THE WATCHES MAGAZINE 063 - WINTER 2020

Swiss International Magazine Winter 2020 #063 Guest Agathe Molinar - Spotlight Jaeger-LeCoultre

English Edition L 11801 - 63 - F: 7,00 € - RD

Hublot

40 years of creative euphoria Audemars Piguet - Anonimo - Girard-Perregaux - Hermès - Jaeger-LeCoultre - Longines MB&F - Omega - Oris - Panerai - Patek Philippe - Rebellion - Richard Mille - TAG Heuer - Tissot Tudor - ulysse Nardin - Vacheron Constantin - Van Cleef & Arpels suisse: 10 francs FRANCE MéTRO: 7 EuROs - BEL/LuX/POLAND: 8 EuROs - uK: £8 - A/D/GR//PORT.CONT: 8,40 EuROs - CAN: 11,95 $CAN - usA: 14,99 $us

C ove r wat Ch

Hublot

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Classic Fusion 40th anniversary

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n 1980, a watch shook up the watchmaking scene with its one-of-a-kind design and its use of two radicallydifferent materials. Its first name? It borrowed it from the nautical world and from the French language, a name which would echo its lug-edged bezel’s highly-particular profile and which conjured up the rounded portholes interspersed along sailing vessel cabins: Hublot. Its black dial is free of indexes, studded screws take on this role, to ensure that only the essence of time is showcased, i.e. three fine golden hands to display the hours, minutes and seconds, completed by a date set on a white backdrop at 3 o’clock.

This daring piece would breathe life into a novel art which would plant its roots in the midst of a traditional environment and would shape the destiny of the firm derived from it: the fusion of preciousness embodied by gold and of everydayness portrayed by rubber. All the savoir-faire of Hublot, a young firm now celebrating its 40th anniversary, focuses on this thirst for innovation, for material mixes which, at a first glance, appear ultra-unlikely, and all set off with the ultimate in signature design.

To toast 40 years of success and to pursue this great performance, Hublot proposes an up-to-the-minute interpretation of the piece which initiated the adventure.

In actual fact, we’re talking about a trio of limited editions, 100 pieces for the yellow gold watch and 200 each for the titanium and black ceramic ones. And, although the codes remain pretty much the same, they’ve been revamped: the H screws on the bezel are now flat and there are only six of them, the dual is totally black as is the date aperture.

The hour and minute hands, which are golden or silvered depending on the version, take on a larger baton style and the direct-drive boasts the Nyon manufacture’s logo on its counterpoise, a logo which we can also admire appliquestyle at 12 o’clock.

This anniversary timepiece, equipped with the automatic HUB1112 which delivers a power reserve of 42 hours, wraps round the wrist with a smooth black rubber strap attached by a folding clasp fashioned in the same material as the case.

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

WINTER 2020

© Hublot

By Sharmila Bertin

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CALIBER RM 72-01

RICHARD MILLE BOUTIQUE SWITZERLAND Rue du Rhône 78 1204 Geneva - Tel. +41 22 810 85 73

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE www.richardmille.com WINTER 2020

E DIT OR IAL

So, how are you doing?

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s far back as I can remember, no-one has ever asked me this famous how are you?, how are you doing? question as much as this year. And, to be honest, it’s not a bad thing because with this world of ours which turns far too fast and pretty much in the wrong way, we often forget to ask others if they’re fine, if everything’s ok, and to offer our support, a shoulder, if their answer is an unfavourable one. Oh, in these muchtalked-about “others”, I include family and friends...

Let’s face it: we’re not always talented when it comes to relationships and empathy, especially when it concerns those we love the most.

Basically, in my “pre-covid” life, I would automatically say fine, and you?, without any particular emphasis, without wishing to dwell on this sort of trivial exchange because I was always in a hurry and without wishing to weigh down the atmosphere because I was feeling gloomy. But, in this strange period we’re going through, I have become more attentive, more attuned, ready to exchange. I feel much closer to my friends, more in union with them, as if we had a wonderful caring aura around us, among us.

After all, you know, it’s difficult to admit that you’ve been feeling a bit down in the dumps since the beginning of the year and that, sometimes, a simple conversation, even with a neighbour, can almost turn into group therapy. I’m writing this without being sarcastic in any way. Quite the opposite actually. This sincere, heartfelt communication makes us more ‘human’ and I really believe it’s what we all need.

As for the magazine, well, it’s sort of in the same spirit.

Admittedly there are fewer articles than usual in this winter edition, even though there’s no change in the number of pages, but I can easily explain that (without having to justify anything).

First and foremost, with two major watchmaking shows cancelled this year, with revenue on tenterhooks, waving not drowning, or maybe the other way around, with a (rather) complicated outlook for 2021, brands are remaining cautious and privileging piecemeal approaches spread over twelve months rather than focusing on the customary average pace of two to four major launches.

Secondly, I really wanted to do without counting the hours spent on selecting new pieces, on developing my research, on telling longer stories. To get away from all the frustration of having to fine-tune my texts, a real creative-expression blocker. To breathe easily and not have to live with this sort of bitter aftertaste which lingers whenever you feel you haven’t been able to pursue your ideas to the full or say everything you wanted to say. To be able to let it all just flow on the keyboard, pour forth on the paper.

And, that’s what 2020’s been all about, hasn’t it? Recontemplating our relationship with time. Getting more out of each second that life offers us as we so wish, right?

And, seeing that we’re not allowed to travel anymore, or “it’s complicated” to do so as everyone says on Facebook, then let’s get away from it all by discovering, learning, reading... or have I got it all wrong?

Personally-speaking, I really enjoyed this new pace of life. I had great fun delving, digging, asking a thousand and one questions.

And you, how are you doing?

Sharmila Bertin Editor-in-Chief

© Mickael Gautier

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

WINTER 2020

10.10am on a NYC rooftop.

N 40° 45’ 31’’ W 73° 58’ 43’’.

Starting at EUR 44’000.

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Gu e st The Watches Magazine invites a new guest writer to share their vision of time in each issue.

Attempt to control time or let it tick by?

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hen you create a business, your relationship with time is really special. Ideas abound, adrenalin from the first moments fills you with a sort of impatience and a crazy desire to want things to move forward quickly. Everything seems to be too slow, you’re boosted by incredible energy to move fast whilst the world around you revolves “normally”.

I can recall the wait for feedback from partners which seemed endlessly long. My professional life depended on it, I felt that every day was an eternity…

I actually thought that this fervour I felt back at the beginning of my life as an entrepreneur, when I’d just turned 23, would wane and that I would embrace wisdom and patience over time. I now realize that this is not so and that it’s also a question of personality.

