Watch Your Time 2013 - European Edition by ETI

s p e c i a l w aT C H E D I T I O N

eu r o p e a n e d i t i on 2013 — SPECIAL F EA T URE — T H URS DAY a p r i l 25 , 2013 . p r od u c e d fo r th e da i ly t e l eg r a p h by ed i t i on s te m p s i nt er n at i on a l w ho ta k e so le r es p on s i b i l i ty fo r th e c ont ents . (AVAILABLE i n London a nd sou th r eg i on s on ly )

WATCH YOUR TIME

PUBliSHer-FoUNder cHrisTiaN ll aVall-ubacH MaNaGiNG direCtor isabelle bOuDriNgHiN

special waTcH eDiTiON

eDiTiONs@Temps-iNTerNaTiONal.cOm deVeloPMeNt MaNaGer eric DumaTiN editorial direCtor cHrisTOpHe rOuleT CoNtriBUtorS peTer br auN (germaNY), ViNceNT DaVeau (Fr aNce), Timm DelFs (swiTZerl aND), paOlO De VeccHi (iTalY), pierre maill arD

prODuceD FOr THe DailY Telegr apH ON THursDaY april 25,

eDiTiONs Temps iNTerNaTiONal lTD

2013 bY eDiTiONs Temps iNTerNaTiONal wHO Take sOle

2503 BaNK oF america tower, 12 harcourt roaD, ceNtraL, hoNG KoNG

respONsibiliT Y FOr THe cONTeNTs.

eDiTiONs@Temps-iNTerNaTiONal .cOm

(swiTZerl aND), palOma reciO (spaiN), cHrisTOpHe rOuleT (swiTZerl aND), eUroPe aN editioN 2013, PUBliSHed

marie-pierre Valli (Fr aNce) traNSlatorS peTer br auN, saNDr a peTcH, giaN pOZZY, palOma reciO, riTa iaNNiciellO & l aNguage cONsulTiNg mil aNO, amaÏa Tr aDucTiONs PHotoGraPHer THierrY VaN bieseN

SiMUltaNeoUSlY WitH LE MONDE (Fr aNCe),

13 FOCUS

FR ANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE (GerMaNY ), IL SOLE 24 ORE (italY ), EL MUNDO (SPaiN)

PATEK PHILIPPE, PLAYING FOR KEEPS

artiStiC direCtor ViNceNT FesseleT, l a FONDerie, geNeVa PHotoeNGraVerS bOmbie, geNeVa, priNTeD iN THe eu reProdUCtioN, eVeN Partial , oF all Material PUBliSHed

15 EDITORIAL EMBRACING THE IRREVERSIBLE

17 FOCUS CHOPARD, MASTERS OF TIME

22 FOCUS IWC, POLE POSITION

24 FOCUS AUDEMARS PIGUET, ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

26 FOCUS ZENITH, ON TOP OF THE WORLD

30 cLaSSic “TIME AFTER TIME” PETER BRAUN

38 JeweLLery “SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND” PAOLO DE VECCHI

44 SPort “COUNTING OUT TIME” VINCENT DAVEAU

50 DiViNG “SUMMERTIME” PALOMA RECIO

56 aStroNomicaL “TIME OUT OF MIND” PIERRE MAILLARD

61 FOCUS MONTBLANC, A WINNING MOVE MALTE LADY. iN a spiriT OF

62 FOCUS

iNNOVaTiON THaT THriVeD iN aN

TAG HEUER, 50 YEARS OF LEGEND

VaCHeroN CoNStaNtiN

er a OF prOgress, VacHerON cONsTaNTiN brOke wiTH THe rOuND case OF pOcke T waTcHes, aND iN 1912 became ONe OF THe FirsT maNuFacTurers TO

64 FOCUS STAR GAZING

prODuce THe TONNe au case, NOTablY iN THe malTe cOllecTiON.

thierry VaN BieSeN of Lebanese and Belgian origin, thierry van Biesen was born in Beirut in 1965. when he was ten years old, the Lebanese civil war broke out and changed his life dramatically. So as to survive the horrors around him, he developed a way of seeing that was optimistic and uplifting, and which would later infuse his visual language. yet thierry van Biesen wasn’t destined to be a photographer; his first studies were at the Polytechnic institute in Brussels. But art always finds a way. in 1989 he moved to New york where he assisted the most prestigious photographers of the day. returning to Beirut, he began working for clients such as Kodak, Seiko and marlboro. in 1997 he moved again, this time to London where he would “play with the big boys”, shooting advertising campaigns for the likes of Sony, amazon and Guinness. his talent was also in demand from major fashion magazines, including Tank, Mined, Elle and Madame Figaro. on the cusp of art and fashion, thierry van Biesen’s work vibrates with poetry and dreaming.

66 comPLicatioNS

CoVer aNd doUBle SPre ad

elegaNce iN a Displ aY OF

“TIME IS ON MY SIDE”

aSSiStaNt James YarusiNski

gOlD aND DiamONDs.

TIMM DELFS

THis Ye ar iTs cle aN aND reFiNeD liNes, Demure iN spiriT, e xuDe

70 FOCUS

Model mJ @ wilHelmiNa mODel

HERMÈS, IN THE GARDEN OF TIME

ProdUCtioN aNgel a De bONa ageNcY

CaStiNG NaTalie JOOs & ariaNNa pr aDarelli

17th of September 1755. In the offices of the solicitor Mr. Choisy, a young Master Watchmaker from Geneva named Jean-Marc Vacheron is about to hire his first apprentice. This agreement is the first known reference to the founding watchmaker of a prestigious dynasty and it represents the establishment of Vacheron Constantin, the oldest watchmaking manufacturer in the world in continuous operation. Ever since this agreement, and true to the history that built its reputation, Vacheron Constantin has been committed to passing on its knowledge to each of its Master Watchmakers in order to guarantee the excellence and durability of its craftsmanship and of its timepieces.

Patrim o n y C o n te m p o rain e Pe rp e tual C ale n d ar Hallm ark o f G e n e v a, p in k-g o ld c ase , ultra-slim m e ch an ic al m o v e m e n t with auto m atic win d in g , c alib re 1120 Q P, m o o n p h ase s. R e fe re n c e : 43175/000R -9687

For enquiries, please call 020 7312 6830

Ingenieur Chronograph Racer. Ref. 3785: In fact, well-being is the last thing you’d think of on the “Ardennes rollercoaster”, with its sweeping dips, rapid ascents and frequent bends. When you’re hurtling around the Spa Francorchamps circuit, conventional technology falls short. The Ingenieur Chronograph Racer is equipped with one of the most efficient chronograph movements ever made by IWC, the 89361 calibre. It features a combined hour and minute counter in a single totalizer at 12 o’clock, while times up to 60 seconds are recorded by the central stopwatch hand. Used in conjunction with the

tachymeter scale on the bezel, it enables the wearer to calculate his average speed over a measured distance of 1,000 metres. Press the flyback button and the hand instantly starts recording a new time from zero, which is next to the red 60 in the chapter ring. The design was inspired by the display of digital control lights on the steering wheel of a MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula 1™ Team car. In addition to this, the back of the Ingenieur Chronograph Racer is adorned with an engraving of a FORMULA 1 car. This watch belongs out on the circuit. Then again, how would you define Spa? IWC . ENGINEERED FOR MEN.

IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN BOUTIQUES: PARIS I VIENNA I ROME I MOSCOW I NEW YORK I BEIJING I DUBAI I HONG KONG I GENEVA I ZURICH IWC .COM

For more information please call +44 845 337 1868 or email info-uk@iwc.com

ENGINEERED FOR MEN WHO WOULD NEVER LINK SPA WITH WELLNESS.

FoCUS watch your time 13

a waTcH’s mecHaNical “eNgiNe” FuNcTiONs 24 HOurs a DaY aND sHOulD be serViceD ONce e VerY THree TO FiVe Ye ars.

THe paTek pHilippe maNuFacTure

“You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation”. Thus runs the slogan for a memorable advertising campaign from the Geneva-based watchmaker.

iN geNe Va .

these two short lines leave a lasting impression, but for them to have any real meaning, the brand must deliver on its promise. that a watch, in this instance a Patek Philippe, is an heirloom. Naturally, being a “guardian” for future generations implies responsibilities. the object merely entrusted to you warrants care and attention. this is precisely the message conveyed in the manufacture’s new advertising campaign: that a watch, any watch, must be cared for. what seems obvious for a car, the need for an annual service, an oil change, even something as simple as inflating the tyres, strikes countless owners of fine mechanical watches as incongruous! and yet as Laurent cantin, international customer service director at Patek Philippe and himself a watchmaker, explains, “No-one has ever contested that a car needs a full service

playing for keeps paTek pHilippe Has cl assiFieD, arcHiVeD aND cONserVeD all THe parTs FOr iTs waTcHes siNce THe cOmpaNY was esTablisHeD iN 1839.

every 9,000 miles, yet countless people fail to see that a watch, whose mechanical “engine” functions twenty-four hours a day, also needs regular servicing, once every three to five years. convincing people of this very basic notion is already a considerable task. Something like one in three customers still hasn’t got to grips with the fact. yet consider that over the seventy years of a generation, a watch will function for 613,200 hours, compared with 4,400 hours for a car driving 200,000 miles at an average 45 mph.” PateK PHiliPPe CALATR AVA REFERENCE 5227.

A UNIQUE COMMITMENT

Patek Philippe recently set up a microsite (http://patekinstitutional.com) about watch servicing. it describes and explains the notions of servicing and repair, how an owner should care for their watch, and Patek Philippe’s commitment to customer service. uniquely, the company says it is able to repair and restore every single watch it has produced over the course of its 174 years.

THis Ye ar , THe geNe VaN maNuFacTure iNTrODuces a New iNTerpre TaTiON OF THe cal aTr aVa , THe arcHe T Ypical , cl assic, rOuND wrisT waTcH, aND cONTiNues THe HeriTage OF iTs gre aT cre aTiONs.

anyone in need of convincing should visit the brand’s restoration workshop inside its manufacturing facilities in Geneva. they should peek into any of the numerous drawers to realise that every single component, often in the form of blanks, has been archived, classified and conserved since 1839, the year the company was established. the restoration workshop is thus a repository for the traditional savoir-faire of time measurement, where rare specialist skills are still practiced, and where a watchmaker can be seen hand-fitting microscopic pinions that were machined over a hundred years ago.

A LIFETIME AND MORE

Not all watches find their way to the restoration workshop, which is reserved prioritarily for timepieces made before 1973. For its more recent watches, the brand has established a network of local, regional and international service centres. “we have 58 authorised service centres in 36 countries across all the continents,” says Laurent cantin. “they employ 250 people skilled in every aspect of watchmaking. every centre must conform to precise criteria, not only with respect to professional expertise, but also regarding the working environment, technical and logistic equipment. whether they are based in china, South america or australia, all these watchmakers must complete training in Geneva.” Servicing a timepiece is a necessity which nonetheless has a cost when the watch is no longer under warranty. as Laurent cantin explains, “Patek Philippe is unusual in that it doesn’t consider its customer Service as a profit centre, on the contrary. it is actually making a loss. But service always comes first, whatever the price.” in practical terms, Patek Philippe requires payment of around €500 to service a simple mechanical movement. this takes at least five or six hours of pure watchmaking procedures to which can be added, although these are not invoiced, polishing, cleaning, casing, testing, admin and logistics. the process takes between four and eight weeks, including two weeks of quality control using identical tests as for pieces in production, before returning the watch to its owner. But what price the peace of mind of knowing that you are the worthy “guardian” of a timepiece that is destined, who knows, for eternity? Pierre maillard

H ISTORY SEEMS TO REPEAT ITSELF. C ERTAINLY NOT OURS.

1,242 original calibres in 180 years: a world record. Since 1833, the Grande Maison has developed 1,242 of the world’s smallest and most complicated mechanical calibres. Driven by a concern for elegance and performance, each of them is developed to match the specific size of the watch case that will house it. From the iconic Reverso to the fascinating Sphérotourbillon, the Inventors of the Vallée de Joux, as acknowledged masters in the art of horological complexity, continue to forge the history of Fine Watchmaking.

YOU DESERVE A REAL WATCH.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutique 1A Old Bond Street - W1S 4PA London Tel. (0)207 491 6970 www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

editorial watch your time 15

The physicist Etienne Klein discusses his love of time lost, which ultimately comes down to a love of the irreversible. What he calls a “diet of the moment”.

embracing the irreversible Marie-Pierre Valli : We like to say time goes faster and faster. Is this true, or just something we tell ourselves in an age that no longer distinguishes between speed and time? I’d go for the second hypothesis. What we think is an acceleration of time is in fact a fragmentation of reality, an increase in production, an enthusiasm for the future, an explosion of telecommunications. As if time were identified by an unfolding of events or had nothing better to do than fit in with the pace of our activities. Most of all, as if the notion of speed could be applied to time when speed is itself a derivative of time! The only way to define the speed of time would be to express the variation in the rate of time in reference to itself. This would be akin to saying time advances at a rate of twenty-four hours… every twenty-four hours, which doesn’t get us very far! It’s not about time going faster but how some of us fragment ourselves into what you could call a state of agitated immobility. One day we’ll have to think about energising collective time into a polarising force for all our activity.

How can we reconcile ourselves with time instead of getting worked up over speed? Speed doesn’t have to be a mental stress. It can provide an ersatz existence, a semblance of vitality, an existential euphoria that keeps death at bay. Unbridled activity is like a tranquilliser. In certain instances we can even talk about “kinetic tranquillity”. Look at the passengers in a train, for example. Their faces are calm and relaxed as though the knowledge that they are travelling at high speed means they can finally take their time.

Born in 1958, Etienne Klein is a physicist who likes words and writes books. For a long time he’s been wondering what an elementary particle might look like, and what difference time makes. He has contributed to several major projects, including the development of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN. He is a research director at

Of course, the spread of telecommunications has given us a sense of ubiquity. The only distance that separates us from any other point on earth is the increasingly shorter time it takes to send a message. But surely this is an illusion? Our face and voice can be present anywhere in the world at the same time as we’re receiving news from just about anyone, anywhere, but what happens to our relations with others when this fictional suppressing of distance means everything is equally near and equally far? We’ve become slaves to immediacy. In this empire of the ephemeral, we want nothing but instant gratification. Does this influence our relationship with time? Treating everything as though it were urgent is really to fall into a trap. We accept urgency in the hope of escaping from it. We’re convinced that by dealing with all the small things quickly, we create more free time to deal with the big things. But we’re deluding ourselves. Little by little, everything becomes tainted with urgency. It becomes a fluid that seeps into every gap. No doubt there is a metaphysic behind all this. We want to put every moment of lived time to profitable use. Because we believe we are nothing more than our life, we have to make that life a success. It has to be meaningful and important. This implies never being inert, throwing ourselves heart and soul into the present and never looking beyond that present. Of course, this is something we really should put into perspective. I believe a lot of people still find time to spend several hours a day in front of the TV…

the French atomic energy commission (CEA) where he heads the materials science research laboratory (LARSIM). He teaches physics and philosophy of science at Ecole Centrale in Paris. Etienne Klein has published his reflections on physics, and in particular time, in a number of books, certain of which have been translated into English:

You make the distinction between the “big bang” and the “instant zero”. Can you explain? Intense theoretical research is being carried out with the aim of developing a formalism that could describe the primordial universe. All kinds of hypotheses are being considered: that space-time has more than four dimensions; that on a very small scale, space-time is discontinuous rather than smooth… This is all just conjecture for the moment. Remarkably though, each of these possibilities gives instant zero a run for its money; they all exclude the initial singularity. Basically, it’s as though the origin was constantly pushed forward, to the point that we can question whether there actually was an origin of the universe… Neutrinos were reported to have travelled from the CERN in Geneva faster than the speed of light, which contradicts the theory of special relativity. Was Einstein wrong? No, Einstein wasn’t wrong. After several months of investigation, the physicists discovered two experimental errors which meant the measurement was skewed. So as it turns out, neutrinos haven’t broken any speed limits. Light is still the fastest thing in the universe.

How do you feel about time? I like speed, I don’t like having to wait, and every now and again I appreciate some peace and quiet. I try to stick to a diet of the moment. I’m going to die, so be it! Now’s the time to colonise the ephemeral. Night will come soon enough. I’m trying to learn to embrace the irreversible.

Conversations with the Sphinx: Paradoxes in Physics, Souvenir Press Ltd, 1996. — The Quest for Unity: the Adventure of Physics, Oxford University Press, 1999. — Chronos: How Time Shapes Our Universe, Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2005.

Image of the sk y taken in October 2012 by the MegaCam widefield imaging camer a (340 million pixels), the biggest in the world at the time it was brought into service and developed by the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in Sacl ay, Fr ance . Installed at the prime focus of the 3.6-me tre Canada-Fr ance-Hawaii Telescope at the top of Mauna Ke a in Hawaii, the MegaCam covers a 1 square degree field of view and produces images with astonishing detail .

hermĂ¨s. time in movement

dressage la montre hermĂ¨s tames time so as to master its measurement. at the heart of the dressage model ticks the steady beat of the manufacture h1837 mechanical movement. from development through to the final adjustments, and from the making of each part to their finishing by hand, la montre hermĂ¨s dedicates elegance and fine craftsmanship to the service of precision.

Hermes.com

FoCUS watch your time 17

As a family-run business, Chopard is aware of the privilege and responsibility that goes with autonomy. Few independent brands have succeeded in imposing their style and demonstrating such consummate expertise in jewellery and watchmaking alike.

k arl-FrieDricH scHeuFele, cO-presiDeNT OF cHOparD.

of course there’s the red-carpet glamour, fabulously illustrated by the cannes Film Festival where the Genevabased watchmaker dazzles for the sixteenth consecutive year in 2013. then there’s the mechanical beauty of classic cars, as a partner to prestigious races that include the legendary mille miglia that is held each year in italy. chopard is both jewellery magic and horological precision, fire and water… the fire of diamonds and the water that flows through the clepsydra, one of the first ingenious instruments to measure time. FORWARD-LOOKING

most of all chopard is a family firm, the responsibility for which now lies in the hands of the second generation. “independence is a force, a privilege and a responsibility,” says Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of the company with his sister, caroline. a force because it allows

masters of time

CHoPard L.U.C ENGINE ONE H. cHOparD’s DeDicaTiON TO car r aciNg sHiNes THrOugH iN THis mODel . repl aciNg THe V10 T wiN TurbO eNgiNe iNsiDe aN alumiNium cHassis, a HaND-wOuND calibre wiTH TOurbillON regul aTOr prOpels THis mODel wiTH TiTaNium case .

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was one of the first to realise, from the early 1990s, that the mechanical watch hadn’t said its last word in the battle that pitted it against quartz. and so he patiently began to lay the foundations for a movement manufacturing facility that opened in 1996, and which now produces all the L.u.c calibres that equip the brand’s top of the range. But there is more to chopard than its high-end collections. enter Fleurier ebauches, a production unit whose capacity is

wiTHiN THe Ne xT T wO Ye ars, Fleurier ebaucHes iN swiTZerl aND will HaVe THe capaciT Y TO prODuce sOme 20,000 mOVemeNTs, wHicH will gr aDuallY make cHOparD iNDepeNDeNT OF OuTsiDe suppliers.

flexibility and freedom of action; a privilege because it means there is no shareholder pressure; a responsibility because the notion of family inevitably extends to all the staff. these values are perhaps best expressed in the company’s watchmaking ventures, the core business of a firm that was established in 1860 and taken over in 1963.

CHoPard STEEL SUPERFAST POWER CONTROL. THis is ONe OF THe FirsT THree waTcHes iN THe cl assic r aciNg cOllecTiON TO be FiT TeD wiTH cHOparD mOVemeNTs, maNuFacTureD iN THe Fleurier ebaucHes wOrksHOps. iT Displ aYs HOurs, miNuTes, small secONDs, DaTe iN aN aperTure aND pOwer reserVe .

set to increase to between 15,000 and 20,000 movements within the next two years, and which will gradually make chopard independent of outside suppliers for all its mechanical timepieces. evidently, the company views independence as more than just a question of shareholders.

