of the brand from those years of the 20th century– it targets a younger audience, and proof of this is the introduction of steel for the cases. Of course, the hands and indexes will continue to be made of gold (white, in this case). The star of the house remains, however, the collectionOverseas. This year a GMT has been presented in a steel case and the inevitable blue dial (everyone now has a blue dial, at least), but also with an ultra-thin automatic perpetual calendar caliber 1120 QP/1 that, while maintaining an unmistakably sporty air (rubber straps available) maintains the characteristic elegance of the brand. The Metiers d'Art have focused this year on the hot air balloons of Montgolfier and Blanchard, giving rise to a collection that allows the House to exhibit its mastery of artisan crafts such as engraving, metalwork chiseling by casting called ramolayage and the plique-à-jour vitreous enamelling (which allows light to pass through) used for the first time at Vacheron Constantin. Manufacturing Caliber 2460 GA/1.
Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier, the little sister of the Richemont group, has finally come forward by presenting its own in-house caliber: the ValFleurier caliber factory, created in 2005 and belonging to the same Richemont group, has developed the Baumatic expressly for it. Its basic characteristics are resistance to magnetism (up to 1,500 gauss) thanks to the presence of silicon in its regulating organ (spiral, lever and escapement wheel), its chronometric precision that allows it to be within COSC parameters, between -4 and +6 seconds per day, which, and this is important, is maintained throughout the power reserve, which is 5 days. In addition, the fact that there is less friction thanks to silicon allows service intervals to be extended up to five years or more (assuming that any of us respect those intervals...). The host of this novelty has been the Clifton now called Baumatic, and which has been presented as a watch novelty in this edition of the Salon. 40mm diameter, right on the border of sports watches, double sapphire crystal (domed on the front) and large-scale crocodile leather strap with curved tool-less change pins. Does anyone give more for 2,300 euros? We also saw the brand's new alliance, with Indian motorcycles and Burt Munro, the hero who broke speed records on one of them. This has given rise to Clifton chronographs that, if they follow in the wake of last year's Cobra Shelby, will soon sell out. The price? about €3,500. By the way, it comes with some beautiful straps.
Parmigiani
ParmigianiIt celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016 with the Tonda Chronor Anniversaire, in 2017 it revisited the Toric collection and in 2018 it celebrates 20 years of the Kalpa, the shape watch that housed the first caliber designed by Michel Parmigiani, the PF110. And Kalpa are all the models that we have seen at SIHH 2018. From the chronographs certified chronometers by the COSC and the Hebdomadaire with 8 full days of power reserve to the Kalpa Chronor, a series limited to 50 numbered examples, which hides a curious peculiarity: its PF365 caliber is made entirely of 18-karat gold. Another Kalpa, the Kalpagraph Chronometre, is a derivative of the PF36X (integrated, non-modular chronograph. Column wheel and vertical clutch), sharing the very high frequency of 36,000 vibrations/hour (5 Hertz) and a power reserve of 65 hours. The Kalparisma Nova Galaxy presents a dial made of Aventurine, a blue mineral that with its multiple inclusions evokes a starry sky. Limited edition of 50 copies. All Parmigiani watches come with Hermés straps.
A. Lange & Söhne
A year ago, in January 2017, the re-founder ofA. Lange & Söhne. In 1990, the same year of German reunification, Walter A. Lange recovered the factory in Glashütte and the brand after the dark years of collectivization. He had been, since then, the reference and link with the legendary founder, of whom he was a great-grandson. And, as expected, this 2018 a watch has been presented in his memory. In the words of Tony de Haas, director of product development, it would have been easy to take the most complicated watch and name it after Walter, but instead they decided to pay real tribute to it and develop from scratch the complication that Walter always talked about: an independent seconds hand that can be operated at will. Like a chronograph, but without reset or return to zero. To make it more complex, they also decided to make them “dead seconds”, which – in Haas's own words – gives it the appearance of a quartz watch... What no one at Lange was able to explain to me is how useful such a complication is. Not the dead second, which is simply a boast, but the possibility of activating or stopping an additional seconds hand that only allows counting times of one minute. The 1815 Homage to Walter A. Lange will be produced in three limited series: white gold (147 units), rose gold (90 units) and yellow gold (27 units). All of them will have the same price: €47,000, and a single piece will be produced in steel! (unheard of in Lange) that will be auctioned during 2018 and whose funds will go to a charity. The other big novelty was the Saxonia Triple Split which, as its name suggests, has a triple rattrapante to count split times of up to twelve hours. Impressive, as impressive is its price: €139,000 (taxes included) in a production of only 100 units.
There were more, but they deserve their own article. What I can't resist is putting up the making-of of the wonder that decorated the entrance to the stand.
Hermes
HermesIt premieres this year at the SIHH, and it doesn't seem like it will return to Baselworld given how comfortable it is to be here. It will be a shame not to see its fabulous stand again, designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. True to its playful concept of time, it has presented a reissue of its squaring the circle with the Carré H by Marc Berthier, which is equipped with an automatic Hermés H1912 manufacturing movement produced by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (where Hermés owns at least 25% of the shares). We also saw the Arceau Casaque, which plays with the colors of the jockeys' jackets, although here aesthetics prevail and the movement is made of quartz. In reality, aesthetics prevail in everything Hermés does, and watchmaking was no different. This is why the most impressive thing I saw was the Arceau Pocket Millefiori, a unique piece that combines watchmaking with the preciousness of what the maison does best: a “millefiori” glass dial made by Cristallerie Saint-Louis in a white gold case upholstered on the back in black crocodile skin, whose motif precisely imitates the dial. That it has a manufacturing mechanical movement (automatic in a pocket watch?) is almost the least important thing.
IWC
The Schaffhausen house has turned 150 years old (a few more than Parmigiani), and it celebrates by recovering what was once an innovation: the Pallweber digital watch. No, it's not thatIWChas joined the smartwatch trend; The Pallweber was a pocket watch that indicated the time by window numbers, named after its inventor, the Austrian Josef Pallweber, who patented the mechanism and licensed it to IWC (and others). This watch was only produced for two years, making it a rarity sought after by collectors. It is not surprising then that IWC has chosen it to celebrate such a famous birthday, and has presented it in limited editions, from the most faithful version – the pocket version, rose gold, 50 units – to different case metals, now for bracelets, ranging from platinum to white gold, between 25 and 250 pieces, and prices between CHF 40,000 and 69,000 before taxes. All with enameled dials where, in honor of the American founder (F. A. Jones), the hours and minutes appear in English. IWC has also taken the opportunity to communicate – without saying it – that it has lowered its entry price, and although the high range reaches up to 255,000 Swiss francs (we are talking about watches, not jewelry) the access bar has been set below 5,000. By the way, a few months ago Glashütte Original's patent expired for the large date of concentric discs (the two discs at the same height, which makes the trick of putting a vertical separation between both figures to hide the step unnecessary), and it is clear that they already knew it here because we have been able to see the first copies with such a useful complication.
And well, this is what he gave on the first day of the SIHH. I hope to finish before Baselworld arrives…
Best watch strap | Best annual calendar watch | Best watch winder | Best Black Luxury watch | Best Luxury Watches Men | Best Swiss Luxury Watches Women | Best Men Diamond Watches under 1000 | Best Diamond Watches Women | Best Luxury Dive Watch