Today, I’m launching a new business and I’m discovering the same feeling of excitement I felt twelve years ago. Nonetheless, I’ve learned to prioritize tasks and to better control the mountains of things to do, to better manage my time.

When you’re an entrepreneur, the list of things to do never gets shorter. Crossing out a task on your to-do list means adding another which stems from the first.

A short while back, I at long last found the premises for setting up “seize mai”, my new project, and, before

I knew it, I had another ten missions to pencil in.

Time management is a real subject, it conditions the effectiveness which is ever-so vital for moving forward.

Alongside this professional life where I feel I never have enough time and I need to set a time limit on all the tasks I carry out to make sure that I’m efficient, I’ve been trying to learn to let go from a personal point of view. What an adventure it is to question such a way of working, of functioning, and to accept to feel time ticking by without counting it. To accept to forget about planning a weekend, to just let things happen, not to control what you’re going to do and to simply live, without counting, without thinking too much.

Lockdown is an incredibly one-of-a-kind period which teaches us patience, the need to stop watching time going by occasionally too slowly because we’re dreaming of regaining our freedom as fast as possible.

It’s a wonderful exercise which, I think, can be extremely beneficial to stop us from running after time and a thousand and one subjects which are sometimes not essential at all. To make us halt for a moment and refocus.

At the end of the day, the best way to live with the passing of time would be to accept not to be preoccupied by it!

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WINTER 2020

© La Bande Lyonnaise

By Agathe Molinar Entrepreneur & Consultant

TIM E , A HE RMÈS OB JECT.

Arceau, L’heure de la lune Time flies to the moon.

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INSIDE

24 Cover Story Hublot

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06 08 10 18

Cover Watch Hublot Editorial Guest Agathe Molinar We Love Celebrations

20 22 24 32

We Love Love Rock Stars The Eye of Jewelry Cover Story Hublot Vacheron Constantin

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35 38 41 44

Patek Philippe Richard Mille Hermès Audemars Piguet

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INSIDE

68 Spotlight Jaeger-LeCoultre

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46 50 52 54

TAG Heuer Omega Tissot Tudor

58 60 64 66

Rebellion Longines MB&F Girard-Perregaux

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68 Spotlight Jaeger-LeCoultre 72 Design Label Noir 74 Mood

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IMPR E SSU M Swiss International Magazine Hiver 2020 #063 Guest Agathe Molinar - Spotlight Jaeger-LeCoultre

Édition francophone L 11801 - 63 - F: 7,00 € - RD

Hublot

40 ans d'euphorie créative Audemars Piguet - Anonimo - Girard-Perregaux - Hermès - Jaeger-LeCoultre - Longines MB&F - Omega - Oris - Panerai - Patek Philippe - Rebellion - Richard Mille - TAG Heuer - Tissot Tudor - ulysse Nardin - Vacheron Constantin - Van Cleef & Arpels suisse: 10 francs FRANCE MéTRO: 7 EuROs - BEL/LuX/POLAND: 8 EuROs - uK: £8 - A/D/GR//PORT.CONT: 8,40 EuROs - CAN: 11,95 $CAN - usA: 14,99 $us

Rédaction/Edition ACE Publishing SA Direction/Management Alain Carrier acarrier@ace-publishing.com Rédactrice en chef/Editor-in-Chief Sharmila Bertin sbertin@ace-publishing.com Designer graphique/Graphic designer Célia Sozet Contributeurs/Contributors Sharmila Bertin Mathilde Binetruy - Dan Diaconu - Mickael Gautier - Agathe Molinar Olivier Müller - Eléonor Picciotto - Ted Scapa - Benjamin Teisseire Publicité/Advertising ACE Publishing SA Alain Carrier acarrier@ace-publishing.com Yannick Ortolan yortolan@ace-publishing.com T +41 22 752 60 12

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Traduction/Translation Atenao Impression/Printing Chirat Distribution Marchés principaux/Major markets Suisse, France, Allemagne, Royaume-Uni, États-Unis Autres pays/Other countries Abu Dhabi, Andorre, Australie, Autriche, Belgique, Brésil, Canada, Dubaï, Grèce, Hong Kong, Koweït, Maroc, Pologne, Portugal, Russie, Singapour, Taïwan, Thaïlande, Turquie, Ukraine Kiosques/Kiosks Suisse: 7Days Media Services GmbH - France: MLP - Export: Export Press Abonnement/Subscription Dynapress Marketing SA Avenue Vibert 38 - CH-1227 Carouge/Genève T +41 22 308 08 08 - abonnements@dynapresse.ch Édité 4 fois par an/Published 4 times a year Mars-March/Juin-June/Septembre-September/Décembre-December En 4 langues/In 4 languages Français-French/Anglais-English/Allemand-German/Chinois simplifié-Chinese ISSN: Français1664-8048/Anglais1664-820X/Allemand1664-8056 ACE Publishing SA Principal actionnaire/Major shareholder Alain Carrier Route de Thonon 152A - CH-1222 Vésenaz/Genève T +41 22 752 60 12 - F +41 22 752 60 14 N° TVA CHE-112.276.791 TVA - REF 618 137 La reproduction des articles parus dans THE WATCHES MAGAZINE est interdite sous toutes ses formes, sauf autorisation écrite de l’éditeur.

Any form of reproduction of articles published in THE WATCHES MAGAZINE is prohibited without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Copyright

TWM-THE WATCHES MAGAZINE® Registered by ACE Publishing SA

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GF3000 titanium 5 mm padded sapphire glass.

Pressure resistance: 3000 m. (301 bars).

Tested depth: 5000 m. (501 bars).

Swiss made.

z rc 1904.c h •

z rc 1904

THE WATCHES BIJOUTERIE JUNOD : Place St-françois, Lausanne 1003 - Suisse - Tél. +41(0)21 312 83 66 MAGAZINE • O.ZBINDEN : Rue du Mont-Blanc 17, Genève 1201 - Suisse - Tél. +41(0)22 732 55 05 UHRSACHEN AG : Kramgasse WINTER 19, Bern 3011 - Suisse - Tél. +41(0)31 318 01 18 2020

We Love C e L e b r at ions

Panerai

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radiomir Venti - 45mm

By Sharmila Bertin

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he must-visit paneristi.com platform, dedicated to lovers of Florentine watchmaking, which boasts a sales area and a discussion forum, now celebrates its 20th anniversary and is at the cutting edge of made in Panerai creativity with the new Radiomir Venti, a limited 1,020-piece edition imagined handin-hand with the well-known Laboratorio di idée in charge of the entire design and technical side.