PERFECT BALANCE

the lucidity which has established the company as a force in the distinct yet complementary fields of watchmaking and jewellery, with sales intended to be shared evenly between the two, is also evident in its commitment to innovation. high frequencies have been occupying watchmakers’ thoughts of late. Naturally, chopard has responded to the challenge: the movement of the L.u.c 8hF, which took four years to develop, beats at 8 hz (57,600 vph). “the primary value of high frequency lies in a significant improvement in the precision timekeeping properties of a calibre,” the company explains. Furthermore, this new movement has been designed so that it can also equip other chopard watches. ultimately, all its sport models should be driven by this type of movement which, says Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, delivers significantly improved regularity of rate. Precision, craftsmanship, and most importantly the spirit of enterprise that makes it such a tireless explorer of possibilities have instilled in chopard the aura of a brand for which the mysterious flow of time has no secrets. eric Dumatin

LA MONTRE PREMIÈRE

FLYING TOURBILLON High feminine complication, this flying tourbillon decorated with the motif of the camellia, a tribute to Mademoiselle Chanel’s favorite flower, beats away discreetly and almost secretly at the heart of the Première watch. Having no upper bridge, the carriage decorated with a camellia appears to be rotating in a weightless state. Limited edition of 20 numbered pieces. 18-carat white gold, set with 228 diamonds (~ 7.7 carats).

www.chanel.com

TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE GRANDE COMPLICATION IS THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF THE WATCHMAKER’S ART. NOW AUDEMARS PIGUET PLACES THIS SUPREME HOROLOGICAL

C O M P L I C AT I O N

THE

SCULPTURAL ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE. ONE WATCHMAKER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH WATCH IN ITS ENTIRETY - THE 648 INDIVIDUAL PA R T S , T H E D E TA I L E D A S S E M B LY, T H E F I N E DECORATION. TO ACHIEVE THIS, THEY HAVE MASTERED THE UNIVERSE OF THEIR CRAFT. FINALLY, THEY MUST TUNE THE CONCENTRIC C H I M E S O F T H E M I N U T E R E P E AT E R T O A N INTERVAL OF A PERFECT MINOR THIRD. TECHNICAL MASTERY AND THE EAR OF A CONCERT SOLOIST. UOSO UO SO HERITAGE H ER E ITAGE OF LE BRASSUS. THE VIRTUOSO

ROYAL OAK K E OFFSHORE GRANDE ATI TION ON COMPLICATION

IN TITANIUM AND CE CER CERAMIC. RAMIC.

AUDEMARS PIGUET UK LTD TEL: + 44 207 659 7300 audemarspiguet.com

22 watch your time FoCUS

iWC INGENIEUR PERPETUAL CALENDAR DIGITAL DATE-MONTH. wiTH a perpe Tual caleNDar aND l arge DaTe Displ aY, THis mODel iNNOVaTes wiTH iTs spOrT Y DesigN. like THe HYbriD bOOsT buT TON ON THe sTeeriNg wHeel OF a FOrmul a 1™ car , iTs quick-acTiON swiTcH supplies ma ximum pOwer preciselY wHeN iT is NeeDeD aT THe eND OF THe mONTH.

the company now favours a more selective distribution network for its watches, hence the reduction from 1,500 to 850 in the number of points of sale. as part of the same strategy, it will continue to extend its network of own-name stores, currently 60 worldwide. New doors are set to open in rome and in Venice, and the brand is on the lookout for the right locations in Ginza (tokyo), rodeo Drive (Los angeles) and Bond Street (London). Like F1, iwc engineers its watches for the type of performance on which success and eric Dumatin character are built.

geOrges kerN, cHieF e xecuTiVe OF iwc scHaFFHauseN.

IWC is training the spotlight on its Ingenieur collection after signing a deal with Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team. In the starting grid: high-tech materials, in-house movements, and the arrival of grandes complications in the range. “the partnership with mercedes amG Petronas illustrates iwc’s attributes of engineering excellence and technical performance,” chief executive Georges Kern declared. “these attributes are showcased by our ingenieur collection which we are bringing to the fore this year, after Portofino in 2011 and Pilot in 2012. i’m often asked how we can commit to Formula 1 when we defend social responsibility and sustainability, and my answer is always the same: given how this sport has developed over the past ten years, i’m convinced it will continue to evolve and that in a not too distant future, we’ll see F1 race cars with hybrid or electric engines. it’s a technological challenge on a par with the ones we are ready to take up.” THE MOVE UPSCALE

the challenge facing iwc this year has been to revisit its ingenieur range with an eye to a more ergonomic design and the introduction of innovative materials such as titanium aluminide, ceramic and carbon, alongside the care given to the in-house calibres that equip 70%

pole position of its models. certain of these are grandes complications, such as the ingenieur constant-Force tourbillon, an exploit for this type of regulator, and the ingenieur Perpetual calendar Digital Date-month which includes a quick-action mechanism and a fl yback chrono.

iwc is ramping up its mechanical movements as part of a long-term strategy. the brand is aiming to make every single one of its movements in-house, and has already come a long way towards achieving this goal considering that ten years ago, only 2% to 3% of its mechanical movements were from its own production, whereas inhouse calibres now account for 60% of sales. Georges Kern is conscious of the need to time this transition and make the move upscale gradually, at a pace customers can understand. while next year the brand will spotlight another of its collections, why not the aquatimer, it has already decided the theme for 2015 will be the in-house calibres, suggesting another decisive stage in its development in the near future. STRONG GROWTH POTENTIAL

with this in mind, iwc is to invest some chF 30 million (€24 million) this year in its manufacturing site in Schaffhausen. “we’re thinking in terms of a fi ve- to ten-year cycle,” says Kern. “i believe Swiss watchmaking has the potential to grow over this period, and by this i mean a signifi cant potential that implies having the production capacity to match.” in a similar vein,

THe iwc scHaFFHauseN maNuFacTure .

ke ViN spaceY, a “FrieND” OF THe br aND, aT THe 2013 salON iNTerNaTiONal De l a HauTe HOrlOgerie iN geNe Va .

pa n e r a i . c o m

design a n d technology.

radiomir tourbillon gmt titanio - 48mm

Available exclusively at Panerai boutiques and select authorized watch specialists.

24 watch your time FoCUS aUdeMarS PiGUet GR ANDE COMPLICATION ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE 44MM. THe rOYal Oak OFFsHOre wiTH iTs pOwerFul liNes was l auNcHeD iN 1993 as aN ulTr aspOrT Y e xTr apOl aTiON OF THe rOYal Oak . THis Ye ar iT welcOmes iTs FirsT gr aNDe cOmplicaTiON mOVemeNT wHicH cOmbiNes a miNuTe-repe aTer , a spliT-secONDs cHrONOgr apH aND a perpe Tual caleNDar .

the firm also plans more vertical integration, a major trend within the sector. the various watchmaking trades will gradually be brought together under the one roof of the manufacturing site in Le Brassus, in Switzerland’s La Vallée-de-Joux. a third wing will be added to the building in 2015. Judging by the products unveiled in January at the Salon international de la haute horlogerie in Geneva, audemars Piguet certainly has the potential to live up to its new ceo’s expectations. its Grande complication royal oak offshore goes against the grain by endowing this “sport” watch with a minute-repeater, perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph. it exemplifies the unique brand of modernity steeped in centuries of expertise that is taking audemars Piguet to ever greater heights. eric Dumatin

Fr aNÇOis-HeNrY beNNaHmias, ceO OF auDemars pigue T.

achieving excellence François-Henry Bennahmias, the recently appointed Chief Executive of Audemars Piguet, sees the company as a hotbed of expertise that warrants its ranking among watchmaking’s great names.

along with the new ceo comes a new strategy, orchestrated by a man who has made luxury in general, and watches in particular, his second home. after stints at Giorgio armani, Gianfranco Ferré and Peter hadley, François-henry Bennahmias joined audemars Piguet in 1994, first in France then in Singapore. in 1999 he took on new responsibilities when the group invited him to head its North american subsidiary, based in New york, and build the market from scratch, all the while developing the brand in Latin america. the experience proved sufficiently conclusive for him to be handed the reins of the group. the newly minted ceo came determined to apply the same methods that had worked wonders in the united States.

But François-henry Bennahmias will do more than play the “tried and tested” card. he firmly intends building on the potential of a manufacture that was established in 1875, making it the oldest watch manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families, and which has made fine watches, and more so complicated watches, its raison d’être. “i spent my first months at the head of the group listening and learning, and i realised a form of self-satisfaction had set in”, he explains. “we were resting on our laurels, even though the passion for watchmaking was intact. this is why we want to start anew, building on the values that make us what we are, particularly the irreproachable quality that requires complete command of the forty-some watchmaking professions, including the handcrafting that makes fine watchmaking a world apart. we aim to breathe new life into the brand which clearly has the means to achieve this.”

THe HisTOric builDiNg OF THe auDemars pigue T maNuFacTure iN le br assus, swiTZerl aND.

DESTINED FOR GREATNESS

one aspect of this new strategy is to refocus the product offering. the number of pieces overall will be reduced and existing lines reworked. a collection that will feature nothing but women’s models is scheduled for 2015. this return to the brand’s intrinsic values, defined by excellence, difference and independence, is matched by a selective approach to the sales network. over the past fi ve years, audemars Piguet has been taking over its distribution and now controls 90% of its markets, giving the brand a solid base on which to re-centre. “it’s not about multiplying the number of own-name stores, of which there are currently twenty-one,” Bennahmias says. “Because we don’t belong to a large group, we can take maximum advantage of our retail partners with whom we have grown. it’s up to us to adapt to each market.”

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26 watch your time FoCUS

THE WATCHMAKER’S GRAIL

“this new visual identity is the last brick in rebuilding a unique brand which for almost 150 years, from the same site, has been manufacturing watches that are sold all over the world,” comments mr Dufour. “we wanted this final challenge to express beyond any doubt our values of authenticity, daring and pleasure.” this year Zenith has distilled these values into a series of iconic watches,

Je aN-FrÉDÉric DuFOur , presiDeNT aND ceO OF ZeNiTH.

for the world of aviation. Flying is very much part of the brand’s heritage; indeed, only Zenith is allowed to inscribe the word “Pilot” on its dials. “after the success of the Pilot montre d’aéronef type 20, it was time to take care of the rest of the collection. this year we’re offering the choice between a chronograph tourbillon, an annual calendar chronograph and a Gmt, all driven by an el Primero movement and with the unmistakable stylistic identity of Zenith’s flight instruments.” Zenith is also embracing the poet Louis aragon’s belief that “woman is the future of man.” convinced that more and more of its female customers are drawn to the mechanical quality of a “manufacture” watch, the company is introducing more choices with classic models in the Pilot collection, but also a Star chronograph, imagined specifically for women. it will be presented at the Baselworld watch fair. the brand continues to forge ahead with the opening of its fourteenth and fifteenth stores, and ZeNitH ACADEMY CHRISTOPHE COLOMB HURRICANE. THe gr aViT Y cONTrOl sYsTem is iNspireD bY THe mariNe cHrONOme Ters wHicH ZeNiTH ONce maDe . iT bOrrOws FrOm THem THe priNciple OF gimbals suspeNsiON, a piVOTeD suppOrT FirsT iNTrODuceD ON mariNe cOmpasses iN THe sixTeeNTH ceNTurY TO maiNTaiN THem iN a HOriZONTal pOsiTiON.

ZeNitH ACADEMY CHRISTOPHE COLOMB HURRICANE. THis waTcH HOlDs THe keY TO THe THree cHalleNges OF eNsuriNg Op Timal precisiON iN a wrisT waTcH: a HigH Oscill aTiNg FrequeNcY FOr Time sequeNciNg; NeuTr alisiNg THe eFFecTs OF gr aViT Y wHicH are De TrimeNTal TO r aTe, aND elimiNaTiNg VariaTiONs iN isOcHrONism.

on top of the world Since his appointment at the head of Zenith in 2009, Jean-Frédéric Dufour has taken steps to reposition the brand in line with its long history. The final touch comes this year with a new visual identity.

Zenith is one of the few firms that can lay claim to almost a century and a half of constantly proven legitimacy in watchmaking. it is precisely this heritage that JeanFrédéric Dufour, chief executive since 2009, is putting back centre-stage with watches that are an artful blend of horological expertise, the mark of time, and a taste for innovation. his first move on taking the helm was to purge the excess watches in Zenith’s catalogue, remodelling each collection to reflect the spirit and tradition of the brand, and securing its markets. Now the brand is launching its new visual identity.

beginning with the Zenith academy christophe colomb hurricane. its high-frequency movement (5 hz or 36,000 vph) incorporates a constant-force fusee and chain transmission and the famous Gravity control system, inspired by marine chronometers, which maintains the escapement in a horizontal position. it is one of the most pertinent solutions to the complex problems of gravity, isochronism and precision.

ZeNitH PILOT

“the christophe colomb takes us that much closer to watchmaking’s Grail,” Jean-Frédéric Dufour continues. “the Gravity control, a patented invention, is the only mechanism that effectively controls the effects of gravity. it is a demonstration of what we at Zenith can do. more importantly in my eyes, it embodies our philosophy to go on raising the bar and invent new solutions that will bring greater reliability and precision.”

MONTRE D’AÉRONEF T YPE 20 CHRONOGR APH TOURBILLON. THe pilOT mONTre D’aÉrONeF T Ype 20 was iNTrODuceD l asT Ye ar as a limiTeD eDiTiON FiT TeD wiTH ViNTage mOVemeNTs. THis Ye ar iT re TurNs as a cOllecTiON wHicH iNcluDes a cHrONOgr apH TOurbillON THaT bOrrOws THe cODes OF a Timepiece iNTeNDeD TO sOar THrOugH THe sk Y.

AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY

aiming high is something Felix Baumgartner – an ambassador for the brand and the first person ever to have skydived through the sound barrier, a Zenith strapped to his wrist - knows all about. Says Jean-Frédéric Dufour, “this record-breaking jump is the latest in a long line of adventures that we have been part of, such as the first flight across the english channel in 1909 or the discoveries of the North and South Poles.” in this same spirit of adventure, this year Zenith is adding to its Pilot lines, developed

the final stage in renovation of its manufacturing facilities in Le Locle. this eventful year will come to a climax in September when it unveils an all-new and revolutionary el Primero chronograph. No doubt about it, Zenith is back where it belongs. eric Dumatin

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ClaSSiC watch your time 31

“time after time” --o------- peter braun

[ cyndi lauper, 1984 ]

A watch can bring back happy memories, or recollections of a loved one. It can rekindle an experience, a story told, or maybe a film, a book or a painting that left an indelible impression. Memories which come flooding back at the sight of a timepiece that played an important part in our life.

hese timepieces don’t have to be chronographs, perpetual calendars or minute-repeaters. the watches we associate with happy days are often the most simple, one of the countless and extraordinarily diverse models to have appeared since the revival of mechanical watchmaking in the 1990s. the return to a simple aesthetic, more elegant than sporting and typified by the iconic watches of the 60s, adds to nostalgia for the “good old days” and brings the comfort of familiarity. THE PERFECT CIRCLE

THe eTerNal appeal OF a waTcH THaT Has sTOOD THe TesT OF Time.

the classic watch for men par excellence is round with a leather strap. its dial displays hours, minutes, seconds and perhaps the date. the emphasis is on practicality, on serving a purpose with minimal ado. any watchmaker worth his salt will propose at least one simple three-hander, although certain subtleties will be immediately recognisable to a discerning eye: the two gold hour markers at 12 o’clock on the calatrava by Patek Philippe, Vacheron constantin’s maltese cross emblem, the winged hourglass of Longines, the distinctive “4” on the max Bill from Junghans, or the cyclops date magnifier that is part of the crystal on the rolex Datejust, a watch that already stands out for its absolutely smooth bezel. the perfectly round contours of these cases leave designers with little opportunity to add details that hint at maker or model. the profile and lugs are where they can let their imagination run free. Balanced proportions are important too. a man’s watch used to be considered the height of elegance with a 35mm or 36mm dial. today, a 40mm or even 44mm diameter is the norm, and designers must now contend with these much larger dials for their three hands and date. watch designers in fact prefer non-round forms such as rectangles, another classic for men although one which has fallen from favour of late. yet a hundred years ago a rectangular watch was all the rage, its narrow case a clear sign that inside beat not an outmoded pocket watch movement but a modern mechanism, designed specifically for this form. Louis cartier, one of the first to propose rectangular cases, worked in close collaboration with the Parisian watchmaker edmond Jaeger, who himself used blanks from Jacques-David Lecoultre, established in La Vallée-de-Joux. together, jeweller and watchmaker developed several rectangular watches in the 1910s and 1920s, such as the sporting Santos (1911) and the elegant tank (1917). Variants of both are still part of cartier’s collections today. it’s interesting to note that another famous rectangular watch originates from the same fold. in 1931, alfred chauvot invented a case that would slide and swivel to protect the dial’s fragile glass. he proposed his idea to cartier, and also to Jaeger-Lecoultre. the Parisian politely declined the offer, and the reverso went on to greatness in La Vallée-de-Joux, stealing the limelight from other rectangular timepieces.

VaCHeroN CoNStaNtiN 1972 PRESTIGE. VacHerON cONsTaNTiN’s 1972 cOllecTiON Has beeN makiNg aN impressiON FOr OVer FOur DecaDes. like THe OrigiNal cre aTiON, THis New meN’s VersiON Displ aYs THe bal aNceD asYmme TrY THaT sTricTlY FOllOws THe prOpOrTiONs OF THe gOlDeN secTiON. maDe OF wHiTe gOlD, THe New 1972 presTige HOuses aN ulTr a-THiN mOVemeNT, THe calibre 1003 THaT is 1.64mm HigH, aND be ars THe pOiNÇON De geNÈ Ve .

32 watch your time ClaSSiC

IN PRAISE OF THINNESS

the new trend, among men’s prestige watches, for an understated aesthetic has prompted many companies to pare back their timepieces’ design. of course, such economy of form does not necessarily equate with an economy for the buyer. indeed, as oscar wilde pointed out, there has always been a price to pay for simplicity.

BVlGari ROMA . THe bVlgari rOma is as mODerN aND Desir able TODaY as wHeN iT was FirsT l auNcHeD iN 1975. iTs

achieving simplicity can in reality be a complex process, as witnessed by the new generation of ultra-thin movements which require years of development. Back in the 1960s, Piaget launched a movement which established it as an early master of thin. a mere 2.35mm high, its 1200P and 1208P are the thinnest automatic mechanical movements in the world. audemars Piguet, also an expert in the field, has breathed new life into the 2120 automatic calibre, a diminutive 2.45mm.

CHaNel PREMIÈRE. THe premiÈre, THe luxurY FasHiON waTcH wHicH cHaNel iNTrODuceD iN 1987, celebr aTes iTs quarTerceNTurY wiTH a slimmer silHOue T Te aND OF cOurse iTs DisTiNcTiVe Dial , iNspireD bY THe sTOpper OF cHaNel’s N °5 perFume, iTselF mODelleD ON THe sHape OF pl ace VeNDÔme seeN FrOm abOVe .

re ViVal iN 2013 celebr aTes clOse TO FOur DecaDes OF iNNOVaTiON; THe sigNaTure arOuND THe be Zel paVeD THe waY FOr New cre aTiViT Y iN waTcH DesigN. TODaY’s VersiON is DriVeN bY a prOprie TarY auTOmaTic mOVemeNT.

the absence of a rotor allows manufacturers to shave precious millimetres from their ultra-thin hand-wound movements. Vacheron constantin, whose 1003 calibre is a 1.64mm wafer, still holds the record in this department even though Jaeger-Lecoultre has been working on an ultra-thin watch for years. the master ultra thin Jubilee which the Le Sentier firm released for its 180th anniversary measures just 4.05mm from the back of its signature knife-shaped case to the tip of its cambered crystal. over recent months, a new category of extrathin and ultra-thin classic men’s watches has emerged among the plethora of high-quality models. Future generations of collectors may have trouble dating them, given their distinct resemblance to the vintage models from which they are derived.

role X OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST. THe DaTe JusT is THe ulTimaTe cl assic waTcH, as mucH FOr iTs Timeless elegaNce as FOr iTs FuNcTiONs. iNTrODuceD iN 1945, iT was THe FirsT auTOmaTic aND waTer-resisTaNT wrisT waTcH TO Displ aY THe DaTe THrOugH aN aperTure iN THe Dial , aT 3 O’clOck .

tiSSot LUXURY AUTOMATIC. NaTur allY elegaNT, THis Timepiece is DriVeN bY aN auTOmaTic mOVemeNT wiTH aN 80-HOur pOwer reserVe, THe pOwermaTic 80 wHicH is cerTiFieD bY THe cONTrÔle OFFiciel suisse Des cHrONOmÈ Tres (cOsc). iT is THe epiTOme OF THe br aND’s iDe al TO OFFer luxurY aT aN aFFOrDable price .

COUNTING THE BEATS

SeiKo GR AND SEIKO 44GS REPLICA . THe legeNDarY gr aND seikO, OrigiNallY rele aseD iN 1967, re TurNs ceNTre-sTage TO mark THe 100TH aNNiVersarY OF seikO’s FirsT wrisT waTcHes. iT cOmes as THree VersiONs iN gOlD OF DiFFereNT cOlOurs wiTH aN aDDiTiONal VariaNT iN sTeel , all limiTeD eDiTiONs THaT are DesTiNeD TO becOme cOllecTOr’s iTems.

after the quartz revolution of the 1970s, makers of traditional, mechanical watches retreated into themselves, overwhelmed by the thousandth-of-a-second precision that their archaic mechanical movements could never hope to attain. yet they went on to transform this handicap into an asset, arguing the fact that we all have a second to spare. in recent years, precision has no longer been a taboo subject in mechanical circles as manufacturers go all out to push the limits of a technology that is more than three hundred years old. in many instances, this has involved higher frequency movements, on the principle that increasing the number of vibrations per hour makes the movement more stable by being less vulnerable to outside influences such as shaking. Now, as 50 years ago, high frequencies are championed as the way to greater precision. the standard for a mechanical wristwatch today is 4 hz (28,800 vph). Pure mathematical reasoning tells us that increasing this frequency to 5 hz (36,000 vph) should reduce errors of rate by a fifth. hence chopard’s new L.u.c 8hF with its twice standard frequency should offer timekeeping precision twice that of a conventional mechanical wristwatch. PaNer ai R ADIOMIR

Fifty years ago, achieving a frequency of 8 hz (57,600 vph) was a sheer impossibility, and in this respect watchmakers have much to thank modern materials and cutting-edge manufacturing processes for. innovators such as audemars Piguet or Breguet experiment with extremely high frequencies (43,200 vph or 72,000 vph) combined with an original escapement that take them further still into territories first explored almost a century ago. JUlieN CoUdr aY 1518 ŒUVRE CLASSICA 1548 . mOVemeNT, Dial , case, crOwN, buckle… 95% OF THis waTcH HaVe beeN cr aF TeD FrOm a kilO OF gOlD. iTs FuNcTiONs are HOurs, miNuTes aND small secONDs aT 6 O’clOck , wiTH a serVice iNDicaTOr aT 12 O’clOck . wHeN se T TiNg THe Time, THe secONDs HaND auTOmaTicallY sTOps aT NOON THeN cONTiNues TO sweep THe Dial ONce THe crOwN Has beeN pusHeD back .

1940 3 DAYS. THe FasciNaTiON OF THe r aDiOmir 1940 case is makiNg iTs DebuT iN THe HisTOric cOllecTiON OF OFFiciNe paNer ai wiTH THis New mODel iN sTeel Or reD gOlD aND FiT TeD wiTH THe p.3000 calibre, a HaND-wOuND mecHaNical mOVemeNT wiTH a pOwer reserVe OF THree DaYs.

34 watch your time ClaSSiC

dior VIII BLACK CER AMIC ROSE GOLD. wiTH iTs cer amic case aND a rOse gOlD be Zel circleD wiTH DiamONDs, THis DiOr Viii is a wOrTHY aDDiTiON TO a cOllecTiON OF wOmeN’s Timepieces THaT celebr aTes THe spiriT OF DiOr , embr aciNg HauTe cOuTure, elegaNT cONsTrucTiONs aND saVOir-Faire .

PRECISION IS AN ART

indeed, precision already preoccupied watchmakers in the 1920s, not least hans wilsdorf, the eminent founder of rolex. the Swiss chronometer testing institute, the contrôle officiel Suisse des chronomètres (coSc), was obliged to create a new category for small diameters in order to test the movements of rolex’s watertight wristwatches. until then, only pocket watch movements had been sufficiently robust and accurate to meet the institute’s stringent specifications. to qualify for chronometer certification, a watch is tested over 14 days in several positions and at different temperatures, at the end of which variation in rate must not exceed -4 to +6 seconds a day. rolex’s small wristwatches passed the tests with flying colours, winning rivals’ admiration along the way. Brands such as omega, Longines, Junghans, record, Jaeger-Lecoultre, ulysse Nardin, eterna, Favre-Leuba and movado went on to inundate the coSc with models that boasted the word “chronometer” in their name. omega holds the record in this domain: over a two-year period in the 1960s, the brand presented one after the other a hundred thousand constellation watches, all of which received coSc certification. rolex’s entire production of men’s watches to date has obtained chronometer rating.

Gir ard PerreGaUX 1966 TOURBILLON WITH GOLD BRIDGE. gir arD-perregaux’s New TOurbillON wiTH gOlD briDge is THe e xpressiON OF a uNique HeriTage . THe TOurbillON mecHaNism is a cOmbiNaTiON OF THe maNuFacTure’s

HerMÈS ARCEAU PETITE LUNE.

e xperTise, TOOleD wiTH

THe precisiON requireD

THe arce au celebr aTes iTs aNNiVersarY

bY THe maisON’s gp 09600

wiTH a mOre FemiNiNe VersiON aND aDDs a

selF-wiNDiNg mecHaNical

New cOmplicaTiON Displ aYiNg mOON pHases.

mOVemeNT.

THe rOuND, 38mm case iN sTeel is acceNTeD bY asYmme Trical lugs wHOse FOrm suggesTs THe curVe OF a sTirrup.

the regular decrease in the number of tests performed by the coSc suggests that chronometers aren’t quite so fashionable as before. in reality, many watchmakers have preferred to establish their own benchmarks for quality and precision. complex and costly test procedures dissuade some from submitting their watches to the coSc, even when they make the grade in terms of accuracy. manufacturers’ own certification programmes can set the bar slightly lower than does the coSc. in addition to relatively strict specifications regarding standards of production, the Poinçon de Genève, a guarantee of origin and quality introduced 125 years ago by the Geneva company of watchmakers, also sets out stipulations for precision. the recent revision of the Poinçon included bringing it into line with coSc rules. it is awarded by timelab, a laboratory for horology and microengineering which is also the Geneva office for the coSc. New criteria governing attribution of the Poinçon de Genève, which came into effect in June 2012, put greater emphasis on variations in rate. today as a hundred years ago, the classic watch is a model of precision… even if we do all have a second to spare.

eterNa HERITAGE CHRONOGR APH 1938 . e TerNa’s square cHrONOgr apH TesTiFies TO THe bOlD DesigNs OF THe l aTe arT DecO periOD. THis HisTOric Timepiece cOmes back TO liFe iN a VersiON wiTH THe same cle aN, sHarp liNes as THe OrigiNal , DiFFeriNg ONlY bY iTs l arger DimeNsiONs.

GUCCi G-TIMELESS AUTOMATIC. wiTH iTs e Ta 2824 mecHaNical mOVemeNT aND a 38mm Diame Ter , THe New g-Timeless is perFecTlY aT HOme iN a cOllecTiON THaT cONFirms THe cl assicism OF THe iTaliaN Firm.

SWatCH EST. 1983. THe waTcH THaT cHaNgeD THe wOrlD was bOrN 30 Ye ars agO. swaTcH celebr aTes wiTH a mODel Fe aTuriNg a Tr aNspareNT pl asTic case aND sTr ap, aND all THe Ye ars iN THis FaNTasTic

oMeGa CONSTELLATION SEDNA .

aDVeNTure iNscribeD

THis waTcH is THe FirsT TO be cr aF TeD FrOm 18k

arOuND THe skele TON Dial .

seDNa™ gOlD, a paTeNTeD allOY OF gOlD, cOpper aND pall aDium wiTH aN especiallY lONg-l asTiNg rOse gOlD lusTre . iT is equippeD wiTH a silicON bal aNce spriNg aND THe cO-a xial calibre 8501, Visible THrOugH THe case back . THe T welVesiDeD Dial is iNspireD bY THaT OF THe VerY FirsT cONsTell aTiON, l auNcHeD iN 1952.

U LT I M AT E D I S C R E T I O N

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JeWellerY watch your time 39

“shine on you crazy diamond” --o------- paolo de vecchi

[ pink floyd, 1975 ]

The diamond’s rarity and lustre are such intrinsic qualities they have become symbols of this most precious stone. Jewellers and watchmakers bring out the beauty of these gems, which are also celebrated in the arts, in film, photography, music and literature.

ecorded in 1975, Pink Floyd’s epic composition is the perfect opening to this article, capturing as it does the inimitable appeal of the ultimate precious stone. these twenty minutes of uniquely hypnotic music are interspersed with lyrics whose repeated references to the diamond convey the inestimable value and splendour of this stone. the image is all the more striking when viewed in the context of a tragic destiny, that of the musician Syd Barrett, a founder member of the original Pink Floyd line-up who prematurely and irretrievably lost his way in the psychedelic maze, leaving the British group for ever inconsolable.

JOiN THe r a N ks O F T H e g l i T T e r aT i wiTH mODels T H aT T u r N O N T H e s pa r k l e .

why such constant allusion to the diamond? No doubt because of its rarity - five tons of ore, mostly rock, must be taken from the ground to yield one carat of rough stone - and its combination of extraordinary properties, at least in terms of the commercial value of a diamond which is measured as the 4cs of colour, clarity, cut and carat. Beyond this classification, the diamond’s universal appeal owes much to the extraordinary way it forms within the earth. each diamond results from the crystalline transformation of pure carbon into a precious stone with an extremely high refractive index and, consequently, characteristic brilliance. the diamond has high optical dispersion, hence its ability to break white light into intense flashes of spectral colours. Diamond is also the hardest natural substance known to man, ranking tenth and highest on the mohs scale of mineral hardness. Diamond cannot be corroded by acid and is unusually resistant to atmospheric elements. Generally colourless, the diamond can become phosphorescent when exposed to sunlight for an extended period. SYMBOL OF ETERNITY

with properties such as these, and a saleable value to match, the diamond is more than just a girl’s best friend, as a mesmerising marilyn declared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. it is also a powerful symbol of eternity. this is why, beyond considerations of price, a chronograph or a piece of jewellery is transformed into something quite exceptional when adorned with diamonds. it takes on the status of precious object for generations to come. this natural prodigy hugs the wrist of whomever has sufficient taste and funds to acquire such a wonder, brought into being by a succession of craftsmen with age-old expertise at their fingertips. PiaGet LIMELIGHT GALA . brilliaNT, Vibr aNT aND seDucTiVe: THree aDJecTiVes all perFecTlY suiTeD TO THis New icON bY piage T. THe rOuND case, se T wiTH 62 brilliaNT-cuT DiamONDs, cONTiNues iNTO T wO elegaNTlY e xTeNDeD lugs. THe be Zel is alsO se T wiTH DiamONDs aND THe Dial paVeD wiTH a FurTHer 336 DiamONDs wiTH rOse gOlD HOur-markers.

40 watch your time JeWellerY

CHoPard HAPPY SPORT MEDIUM AUTOMATIC. FOr T wO DecaDes, cHOparD’s HappY spOrT waTcHes HaVe DeligHTeD FaNs OF cONTempOr arY, e xuber aNT Timepieces. THe icONic cOllecTiON celebr aTes THis aNNiVersarY wiTH a mecHaNical VersiON, JaeGer-leCoUltre GR ANDE REVERSO LADY ULTR A THIN DUET TO

THe New HappY spOrT meDium auTOmaTic.

DUO. THe T wO Faces OF THis waTcH pl aY a cOmplemeNTarY rOle . ON THe FrONT, THe cl ariT Y OF THe Dial is acceNTuaTeD bY THe DelicaTe guillOcHÉ mOTiF. THe back , wHicH is DeDicaTeD TO THe Dual Time-ZONe iNDicaTiON, cOmprises

A NEW VENUE FOR BASELWORLD

THe arcHiTecTur al Firm OF Her ZOg & De meurON masTermiNDeD THe New Hall cOmple x THaT will welcOme THis Ye ar’s baselwOrlD wOrlD waTcH aND JewellerY sHOw.

preseNTeD seVeN Years agO, THe prOJecT FOr THe New Hall cOmplex FOr FOire De bÂle is NOw cOmpleTe, aFTer 22 mONTHs OF cONsTrucTiON aND aN iNVesTmeNT OF cHF 430 milliON. THe FirsT maJOr eVeNT iNsiDe THis New sHOwcase – THe wOrk OF swiss arcHiTecTural Firm HerZOg & De meurON, alreaDY FameD as THe Team beHiND THe “birD’s NesT” OlYmpic sTaDium iN beiJiNg - is THe 2013 baselwOrlD wOrlD waTcH aND JewellerY sHOw: mOre THaN 100,000 VisiTOrs cONVerge ON THe sHOw eacH Year TO DiscOVer THe 1,800 exHibiTOrs FrOm all OVer THe wOrlD. THe New cOmplex is THe biggesT expeNDiTure TO DaTe iN THe swiss TraDe Fair aND sHOw segmeNT.

ONlY a circul ar cHap Ter riNg prOlONgeD bY r aYs wHicH iNTrODuce e xpaNses OF mOTHer-OF-pe arl .

however, the decision to ennoble a timepiece with diamonds is guided by more than philosophical musings. certain companies make it a habit to exploit the diamond’s “wow” factor. hublot provided a dazzling example with its now legendary million $ Black caviar Bang. made four years ago, it took the Best Jewellery watch prize at the Grand Prix d’horlogerie de Genève in 2009 and is still talked about today. its name gives a clue to its price, partly accounted for by the white gold Big Bang case and the hand-wound, flying tourbillon movement, but more so by the fact it is fully paved with diamonds totalling 34.5 carats and which took over two thousand hours to set. this stunning creation gave rise to a series model in 2011, the Baby million chronograph set with 28 carats worth of diamonds. A TRIBUTE TO THE QUEEN OF NAPLES

more recently, in 2012, Breguet took a similarly dazzling route to mark the 200th anniversary of the first ever lady’s bracelet-watch in the history of horology. abraham-Louis Breguet made this timepiece for caroline murat, Queen of Naples. Fittingly, this italian city, and more specifically the reggia di capodimonte palace, was the venue for the international celebration hosted by the brand for this bicentennial. a special anniversary model was produced as part of the reine de Naples collection. in addition to its complex chimes, this watch is embellished all over with precious stones. Sapphires introduce a delicate hint of blue in harmony

tUdor CLAIR DE ROSE. THis liNe is a HYmN TO FemiNiNe be auT Y. THe cap TiVaTiNg ceNTre secONDs HaND, iN THe FOrm OF a cuTawaY TuDOr rOse, briNgs TO liFe THe iNFiNiTelY sOF T Dial wHOse mOTHerOF-pe arl mOTiFs FOrm clOuD-like swirls.

THe resulT is ON a par wiTH THe meaNs iNVesTeD. THe cOmplex cOmbiNes VasT spaces wiTH sTreamliNeD DesigN aND FuNcTiONaliTY. THe ciTY lOuNge is TYpical OF THe New aesTHeTic; THis ligHT-FlOODeD supersTrucTure siTs abOVe THe cOmplex’s ceNTral square. THe New laYOuT OF THe Halls Has creaTeD aDDiTiONal space aND mOre square meTres FOr sTaNDs, iNspiriNg exHibiTOrs TO reTHiNk THeir bOOTH cONcepT. iN THis respecT, THis Year’s baselwOrlD is DOublY iNTeresTiNg FrOm aN arcHiTecTural sTaNce, as a cOmplex THaT Has beeN cOmpleTelY reDeVelOpeD TO welcOme THe wOrlD’s FOremOsT waTcH braNDs, aND FOr THe OrigiNaliTY THese braNDs HaVe sHOwN iN DesigNiNg THeir paViliONs. c.r.

loUiS VUit toN BIJOU SECRET. iNTrODuceD iN 2006, THe TambOur biJOu liNe is THe epiTOme OF FemiNiNe elegaNce . THis Ye ar THe cOllecTiON welcOmes JewellerY VersiONs aND a secre T waTcH, se T wiTH DiamONDs, THaT HiDes beNe aTH a mONOgr am FlOwer iN mOTHer-OF-pe arl . sliDe THe FirsT rOuND FlOwer aND a secOND FlOwer wiTH pOiNTeD pe Tals appe ars.

with the colours in the coat of arms of this royal house of French lineage, while the entire watch is bathed in the light of diamonds. these exceptional timepieces aren’t the only ones to dress in diamonds. Numerous other watchmakers add sparkle to their most precious lady’s models, whether companies such as cartier, Bulgari, harry winston or chopard which have longstanding connections with jewellery, or others whose origins are purely horological, such as rolex, Piaget and Patek Philippe. this is when each firm’s competencies in selecting and purchasing the finest stones come into play, followed by the different phases in production up to setting the diamonds on cases, bracelets and dials. this journalist was recently invited to Geneva by rolex Sa to tour the laboratory where the company selects and prepares diamonds, prior to setting, from among an impressive quantity of stones which are scrutinised one by one. this is a world apart, unrelated to the production and assembly stages. clinically white and bathed in light, it is animated by a continual and silent toing and froing of trays, magnifiers, microscopes and crystalline stones.

Cartier CR ASH WATCH. bOrN iN 1967 iN THe HusTle aND busTle OF swiNgiNg lONDON, THe cr asH waTcH cap Tures THe eFFerVesceNT, care-Free spiriT OF aN er a . iT crYsTallises THe mee TiNg be T weeN a waTcHmaker reNOwNeD FOr iTs FOrm waTcHes aND a surge OF JOYFul NON-cONFOrmiT Y. aN eNcOuNTer THaT cONTiNues TODaY iN THis New JewellerY iNTerpre TaTiON.

HARRY WINSTON MIDNIGHT COLLECTION™ HARRYWINSTON.COM

42 watch your time JeWellerY

ParMiGiaNi K ALPA DONNA KIMBERLEY. siNce iT was esTablisHeD iN 1996, parmigiaNi Fleurier Has acquireD DiFFereNT specialisT cOmpaNies iN luxurY waTcHmakiNg. FOllOwiNg iTs

role X OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST SPECIAL EDITION GOLDLUST DREAM.

TakeOVer OF aTOk alpa iN 2000, a cOllecTiON OF

usiNg a rOle x paTeNTeD prOcess, THe e xclusiVe gOlDlusT Dre am

waTcHes was l auNcHeD, OrigiNallY NameD FOrma

Dials bleND mOTHer-OF-pe arl wiTH gOlD DusT TO FOrm eNcHaNTiNg

THeN reNameD k alpa . THeY are a sHOwcase FOr THe

paT TerNs, Tr aNsFOrmiNg e acH gl aNce aT THe Time iNTO a mOmeNT

br aND’s e xperTise, parTicul arlY iN gem-se T TiNg.

OF pure DeligHT. cONFOrm TO rOle x sTaNDarDs, THe case OF THis DaTe JusT is waTer-resisTaNT TO 100 me Tres.