This watch draws its inspiration from the original Radiomir pieces dating back to almost a century ago, specifically the prototypes showcased in 1936 and the series-produced models from 1938 onwards.

It reproduces a few of the stylistic codes such as the sword-shaped hands, halfway between the Lancine and the two-edged sword, with hours and minutes proposed here dressed in gold and topped with greenglowing vanilla Super-LumiNova®. A shade which the Arabic numerals and slender indexes of the hour chapter also boast and which matches the soft-touch calfskin strap. To highlight the authentic spirit which

the historic watches radiated, the sandwich-style face takes on a warm chocolate which definitely conjures up the dials known as “tropical” whose initial black hue would become faded over time. Incidentally, the 45 mm-diameter cushion-shaped steel case features a matt patina gifting the timepiece with a highlysuccessful, harmonious aged effect.

Time data is driven by the P.6000 calibre, a handwound mechanical movement which beats at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour and delivers a power reserve of three days.

© Panerai

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We Love R oc k StaR S

Ulysse NardiN

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sparkling Blast

By Sharmila Bertin

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alf-Snow Queen twirling among a flurry of precious white flakes, half-Alice in wonderland heading through the mirror and smashing it into extraordinary smithereens, Ulysse Nardin’s new opus unveils the enchantment and exquisiteness which only fine watchmaking can attain. This watch, the latest-to-date from the ever-so recent Blast collection and showcased in the middle of the year, proudly flaunts its soft yet sophisticated design, a savvy balance of assertiveness and romantic spirit. This young rock star flaunts a body, sleeklystreamlined like a stealth jet embodied through a 45 mm-diameter white-gold case, which it drapes with a cloak of diamonds, a patchwork dazzling with a thousand stars. A perspicacious puzzle totalling 211 gems, all hand-cut, hand-sculpted in a variety of geometric shapes, harmoniously interlocking together thanks to the invisible setting technique used, exalting the sharp-edged architecture of this Blast, lugs and crown-protecting bridge included.

This shower of stones adorns the skeletonized dial, garlands the central rectangle, replaces the traditional hour indexes, emphasizes the oversized X-shaped silhouette whose arms embrace the tourbillon at 6 o’clock and whose crossover point anchors the silvered hour and minute hands coated with white luminescent material.

A tender-hearted rock star, for sure, yet a powerful one, as this 13-carat ‘diamond cruncher’ dances to the languorous rhythm (2.5 Hz) of the UN-172 calibre, an automatic motor equipped with a platinum micro-rotor gifting the watch with three-day autonomy.

© Ulysse Nardin

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The e ye of Je we lry

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Time to move on...

By Eléonor Picciotto

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iven the absolute uncertainty about everything, absolutely everywhere, the pace of new product and trade show launches has been completely shaken up. Time has come to take stock of the watchmaking year... a far-from-easy task at hand.

I certainly don’t intend to call the shots on our talented Editor in Chief’s opinion aka witty piece for the final 2020 cru of The Watches Magazine but as I’m writing these lines, we’re a few hours away from the results of the US Presidential election, lockdown “episode 2” has

just been announced in a host of countries, restaurants and non-essential stores have been obliged to close, uncertainty, worry, fatigue provoked by the year we’ve just trundled through has reached its peak. Nobody knows what to do, brands no longer know how they should communicate or how to organize things. As for products and launches, most appear to be waiting in the wings until next year. Basically, we’ve had our fill of it all and the only thing that keeps us in tune with a watch right now is probably the coming end-of-year countdown to actually erase this year from our minds.

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If, however, we had to choose but one watch from 2020, a fortiori a lady’s piece or a jewellery one… the task, as stated above, would be far from easy. We could mention the most vintage-looking one: the Tudor Royal with its two-tone version bezel which isn’t serrated but notched, its champagne-hued dial and its eight brilliant-cut diamond indexes.

Or we could ride the gender-neutral trend by dressing our delightful wrists with the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date in bronze, an iconic model which magically turns into an exclusive piece for less than 2,000 Swiss francs thanks to the patina which the metal takes on over time. This watch, equipped with an automatic movement delivering a 38-hour power reserve nestling in a 40 mm-diameter case and a dial displaying hours, minutes, seconds and date, is worn on an ultra-supple chamois leather strap.

It’s clear to say, and pretty positive too, that we’ve actually started using our watch again for its primary function: to know the time of day. So, if we take stock, after nine months where we haven’t been able to plan, travel or even look to tomorrow, we use our watch above all to check the cake cooking in the oven, just so we can time the little bit of sweet comfort that remains in this harsh old world!

My indulgent delight: the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake! Melt 200 g of dark chocolate with 100 g of salted butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Add 80 g of sugar (prefer unrefined), mix well and then add 3 whole eggs. Stir well for 2 minutes or so with a wooden spoon to make the mixture smooth. Sprinkle a soup spoon of flour over and hey presto! Place your cake in a very hot 180°C oven for 17 minutes. Serve warm, even the next day when, apparently, it’s even more delicious.

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Let’s take a 180° watchmaking turn now with the most hypnotizing model which is part of Harry Winston’s Premier Kaleidoscope 36 mm series, whose dials stand out with their jazzy colours, each set with diamonds and mini-cabochons adorned with citrine, turquoise, ruby, mother-of-pearl and tsavorite, a breath of fresh air and cheerfulness in these somewhat bleak times.

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C ove r st ory

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40 years of creative euphoria

By Sharmila Bertin

W

hen we approach the big 40 we’re often told that “a mid-life crisis isn’t really a crisis, it’s a step closer to wisdom”; it’s time to turn your back on self-construction and look towards selffulfilment. It’s also a time for questions but with far less worry than the last two decades. 40-year olds are serene, grounded, looking for new paths to explore, childhood dreams to make come true and appetites to sate. In the watchmaking world full of 100 and even 200-year-old brands, 40 means youth, energy and ambition. It also means greater versatility and risktaking with extra thrills. Everything’s so much more exciting! Every creation is exhilarating! And lots and

lots of work, fresh creative expression to make a mark on a fairly uniform industry, inventive development to provide something that stands out from the crowd, unique collaborations that turn everyone green with envy. Following their experience and success, Hublot is celebrating its 40 th anniversary in 2020 and, despite it being a complicated year, nothing and nobody has stopped its relentlessly energetic rise.

A watch called Hublot It all began in 1980. The conservative revolution was underway with Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) coming to power in the UK and Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) in

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the USA when Carlo Crocco’s MDM unveiled the Hublot watch. What could have passed for a simple threehand with date on paper was actually a watchmaking revolution fuelled by two fields: design and choice materials.

Aesthetically, you just had to look at the new model to see the inspiration anchoring it to the nautical world and understand why they chose the name “Hublot” (porthole in French) when the watchmaking scene was packed with patronyms or words (real or invented) that were easy to pronounce the world over. Basically, Carlo Crocco’s timepiece came in a round yellow gold case reminiscent of the little round portholes dotted along a yacht’s hull to “breathe” in the sea and spray and let the light in. This sensation is heightened by the ensemble formed by the bezel punched with twelve titanium screws (replacing the markers which would normally appear on the black dial) and the left and right sides adorned by ears – built-in and curved stems – that bring to mind the metallic frame set into the boat.

Aside from the unusual design, the choice of materials certainly plays a part in the timepiece’s appeal: a yellow gold case and black rubber strap. Pairing a rare and precious metal with a natural but commonplace material was the stuff of genius for some and heresy for others who were too deeply rooted in a classic and narrow-minded view. Like any big first, it had its fair share of grumps who didn’t want to get out of their

comfort zone, had enough of an open mind to see how a watch had sparked a revolution but were prepared to step into the classic sector’s gaping hole a few years later and bring out gold watches with rubber straps.

Being a pioneer comes at a cost but Hublot bears no grudge. Other adventures were to come, starting with its transformation from a pupa into a colourful butterfly, from a “simple” watch into a world-renowned brand.

The artisan of fusion The Hublot adventure (the brand) really took off in the third millennium with 2004’s arrival of JeanClaude Biver, a big name in watchmaking, then the 2005 appearance of the statement Big Bang watch, the first experimental material combos in 2007, the LVMH takeover in 2008, the 2009 inauguration of the manufacture in Nyon (between Geneva and Lausanne), the launch of the first self-winding in-house chronograph calibre called Unico in 2010 and, last but not least, Ricardo Guadalupe taking the helm in 2012.

The collections fleshed out too as the pro-active brand’s catalogue now includes the Classic Fusion, a modern take on the original watch, the barrel-shaped Spirit of Big Bang and future-forward MP alongside countless special and limited editions made in collaboration with partners from all horizons including Richard Orlinski, Sang Bleu, Ferrari and Berluti. Things took off at supersonic speed. Hublot sky-rocketed.

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The brand’s firepower isn’t just its hypercreativity that knows no bounds but the art it has created and alone can master: fusion. It started in 1980 with the never-before-seen gold and rubber combo. Its flair for fusion knows no bounds either and is blazing a trail in technical progress ahead of its competitors bundled up in their ageing giant suit. Hublot was way ahead of the game when it made its cases from ceramic, carbon fibre, tantalum, tungsten and titanium before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. Their innovative spirit saw the brand become a metalwork engineer and create King Gold, a bright red gold, then Magic Gold, a highly-resistant gold alloy, turn sapphire glass into a material so noble that it could make a case that Hublot actually dared to colour blue, yellow or red gold and produce green SAXEM (Sapphire Aluminium oXyde and rare Earth Mineral ). Hublot’s speciality? Combining seemingly contradictory or even incompatible elements to form a marriage made in heaven. Dials in stained glass, embroidery, leather: nothing can stop the Hublot lab, fuelled by adrenalin from its discoveries, constant need to surpass itself and its much-envied reactivity.

N°1 on turf and tarmac 2006 saw the brand join forces with the world’s most popular sport: football. Hublot made the first step, hit the pitch and built a bridge between its Nyon manufacture and the freshly mown turf at the biggest

stadiums. Its first partnership was with the Swiss team Nati and it has used its firepower on different pitches over the years to become the biggest watch brand sponsor at the top international tournaments. The watch manufacturer is now the official timekeeper at major men’s and women’s matches for FIFA, UEFA (the official watch too) and the Premier League which it has just signed up for the 2020/2021 season.

Hublot also supports long-standing top clubs: Amsterdam’s Ajax since 2011, Turin’s Juventus and Bayern Munich in 2012, Chelsea FC in 2015, Sport Lisboa e Benfica in 2017 and Boca Juniors, the Argentinian club that Diego Maradona (1960-2020) played for in the 1980s. It has the backing of two ambassadors, the legendary Pelé and the French team’s young prodigy and PSG forward Killian Mbappé along with people like the coaches José Mourinho and Didier Deschamps.

Always on the hubcaps and popping up where you least expect, the watchmaker formed a close bond with the iconic Italian car manufacturer Ferrari in 2011.

The partnership saw both companies collaborate not only on exclusive timepieces but also as the official timekeeper and watch for the racing team’s different activities and competitions. Less than six months later, the fruit of their love was born in 2012: the Big Bang Ferrari available in Magic Gold (unveiled a few months earlier) and titanium. For the occasion, Hublot’s star model was given a makeover in terms

2020

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of its case size, bezel, pushers etc. but the big news was its in-house Unico calibre. The prancing horse’s special editions kept on coming, each more exciting than the last, with a special mention for 2016’s MP05 LaFerrari Sapphire, a watch with a unique shape, materials and movement, and the Big Bang Scuderia Ferrari 90th Anniversary trio celebrating the queen of the race tracks’ 90 th.

Back to its roots Four decades after launching Carlo Crocco’s timepiece, Hublot has gone back to its roots for its big anniversary.

True to the watch that made it what it is and wrote the first chapter in this great saga, the Nyon manufacture has updated its muse with contemporary features in keeping with its current personality and unveiled not one but three limited editions that showcase its expertise.

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2016 This mini-collection puts the spotlight on materials that are part of the brand’s heritage: timeless yellow gold (100 available), lightweight titanium and featherweight scratch-resistant black ceramic (200 of each available).

The chunkier bezel has dropped down to six so-called H flat screws to free up space and give the piece room to breathe whilst the famous ears are in dark composite material.

As tradition dictates, the dial has held onto its deep black lacquer coat. The date is in the same inky hue and its corners have been softened to melt into the design and elevate the surface that so beautifully captures the light. In keeping with the drive for purity, the “Genève” has been removed and the current logo is rounder and lighter. As for the hands, the hours and minutes have held onto their baton shape but gone

2019

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XL and facetted for more energy whilst the central seconds hand’s counterweight has been given the “H” treatment. The features are fuelled by the self-winding HUB1112 calibre with a standard 4hz frequency and 42-hour power reserve.

In a nod to the past, the rubber strap isn’t textured, grooved or embossed like the ones you can see in the current collection; instead it’s smooth like the strap on the 1980 model.

Hublot is a youthful 40-year-old that never stops, is full of surprises and bursting with energy. Its bold vitality will power it for the next 40 years and longer. Happy birthday!