THE IDEAL SETTING

the impression of perfection that surrounds a cut diamond is inherent to the stone itself, as the first operation is to make the “perfect” cleavage of the rough diamond, whose predominant shape is the octahedron, along a plane. this rough stone is then ground and polished before proceeding to the actual faceting. the classic diamond cut is the brilliant, invented by Vincenzo Peruzzi, a seventeenth-century Venetian stone-cutter. a brilliant takes the form of two pyramids joined at the base, the upper pyramid being twice the height of the lower pyramid. the rose cut is another much appreciated shape. it consists of a single facetted pyramid whose flat base sits directly in the mount. the baguette cut, one of the simplest, is widely used by watchmakers to obtain a pleasing symmetry. the role of the craftsman tasked with setting these stones is just as delicate and requires considerable artistic skill. Stones are still set using the same age-old technique whereby a malleable substance, such as gold, is carefully hollowed into a recess where the gems can sit and be secured. Next-generation techniques mean that diamonds can now be set in steel or ceramic, a means of overcoming their natural hardness and producing watches in a more contemporary style. the snow setting, when brilliant-cut diamonds of various diameters are set side by side, has been used to great effect by Jaeger-Lecoultre and chopard in particular. among the most recent examples of excellence in selecting and implementing precious stones, the couture Précieuse collection by Piaget is outstanding. on certain models, diamonds are surrounded by delicately sculpted yellow gold. on others, mother-of-pearl dials and white satin straps accentuate their sparkle.

MINI D De dior PRÉCIEUSE. Ne Ver TiriNg OF e xcep TiONal cre aTiONs, DiOr Has DresseD iTs miNi D iN a gOwN OF wHiTe gOlD, cOVereD wiTH 1,063 DiamONDs iN a sNOw se T TiNg. THis 21mm quarTZ waTcH is waTer-resisTaNT TO 30 me Tres, sHOulD aNYONe Dare TO giVe iT a TrY.

Gir ard - PerreGaUX CAT’S EYE HAUTE JOAILLERIE. a mYriaD OF DiamONDs clOTHes THe caT’s eYe iN ligHT, acceNTuaTiNg THe curVes OF iTs silHOue T Te . beHiND THe sceNes are THe mecHaNics OF perFecTiON. Time be aTs TO THe rHY THm OF a selF-wiNDiNg mOVemeNT maNuFacTureD bY gir arD-perregaux.

ELOQUENTLY FEMININE HUBlot BIG BANG GOLD FULL PAVÉ.

Feminine sensuality and international glamour naturally associate themselves with so much value and beauty, as evidenced by initiatives such as chopard’s longstanding partnership with the cannes Film Festival or Jaeger-Lecoultre’s support of the Venice international Film Festival. Famous actresses have been known to take on the role of ambassador for their chosen brand, including Nicole Kidman for omega, Diane Kruger for Jaeger-Lecoultre, or cameron Diaz for taG heuer. the stars also come out for Bulgari, as seen at an exhibition entirely devoted to the Serpenti collection of watches and jewellery, which Bulgari hosted in February at its Fifth avenue flagship store in New york city. Julianne moore, margareth madè, olivia wilde and uma thurman were among those who graced the evening with their beauty.

elegaNT wiTH 581 DiamONDs se T iN 18k reD gOlD, DYNamic wiTH iTs TONe-ON-TONe rubber sTr ap, THis big baNg gOlD is alsO resOluTelY pr acTical THaNks TO iTs quarTZ mOVemeNT aND waTer-resisTaNce .

CHaNel MADEMOISELLE PRIVÉ WITH COROMANDEL DECOR ATION. THis JewellerY waTcH, iNspireD bY gabrielle cHaNel’s FaVOuriTe cOrOmaNDel l acquerwOrk , Takes a wHiTe gOlD case wiTH 524 DiamONDs iN a sNOw se T TiNg. THe mOTiFs ON THese cOrOmaNDel screeNs are reprODuceD iN miNiaTure ON THe Dial iN gr aND Feu eNamel , usiNg THe geNe Va TecHNique .

VaCHeroN CoNStaNtiN PATRIMONY TR ADITIONNELLE HAUTE JOAILLERIE. sHOulD THere be aNY NeeD FOr FurTHer TesTimONY TO VacHerON cONsTaNTiN’s skills iN OrcHesTr aTiNg THe mÉ Tiers D’arT, THe New JewellerY mODel iN THe paTrimONY cOllecTiON is THe ONe . iTs 35mm Diame Ter sTages aN e xTr aOrDiNarY specTacle OF ligHT as 16.2 car aTs OF be aDse T bague T Te DiamONDs make Time gO ON FOre Ver .

while women’s enthusiasm for precious stones is globally accepted, diamonds have yet to find their place in a man’s world, or at least in Northern europe and the northernmost mediterranean countries. here, a diamond can happily adorn a masculine ring (a classic engagement gift for an italian man in the 1950s and 1960s), but less so a watch, particularly a gold one. the reasons are cultural, revealing a difference in attitudes between countries that find it unnecessary and even distasteful for a man to flaunt his wealth and others that welcome ostentation. But no matter how they are worn, precious stones will always be regarded as such… precious and rare.

PateK PHiliPPe CALATR AVA REFERENCE 5227. THe cl assic rOuND gOlD case, 39mm iN Diame Ter , OF THe cal aTr aVa is THe arcHe T Ypal e x ample OF THe cr aF TsmaNsHip beHiND THis cre aTiON. THe subTlY cONcaVe be Zel , curVeD aT TacHmeNTs, slim, 9.24mm silHOue T Te aND THe Tr aNspareNT case back , prOTecTeD bY a HiNgeD cOVer , make THis Timepiece a wOmaN’s iDe al cOmpaNiON.

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SPort watch your time 45

“counting out time” --o------- vincent daveau

[ genesis, 1974 ]

Symbols of a certain frame of mind, watches in general and more particularly those dedicated to sport have imposed their presence in all areas of activity. Keeping pace with this trend, brands adapt their vision of the ideal timepiece to cater to the largest audience. A look at some of the most charismatic watches around…

port for leisure is a recent phenomenon, appearing shortly before the First world war and gaining ground in the 1930s as a means of achieving physical fitness. its pursuit was open only to those with sufficient means and free time; for some, sport became a new way of life. this was the first time an activity had encouraged rivalry and virility away from the battlefield. enthusiasm for the modern olympic Games, revived in the last years of the nineteenth century by Baron Pierre de coubertin, was joined by growing interest and participation in motor racing and rallies, tennis tournaments and yachting regattas. however, taking part wasn’t enough; competitors wanted to measure their results, whether to pit themselves against others or to gauge their own performance and progress.

HOw TO sTack THe ODDs iN YOur FaVOur aND wiN THe r ace agaiNsT Time.

CUE THE CHRONOGRAPH

this new demand prompted watchmakers to develop products with the functions athletes required and nothing did so better than the chronograph, a watch with an additional complication that measures fractions of time or events of short duration. industry and the military had widely adopted the chronograph as a means of measuring productivity or conducting battle; its capacities won it a new audience among athletes. the mechanism which French watchmaker Nicolas rieussec developed in 1821 measured the time racehorses took to cross the finish line, and recorded it by dropping ink on a graduated enamel dial. almost a century and numerous developments later, rieussec’s chronograph, whose system of rotating discs montblanc has revived and enhanced in its rieussec watches, would serve athletes in their quest to surpass themselves and others. except that these early chronographs were condemned to the sidelines, being too fragile, and more to the point too vulnerable to dust and humidity, to be used in the heat of the action. as such, they couldn’t be considered sport watches in the strict sense of the term. THIS SPORTING LIFE

the consensus within the industry is that the sport watch in its modern-day definition was born in 1926, after rolex invented the oyster and the screw-down crown. this simple yet effective mechanism protected wristwatch movements against the enemy without, namely water and dust. with a hermetically sealed watch like this, mercedes Gleitze could happily take the plunge. her historic channel swim in 1927 showed that rolex had grasped the importance of sport in society, and the enormous force women represented for a world in flux. the brand also delivered irrefutable proof that a mechanical timepiece could, thanks HarrY WiNStoN OCEAN DUAL TIME BLACK EDITION. to this important innovation, be the ideal team-mate in all manner of sportwiTH a case maDe FrOm cOrrOsiON-resisTaNT ing exploits. Doubts were raised in certain quarters as to the value of this Z alium™, aN alumiNium/ZircONium allOY THaT is uNique TO THe br aND, HarrY wiNsTON puTs a Dual unconventional (and for some downright exotic) product, yet experience Time ZONe FuNcTiON iNTO a spOrTs-sT YleD, 44mm would prove its worth. waTcH. DriVeN bY a selF-wiNDiNg mecHaNical mOVemeNT be aTiNg aT 28,800 VpH aND wiTH 45 HOurs OF pOwer reserVe, THe Oce aN Dual Time is THe iDe al Timepiece FOr aNY iNTerNaTiONal Tr aVeller .

46 watch your time SPort

CALIBRE De Cartier CHRONOGR APH. iNTrODuceD iN 2010, THe calibre De carTier

and so rolex invented the modern wristwatch that would lend itself to life’s multiple adventures. its models, renowned for their robustness, endurance and impenetrability, indeed accompanied armies of speleologists, sailors and racing drivers as of the 1930s. the absolute waterresistance of its case was one less concern for the wearer who could instead focus on the performance the watch was expected to measure, come what may. Note that a water-resistant watch isn’t necessarily apt to follow divers into the deep. a dive watch is a different creature altogether, even though technical progress and high-grade machining mean that most sport watches are guaranteed water-resistant to pressures equal or greater than the standard imposed for the ocean’s deep.

waTcH is recOgNiseD FOr iTs sT YlisH appe ar aNce wiTH cONTr asTiNg brusHeD aND pOlisHeD surFaces. iN 2013, carTier equips THis mODel wiTH iTs New iN-HOuse cHrONOgr apH mOVemeNT, THe 1904-cH mc calibre, aND carries ON THe waTcH’s bOlD, spOrTiNg allure .

PaNer ai LUMINOR 1950 REGAT TA 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK TITANIO. FrOm THe uNiON OF OFFiciNe paNer ai aND THe wOrlD OF cl assic sailiNg cOmes THe lumiNOr 1950 regaT Ta 3 DaYs cHrONO FlYback TiTaNiO wiTH aN auTOmaTic mOVemeNT, a THree-DaY pOwer reserVe, aND THe regaT Ta cOuNTDOwN FuNcTiON, speciFicallY cre aTeD FOr YacHT r aciNg sTarTs.

PUT TO THE TEST

Because to qualify as a dive watch, a timepiece must conform to specific criteria. to be part of the extended and less precisely defined family of sport models, water-resistance isn’t enough. For many, a watch becomes a sport watch only when used as such. in other words, if a particular instrument has proven its worth on a prominent athlete’s wrist, or if its functions have served a purpose at official competitions, then it is considered a sport watch. meaning pretty much any watch that is water-resistant to more than 50 metres can claim sport-watch status. what constitutes a sport watch is therefore a flexible notion. timepieces that travel comfortably around town on a leather strap can suddenly, when switched to a metal bracelet, unleash their sporting potential. Baume & mercier’s capeland chronograph is a case in point. its dial boasts two scales: a tachymeter, handy for racing drivers, and a telemeter which hikers and ramblers use to measure the distance between them and a storm by calculating the interval between a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. this is equally true of the recently released calibre de cartier chronograph, as well as the famed omega Speedmaster. Launched in 1957, it travelled to the moon and has kept countless athletes company. its reputation as a robust and reliable timepiece hasn’t waned in its 56 years of production.

CHaNel J12 SUPERLEGGER A . cHaNel’s J12 superlegger a Takes iTs cue FrOm r aciNg cars, iN parTicul ar FOr THe ligHTNess aND resisTaNce OF THe maTerials useD. THe cer amic aND alumiNium case me aNs THis mODel is T wice as ligHT as THe all-cer amic J12 waTcHes.

PorSCHe deSiGN FLAT SIX . THe Fl aT six p ’6340 auTOmaTic cHrONOgr apH makes NO secre T OF iTs kiNsHip wiTH THe legeNDarY pOrscHe 911 aND iTs sixcYliNDer bOxer eNgiNe . THe ribbeD case siDes lOOk TO THe OlD air-cOOleD eNgiNes, wHile THe rOTOr Takes iNspir aTiON FrOm pOrscHe’s allOY wHeels.

GUCCi COUPÉ CHRONO.

RACING FOR GLORY

this year marks the anniversary of two genuine icons among sport watches. unsurprisingly, fans are already in the starting-blocks, eager to discover what rolex has in store to celebrate fifty years of a legend among sport chronos: the Daytona cosmograph chronograph. that the brand is now official timekeeper and official timepiece of Formula 1 sends out a strong signal as to the company’s commitment to sport, and a thinly veiled reminder that its famous chronograph originated on the racing circuit, intended for professional drivers and motor-racing fans. rolex isn’t the only one celebrating a watch that flies the chequered flag, as taG heuer fetes its carrera chrono, born fifty years ago in the paddocks of the 1963 twelve hours of Sebring, an event still fresh in the mind of the man behind its launch, Jack heuer.

gucci preseNTs a New VersiON OF iTs cOupÉ cHrONO iN a l arger , 44mm siZe THaT is sTill iNsTaNTlY recOgNisable FOr THe rOuNDeD cOrNers ON iTs square case . THe iNcre aseD DimeNsiONs eNsure e xcelleNT re aDabiliT Y OF THe Time aND DaTe FuNcTiONs.

there are clearly strong ties between motor sports and watchmakers, at chopard for example and at hublot which, as well as being a partner to Ferrari, this year turns its attention to classic car rallies as a sponsor of the French tour auto. No stranger to the world of sport, hublot has a reputation in the sector for signing deals left, right and centre. From sailing to boxing, the brand can claim opportunities in a multitude of sports, leaving others to take a more circumstantial approach.

loUiS VUit toN TAMBOUR LV 277 44 MM. THe lOuis VuiT TON TambOur Has maDe iTs Name amONg rOuND spOrT waTcHes. iTs uNmisTak able DesigN iNcOrpOr aTes maNY OF THe br aND’s Visual cODes, sucH as THe T welVe le T Ters OF lOuis VuiT TON eNgr aVeD ON THe case, THe brOwN Dial , aND THe secONDs HaND wHOse YellOw cOlOur ecHOes THe wa xeD THre aD useD TO sTiTcH THe br aND’s le aTHergOODs.

the new seiko astron gps solar. at last, a watch that adjusts to your time zone.

dedicated to perfection ASTRON. The search for totally precise time, everywhere on the planet, is over. By developing a low-energy-consumption GPS receiver, Seiko has been able to create a watch that connects to the GPS network and uses it to identify both time of day and time zone. The new Astron recognises all 39 time zones on earth, is precise to one second every 100,000 years, and by taking all the energy it needs from light, never needs a battery change. If you can see the sky, you will know the local time, anywhere on our planet. Finally, time and space are united in a prestige watch. seiko-astron.com

48 watch your time SPort

r ado D-STAR CER AMIC CHRONOGR APH.

BreGUet T YPE X XII 3880. THe icONic bregue T

THis mODel wiTH T wO cHrONOgr apH cOuNTers

T Ype x xii iN sTeel is JOiNeD bY aN OrigiNal mODel

is DriVeN bY a New mOVemeNT wiTH aN e xTeNDeD

iN 18k rOse gOlD. THis NOble me Tal HigHligHTs

60-HOur pOwer reserVe . HigH-TecH

THe be auT Y OF THis uNique Timepiece . THe

pl asma-Tre aTeD cer amic leNDs THe case

bregue T cHrONOgr apH mOVemeNT wiTH silicON

a pl aTiNum-like me Tallic sHeeN.

escapemeNT aND Fl aT bal aNce spriNg be aTs aT a HigHer FrequeNcY OF 10 HZ (72,000 VpH).

audemars Piguet has teamed up with michael Schumacher as a reminder of its F1 connections. iwc has returned to racing with mercedes amG Petronas and the ingenieur chrono. Just about every brand, from richard mille, which ranks nine times world rally champion Sébastien Loeb among its ambassadors, to oris, a BVlGari longstanding partner to the williams F1 team, is determined DIAGONO CALIBRO 303. to win enthusiasts’ hearts and occupy their wrists. except, as wiTH iTs bal aNceD prOpOrTiONs, THe richard mille suspected, these timepieces were lacking a function calibrO 303 is a that would really appeal to racing drivers. the brand’s solution has resOluTelY spOrT Y cHrONOgr apH waTcH been to equip the rm 036 Jean todt Limited edition with a wholly wiTH equal sT Yle mechanical g-sensor, thanks to which the driver knows the amount aND subsTaNce . THe of deceleration felt when braking, accelerating, or cornering at high auTOmaTic, iN-HOuse mecHaNical bVl 303 speed. this new function, which has undeniable safety benefits too, is calibre is FullY eminently useful and particularly suited to the world of sport. assembleD aND FiNisHeD bY HaND.

IN THE WAKE OF A NOBLE SPORT

other sport timepieces are equally outstanding for services rendered. in what promises to be very much a nautical year, thanks to the america’s cup, watchmakers that have links to sailing, such as omega and taG heuer, will almost certainly be releasing timepieces with regatta countdowns, bearing in mind that new procedure gives boats fi ve minutes to line up tUdor HERITAGE CHRONO BLUE. l auNcHeD iN 1973, THe mONTe-carlO is a legeND iN TuDOr’s lONg HisTOrY OF cHrONOgr apHs. THis Ye ar THe br aND re TurNs TO THis icONic mODel wiTH THe HeriTage cHrONO blue wiTH iTs DisTiNcTiVe blue, greY aND Or aNge

for the start as opposed to the old ten-minute rule. rolex, with its programmable yacht-master ii, together with Louis Vuitton and the tambour regatta, have already brought their timepieces up to speed. But who knows! other companies have taken to the life aquatic - Seiko and eberhard & co have interests in light craft; Panerai endorses classic yacht racing; Jeanrichard has teamed up with Franck cammas while corum is aUdeMarS PiGUet a partner to Loïck Peyron (artemis racing) – and any one of them could ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE come up trumps with a watch tailored to the professional sailor. what other CHRONOGR APH 44MM.THE FIRST original functions might we expect sport watches to provide? Plenty, if truth SERIES-PRODUCED CHRONOGR APH IN THE OFFSHORE COLLECTION TO be told. it’s no longer enough to circumnavigate the bezel FEATURE A CER AMIC CASE BAND AND with logarithmic scales and other graduations. Sport BEZEL, THIS E X TREMELY SPORT Y, watches are ripe for major innovation. Breitling for 44MM MODEL DELIVERS AN EFFECTIVE AND MANLY DESIGN. VIRTUALLY Bentley and Zenith have taken a step in this SCR ATCHPROOF, CER AMIC IS direction with a chrono hand that sweeps the MUCH HARDER THAN STEEL. dial several times per second to enable fractions-of-a-second accuracy. as Jean-Frédéric Dufour, Zenith’s chief executive, recently reminded us, the owner of a Zenith el Primero Stratos Striking 10th chronograph can read tenths of a second because the el Primero movement has the incredible capacity to display such precision. rest assured that 2013 will bring its share of innovative and surprising new products for the sporting elite.

Gir ard - PerreGaUX CHRONO HAWK . spOrT Y, elegaNT, mODerN, THe cHrONO Hawk le aVes NOTHiNg TO cHaNce . THis iNcluDes THe DesigN OF iTs case THaT cOmbiNes sHarp eDges aND a rOuND be Zel , iTs Dial THaT empHasiZes THe me asuremeNT OF sHOrT Times, aND iTs e xcep TiONal mOVemeNT FiNisHeD TO THe rigOrOus sTaNDarDs OF FiNe waTcHmakiNg.

cOlOurwaY.

dior CHIFFRE ROUGE CHRONOGR APH. THe cHiFFre rOuge cOllecTiON was l auNcHeD iN 2004, DesigNeD bY THe arTisTic DirecTOr aT DiOr HOmme . iTs iNsTaNTlY iDeNTiFiable asYmme Tric case, reD DaTe aND mOulDeD rubber HaVe esTablisHeD THe cHiFFre rOuge as THe ulTimaTe DiOr meN’s waTcH.