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© Hublot

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Vac he r on c onstant in

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Ultra-desirable

By Mathilde Binetruy

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hic, precious, incredibly glamorous, Vacheron Constantin’s new ladies’ collection takes on two styles. A bit nostalgic with its vintage look, still it checks all the boxes for today’s women with its touch of playfulness. Égérie, the name it goes by, plays with haute couture codes. Here, a pleated pattern conjures up a piece of fabric, there 18-carat gold numerals festooned like fine lacework, and everywhere... diamonds evoking precious embroidery. Sophistication is invoked in every detail. And oh, what a great idea to have launched this piece in 2020, it’s a pure poetic antidote for the prevailing gloom. It embraces a real sense of elegance, i.e. pared-down aesthetics. The logo of the Maltese Cross brand twirls around its silvered-opaline dial. By deciphering the printed ink interlacing, we can read “Vacheron Constantin” as if perceiving a signature on a painting. And what about its off-centred-at-2-o’clock

date display and moon phase? Well, it’s actually an upto-the-minute interpretation of the firm’s stylistic codes.

The eye follows a subtle diagonal linking the signature to the crown which, ever-so casually, poises at 1:30.

Moonstone for the cabochon or rose-cut diamond for the ornamentation? It depends on the models but it’s definitely delicate. One of this collection’s assets is its great diversity. Three models are available: self-winding, moon phase with or without strewn diamonds. Each proposes its own variations in 18-carat 5N rose gold, 18-carat white gold or steel set with diamonds. Égérie is as versatile as they come: an invitation to vary your pleasures. Égérie Self-winding The Égérie Self-winding, the latest in the range, is a gem which captures the spirit of the times with its 35 mm-

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Vac he r on c onstant in

diameter 18-carat 5N rose gold case and its “second skin” strap. Its dial? Crowned with a fine bezel sprinkled with 58 diamonds, it centre stages a work of art inspired by the world of fashion: comprising concentric circles with the centre and edges dressed with pleated patterns. This décor has made many tremble in awe. It was imagined in the Manufacture’s guilloché-engraving workshop using the historic tapestry technique after several months of trials. Basically, the craftsperson adjusts the cogs of a tapestry machine dating back to 1904 with extreme care to reproduce a miniature version of a large-scale pattern on the dial. The tip of a regularly-sharpened chisel breathes life into the draped décor. High fashion is actually a pledge for the piece as three warm, vibrantlycoloured interchangeable leather straps are proposed.

It goes without saying that, with such a piece, nothing has been left to chance. Especially in terms of the motor. Time is paced by the 1088 calibre, a self-winding manufacture movement. Its 40 hours of power reserve offer it perfect autonomy for any independent lifestyle.

On the caseback, a sapphire crystal unveils its bespoke finishes: a handcrafted Côtes de Genève décor and a delicately-openworked 22-carat gold oscillating weight inspired by the shape of the Maltese Cross. As we’ve already said, it’s all a matter of detail.

Égérie Moon Phase The second model offers a ticket to the Moon. The celestial body of the night adorning a 37 mm-diameter case, surprises and reveals itself where we least expect it. In an off-centred circle topped with 36 diamonds, a dreamscape appears with an 18-carat gold moon set against a starry-sky backdrop, behind clouds formed by a cluster of enchanting mother-of-pearl. The piece adorns 18-carat 5N rose gold and 58 diamonds encircle the opaline dial dazzling with a halo of light. Customers have the opportunity to vary looks as they wish on their wrist with three different leather straps. No need to declare the fact or drive it home but interchangeability is, without a doubt, the must-of-the-moment. So, as it turns out, the piece sets off the wrist incredibly-well day and night alike. And, of course, there’s still a selfwinding manufacture calibre at the helm: the moon phase 1088 L movement.

There you go! Vacheron Constantin hits the jackpot with these two pieces acclaimed in unison by all its female customers. Égérie has got what it takes, one-of-a-kind style. It successfully draws from yesteryear’s codes and mixes them with a touch of freshness which reigns supreme. Nothing caricatural, nothing excessive, just absolute accuracy. A new essential, perhaps?

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© Vacheron Constantin

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Pat e k PhiliPPe

35

A profusion of firsts

By Benjamin Teisseire

E

very Patek Philippe newcomer is a bit of an event for anyone who loves fine watchmaking.

The introduction of a Grande Sonnerie in a wrist watch, lauding watchmaking complication quintessence, is, in itself, headline news. But this new piece has a host of other surprises in store.

A digital first Patek Philippe embraces digital to the hilt. Given the

restrictions rolled out because of Covid-19, the esteemed manufacture has initiated its first-ever totally online launch. A countdown to a “major technical launch” is used as a teaser. As the clock strikes ‘go’, a video whisks us off to the new PP6 facility at Plan-les-Ouates, up and running since June 2020, to discover the Research and Development and Fine Watchmaking departments.

The be-all and end-all of the Geneva manufacture. > The presentation is a bit impartial but the watch is so

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spectacular that it captures our attention in a flash. A real step forward in a 21st century that’s definitely digital, even for Patek Philippe.

Grande, petite sonnerie and minute repeater The Grande Sonnerie 6301P is the manufacture’s firstever wrist-watch style. Of course, we can recall the Grand Master Chime, reference 5175 (now known as 6300 in the current collection) with its double face and its twenty complications, created back in 2014 for the Geneva firm’s 175th anniversary. But there has never been a genuine grande sonnerie. Until now that is... and in oh what a wonderful way!

The 6301P, nestling in a platinum case, invites to discover a grande sonnerie which chimes the hours and the quarters with three gongs, a petite sonnerie and a minute repeater, triggered on request via a crownintegrated pusher. The greatest new feature, also patented, is the selector set on the case at 6 o’clock: a hand-engraved trigger indicates “petite” to the left, “silence” to the right. Incredibly-rare simplicity for such a complicated watch.

The mechanism which drives this exceptional watch is derived from the calibre 300 of the Grand Master Chime.

This new calibre, GS 36-750 PS IRM, equipped with three gongs, beats at a frequency of 3.5 Hz and, thanks to its two barrels, delivers a significant power reserve of 72 hours for time measurement and 24 hours for the chiming mechanisms. And, although it boasts 703 components, it

manages to keep its highly-contained 37 mm-diameter, 7.5 mm-thick dimensions. A formidable feat.

Its finishes are more than worthy of the fine watchmaking it embodies: rhodium-plated Côtes de Genève, bridges featuring mirror-polished internal and external angles, gold-plated hand-engravings. The sapphire-crystal caseback invites to admire its quality and to delight at the Calatrava Cross-shaped bridge which supports the fusée, the watch’s bona fide motor, as well as the work of the centrifugal governor which controls chiming speed. It also centre stages the gracious ballet of three hammers hitting the three gongs. But, there’s more to come, face-side.

Third originality The watch wows from first glance through the harmonious layout of its dial. The small-seconds subdial at 6 o’clock plays a key role in this. And, it’s actually right here that this grande sonnerie’s originality reigns supreme. It integrates an additional complication: jumping small seconds. This device has been borrowed from the Chiming Jump Hour, reference 5275, from 2014.

It sits perfectly at 6 o’clock where it elegantly ticks by the seconds with its small white gold hand hovering over a delicate printed railway-style tracker punctuated by luminescent 10-second indexes. This phosphorescence also features on the minute tracker 5-minute indicators as well as on the white gold leaf-shaped hour and minute hands. The intensely-gleaming black Grand Feu enamel dial offers optimal readability. The white gold

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© Patek Philippe

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Breguet-style Roman numeral applique indexes stand out magnificently against the dark backdrop. The two scale-shaped power reserve indicators – Movement at 9 o’clock and Sonnerie at 3 o’clock – add the finishing touches to this watch’s balanced scenescape.

The platinum case only measures 44.8 mm in diameter and 12 mm thick and ever-so-elegantly espouses the cambered sapphire-crystal dome and suave curves of the concave bezel. The contrast with the recessed

satin-brushed-finished flanks and the horns’ polished cabochons is absolutely stunning.

Patek Philippe perpetuates its tradition of chiming watches with an unmitigated masterpiece of melodious watchmaking savoir-faire enhanced with a dash of originality. This new Grande Sonnerie 6301P dazzles just as much with its understated elegance as with its stateof-the-artness. Exquisitely-exclusive fine watchmaking!

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R ic haRd Mille

A decade of exploits

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By Dan Diaconu

A

s Rafael Nadal has just waltzed off with his 13th title at Roland Garros, this victory gives us the opportunity to take a look back over a decade which links Richard Mille to the extraordinary Majorcan champion.

2010. A thunderbolt on a Parisian clay court. Rafael Nadal plays and wins his matches with a one-ofa-kind watch on his wrist, the RM 027 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal. Its tourbillon movement only weighs some 3.83 grams. And, the whole object, along with its polyurethane strap, is no more than 20 grams. To accomplish such a feat, we need to journey back in time to the very inception of the project. “Rafael Nadal has always been a fan of our collections when out and about in the city, but he refused to wear them when playing a tennis match”, states Richard Mille, founder of the firm during an interview back in 2015. The two men first met in 2008. Two years later, the Majorcan player was training with a timepiece on his wrist. Half a dozen prototypes suffered blows from the racket and ended up broken. After two years of development, Renaud & Papi, the firm responsible for the tourbillon

movement, successfully proposed a calibre capable of resisting shocks exceeding 5,000 G. The lifesaver was in the materials used, in this case a mix of titanium and LITAL®. This lithium alloy containing aluminium, copper, magnesium and zirconium, was used in parts on long-haul aircraft assembled by Airbus. The technique would go on to make its début in the world of performance. And, from that moment on, the tennis player’s name and the tourbillon would be associated and would triumph.

Models would come and go, as would the champion’s topspin forehands. Forever more powerful, just like the RM 27-01 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal unveiled in 2013.

The baseplate of the movement weighing around 3.5 grams is linked to the incredibly-sturdy polymer case injected with carbon nanotubes by four 0.35 mmdiameter braided steel cables using an idler-pulley system. Its 18.83 grams which includes its Velcro strap made this tourbillon model the lightest in the world.

Two years later, the RM 27-02 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal reigned supreme on the Philippe-Chatrier Court. The movement of around 3.35 grams is protected by a

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39 2017 revolutionary Carbon TPT® and Quartz TPT® case.

A sculptural ‘unibody’ baseplate supports the grade 5 titanium bridges which stand out with their threedimensional construction and their finishes as well as with the complexity of their titanium and carbon composition. These bridges support a formidable mechanical heart, capable of running perfectly for over 70 hours without any detriment to its regularity thanks to a fast-rotating barrel which delivers constant power from the beginning to the end of the watch’s autonomy.

Once again, the watchmakers from Les Breuleux workshops put their skills to the test. The design of the mechanical components enhances the watch’s overall stylistics.

Next came the RM 27-03 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, as ingenious as ever, which would illuminate the 2017 edition of the French Open. Its Quartz TPT®-crafted case, flying high the colours of the Spanish flag, is the setting for unbelievable calibre scenography where the architecture conjures up a bull’s head. Skeletonized titanium bridges, styled like the animal horns support the barrel and the tourbillon. All the pieces of this

2015 exceptional movement are structured around an openworked Carbon TPT® baseplate. As for the torquelimiting winding crown, it offers an ultimate nod to the sport by taking on the shape of a tennis ball. The model withstands shocks up to 10,000 G! Everything it takes to resist the assault of future opponents and lots of in-play acceleration and deceleration without ever faltering.

In 2020, the RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal, boasting a host of innovations, concludes a decade of fruitful collaboration. Once again, the mighty machine made its mark on the courts at Porte d’Auteuil. Its satin-brushed, microblasted case is fashioned in a one-of-a-kind polymer produced by injecting carbon fibre, the incredibly-light, ever-so resistant TitaCarb®.

The watch, along with its strap weighs but 30 grams.

Another unique feature of this model is the suspension of its tourbillon-equipped calibre. It is made of a single 0.27 mm-diameter cable. The way it’s attached is inspired by tennis racket stringing. It enters the flange edges 38 times and creates a string-mesh design dial> side. Perfectly esthetic, yet its presence plays a vital

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role in the timepiece’s resistance. It can cope with lightning-quick accelerations: more than 12,000 G! The hand-wound movement is linked to the mesh by five polished grade 5 titanium hooks, which originate at the back of the baseplate. Vibration dampeners, placed

along the tourbillon chatons, the barrel and the hands, are used to help centre the calibre during insertion and absorb any vibrations along the mesh which could disrupt timekeeping. Once again, the Richard MilleRafael Nadal duo conclusively wraps up the match.

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Š Richard Mille

2020

He r mè s

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The art of fashioning time

By Sharmila Bertin

I

mmaculate. Intense. Unrestrained. Almost surreal.