M ESURE ET DÉMESURE *

TONDA 1950

Rose gold Ultra-thin automatic movement Hermès alligator strap Made in Switzerland

* EXACT AND EXULTANT

www.parmigiani.ch

ATELIER PARMIGIANI 97 MOUNT STREET, W1K 2TD LONDON, TEL. 020 7495 5172

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diViNG watch your time 51

“summertime”

--o------- paloma recio, director, r & e

[ george gershwin, 1935 ]

Wrist candy or professional-grade instrument? The first dive watches were built specifically for professional use; today’s models see less aquatic action. With the growing popularity of sport watches, all the major brands propose timepieces cut out for the ocean’s deep.

caN’T Take THe pressure? THese waTcHes caN.

watch, rolex, Panerai, Blancpain, omega, taG heuer, hublot, JaegerLecoultre, iwc, Breitling, even cartier, Louis Vuitton, chanel and richard mille… the list is long of watchmakers whose water-resistant timepieces are made to withstand the pressure of going deep. yet not all models meet the same standards. water-resistance is possibly one of the biggest challenges for a watchmaker, hence why techniques are constantly evolving.

WATER-RESISTANCE

the precise meaning of water-resistance in horological parlance has been open to debate. while one atmosphere (atm) of pressure is equivalent to a depth of 10 metres, a watch marked water-resistant to 1 atm may not withstand this much strain. more likely it is intended to resist pressure of or greater than 1 atm in swimming-pool conditions. the amount of time spent underwater complicates matters further: a watch is more able to withstand a constant pressure of 20 atm (200 metres) than a sudden drop to 30 atm (300 metres), which it may not survive. DiN 8310 standard was introduced to shed light on the situation. it states that a watch marked water-resistant to 10 metres (1 atm) will resist minor splashing (and is therefore best kept dry). water-resistance to 30 metres (3 atm) means the watch can be safely worn when showering. at 50 metres (5 atm) a watch is genuinely water-resistant and can be worn for swimming. a dive watch must meet waterresistance standards for 100 metres or 10 atm. From this depth, a watch is suitable for snorkelling or diving in shallow water. a professional dive watch, suitable for longer immersion times, must be water-resistant to 200 metres (20 atm). a watch that is waterresistant to 500 metres (50 atm) can be worn for a prolonged period at greater depth. Lastly, dive watches that are water-resistant to 1,000 metres (100 atm) are suited to extreme diving conditions and incorporate a helium escape valve for decompression.

role X OYSTER PERPETUAL SUBMARINER DATE. carrYiNg ON FrOm THe legeNDarY submariNer OF 1953, THe FirsT waTcH TO be waTer-resisTaNT TO 100 me Tres, THe submariNer DaTe iNTrODuces a DaTe Displ aY wiTH THe FamOus “cYclOps” magNiFier . iTs speciFicaTiONs aND gr aDuaTeD uNiDirecTiONal rOTaTiNg be Zel make THis waTcH a musT FOr aNY DiVer .

52 watch your time diViNG HUBlot KING POWER OCEANOGR APHIC 1000. waTer-resisTaNT TO 1,000 me Tres, THis cHrONOgr apH waTcH iN kiNg gOlD is cuT OuT FOr THe Deep. iTs impOsiNg 48mm Diame Ter aND resOluTelY spOrTs sT Yle make THis a

iWC AQUATIMER

waTcH FOr VeNTuriNg iNTO THe Dep THs wiTH sT Yle .

DEEP T WO. wiTH iTs mecHaNical Dep TH

CULTURE AND EXPERTISE

gauge, THe aquaTimer Deep T wO OFFers ma ximum saFe T Y aND securiT Y. waTerresisTaNT TO 12 bar , iT cONTaiNs a cOmple Te

ParMiGiaNi TONDA 1950. cHar acTerisTic OF

backup sYsTem THaT

parmigiaNi’s cONcep T OF cl assicism, THis waTcH

permiTs THe DiVer TO

TOge THer wiTH all THe OTHer cOllecTiONs are

me asure aND pl aN ViTal

Displ aYeD iN THe aTeliers parmigiaNi,

par ame Ters sucH as

a sHOwcase FOr iTs e xperTise wHicH

DiVe Dep TH aND Time .

THe br aND Has OpeNeD iN ma JOr ciTies arOuND THe wOrlD.

aT parmigiaNi Fleurier, mOre THaN 600 specialisTs pracTiceD iN 50 DiFFereNT areas OF waTcHmakiNg are sHareD beTweeN THe cOmpaNY’s FiVe prODucTiON siTes, eacH OF wHicH cONTribuTes iTs regiON’s iNDiViDual waTcHmakiNg culTure. iN THe space OF a DecaDe, parmigiaNi Has eFFecTiVelY builT THe iNDusTrial iNFrasTrucTure THaT makes iT a FullY iNTegraTeD maNuFacTure wiTH uNcONTesTeD creDeNTials iN FiNe waTcHmakiNg. mOre THaN THis, THe cOmpaNY caN alsO cOuNT ON a sOliD sTrucTure acrOss all FiVe cONTiNeNTs, HaViNg OpeNeD NO Fewer THaN NiNe subsiDiaries lasT Year, iNcluDiNg iN asia, russia, braZil aND THe uNiTeD sTaTes. THis iNTerNaTiONal expaNsiON is NOw cOmpleTeD wiTH THe DeplOYmeNT OF aTeliers parmigiaNi. THeir rOle is TO prOmOTe aND sHare THe “maNuFacTure spiriT” THaT meaNs sO mucH TO THe Firm. accOrDiNg TO parmigiaNi, THe aTeliers are “a waY OF reacHiNg a wiDer auDieNce aND prOViDiNg lOcal experTise.”

SAFETY FIRST

underwater diving must be practiced in conditions of maximum security, hence the need for a fully water-resistant case and crown. Both these parts are designed to protect the mechanism against seepage and thus ensure the watch continues to provide vital indications for the diver’s safety. the three non-negotiable properties of a dive watch are to be water-resistant, robust and legible underwater. this legibility is guaranteed by lume applied to the hands and markers, ensuring that displays can be read from a distance of 25cm in zero visibility. a dive watch must also feature a bezel rotating in only one direction, counter-clockwise, for tracking elapsed time underwater. as an additional security, iSo 6425 standard for dive watches states that the bezel must have easily distinguishable fi veminute markings. the watch must also be anti-magnetic, shockproof and resistant to salt-water corrosion. every part of the case, plus the gaskets, back and crystal, must be waterresistant to a minimum of 100 metres. most dive watches are mounted on a rubber strap for its water-resistant properties. among steel bracelets, the rolex Glidelock clasp is designed so that the length of the bracelet can be adjusted when the watch is on the wrist.

JaeGer-leCoUltre DEEP SEA CHRONOGR APH CERMET. TakiNg iTs aesTHe Tic cue FrOm THe 1959 memOVOx Deep se a , THe FirsT DiVe waTcH wiTH aN al arm, THe case ON THis mODel is maDe FrOm reiNFOrceD cerme T, a cer amic/alumiNium allOY. aN aDDiTiONal saFe T Y Fe aTure, THe cHrONOgr apH Oper aTiNg iNDicaTOr is iNspireD bY THe 1930 cHrONOFligHT ONbOarD iNsTrumeNT.

HELIUM ESCAPE VALVE

wHeTHer simplY curiOus abOuT waTcHes Or geNuiNelY FasciNaTeD bY THe measuremeNT OF Time, eacH VisiTOr is greeTeD bY a waTcHmaker wHO will aNswer THeir quesTiONs wiTH specialisT experTise, aND prOViDe cusTOmer serVice FOr aNY parmigiaNi waTcH. all THe cOllecTiONs are DisplaYeD iNsiDe THe aTelier, wHicH Has beeN imagiNeD as a True reFlecTiON OF THe braND FrOm THe OVal FurNisHiNgs TO THe warm aND iNViTiNg DecOraTiON. iN parmigiaNi’s OwN wOrDs, “like a HauTe cOuTure wOrksHOp, aTelier parmigiaNi represeNTs THe esseNce OF THe braND iN THe HearT OF THe wOrlD’s maJOr ciTies, Dubai, sHaNgHai, beiJiNg, mOscOw aND lONDON, iN picTuresque mOuNT sTreeT, siNce eND 2012.” as relaYs FOr THe culTure aND experTise OF waTcHmakiNg, THe aTeliers are sTaNDarD-bearers FOr a cOmpaNY wHicH Has cONquereD rarelY explOreD TerriTOries iN mecHaNical waTcHmakiNg. c.r.

dior D02. THe DiOr cHiFFre rOuge D02 Has a sTeel case mOulDeD wiTH sOF T sYNTHe Tic rubber aND is DriVeN bY aN auTOmaTic mecHaNical calibre . waTer-resisTaNT TO 300 me Tres aND wiTH a rubber-mOulDeD sTeel br acele T, iT cap Tures THe mOOD OF THe cOuTure HOuse’s spOrTs waTcH r aNge .

the majority of professional dive watches include a helium escape valve. its function is essentially that of the safety valve on a pressure cooker or coffee percolator. a diver resurfacing after a prolonged period at great depths must make regular decompression stops. the helium escape valve releases the helium trapped inside the watch case so as to protect the mechanism and prevent the crystal from exploding. this happens because the pressure exerted on the case increases during the diver’s descent. For safety reasons, the diver must ascend in stages so as to gradually adapt to normal pressure. Divers operating in deep water for prolonged periods or onboard a submarine use diving bells where they breathe a mixture of gases including oxygen and helium. the helium atoms, which are lighter and smaller than oxygen atoms, are able to penetrate the gaskets that seal the watch case. in certain conditions the helium can expand too quickly for the gas to be released through the gaskets, resulting in a build-up of pressure which can cause the watch crystal to fly off. opening the helium escape valve releases the helium but does not allow water into the case. a spring repositions the valve after use. as an additional security measure, some watchmakers use a screw-down crown system; the crown must be unscrewed during decompression and screwed tight before the next dive. By way of example, all the watches in the omega Seamaster Planet ocean range are water-resistant to 600 metres and have a helium escape valve at 10 o’clock. the legendary omega Ploprof, developed in 1970 for professional divers (its name is an abbreviation of plongeur professionnel), features a distinctive automatic helium escape valve on the side of the case at 4 o’clock. the screwed-in crown at 9 o’clock is shielded by a buffer.

diViNG watch your time 53 loNGiNeS HYDROCONQUEST. a True DiVe waTcH, THe HYDrOcONquesT Ticks all THe bOxes requireD bY sucH a saFe T Y-cONsciOus DiscipliNe . waTer-resisTaNT TO 300 me Tres

A RECENT PAST

(30 bar), THe mODels iN THis series

these days we take dive watches for granted; in reality water-resistant watches are a recent invention. their history, which starts with the twentieth century, is of course linked to the development of the wristwatch. in November 1927 the founder of rolex, hans wilsdorf, came up with the clever idea of giving one of his new watches to mercedes Gleitze who was preparing to become the first British woman to swim the channel. Barely had she come ashore than wilsdorf was booking the front page of the Daily Mail to praise the exploits of the young athlete and more to the point of his watch, the rolex oyster, whose revolutionary watertight case had been patented a year before. at that time, wilsdorf had been quick to proclaim it the first ever watch which, like its namesake oyster, could stand hours of submersion, unharmed.

are FiT TeD wiTH a uNiDirecTiONal rOTaTiNg be Zel , a screw-DOwN case back aND l aTer al prOTecTiON FOr THe screw-iN crOwN.

CALL OF THE SEA PaNer ai SUBMERSIBLE 1950 3 DAYS POWER RESERVE AUTOMATIC BRONZO. T wO Ye ars aF Ter iTs FirsT waTcH wiTH a brONZe case, paNer ai preseNTs a New Timepiece iN THis me Tal wiTH a DecisiVelY NauTical cHar acTer aND wHOse FasciNaTiON grOws as iT

this innovation sparked a fierce and ongoing battle between watchmakers to produce a timepiece that could travel to depths beyond the limits of human resistance. however, not all waterresistant watches were developed with the express purpose of probing the ocean’s deep. in 1932, the Pasha of marrakech asked Louis cartier to make him a watch he could use to keep track of time while swimming in his pool. and so the Pasha watch was born, considered by many to be the first luxury sport watch. anecdotes aside, the new challenge facing watchmakers was to guarantee complete water-resistance at ever more impressive depths. the Second world war spurred new technology in this domain. on the eve of the global conflict, in 1936, italian brand officine Panerai made the

ages. iN aDDiTiON TO iTs HigH sTrucTur al sTreNgTH, brONZe re TaiNs iTs OrigiNal warm TONes e VeN as iT acquires a paTiNa .

OFFiciNe paNerai’s cOllecTiONs FOr 2013 reaFFirm

first radiomir watch, specifically for the frogman commandos of the First Submarine Group of the royal italian Navy. in 1950 the brand developed a new, even more water-resistant case which it named the Luminor. the half-moon shape protecting its crown would become one of the hallmarks of a Panerai watch. this year the brand is proposing special edition dive watches in a Luminor 1950 case housing the celebrated P.9000 calibre. the ceramic and bronze variants are water-resistant to 300 metres; the titanium version braves depths of 2,500 metres.

THe spOrTiNg cHaracTer OF a braND THaT Describes iTs waTcHes as “a NaTural bleND OF iTaliaN DesigN, swiss TecHNOlOgY aND a passiON FOr THe sea.” THe cOmpaNY, alreaDY reNOwNeD FOr iTs mariTime iNsTrumeNTs, cemeNTeD iTs repuTaTiON wHeN iT respONDeD TO a requesT FrOm THe iTaliaN NaVY TO equip iTs FrOgmaN cOmmaNDOs wiTH a rObusT, reliable, reaDable aND accuraTe DiVe waTcH. aND sO THe legeND was bOrN. cONTiNuiNg

tUdor PELAGOS. waTer-resisTaNT TO 500 me Tres, THis rObusT aND legible waTcH is DesigNeD TO be e asilY Oper aTeD. THe 42mm case is maDe eNTirelY FrOm TiTaNium aND iNcOrpOr aTes a Helium escape ValVe . THe uNiDirecTiONal be Zel is cr aF TeD FrOm bl ack cer amic aND Fe aTures lumiNesceNT markiNgs.

HarrY WiNStoN OCEAN DIVER . like aNY selFrespecTiNg DiVe

THE DECISIVE MID-CENTURY

THe acTiON, americaN acTOr sYlVesTer sTallONe is

1953 proved a milestone in the history of dive watches as the year of the first watch with water-resistance of 100 metres, the rolex Submariner, which has seen several transformations over its 60 years. it remains a coveted watch among divers and athletes in general, but also as a collectable piece. this same year, 1953, was also when Blancpain launched the Fifty Fathoms, commissioned by the French government for its combat divers. Now one of the brand’s iconic models, it is credited as being the first modern dive watch. the whole of the 1950s witnessed important developments in dive watches. man left earth to explore new worlds out in space or below water. in 1956, a year before the uSSr launched the first artificial satellite, Jacques-yves cousteau and Louis malle revealed the mysteries of life beneath the waves in The Silent World which took the Palme d’or at the cannes Film Festival. the public was fascinated by this alien world, while amateur divers put pressure on watchmakers to produce specific instruments to match their taste for adventure. once again, rolex and Blancpain led the way.

a lONg-Time aDmirer OF a braND wHicH FOr a Few

mODel , THe Oce aN DiVer Fe aTures a uNiDirecTiONal be Zel , HigHlY Visible iNDicaTOrs aND is guar aNTeeD waTerresisTaNT TO 200 meTres. a cHrONOgr apH FuNcTiON cOmple Tes THis rObusT waTcH wHicH lOOks sT YlisH ON DrY l aND TOO.

DecaDes Fell OFF THe raDar.

NOT sO TODaY. paNerai is aN esTablisHeD Name iN FiNe waTcHmakiNg THaT equips iTs Timepieces wiTH mOVemeNTs THaT iT DeVelOps aND maNuFacTures iN-HOuse, aND sHOws aN almOsT ObsessiVe DeVOTiON TO iTs OrigiNs, embODieD iN TwO “HisTOric” cOllecTiONs, raDiOmir aND lumiNOr. bOTH OF THese NOw beNeFiT FrOm THe laTesT macHiNiNg TecHNOlOgies aND NexT-geNeraTiON maTerials. THe THree New paNerai lumiNOr 1950 submersible 3 DaYs waTcHes are aN excelleNT example, maDe FrOm TiTaNium, brONZe aND ceramic. THeY resulT FrOm aDVaNceD researcH iNTO TecHNOlOgY aND maTerials FOr THe case. THe DesigN Takes iNspiraTiON FrOm THe waTcHes paNerai maDe DuriNg THe lasT ceNTurY FOr THe iTaliaN NaVY. a remiNDer OF aN era wHeN a NaTiON’s

coming after the success of its Submariner, rolex decided to follow up with a new model. on January 23rd 1960 the brand sent its new Deep Sea Special down 10,916 metres to the fl oor of the mariana trench, attached to the Trieste bathyscaphe which was manned by Swiss oceanographer and engineer Jacques Piccard and uS Navy Lieutenant Dan walsh.

surViVal HiNgeD ON iTs waTcHes. wHile Time aND TiDe waiT FOr NO braND, paNerai’s waTcHes remaiN THe image OF a parTicular cONcepT OF Time measuremeNT. ONe THaT is iNTimaTelY liNkeD TO THe sea. p.D.V.

54 watch your time diViNG

MINIATURE METROPOLIS

they spent eight and a half hours on the earth’s deepest point. two days after their exploit, a telegram from Jacques Piccard arrived at the rolex head office in Geneva: “happy to announce that your watch works as well at 11,000 metres as it does on the surface.” rolex would continue to prove an authority in dive watches over the years to come. in 1967 it introduced the Sea-Dweller, water-resistant to 610 metres and equipped with a helium escape valve. it followed this with the Sea-Dweller 4000 in 1978, water-resistant to 1,220 metres. in 2008 came the revolutionary Deep Sea. water-resistant to a staggering 3,900 metres, it ushered in a new era of dive watches.

I- GUCCi SPORT. THe i-gucci spOrT waTcH Takes sOme OrigiNal Fe aTures ONbOarD, wiTH cHrONOgr apH, Dual cHrONOgr apH, cOuNTDOwN, TacHYme Ter , peDOme Ter aND aN Op TiONal regaT Ta Timer . THe THick br acele T l aYs a l aYer OF perFOr aTeD rubber OVer a rubber sTr ap.

HarrY WiNStoN HISTOIRE DE TOURBILLON 4.

TOP-SELLING MODELS

wiTH THe HisTOire De

Produced for French army frogmen, Blancpain made the Fifty Fathoms to strict specifi cations. it had to be robust, reliable, readable and, as its name suggests, water-resistant to 91.45 metres or 50 fathoms. an icon among professional dive watches, it quickly forged a reputation such that it became the watch of choice for armed forces and oceanographers around the world. it was the watch that Jacques-yves cousteau and his team wore in The Silent World. many variations have followed, though all recognisable members of the Fifty Fathoms family. the model unveiled by Blancpain at Baselworld in 2009 sported a titanium case with water-resistance of 1,000 metres. the latest in the line-up was intro-

TOurbillON cOllecTiON, HarrY wiNsTON Has embarkeD ON aN e xplOr aTiON OF a cOmplicaTiON THaT is magNiFiceNT iN iTs simpliciT Y, mesmeriZiNg iN iTs e xecuTiON aND eNTHr alliNg iN iTs mOTiON.

wiTH eacH New HisTOire De TOurbillON,

PorSCHe deSiGN

HarrY wiNsTON pusHes

DIVER BLACK EDITION.

THe bOuNDaries OF a DeVice paTeNTeD iN 1801 aND

a bl ack VersiON

iNTeNDeD TO cOuNTer THe eFFecTs OF graViTY ON pOckeT waTcHes. mOre THaN TwO ceNTuries laTer, THis FOurTH piece iN THe cOllecTiON DeliVers

OF THe pOrscHe DesigN DiVe waTcH wiTH 1,000-me Tre waTer-resisTaNce aND iDeNTical case

aNOTHer raDicallY iNNOVaTiVe iNTerpreTaTiON OF

cONsTrucTiON Fe aTuriNg

THis cOmplicaTiON. wHereas a TOurbillON wiTH a

aN iNNer case THaT HOuses

siNgle cage rOTaTiNg iN ONe plaNe was suFFicieNT FOr a pOckeT waTcH, wHicH speNT mOsT OF iTs Time iN a VerTical pOsiTiON, THis is NO lONger True FOr wrisTwaTcHes wHicH assume a VirTuallY iNFiNiTe

THe mOVemeNT. T wO upper lOckiNg pusHers r aise THe case sO crOwN aND be Zel caN be aDJusTeD. lOckiNg THe case back iN iTs briDge prOTecTs THem FrOm beiNg iNaDVerTeNTlY mOVeD.