Like the sumptuous, luminous cloak of fresh snow which embraces the peaks of mountains forever, a piece of limpid, soft silk against the skin, a sheet of paper delicately detached from a notebook, a dazzling porcelain disc, waiting only for one thing: a Human hand, the creative caress of an artist who will roam across these as-yet-undiscovered virgin lands, free these realms from slumbering expression. The power of transforming the colour white into a living matter, of achieving a masterpiece which engages lyrical immersion. The heart imagines, the head prescribes, the fingers portray, fashion exquisiteness, infuse it with

uniqueness. Hermès, distinguished artisan boasting a delightful dash of mischievousness, is endowed with the fabulous talent, the gift of know-how, creation, enchantment as well as the pure modesty of a person who excels in a host of fields, like an ever-so discreet first-in-class, and kindles admiration.

Drawing on its trade as a saddler and harness-maker, the Parisian workshop founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès (1801-1878), then established at 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a stone’s throw from the Elysée Palace and Place de la Concorde, by his son Charles-Emile > Hermès (1831-1916) in 1880, developed leatherwork,

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He r mè s

42 crafting this noble, living material to imagine items for the world of equitation, for both horse and its cavalier.

When Emile Hermès (1871-1951) took over the reins of the business, this expertise expanded into luggage manufacturing and subsequently a variety of spheres yet forever with the same undying passion. The highlycultured, extremely inquisitive, art enthusiast and visionary grandson of the founder wished to develop Hermès scope of action in the 1920s and introduce new trades such as men’s ready-to-wear, jewellery, watches and footwear. On the luggage side, he launched the wonderfully-practical, modern zip closure known as Éclair, whose end-attach reiterated the famous H initial, a strong visual signature for the company, and which continues to adorn leather goods today such as the Bolide bag and the Béarn wallet.

1937 would be a year which would shape the outlines for the future success of a simple silk square. Through an incentive led by Robert Dumas (1898-1978), one of Emile Hermès’ sons-in-law who had four daughters, a novel art was added for the establishment’s centenary.

This fine fabric, measuring 90 x 90 cm, featured a replica of a parlour game in vogue at the time which paid tribute to the then-flourishing public transport.

The “Jeu des omnibus et dames blanches” (literally omnibus and white ladies game) was, as such, created

using xylography, a process which could multiply the reproduction of an image using the relief printing technique on wood for printing the patterns. In 1943, Hermès called on the talent of designer Hugo Grygkar (1907-1959) who illustrated around a hundred silk squares until his death, which include one of the firstever “Harnais français” (1957) creations and his final one, “Floralies” (1959). For each creation, carefully kept and archived in the “carréothèque, the silk scarf library, two years of work was required from first draft through to production. Some have been given a second lease of life and have been reissued, enhanced with a few changes, in particular as regards colours, and go under the name of “remix”.

With the arrival of the iconic square scarf on the scene to celebrate Hermès one hundredth anniversary, the desire to diversify the trades initiated at the dawning of the 20th century grew, branched out. Silk, which had become indispensible, would express itself in ties as of 1949, this elegant, graphic, logoed accessory, whilst fragrances made their début two years before. The firm expanded and changed everything it touched, with its one-of-a-kind feel, its incomparable personality. JeanLouis Dumas (1938-2010) took over from his father at the end of the 1970s. This real initiator of change would lead the 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

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© Hermès

galaxy to blossom, to spread across the world and to excel. In 1978, a new milestone was reached with the inauguration of La Montre Hermès and the launch of Arceau, a timepiece created by Henri d’Origny. With its rounded case flaunting asymmetric lugs inspired by the silhouette of stirrups and its numerals which appeared to be blown by a wind of speed, the Parisian firm entered the watchmaking world and, 42 years on, now holds a privileged place in the sector thanks to the craftsmanship and beauty of its creations. In 1984, it was the turn of Limoges porcelain to join the ranks of the famous store where Hermès unveiled its first dinner service called “Pivoines”. With extreme delicacy, the rose blossom spreads out its lavish corolla over a celadon-green backdrop. This choice of soft hues would mark the genesis of table arts and décor, some thirty years after highly-acclaimed coin trays and ashtrays.

In the Parisian firm, the various trades epitomize the fingers of a hand, opened out, stretched wide: they connect, complement, respect each other and occasionally entwine. Art mingles with heritage, this incredibly-rich source of inspiration, past periods reign supreme in a single piece of contemporary work, knowhow journeys, tailors, permutes. Time has no control over what has been created, limits between realms do not exist. And Hermès watchmaking is, first and foremost, a playground, far from routes well-travelled, explored

and harnessed by others, and has its own philosophy of hours ticking by, minutes twirling. Far from urban chaos, far from world confusion, the watch appears to be a breath of fresh air to wear on the wrist, an object which has become more a feast for the eyes than a simple time-giver, as illustrated through the limited remix Arceau Harnais edition inspired by Hugo Grygkar’s silk square. Each of the 24 pieces in the series exemplifies the perfect harmony between three periods – 1957, 1978 and 1984 – and three worlds – the “carré”, or square, watchmaking and table arts – and is gifted with truly rare elegance. The Limoges porcelain face was crafted in Olivier Faucher’s Geneva workshops from a medallion made of matt, porous raw bisque. It is first polished then engraved to centre stage a pair of horses’ heads, then is conveyed to the expert hands of a craftsperson specialized in miniature painting who delicately applies layers of coloured acrylic before being fired to intensify and fix the pigments. Once dry, it is coupled to the dial and positioned in a 38 mm-diameter stone-set white gold case. There is but one word which can conjure up the hues, the nuances of rose pink blended harmoniously with the green, blue and golden trio, which adorn the two plafreys’ harnesses: spectacular. To the extent that even the rhodium-plated leaf-style hour and minute hands, driven by the automatic manufacture H1912 calibre (50 hours’ power reserve) and the raspberry alligator strap seem ever-so discreet.

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A u de mAr s Pigu e t

A living museum

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By Olivier Müller

I

t’s one of the buildings in the Joux Valley that everyone was waiting for with baited breath. Probably because it’s shrouded with quite a few secrets, or maybe because its official opening keeps getting put off.

Yet, it’s there, nestling in the lush greenery, intriguing, swirling, sparkling: the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet.

outside – even though its immense bay windows make it unmistakably open. And, the way it embraces its green surroundings is a perfect achievement.

A rather unusual spiralling-style, a snail coiling behind the manufacture. The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is unlike any other. Semi-underground, it makes you think of the extension added to the Greubel Forsey Manufacture, in La Chaux-de-Fonds. But, the comparison stops here. This AP building doesn’t produce anything, apart from knowledge. Knowledge that’s been patiently built: seven years, between the architecture competition which launched the project and its opening.

Arborescent history When we explore a museum, we expect above all to discover its heritage. Here, visitors won’t be disappointed: their gaze instantly falls upon the “montre de maîtrise”, a complicated pocket watch created by Joseph Piguet in 1769 and currently owned by Olivier Audemars, his great-great-great grandson. An immense metallic structure completes the walk-in, centre-staging the major dynasties of the Joux Valley which played a key role in the development of watchmaking. A highly up-tothe-minute, life-size family tree features the history on each of its branches: the idea enthrals.