Number OF pOsiTiONs THrOugHOuT THe DaY. baseD ON THis priNciple, HarrY wiNsTON seT OuT TO DeVelOp “a cuTTiNg eDge sOluTiON”. THe HearT OF HisTOire De TOurbillON 4 is a siNgle OscillaTOr, cONTaiNeD wiTHiN THree cONceNTric cages weigHiNg 1.57 grams iN TOTal. eacH cage rOTaTes NOT ONlY aT a DiFFereNT speeD, ONce eVerY 45, 75 aND 300 secONDs, buT aT a DiFFereNT aNgle wiTH respecT TO THe OTHer cages. “TOgeTHer THeY eNsure THaT aT NO mOmeNT will graViTY be able TO DisTurb THe sTeaDY HearTbeaT OF THe OscillaTOr,” NOTes THe braND. as a suiTable seTTiNg FOr THis FeaT OF TecHNique, HarrY wiNsTON Has cHOseN a mulTi-leVel arraNgemeNT suggesTiVe

duced at end 2011, unveiled inside a giant aquarium, the world’s biggest, in Dubai. mark a. hayek in person donned snorkel and fi ns to swim with the sharks, wearing the new X Fathoms. water-resistant to 300 metres , it s features include a mechanical SeiKo KINETIC DIVER’S. depth gauge and a maximum depth memory. the THe kiNe Tic DiVer’s is X Fathoms is considered the most extreme watch in iDe al FOr keepiNg Tr ack the Blancpain catalogue to date. Jaeger-Lecoultre OF Time uNDerwaTer , THaNks TO lumiNesceNT has made its contribution to dive watch innovation HaNDs aND markers. too. in the late 1950s, it introduced DiVers will appreciaTe iTs 200-me Tre an interesting complication with its waTer-resisTaNce, memovox Deep Sea. this was the first sTaiNless sTeel case, time that a dive watch had incorporated HarDle x pressureresisTaNT crYsTal aND an alarm function, signalling to a diver uNiDirecTiONal be Zel . that it was time to resurface. Now one of its icons, the Le Sentier firm recently revisited this memovox Deep Sea as two limited editions. true to the original, both versions reprise the engraved figure on the case back of a diver surrounded by bubbles.

OF mODerN iNDusTrial DesigN; “a miNiaTure mecHaNical

in conclusion, while dive watches continue to equip professionals, they have risen from the ocean floor to make ripples among admirers of sporting timepieces. their appeal lies with their solidity, shock-resistance and water-resistance. Better still, they offer watchmakers vast opportunity to prove their capacity for innovation. rest assured that dive watches haven’t said their last word!

meTrOpOlis” iN THe waTcHmaker’s wOrDs. THe case is FasHiONeD FrOm Zalium™, HarrY wiNsTON’s OwN, sigNaTure allOY. OVer 3,500 HOurs OF wOrk were requireD TO DeVelOp HisTOire De TOurbillON 4, a Timepiece guaraNTeeD TO Take iTs place iN HisTOrY.

taG HeUer AQUAR ACER CALIBRE 72 COUNTDOWN CHRONOGR APH. iN THe Ye ar THe aquar acer liNe celebr aTes iTs 30TH aNNiVersarY, Tag Heuer is OFFicial parTNer TO Or acle Te am usa , THe DeFeNDiNg cHampiON iN THe 34TH america’s cup. celebr aTiNg bOTH THese e VeNTs, THis is a waTcH cuT OuT FOr DiViNg aND sailiNg, T wO are as iN wHicH THe br aND Has DemONsTr aTeD iTs prOwess.

E L P R I M E RO C H RO N O M A S TE R 19 6 9

Acknowledged as the world’s best chronograph, it is a descendant of the

W W W . Z E N I T H - W A T C H E S . C O M

legendary El Primero ﬁrst unveiled in 1969 and proudly bears the iconic colours of the ﬁrst high-frequency automatic column-wheel chronograph calibre. Beating at a rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour, this daring feat embodies the exceptional expertise of the Manufacture.

ÂŠ

aStroNoMiCal watch your time 57

“time out of mind” --o------- pierre maillard editor-in-chief, europa star

[ bob dylan, 1997 ]

It’s a matter of fact: mechanical watchmaking is technically obsolete! Electronics provides infinitely more precise and varied indications than these outmoded and complex combinations of brass wheels ever could. And yet…

egardless of its qualities and precision, electronics - in this instance quartz - has never held, and no doubt will never hold, the same fascination as a finely crafted mechanical movement. how has watchmaking succeeded in beating the odds to become the only outdated technology still in demand across all four corners of the globe? of the many possible explanations, there is one fundamental reason that takes us back to the origins of mankind. an answer that flirts with the unfathomable mysteries of time, and reawakens the awe and even stupefaction which the vast and impenetrable universe inspires. MAN’S FIRST SCIENCE

wHeN Time cONNecTs us TO THe uNiVerse aND iNFiNiT Y.

astronomy (literally the law of the stars) is, without contest, the first science known to mankind. No doubt it began on the day a man put a stick in the sand and observed the circle cast by its shadow as the sun travelled across the sky. it developed when, stretched out on this same sand, he began to scrutinise the star-studded firmament. Little by little, he deduced fundamental laws and the realisation dawned that he could use them to predict, with relative precision, lunations, equinoxes and eclipses. when making these astronomical calculations, our man needed to represent his observations in space. he did this by drawing a circle which he first divided into 24 sections of 15° each, then 12 sections measuring 30° each (360° in all). this disc was the background on which he traced the stars and set out the constellations that were visible in his hemisphere. over three thousand years after it originated in Babylon, this circle has its mirror image in the dial of our watches. the capacity to “tell” time and predict astral events was born. when mechanical timekeeping appeared in the late middle ages, the church seized upon this considerable power and, as proof of its then immense authority, summoned astronomers to reproduce the divine and heavenly mechanism with wheels and pinions. it followed that the first astronomical clocks were installed in towers and belfries, mechanically replicating the movement of the planets, the phases of the moon, the position of the constellations and the zodiac… Several centuries passed before these cosmic mechanisms became sufficiently small to fit on our wrists, where they continue to inspire the same sense of wonder as for those early stargazers. a fascination which the regular motion of mechanical gears perpetuates better than any other representation we might make of the laws that govern the universe, or at least the part that is visible to us, namely our own solar system. For the essence of this cosmic architecture is captured, in microscopic form, by the epicycloidal gears that form the intricate and admirable mechanisms with which we simulate the planets’ elliptical path. the magic this imparts is impervious to any digital display, no matter how precise. A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE

the miniaturisation of these astronomical mechanisms owes much to one man with a singular biography: Ludwig oechslin. Now curator of the musée international d’horlogerie in La chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss Jura mountains, Ludwig oechslin was first an archaeologist and specialist in ancient Greek civilisation before acquiring his credentials as a watchmaker in addition to a solid background in mathematics. Knowing how important the ancient Greeks were in developing the theory of epicycles, which for centuries served as the basis for charts that precisely set out the position of the stars and predicted lunar and solar eclipses, we can understand why Ludwig oechslin, with his

ROTONDE De Cartier PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGR APH. TO iNcOrpOr aTe iN a siNgle Timepiece THe me aNs OF me asuriNg aND Displ aYiNg liFe’s sHOrTesT Times aND simulTaNeOuslY prOpOse a mecHaNism wHOse ge ars HaVe THe FaculT Y TO smOOTH THe imperFecTiONs OF THe gregOriaN caleNDar is a r are FOrm OF luxurY, OFFereD bY THe rOTONDe De carTier perpe Tual caleNDar cHrONOgr apH.

58 watch your time aStroNoMiCal

Gir ard - PerreGaUX VINTAGE 1945 LARGE DATE MOON-PHASES. bOTH cl assic aND aVaNT-garDe, THe ViNTage 1945 cOllecTiON Takes iTs cue FrOm THe arT DecO mOVemeNT. THis New mODel HOuses a selF-wiNDiNg gir arD-perregaux mecHaNical mOVemeNT iNsiDe iTs sHapeD case . THe cambereD Dial Displ aYs a l arge DaTe aND mOON-pHases.

THE ART OF PERFECTION

SeiKo GR AND SEIKO HISTORIC COLLECTION. THe JapaNese Firm masTers e VerY aspecT OF waTcHmakiNg, NOT le asT iN cl assic Timepieces sucH as THe seikO Vel aTur a aND

dual background, was asked by watch company ulysse Nardin to produce a seminal trilogy of astronomical wristwatches: the astrolabium (1985), the Planetarium (1988) and the tellurium (1992). Dedicated respectively to Galileo, copernicus and Kepler, the three watches in this trilogy of time take us on a journey through space. the astrolabium transposes to our wrist the universe seen from earth. the twenty-one functions and indications of this perpetual-calendar wristwatch include solar time, sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, moon phases, solar and lunar eclipses, the zodiac, and the position of the Sun, moon and stars. the tellurium shows the earth as it would appear to us from above the North Pole. we observe the moon as it rotates around the earth and, thanks to an ingenious flexible metal wire, visualise its nocturnal shadow as it advances over the surface of the globe. with the Planetarium, we take off to the furthest reaches of the solar system from where we occupy two radically opposed vantage points, one the geocentric view of Ptolemy that puts the earth at the centre of the universe, and the other the heliocentric model defended by copernicus which puts the Sun at its centre. thus we can observe the position of the planets in relation to the Sun and the earth, and visualise the moon as it circles the earth.

de BetHUNe DB 16 TOURBILLON REGULATOR . De be THuNe’s sigNaTure case wiTH iTs cONe-sHapeD lugs Has beeN mODelleD TO HOuse THe FiNesT iN mecHaNical waTcHmakiNg: a 30” TOurbillON iN silicON aND TiTaNium THaT caN be VieweD THrOugH THe Displ aY back , wHicH alsO re Ve als THe pOwer iNDicaTOr ,

THe gr aND seikO, FirsT

aND perpe Tual caleNDar

l auNcHeD iN 1967.

aND mOON-pHase Displ aYs ON THe Dial .

DespiTe beiNg a HOuseHOlD

THOSE COMPLEX EQUATIONS OF TIME

Name, mOsT eurOpeaNs HaVe sTill TO assOciaTe seikO wiTH HigH-eND waTcHmakiNg. YeT THe cOmpaNY, esTablisHeD iN 1881 iN TOkYO bY kiNTarO HaTTOri, is a mODel OF TraDiTiONal maNuFacTuriNg aND VerTical iNTegraTiON. iT seems apprOpriaTe iN THis ceNTeNNial Year FOr THe braND - iT maDe iTs FirsT wrisTwaTcHes iN 1913 - TO remiND OurselVes OF iTs exTraOrDiNarY experTise as a waTcHmaker. seikO masTers eVerY aspecT OF Time measuremeNT aND Has THe capaciTY TO prODuce classic Timepieces, iNcluDiNg aN exacT replica OF THe FamOus graND seikO, iNTrODuceD iN 1967 aND DriVeN bY THe calibre 44. THis Timepiece, wHicH impOseD seikO’s sTYle ON 1960s waTcH DesigN, is beiNg releaseD iN 2013 as a limiTeD eDiTiON

r alPH l aUreN SPORTING WORLD TIME. THe r alpH l aureN spOrTiNg wOrlD Time OFFers a cOmplicaTiON THaT is iTselF aN iNViTaTiON TO Tr aVel . aT THe TurN OF a crOwN, 24 ciTies Displ aY THe sequeNce OF Time arOuND THe glObe aND accOmpaNY YOu iN JOurNeYiNg THrOugH THe wOrlD OF r alpH l aureN.

OF 70 pieces iN eacH cOlOur OF gOlD (YellOw, piNk aND wHiTe) aND 700 pieces iN sTeel. iTs classic lOOks alsO sHiNe THrOugH iN THe graND seikO auTOmaTic, wHicH briNgs OuT THe quiNTesseNce OF THe 1967 OrigiNal aND giVes iT THe VerY besT OF cONTempOrarY TecHNiques aND maTerials. prODuceD as a limiTeD eDiTiON OF 700 wiTH black Dial aND 1,200 wiTH wHiTe Dial, bOTH iN sTeel wiTH a 40mm DiameTer, iT Has all THe aTTribuTes OF a cOllecTOr’s waTcH, FrOm iTs iDeal prOpOrTiONs TO iTs iN-HOuse maNuFacTureD 9s65 auTOmaTic mOVemeNT. a paragON OF TraDiTiON, seikO is alsO equippeD TO wriTe THe FuTure OF waTcHmakiNg. iTs iNNOVaTiVe TimekeepiNg iNsTrumeNTs are prOOF OF iTs creaTiVe VerVe. spriNg DriVe TecHNOlOgY, wHicH weNT iNTO prODucTiON JusT uNDer TeN Years agO aFTer almOsT THree DecaDes OF researcH aND DeVelOpmeNT, cOmbiNes THe besT iN mecHaNical waTcHmakiNg

Numerous other timepieces with astronomical complications blossomed in the wake of this trilogy, and from the most storied manufacturers. audemars Piguet, for example, proposes a series of “equation of time” watches. what exactly is this equation of time? Given the tilt of the earth’s rotational axis and given its elliptical orbit around the Sun, there is a discrepancy between true solar time and the 24 hours of so-called legal time. only april 15th, June 13th, September 1st and December 25th are exactly 24 hours long. our conventional “legal” time is in fact the average of all the days in the year. the equation of time corrects this difference and indicates true solar time. however, this solar time varies by precisely four minutes per degree of longitude. Similarly, the exact moment when the sun reaches its culmination point, i.e. its highest point in the sky, differs with longitude. hence audemars Piguet adjusts each watch for the location chosen by its future owner. the name of this city and the mean culmination time are then engraved on the inner bezel ring. this ring is also graduated with a scale that runs from -15 to +15 minutes to display, by means of a hand, the difference between civil time and solar time. Better still, this same watch indicates sunrise and sunset times, which are contingent on the date, as well as the longitude and latitude of a place. the hands that show sunrise and sunset on two separate dials are driven by two cams that make one rotation a year. the shape and position of these cams is determined by the chosen latitude and longitude. Pre-calculated for 250 cities, they can also be calibrated on request for other locations. Note that each one is machined with the utmost precision, since a mere hair’s breadth would result in a discrepancy of eight minutes. the allimportant date is given by the perpetual-calendar mechanism which is programmed to keep accurate track of day, date, month and year, including leap years, until 2100.

wiTH THe FiNesT iN aVaNT-garDe Time measuremeNT, eNgiNeereD bY masTer waTcHmakers iNTO Timepieces wHOse precisiON riVals THaT OF quarTZ. THis Year is alsO a cHaNce TO celebraTe THe kiNeTic, lauNcHeD 25 Years agO iN 1988. THis FiercelY eFFicieNT, quarTZregulaTeD calibre prODuces iTs OwN elecTrical eNergY wHicH iT sTOres iN a capaciTOr, THerebY eNsuriNg lONg-Term reliabiliTY aND precisiON. V.D.

BaUMe & MerCier CLIF TON COMPLETE CALENDAR .

loUiS VUit toN LV TAMBOUR ORIENTATION.

THis mODel iN THe cliF TON cOllecTiON, THe sYmbOl OF THe

THaNks TO iTs e xclusiVe calibre, THis waTcH

1950s ciT Y waTcH, is DriVeN bY aN auTOmaTic mecHaNical

caN DOuble up as a cOmpass TO iNDicaTe NOrTH

DubOis-DÉpr a Z 9000 calibre TO Displ aY Time, DaTe, DaY

iN aNY HemispHere, bY me aNs OF YellOw markers

aND mONTH, iN aDDiTiON TO mOON pHases iN a l arge

aT 12 O’clOck aND 6 O’clOck . aN aDDiTiONal

wiNDOw aT 6 O’clOck .

Fe aTure, iT alsO sHOws sOl ar Time .

MONTBLANC TIMEWALKER CHRONOVOYAGER UTC

An ideal companion for international travelers, this timepiece features the combination of a high-precision chronograph and a second time zone according to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). Its rugged, stylish case with a satinated bezel and a 24-hour display with day /night indication has a casual, high-tech appeal where traditional watchmaking meets sharp design. 43 mm stainless steel case with satinated bezel and pushers. Self-winding chronograph with central seconds, 30 min and 12 hours counters and Second time Zone. Crafted in the Montblanc Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland.

60 watch your time aStroNoMiCal

HUBlot ANTIK Y THER A . HublOT De VelOpeD THis wrisT waTcH as a TribuTe TO THe aNTik Y THer a mecHaNism, aN asTrONOmical calcul aTOr builT iN THe secOND ceNTurY bc wHOse ge ars Describe THe mOVemeNT aND pOsiTiON OF THe mOON aND THe suN. HublOT Has cOmple TeD THese iNDicaTiONs wiTH HOurs, miNuTes aND a TOurbillON escapemeNT.

ASTRONOMICAL COMPLICATIONS AND PRICES

ParMiGiaNi TONDA ANNUAL CALENDAR . THe TONDa aNNual caleNDar HOuses THe 17TH mOVemeNT DesigNeD aND maNuFacTureD bY parmigiaNi. iT cOmple Tes THis cl assic cOllecTiON wiTH a presTigiOus cOmplicaTiON THaT was missiNg FrOm iTs rOll call .

the equation of time returns in another watch, some would say the ultimate watch: the Patek Philippe calibre 89 has been declared the most complicated watch in the world, having thirty-three complications. But can we really call this a watch, measuring over 8cm in diameter, more than 4cm high, and weighing in at over a kilo? Not to mention a price tag of several million euros! Numerous of these thirty-three indications are astronomical functions. in addition to indicating sunrise and sunset times and the equation of time, the calibre 89 measures sidereal time, which tracks the movement of the stars in relation to a local meridian, displays the equinox, solstice and zodiac, a star chart, phase and age of the moon, and easter which falls on a different date each year, defined as the first Sunday following the first full moon on or after march 21st. Note that this refers to the ecclesiastical full moon and not the actual new moon. Numerous watchmakers now propose one or other astronomical indication, and sometimes several combined. the “simplest” and possibly most delightful of all is the moon phase complication. once again though, horologists make the difference between poetic approximation and astronomical precision. the moon’s synodic period averages at 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.9 seconds or 29.53 days using the formula calculated by copernicus himself. of course, it takes more than this to worry a skilled watchmaker who will mechanically account for the difference between an “ordinary” moon phase and the precise “astronomical” moon phase.

FrÉdÉriQUe CoNStaNt CLASSIC MANUFACTURE WORLDTIMER . simple TO use, THis Timepiece permaNeNTlY Displ aYs THe Time iN THe 24 Time ZONes bY me aNs OF T wO rOTaTiNg Discs. ONe Disc is iNscribeD wiTH THe Names OF 24 ma JOr ciTies; THe secOND is a 24-HOur Disc sHOwiNg DaY aND NigHT. THe wOrlD-Time FuNcTiON is Oper aTeD bY usiNg THe crOwN TO selecT THe DesireD ciT Y.

SeiKo SPORTUR A KINETIC GMT. kiNe Tic is DeriVeD FrOm THe greek wOrD kiNesis me aNiNg mOVemeNT. seikO’s kiNe Tic waTcHes are quarTZ Timepieces wHicH, iNsTe aD OF a baT TerY, geNer aTe THeir OwN elecTrical eNergY THrOugH

COSMIC EMOTION JaeGer-leCoUltre RENDEZ-VOUS CELESTIAL. THe perFecT iNsTrumeNT FOr makiNg asTrONOmical ObserVaTiONs. a ZODiac caleNDar ON THe Dial sHOws THe pOsiTiON OF THe cONsTell aTiONs aT aNY mOmeNT iN THe Ye ar bY me aNs OF aN aNNual caleNDar wHicH gOVerNs THe sYsTem OF Time me asuremeNT aND Displ aY.

ZeNitH PILOT MONTRE D’AÉRONEF T YPE 20 GMT. THe success eNcOuNTereD l asT Ye ar bY THe ZeNiTH aÉrONeF T Ype 20 Has sparkeD aN eNTire cOllecTiON, iNspireD bY THe pilOT waTcHes wHicH THe br aND maDe FOr THe piONeers OF aViaTiON. THis mODel iNcOrpOr aTes a gmT FuNcTiON.

THe mOVemeNT OF THe we arer’s arm. THis mODel iNcOrpOr aTes a gmT FuNcTiON.

Familiar or not with copernicus’ equations, it is of course within everyone’s reach to appreciate and apprehend the mysteries and, more importantly, incomparable splendours of the heavenly vault. intrinsically bound to the contemplation of the heavens, horology has never ceased to transpose our fascination with the sheer beauty of the stars above. one of the season’s most stunning watches has no astronomical indications as such. only the hours and minutes are shown on the Skybridge by the excellent and little-known, outside informed circles, De Bethune. But they are a sight to behold! an original movement drives the finely-honed, daggerlike hands as they orbit the concave, mirror-polished titanium dial whose breathtaking deep blue is scattered with tiny, perfect, gold spheres and diamond stars. at the bottom of the dial, beneath an arrow-shaped bridge that points into the unknown, sits a rotating spherical moon, one of the brand’s signatures. this to-and-fro between the infinitely small and the infinitely large takes on a rarely achieved yet strikingly contemporary splendour. “emotion” is an overused word in marketing, but in the case of the Skybridge it truly applies. while the sky has always intrigued us for the mysterious regularity played out on its surface, it has also moved us beyond words or mathematical elaborations. a part of this emotion is captured in a watch whose astronomical value, in the mechanical and horological sense, resides in its powers of evocation. on the very beautiful dial of the rendez-Vous celestial by Jaeger-Lecoultre, the hour arc frames a lapis-lazuli disc on which the heavens are displayed. an annual calendar, which only needs adjusting once, in February each year, governs this disc while the position of the constellations is read from a zodiac calendar engraved on the dial. a shooting star navigates the dial, alighting by means of a second crown to mark the time of a very personal rendezvous with… well, only you need know. “the sun and the moon have a date, but the moon isn’t where the sun waits,” sang charles trenet. and so it seems even heavenly appointments, like earthly ones, can go astray.

PaNer ai POCKET WATCH TOURBILLON GMT CER AMICA . THis New mODel cOmbiNes a 59mm r aDiOmir case iN cer amic wiTH a HaND-wOuND mecHaNical p.2005/s mOVemeNT wiTH TOurbillON regul aTOr . THe mOVemeNT is HelD bY T welVe arms as THOugH suspeNDeD iNsiDe THe case, aN illusiON maDe pOssible bY THe skele TON Dial aND THe sappHire crYsTal OpeNiNg iN THe cer amic case back .

FoCUS watch your time 61

In just a few years, Montblanc has earned its stripes as a watchmaker. Its grandes complications showcase the brand’s expertise and skill in mastering time.

two versions, one for the northern hemisphere, whose 24-hour disc rotates clockwise, and one for the southern hemisphere with a disc that turns anti-clockwise. higher up the pyramid are the “manufacture” watches. this is where montblanc gives full expression to its horological values. the Nicolas rieussec rising hours chronograph, unveiled in January, is an excellent example with its regulator dial, and day, date, hours and chrono indications on discs.

montblanc’s scaling of horological summits is the result of a thoughtfully planned and carefully implemented strategy. yet few observers were expecting this incursion into time measurement. Since minerva Villeret, a manufacturer established in 1858, passed into the montblanc fold five years ago, the truth is plain to see. From a pre-eminent maker of writing instruments, the brand has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in mechanical watchmaking, with the typical lucidity of a company that has forged its expertise over decades, and with an eye to the long term. CAREFUL SEGMENTATION

“ask me whether montblanc will one day be another cartier for the richemont group, to which we belong, and i’ll tell you it’s about being realistic,” says alexander Schmiedt who is managing director for montblanc watches. “having said that, the growth rates we’re recording in this segment are clearly the highest within the company, which is most encouraging.” even more encouraging is montblanc’s venture into horological complications. again the company is taking a realistic approach to make complications another calling card for the brand. “we’re relative newcomers to this sector and we’re not setting ourselves up to become a grandes complications brand,” continues mr Schmiedt. “it is, however, a means of extending our skills while supporting growth in sales of our more affordable models.”

MoNtBl aNC E XOTOURBILLON CHRONOGR APH. parT OF THe Villere T 1858 cOllecTiON, THis cHrONOgr apH sTaNDs OuT FOr iTs regul aTOr Dial wiTH a l arge ceNTr al miNuTe HaND, aN OFF-ceNTre circle FOr THe HOurs, a secOND Time ZONe wiTH DaY/NigHT iNDicaTiON, a small secONDs HaND

a winning move aND a cHrONOgr apH wiTH a 30-miNuTe cOuNTer .

THe iNsTiTuT miNerVa De

recHercHe eN HauTe HOrlOgerie iN Villere T (swiTZerl aND) came

uNDer THe aegis OF mONTbl aNc FiVe Ye ars agO.

MoNtBl aNC TIMEWALKER

WORLD-TIME HEMISPHERES. THis waTcH sHOws

THe Time ZONes NOT as seeN FrOm abOVe THe

greeNwicH meriDiaN, buT FrOm abOVe THe pOles.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS FOR WOMEN

MoNtBl aNC NICOLAS RIEUSSEC RISING HOURS. mONTbl aNc Takes THe priNciple beHiND iTs NicOl as rieussec cHrONOgr apHs TO a New le Vel . e xcep T FOr THe OFF-ceNTre regul aTOr Dial THaT Displ aYs miNuTes, all THe iNDicaTiONs are sHOwN ON Discs, FrOm THe cHrONOgr apH secONDs aND miNuTes TO DaY, DaTe aND HOurs wHOse cOlOur DisTiNguisHes be T weeN NigHT aND DaY.

montblanc divides its collections into three clearly defined segments. the base of the pyramid comprises watches with original and characteristic features, such as this year’s timewalker world-time hemispheres. rather than displaying time zones as seen from the Greenwich meridian, it shows the earth from above the north and south poles. as a result, this watch comes in

at the top of the pyramid are the Villeret collections, where montblanc demonstrates its exclusive expertise in just a few hundred watches a year. the Villeret exotourbillon chronograph is one illustration. it also features a regulator dial, with an off-centre double hour ring with Gmt function, small seconds, a chronograph and a tourbillon at 12 o’clock. a superb display of craftsmanship which in 2012 was joined by an exclusively feminine line, the diamond-studded Princess Grace de monaco collection. “the collection has been extremely well-received,” comments alexander Schmiedt. “the new watches that we’re presenting this year are all driven by mechanical movements for even greater authenticity.” this concern for authenticity extends to montblanc’s distribution network, which comprises 450 points of sale shared equally between local retailers and the brand’s own boutiques. the brand’s strategy has been to move early into expanding markets such as china, and to open subsidiaries wherever montblanc performs strongly, led by Brazil and the united States where the brand is looking at double-digit growth. clearly montblanc was right to put time on its side. c.r.

cONsequeNTlY, T wO VersiONs HaVe beeN maDe: ONe FOr THe NOrTHerN HemispHere wHOse 24-HOur Disc rOTaTes clOck wise, aND ONe FOr THe sOuTHerN HemispHere wiTH a Disc THaT TurNs aNTi-clOck wise .

62 watch your time FoCUS

heuer chronograph. relaunched in 1996, it has gone on to become a flagship model for the brand, and one of the best-selling pieces in its history. taG heuer has even built its high-end segment around the carrera while pushing the boundaries of mechanical precision. the latest in line, the mikrogirder, beats at 1,000 hz (7.2 million vph for a central chrono hand that makes 20 revolutions of the dial per second) and is accurate to an unheard-of 5/10,000th of a second. it is the fastest mechanical timepiece ever.

this 1887 calibre will shortly be joined by the 1888, a project launched in 2012. taG heuer has worked from the ground up, building on experience gained when developing its high-frequency movements and the 1887 chrono. “we’ve developed the 1888 as the ideal movement with a view to high-volume industrial production,” says Jeanchristophe Babin. “we’ve focused a lot of attention on facilitating assembly and on disassembly for easier maintenance, which translates into significantly lower costs for the customer.” customers who owe a lot to the carrera Panamericana and one man’s inspiration. eric Dumatin

taG HeUer CARRER A CARBON CALIBRE 1887 CONCEPT CHRONOGR APH. maDe FrOm THe same carbON cOmpOsiTe piONeereD iN FOrmul a 1™ aND THe aerOspace iNDusTrY, THis is ONe OF THe mOsT FuTurisTic iNTerpre TaTiONs Ye T OF THe icONic Tag Heuer

50 years of legend carrer a , THe mOTOr-spOrTs iNspireD waTcH DesigNeD bY Jack Heuer iN 1963.

Designed in 1963 by Jack Heuer, now Honorary Chairman of TAG Heuer, the legendary Carrera chronograph celebrates 50 years. An opportunity to pay tribute with a movement built entirely in-house. the synergy between taG heuer and motor racing goes back a long way. more than a hundred years in fact to 1911, when the watchmaker was already equipping cars with its time of trip, the first dashboard chronograph. this mutual alliance, marked by groundbreaking advances in sports timekeeping, reached a milestone in 1963 when the company introduced the carrera, a legendary timepiece of the twentieth century that today celebrates its 50th year. Jack heuer, now honorary chairman of taG heuer, imagined the carrera specifically to meet the needs of professional racing drivers. its inspiration: the toughest endurance racing competition of the day, the carrera Panamericana mexico road race. “Just the sound of the name itself, elegant, dynamic, easily pronounced in all languages and charged with emotion. i knew then that my new chronograph was the perfect tribute to this legend,” he recalls.

Jack heuer knew exactly what he wanted; a watch with a refined look and feel that would be full of energy and emotion. he probed the innovative ideas of early 60s modernism, from oscar Niemeyer’s new architecture to the work of designer eero Saarinen, and imagined a watch in which “everything has a purpose and anything extraneous is removed.” and so the carrera was born, the ultimate

wHeN DesigNiNg THe carrer a , Jack Heuer lOOkeD TO THe carrer a paNamericaNa iN me xicO, ONe OF THe mOsT gruelliNg rOaD r aces OF iTs DaY.

THe legeNDarY Tag Heuer carrer a is celebr aTiNg iTs FiF Tie TH aNNiVersarY THis Ye ar . — taG HeUer CARRER A 1963. THe OrigiNal carrer a , l auNcHeD iN 1963, was iNTeNDeD as a cHrONOgr apH iN wHicH e VerY FuNcTiON serVeD a purpOse aND aNY THiNg e xTr aNeOus was remOVeD.

MADE IN TAG HEUER

But there is more to the brand, which is steadily building up in-house production across its four sites. they manufacture cases, dials and also movements, with production set to increase to 120,000 units a year once the latest site comes into operation in June. Naturally, the carrera is benefiting from this growing integration in this anniversary year. “the carrera has evolved over its history to become a 100% in-house watch,” comments chief executive Jeanchristophe Babin. “From its beginnings as a Valjoux chronograph movement with an outsourced case and dial, it has grown into a chronograph driven by the taG heuer 1887 calibre inside a cortech case with an artecad dial, both part of the group, hence a timepiece that is manufactured entirely in-house. this fiftieth anniversary is also a chance to train the spotlight on the 1887 calibre, a high-quality chronograph movement that can be industrially manufactured at a reasonable cost.”

64 watch your time FoCUS

THe germaN mODel aND acTress DiaNe kruger is aN ambassaDOr FOr JaeGer-leCoUltre .

TeNNis pl aYer NOVak DJOkOVic embODies aUdeMarS PiGUet’s PiGUet ’s belieF THaT “TO bre ak THe rules, YOu musT FirsT masTer THem.”

star gazing a loNGiNeS ambassaDOr OF elegaNce, THe ausTr aliaN acTOr simON baker NOw Has His sTar ON THe HOllY wOOD walk OF Fame .

They are ambassadors of elegance, symbols of sportsmanship or artistic achievement. They embody a spirit of enterprise or a sense of adventure.

the cinema is a favourite hunting-ground for Swiss watchmakers, many of which count highprofile actors and actresses among their spokespersons and “friends”. arnold Schwarzenegger had longstanding connections with audemars Piguet. cameron Diaz is the face of taG heuer. Diane Kruger has links with Jaeger-Lecoultre,

over the past years, watch brands have reached for the stars, of the celebrity kind, to communicate a meeting of minds, a shared vision of the world, an identical mastery of a given field. and, coincidentally, to promote their image and visibility as these famous faces lend an incomparable aura to brands in their quest to conquer the world. the custodians of time seize every opportunity to draw attention to partnerships that position them squarely in the public eye.

usaiN “ligHTNiNg” bOlT, THe FasTesT spriNTer e Ver , sHares HUBlot’s “sacreD” NOTiON OF Time .

accl aimeD Ja ZZ VOcalisT melODY garDOT is

La Vie eN roSe Glamour-wise , jazz singer Melody Gardot smoulders with sensuality, not least when posing for her latest rele ase , The A bsence , which features a cover of La Vie en Rose,, originally recorded in 1946 by Edith Piaf and whose countless versions have charmed the globe. Talent-wise, Ms Gardot has imposed her enigmatic style in three albums and is now one of today’s most widely acclaimed vocalists. her encounter with Piaget was virtually destined to be, when the watchmaker set out in search of the new face of its rose jewellery collection, a fl agship of the brand for some thirty years.

a seDucTiVelY gl amOrOus ambassaDress FOr PiaGet’s ROSE cOllecTiON, wHicH celebr aTeD iTs 30TH aNNiVersarY iN 2012.

Both watchmaker and singer are driven by the same attention to detail, the same striving for perfection. Says Philippe Léopold-metzger, chief executive of Piaget, “when we associate ourselves with an artist, we of course want her to embody our products. more importantly, she must share our philosophy.” with this in mind, the brand has accompanied melody Gardot on her world tour. Piaget also joined the singer in producing a video in which she performs La Vie en Rose, surrounded by an incredible seven thousand roses in an atmosphere infused with magic. “at Piaget, every jewel is a symbol of love, a message of seduction and sensuality, whose inspiration is translated into a thousand and one bouquets of light dedicated to feminine beauty. it was completely natural that from the 1960s the rose, the most frequently gifted flower in the world, became a motif dear to the house whose collections were inspired by plant life,” says the brand. once again this year, Piaget demonstrates the intimacy between this floral inspiration and the artistic crafts that are one of the hallmarks of the manufacture’s expertise. illustrating this are three secret watches, the Piaget rose, the Limelight Dancing Light and the Limelight Garden Party. exquisite creations that have found their voice in melody Gardot. c.r.

FoCUS watch your time 65

taG HeUer cHOse americaN acTress camerON Dia Z as THe Face THe americaN acTress

OF iTs LINK cOllecTiON.

Jessica alba came TO THe 2013 suNDaNce Film FesTiVal DresseD He aD-TO-TOe iN dior.

role X’s cOre Values OF auTHeNTiciT Y aND perFOrmaNce are persONiFieD bY swiss TeNNis cHampiON rOger FeDerer .

conducting for Vacheron constantin, scientific research for rolex, women entrepreneurs for cartier, environmental adventurers for iwc and omega. a million miles from film festivals and their red carpets, these partnerships reflect a commitment to sustainable development. Not that brands are turning their back on glamour, far from it and for a simple reason. where better for an exceptional timepiece to appeal to our emotions than on the wrist of the people whose faces are etched on the global psyche. einstein himself declared that imagination is more important than knowledge. think what can happen when the two combine… c.r.

while monica Bellucci is associated with cartier. then there are the Bollywood celebrities such as aishwarya rai Bachchan, the personification of Longines elegance, the faces of French cinema such as Jean reno, a great fan of iwc, and the big names of chinese productions, among them Zhang Ziyi who is rarely seen without her omega. the list is long, and not only in the world of films. Brand ambassadors are legion in sport too, led by motor racing, sailing, equestrianism and tennis. more recently, watchmakers have turned their attention to talent in other fields:

THe FirsT persON TO HaVe sk YDiVeD THrOugH THe sOuND barrier , Felix baumgarTNer Ne Ver Jumps wiTHOuT His ZeNitH waTcH.

Cartier muse mONica bellucci we ariNg Her CR ASH waTcH.

It was a bold move. Vacheron Constantin came to the 2013 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the foremost gathering for the profession in Geneva, with nothing but women’s watches. Not a single new timepiece for men.

For her eyeS oNLy

only models intended to highlight a “story of devotion” between the manufacture and women which dates back more than a century: “Vacheron constantin’s tradition as a producer of women’s watches started with the nineteenth century, when the first pocket watches especially made for women appeared. although smaller than men’s watches, they were much more lavishly decorated and thus demanded skills in miniaturisation and decoration that only a few of the watchmakers of the time possessed.” Vacheron constantin was one of them, as it would go on to demonstrate for many decades to come, particularly with its wristwatches. indeed, women were first to benefit from this new concept in timepieces. “the Geneva style of watchmaking, ornate yet refined, has never left the maison,” continues Vacheron constantin. Showing limitless imagination, it produced watches in oval or octagonal forms, even a bowed rectangle, watches worn as pendants in the art Nouveau or art Deco style, and others that wrapped around the wrist on woven chains or triple bracelets.

THe PATRIMONY cOllecTiON bY VaCHeroN CoNStaNtiN OrigiNaTes iN THe FiNesT waTcHmakiNg Tr aDiTiON. THe FiNe JewellerY mODel is alsO a remiNDer OF THe prOmiNeNT rOle wHicH THe mÉ Tiers D’arT pl aY wiTHiN THe maNuFacTure .

this tradition returns to the fore this year in three of Vacheron constantin’s collections, as the brand explains: “Patrimony is home to original creations in the contemporary and tradition styles that extol the jewellery-making skills of the manufacture’s gem-setters. the latest opus of the métiers d’art collection, Florilège, draws from ancient knowledge to steal a woman’s heart.” a bold move that women will applaud. e.D.

ÂŠ

CoMPliCatioNS watch your time 67

“time is on my side” --o------- timm delfs

[ rolling stones, 1964 ]

A nightmare for doctors, for a watchmaker complications are the spice of life. Nothing quite equals the mechanical microcosm of these tiny wheels meshing into the most remarkable configurations.

aving mastered the mechanism whose innumerable parts spring into action to rotate three hands on a dial, the ambitious watchmaker will always want more. the functions we take almost for granted are complex affairs. calendar complications showing day, date and month in apertures put our visual comfort first. meanwhile, the desire to suspend time’s flight has inspired more functions, of particular benefit in sport. the chronograph is a case in point. Numerous complications have seen daylight since, to the extent that watchmakers must sometimes put their imagination to the test to invent new functions. all of which must in some way be related to the measurement of time. Flights of fancy such as a complication watch incorporating a thermometer are frowned upon in the upper echelons of horology, more preoccupied by the strength of impulse in the gears or the precision of the regulating organ. SEEING STARS

masTerY OF Time is a maT Ter OF paTieNce, Temper aNce aND TrusT.

Let’s travel back to the age when mechanical clocks were installed in towers and belfries. Property of the church or the town, they chimed the important moments in the day for the benefit of the townspeople. Soon these turret clocks were equipped with an automatic mechanism that would strike not just the hour, but the half-hour and quarter as well. Populations were still essentially rural, living with the natural rhythm of the seasons, the sun and the moon, hence why astronomical indicators were added to these clocks from the fifteenth century. the astronomical clock in the Zytglogge tower in Bern is a famous example. its dial was built in 1405 in the form of an astrolabe, an instrument from the arab world that determines local time according to the position of the planets and stars. transposed to a clock, it takes the form of a disc showing a map of the sky. whereas the owner of a portable astrolabe had to manually adjust the position of the Sun and the stars, the movement in an astronomical clock provides the driving force and the appropriate transmission ratio for the various indicators. other noteworthy astrolabes are those of the Strasbourg cathedral astronomical clock, and the astronomical clock in the city hall in Prague. only a rare few pocket watches or wristwatches incorporate an astrolabe. the best-known illustration is the astrolabium Galileo Galilei, developed for ulysse Nardin by Ludwig oechslin. it was the first in a trilogy of astronomical wristwatches that would revive the brand’s fortunes as from 1985. the Dutch watchmaker christiaan van der Klaau specialises in the manufacture of astronomical wristwatches, including models with an astrolabe.

BVlGari DIAGONO MOONPHASE. THe subTle arT OF cOmplicaTiONs is giVeN ONe OF iTs mOsT pOe Tic iNTerpre TaTiONs iN THis waTcH, wHicH Visualises mOON pHases iN

THE CALENDAR’S WHIMS

our principal units of time - day, month and year – are dependent on astronomy. while the hour, minute and second are arbitrary values, the day, month and year correspond to natural cycles determined by the movement of the earth, Sun and moon. Naturally, watchmakers wanted to display this information on their dials but were confronted with a major obstacle: the year does not have a whole number of days, and the months are not equal in length. the quirks and exceptions of our Gregorian calendar, such as the intercalation of a leap year every four years, make the construction of a mechanical calendar a particularly challenging task.

FiVe pOsiTiONs ON a semi-circul ar Displ aY. re TrOgr aDe DaY aND DaTe are sHOwN ON e acH siDe OF THe Dial .

role X OYSTER PERPETUAL SK Y-DWELLER . wiTH FOurTeeN paTeNTs, THe rOle x sk Y-Dweller

68 watch your time CoMPliCatioNS

prOViDes, iN aN uNpreceDeNTeD aND OrigiNal waY, THe iNFOrmaTiON glObal Tr aVellers NeeD TO keep Tr ack OF Time: a Dual Time ZONe, aN aNNual caleNDar aND a mONTH Displ aY bY me aNs OF T welVe aperTures arOuND THe circumFereNce OF THe Dial .

Such irregularities are taken into account by the perpetual calendar which, contrary to its name, must be adjusted every one hundred years. calendar data is recorded on a wheel that makes one full rotation every four years. the number of days in a month are represented by notches of different depths around the edge of this wheel. the notches for February are the same depth three years in a row, and slightly deeper the fourth year to account for the 29th day of February in the leap year. Despite the extreme complexity of the perpetual calendar complication, there are many to choose from as virtually every brand features at least one in its collections. most perpetual calendars show the date, the day, the month and the phases of the moon. Some go as far as to indicate the year; others give the current year’s position in the four-year cycle. incorporating these innumerable hands and counters into the few centimetres of a wristwatch dial is no small feat. the more legible alternative is to display the date, day, month and year in apertures, numerically or as abbreviations, that can be read at a glance.

loUiS VUit toN TAMBOUR SPIN TIME REGAT TA AUTOMATIC CHRONOGR APH ROSE GOLD. THe TambOur regaT Ta cHrONOgr apH makes iNNOVaTiVe use OF FiVe rOTaTiNg cubes TO cOuNT DOwN THe FiVe miNuTes TO THe sTarT OF THe r ace, a useFul cOmplicaTiON iN THe wOrlD OF cOmpe TiTiVe sailiNg. THe skele TON Dial is cHarcOal greY wiTH a suNr aY FiNisH.

SOUNDING THE HOUR

as mentioned earlier, turret clocks sound time on bells. in the early days these were rung by hand; bell-ringers were relieved of their duties when a mechanism was developed that triggers the clappers in the bells to chime the hour, half-hour and quarter-hour. in monasteries and on farms, an additional mechanism was introduced that would chime to wake those who in winter had to be up before daylight. over the course of the centuries, these mechanisms became progressively smaller until they could fit inside a wristwatch case.

eterNa ADVENTIC. e TerNa’s New, rOuND, selF-

a repeater watch plays a pleasant melody to indicate the time. By activating a slide on the side of the case, the wearer can hear time on demand, a useful function when plunged into darkness. a classic repeater watch sounds the hour and the quarter on gongs having two different pitches. on a minute-repeater watch, one of the oldest and most difficult complications to build, a third note counts the minutes. the dial is deceptively simple; it takes a connoisseur to spot the lever that denotes the repeater function. watches with a built-in alarm are technically much less complex than a repeater, and also less pleasing to the ear. Generally, a hammer taps the bottom of the case at a pre-set time, or as a reminder that the watch needs winding. Some alarm watches nonetheless rise above the rest: Jaeger-Lecoultre’s memovox and its variants are masterworks of function and style; Breguet’s alarm watch plays a crystal-clear tune.

wiNDiNg mOVemeNT prOViDes THe Time, small secONDs, DaTe aND a Dual Time ZONe . iT DriVes THis aDVeNTic waTcH wHOse DesigN is parTlY iNspireD bY a ceNTeNaire mODel FrOm THe 1960s, Ye T is perFecTlY cONTempOr arY iN sT Yle .

JaeGer-leCoUltre MASTER GR ANDE TR ADITION TOURBILLON CYLINDRIQUE QUANTIÈME PERPÉTUEL JUBILÉE. THis waTcH cONTiNues THe HisTOrY OF precisiON TimekeepiNg THaT begaN wiTH THe FOuNDer OF maNuFacTure Jaeger-lecOulTre . HOuseD iNsiDe a 42mm case, THe Jaeger-lecOulTre 985 calibre be aTs TO THe rHY THm OF a FlYiNg TOurbillON, cOmbiNeD wiTH a cYliNDrical bal aNce spriNg. perpe Tual caleNDar iNDicaTiONs aND mOON pHases are Displ aYeD ON THe Dial .

STOPPING AND STARTING

in the history of time measurement, the chronograph warrants a chapter all to itself, despite being posterior to any of the previous complications. efforts to time sporting events began in earnest in the nineteenth century, when it became more common for a gentleman to wager on the horses. the first portable chronograph is credited to the French watchmaker Nicolas rieussec, in 1821. a hand deposited a drop of ink on a rotating dial to visually record a time. appropriately, rieussec named his invention a chronograph, from the Greek chronos (time) and graphein (write). rieussec’s inker went the way of progress. today’s chronographs can be stopped and started on demand by activating a pusher that triggers the chronograph seconds hand. the minute counter advances one increment after each elapsed minute. if the timed event is sufficiently long, the hour counter comes into play. Pressing the pusher again stops the seconds hand and counters, independently of the timekeeping function. a splitseconds chronograph features an additional seconds hands which can be stopped to measure an intermediate time, then instantly catches up with the central chronograph hand.

ParMiGiaNi TONDA WOODSTOCK . THe icONic TONDa TOurbillON be ars ON iTs Dial THe FirsT marque Tries FrOm parmigiaNi Fleurier . e acH Dial Takes TeN DaYs TO cr aF T FrOm OVer FiF T Y pieces OF TiNTeD wOOD. THeY are Dr awN, cuT THeN assembleD wiTH sucH me TiculOus care THaT THe NakeD eYe DisTiNguisHes ONlY a perFecTlY Fl aT Dial .

HarrY WiNStoN OCEAN TOURBILLON BIG DATE. americaN Jeweller HarrY wiNsTON preseNTs iTs Oce aN TOurbillON big DaTe waTcH. THe impOsiNg 45mm case HOuses a mecHaNical mOVemeNT wiTH TOurbillON, l arge DaTe aND 110 HOurs OF pOwer reserVe . a spOrTiNg waTcH THaT is alsO a sHOwcase FOr cOmplicaTiONs.

CHaNel J12 CHROMATIC RÉTROGR ADE MYSTÉRIEUSE. HOrOlOgical e xperTise iN a be auTiFul DesigN

CoMPliCatioNS watch your time 69

cOulD be THe THeme OF THis Timepiece, wHicH prOpOses a TOurbillON, a re TrOgr aDe miNuTe HaND, a TeN-DaY pOwer reserVe aND a re Tr acTable VerTical crOwN. a Fe asT OF iNNOVaTiON iNsiDe THe rOuNDNess OF a 47mm case .

DEFYING THE LAWS OF GRAVITY

ROTONDE De Cartier DOUBLE MYSTERY TOURBILLON. THis FlYiNg TOurbillON, wHicH TurNs ON iTs OwN a xis ONce e VerY sixT Y secONDs, appe ars TO be FreelY FlOaTiNg iN space . THe illusiON is cOmple Te wHeN THe same TOurbillON cage begiNs a secOND rOTaTiON, wHicH iT cOmple Tes iN FiVe miNuTes.

traditionally, a complication is any indication other than the classic function of measuring hours and minutes. complications divert a considerable amount of the energy provided by the mainspring, already just sufficient to measure and display basic time. a complication can therefore have an adverse effect on the watch’s rate. one complication, however, is intended to increase precision: the tourbillon, a cage containing the balance and escapement that turns on itself. it is the brainchild of abraham-Louis Breguet, a horological genius whom both France and Switzerland claim as their son. wristwatches weren’t around in Breguet’s day. instead, men carried their watch on a chain, slipped inside a waistcoat pocket. at home, they would lay it on a table or nightstand. Breguet was curious as to why even the best watches showed different variations in rate after being carried and after being laid flat. he realised that the earth’s gravity disrupted the regular functioning of the balance. ideally, the balance’s centre of gravity should coincide with the centre of the balance spring. in practice, this is impossible as the spring changes shape as the balance oscillates. Because the balance spring doesn’t expand and contract concentrically, its centre of gravity is constantly being displaced. this has a negligible effect when the watch is laid flat. however, the shift in the centre of gravity when in a pocket influences the oscillations of the balance to differ-

180 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

JaeGer-leCoUltre MASTER GR ANDE TR ADITION GYROTOURBILLON 3 JUBILÉE. like e VerY waTcH iN THe HYbris mecHaNica series, THe masTer gr aNDe Tr aDiTiON gYrOTOurbillON 3 JubilÉe was DesigNeD, De VelOpeD aND cr aF TeD iN THe VerY same pl ace aNTOiNe lecOulTre OpeNeD His waTcHmakiNg wOrksHOp e x acTlY 180 Ye ars agO.

HUBlot CLASSIC FUSION SKELETON TOURBILLON BLACK CER AMIC. a cer amic skele TON TOurbillON waTcH wiTH a cl assic prOFile maTcHeD wiTH

Jaeger-lecOulTre - THe FirsT auTHeNTic maNuFacTure

all-OVer bl ack; THe New cl assic FusiON

iN swiTZerlaND’s la VallÉe-De-JOux, esTablisHeD iN 1833

bY HublOT makes FOr a sTrikiNglY gr apHic

aND sTill wiTH waTcHmakiNg’s FOrTY-sOme prOFessiONs

Timepiece iN THe wOrlD OF cOmplicaTiONs.

uNDer iTs ONe rOOF - is pulliNg OuT all THe sTOps FOr iTs 180TH aNNiVersarY. aND iN a DOmaiN THaT is clOse TO iTs HearT: graNDes cOmplicaTiONs. THrOugHOuT iTs HisTOrY,

PiaGet EMPER ADOR COUSSIN ULTR A-THIN MINUTE REPEATER . THe l aTesT embODimeNT OF piage T’s VirTuOsiT Y iN THe FielD OF ulTr a-

THe cOmpaNY Has DemONsTraTeD iTs exTraOrDiNarY iNVeNTiVeNess, NOT leasT iN THe 1,242 waTcH mOVemeNTs iT

THiN mOVemeNTs siNce 1957, THis waTcH se Ts

Has prODuceD. amONg THe mOsT receNT are THe gems THaT

a DOuble recOrD FOr sleNDerNess iN iTs

pOwer THe reVersO graNDe cOmplicaTiON À TripTYque,

caTegOrY: 4.8mm FOr iTs calibre aND 9.4mm FOr iTs case . aN e xcep TiONal mODel , eNTirelY cr aF TeD iN-HOuse .

FOr example, THe masTer cOmpressOr exTreme lab, Or THe DuOmÈTre spHÉrOTOurbillON… all breakTHrOugHs iN THe wOrlD OF cuTTiNg-eDge HOrOlOgical TecHNOlOgY

roGer dUBUiS E XCALIBUR QUATUOR SILICON. e xcalibur quaTuOr is THe Name giVeN TO THe FirsT silicON waTcH wiTH FOur spruNg bal aNces. wOrkiNg T wO bY T wO, THese FOur bal aNces iNsTaNTlY cOmpeNsaTe VariaTiONs iN r aTe causeD bY THe waTcH’s cHaNgiNg pOsiTiON.

ing degrees depending on the exact vertical position. Breguet believed he could counter the effects of gravity by having the watch rotate on an axis in a given lapse of time, so that the crown would move successively through up, right, down and left positions. this was, of course, impractical for daily use, and so Breguet invented a device in which only the escapement, hence the balance and spring, would turn on its own axis, inside the watch. Breguet’s invention, which he patented, is still a revered complication. manufacturing its cage is a complex art, particularly in its miniaturised form to fit inside a wristwatch when it weighs no more than a gram. the efforts deployed in its making, and the price invested by its delighted owner are infinitely justified by the hypnotic sight of this tiny mechanism rotating in synch with the seconds hand. whereas tourbillons were few and far between in pocket watches, they are now legion in wristwatches. From single tourbillons, sometimes deemed insufficient, we now have double tourbillons and multipleaxis tourbillons, their number limited only by the watchmaker’s creativity. of course, all the complications described here can be combined into a single watch. Beyond a certain degree of complexity, such a timepiece takes the noble name of a Grande complication.

aND THe iNFiNiTelY small.

iN THis aNNiVersarY Year, Jaeger-lecOulTre was DuTYbOuND TO paY TribuTe TO THe geNius OF iTs FOuNDer. iN JaNuarY, iT uNVeileD THe TribuTe TO aNTOiNe lecOulTre JubilÉe cOllecTiON wHicH iNcluDes THe masTer graNDe TraDiTiON gYrOTOurbillON 3. aDmirers OF THe braND caN FeasT THeir eYes ON THis exTraOrDiNarY Timepiece, wHicH is equippeD wiTH a mONOpusHer cHrONOgrapH wiTH aN iNsTaNTaNeOus DigiTal DisplaY cOmbiNeD wiTH Jaeger-lecOulTre’s FeTeD gYrOTOurbillON, ONe OF THe mOsT perTiNeNT respONses TO THe iNFlueNce OF graViTY ON waTcH mecHaNisms. speciFicallY, THis is a FlYiNg TOurbillON, HeNce wiTH NO briDge, cOmpOseD OF TwO cages mOuNTeD ON 90° axes, rOTaTiNg aT DiFFereNT speeDs aND weigHiNg less THaN a gram. THe maNuFacTure Has cOmbiNeD iT wiTH a spHerical balaNce spriNg wiTH TwO TermiNal curVes FOr OpTimiseD precisiON TimiNg. THe TeNTH piece iN THe HYbris mecHaNica series THaT briNgs TOgeTHer THe graNDes cOmplicaTiONs DeVelOpeD bY THe Firm, THis masTer graNDe TraDiTiON gYrOTOurbillON 3 sYmbOlises bOTH THe exTraOrDiNarY capaciTY FOr iNNOVaTiON aT Jaeger-lecOulTre aND iTs cOmpleTe cOmmaND OF all aspecTs OF waTcHmakiNg. c.r.

70 watch your time FoCUS

ske TcH aND De Tail OF THe HermÈs paViliON, iNTeNDeD as “a NOmaDic Vessel OF wOOD aND greeN.”

JapaNese arcHiTecT TOYO iTO DesigNeD THe New HermÈs paViliON FOr THe baselwOrlD wOrlD waTcH aND JewellerY sHOw.

TOYO ITO, IN SEARCH OF FLUIDITY bOrN iN 1941, graDuaTiNg FrOm TOkYO uNiVersiTY iN 1965, TOYO iTO eNgiNeers THe OsmOsis beTweeN a builDiNg aND iTs eNVirONmeNT. His TOwer OF wiNDs (YOkOHama, 1986) is THe icONic illusTraTiON OF THis. sTaNDiNg 21 meTres HigH, iT appears perFecTlY wHiTe DuriNg THe DaY; aT NigHT iT is TraNsFOrmeD bY cONsTaNTlY FlucTuaTiNg ligHT aND cOlOur THaT cONVeY VariaTiONs iN air aND sOuND. He is THe arcHiTecT OF FragiliTY iN iTs cONsTaNT baTTle agaiNsT graViTY. eacH OF His prOJecTs sHOws THaT a builDiNg’s sOliDiTY DepeNDs Far mOre ON HOw well-aDapTeD iT is TO iTs cONTexT THaN ON iTs sTrucTural OVerlOaD. THe meDiaTHeque He builT iN seNDai (2000) wiTHsTOOD THe earTHquake THaT rOckeD THe pOrT ciTY iN 2011. iN augusT 2012 He wON THe gOlDeN liON aT THe VeNice arcHiTecTure bieNNale FOr HOme-FOr-all, wHicH DepicTeD His Teams’ wOrk iN builDiNg TempOrarY sHelTers FOr THe peOple wHOse HOmes HaD beeN DeVasTaTeD bY THe TsuNami.

reminiscent of hermès’ own palette, with a tree-bark texture. the whole space has the warmth and intimacy of a home… a large home, truth be told, as the pavilion extends over 1,040 square metres with 25 rooms, 20 offices, four conference rooms and a business centre. the entire structure came packed in 200 crates and was assembled over five weeks. what about the watches, you might ask? they are displayed inside bubble-shaped flowers that open on steel stems, scattered throughout the atrium, or push their way between the slats as though they too had decided to blossom over the building’s wooden curves. the finest watchmakers master time exactly as the foremost architects tame space, with command and beauty. Pierre maillard — Europa Star

in the garden of time Words such as light, weightless and flowing spring to mind. There is talk of nature, swirling pools of water and gardens of light. All of this describes the work of the globally influential Japanese architect Toyo Ito.

he eschews the monumental, going against the modernday trend for the spectacular. instead his work grasps the essential, creating spaces that focus on supple forms, the influence of light and sound, and which are synchronised with nature. he intends his architecture to be discovered, explored, experienced.

this refined architect, who finds inspiration as much in imperial Japan’s tea pavilions as in the most futuristic technologies, was commissioned by hermès to produce its pavilion for the world watch and Jewellery Show that takes place each year in Basel. this should come as no surprise, given the perfect correlation between the Japanese architect’s subtle sensibility and the philosophy of the Parisian firm. more importantly, says Pierre-alexis Dumas, artistic director for hermès, “this new pavilion materialises a shared philosophy which has universal reach. its design exalts the values on which our company is founded, rooted in craftsmanship, working by hand, noble natural materials, mastery of time, precision and innovation.”

“A NOMADIC VESSEL OF WOOD AND GREEN”

this meeting of minds between ito and hermès has produced “a nomadic vessel of wood and green.” this is a light, ethereal, open structure, a soothing, welcoming place to be, intended as a loyal ambassador for the firm. as they approach the pavilion, visitors see it is made from lengths of wood woven together and which seem animated by a surging, wavelike motion; 624 slats of beech - some flat, some bent or curved, no two alike - have been carefully criss-crossed. the result is an opaque surface but with openings onto the atrium and the mezzanine inside. this wooden envelope, like the pleats in a skirt hung out to the winds, is supported by a glass and metal frame. Between skin and skeleton, 167 camellias, eucalyptuses, magnolias and citrus trees form a ribbon of garden that threads its way around the structure. indirect lighting has been concealed among this green to accentuate the building’s sinuous motif. a wide opening on one corner, like the prow of a ship, leads inside. crossing a vast and peaceful atrium takes us to the offices and presentation rooms; mezzanine level is reached by a wood and metal staircase. the fabric treatments are all naturally dyed in yellow, orange and red shades that are

HerMÈS ARCEAU TEMPS SUSPENDU. THis waTcH Has THe pOwer TO suspeND THe cOurse OF Time . ON requesT, THe HaNDs cOme TO resT iN a pOsiTiON THaT is OuT OF Time . ONce THeY are se T back iN mOTiON, THeY iNsTaNTlY caTcH up THis “lOsT” Time .