Viewed from the outside, we just love this symbolic idea where this new museum is physically linked to the original Audemars Piguet building, erected in 1868.

The bond with history is clear, tangible. On the other hand, the spiralling-style could suggest a concept which turns its focus inwards instead of unfurling to the world

A journey of insight Another architectural concept which earns visitors’ admiration: the museum’s swirling spiral is free from rooms. Instead, we are invited on a journey through spaces, free from partitions, a journey celebrating history and its natural progression. Visitors are spontaneously

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© Audemars Piguet

inclined to let themselves be guided by the gentle slope which takes them to the following workshop. As such, we literally glide through “escapement” exhibitions and on to “complications” ones, frequently explained by models and demonstrators. A shrewd reminder for the general public as well as for informed aficionados, given that some of these complications have become so common, to the point that we occasionally forget... the complexity within!

When the present embraces the past – and vice versa Now comes the most surprising part of the Museum: its Workshops. Forget about futile workbenches for tourists questing authenticity, here we’re actually roaming around operational workshops, with real watchmakers imagining decorations, engravings, stone-settings and even Grandes Complications. Work performed on-site, a world-first in a museum scenescape, which concludes with a gigantic exhibition of the indispensable Royal Oak, reigning in a myriad of variations in monumental display cases. A one-of-a-kind place for passionate watchmakers and, cross fingers, a space for everyone else to visit tomorrow.

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TAG He u e r

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160 years: little tales behind the big history

By Olivier Müller

“

We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but if we continue to move forward, we’ll be among those who shape it”. These words were uttered by JeanChristophe Babin, TAG Heuer’s former CEO just ten years ago. Jean-Christophe had definitely not predicted that a pandemic was going to shake up the globe. This year, 2020, TAG Heuer should have celebrated its 160th anniversary.

Yet, given the climate, it will be a mezzo voce anniversary.

Without the public, without the show, without an event.

Be this as it may, a reminder of history is called for. This year, 2020, one image follows another. Google controls over 90% of our searches. Even for the emperor of speed, aka TAG Heuer, it’s time to slow down. To cast an eye back over time so as not to forget the critical milestones which the brand has rolled out. And even if it would take some 200 pages to detail them all, there’s nothing to stop us from conjuring up a few (too) often forgotten.

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Out with the key, in with the pinion One of Édouard Heuer’s (1840-1892) key contributions was to have invented a winding system for his watches... without a key! The entrepreneur designed a device which would wind via the crown. The year was 1869 and 150 years on, his invention has become the norm we all know so well.

A few years later, he filed another patent which, once again, exists to this day: the oscillating pinion. This device, comprising a mobile stem and two pinions, replaced the two large wheels which were traditionally found in chronographs. Thanks to this invention, the chronograph worked more efficiently as it was linked directly to the watch part of the movement. It also became a norm.

A few years later, Heuer reached a new milestone with its 1/100th of a second measurement. If truth be told, Louis Moinet (1768-1853) had actually already ‘been there, done that’ a century before, in 1816, but on a single piece for scientific purposes. Heuer made it accessible to as many people as possible. There wasn’t just one piece capable of measuring to 1/100th, but two: Mikrograph and Microsplit. For the record, they were complemented by two other creations accurate to the half measure of their elder siblings (i.e. 1/50th of a second), logically baptised... Semikrograph and Semicrosplit.

Ride the waves!

Although TAG Heuer is equated with motor racing, it actually proposed much, much more. As such, the brand stood out in 1920... by timing regattas on Lake Geneva! And, even though many are unaware, Heuer issued highly-innovative, and occasionally rather unusual, models for the sea world over the thirty years that ensued. As such, the Solunar, a timepiece which indicated when fish would feed, and the Seafarer, with tide indicator, as well as the Mareograph from 1954 saw the light of day.

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Welcome on board As of 1911, Édouard Heuer’s children sensed the importance that motor sports were going to have. They filed the patent for the first-ever on-board chronograph running over 12 hours. Though pretty insignificantlooking, this invention would however turn out to be the magic key for races which would become musts: endurance, e.g. Le Mans.

Modern times The 1950-2020 period is much better documented.

Nonetheless, some events have occasionally been forgotten. For example, in 1962, the astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016) wore a Heuer on-board his Friendship 7 capsule, the first-ever inhabited mission to > orbit the Earth, making Heuer... the first watch in space.

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In contrast, no-one will ever forget the Carrera revealed the following year, in 1963, followed by the Monaco in 1969 – even if we sometimes omit to say that its legendary Calibre 11 had quite a few teething problems, was quickly replaced and that the watch, incidentally, wasn’t welcomed with open arms: too different, too blue, too square. Too ahead of its time? Another twist of time: the release of a Heuer Daytona in 1976. The famous patronym was already appended to Rolex yet

not individually patented. The watch was included in the catalogue until 1979.

The must-not-do example The Don’t crack under pressure campaign illustrates this perfectly. Contrary to widespread belief, it’s not at all recent: TAG Heuer created it back in 1991. The brand just pulled it out of the drawers again a few years ago. With it, TAG Heuer refuted every single lesson in

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© TAG Heuer

marketing which insists that, in advertising, you must never use the imperative or the negative (“don’t”), anxiety-provoking verbs (“crack”) or talk about stressful environments (“under pressure”). Yet, it turned out to be one of watchmaking’s most effective campaigns!

What about tomorrow?

Today, TAG Heuer remains at the cutting edge. Its Monaco V4, Microgyrder, Mikrotimer Flying 1000,

MikrotourbillonS, Mikropendulum, have marked new milestones. Notwithstanding, the departure of the éminence grise behind virtually all these creations, the engineer Guy Sémon, casts a shadow of doubt over tomorrow’s watchmaking directions. Less mechanical, more connected? TAG Heuer will, however, remain a firm whose 160-year history will always be an unparalleled source of inspiration.

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OME GA

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One Trésor can hide another

By Sharmila Bertin

T

he Bienne-based watchmaker’s jewellery-watch becomes precious silk as it embraces the skin, enhancing the wrist with its enchanting sheen and incomparable elegance thanks to three new goldenadorned references.

A treasure can evoke the end of a quest undertaken during a lifetime, a wonderful find, something which we keep preciously close at hand or deep within us, or maybe just simply the term of endearment we use for our loved one. Treasure rhymes with love, with affection, with euphoric emotions, a word suffused with a sparkling aura.

In collective imagination, it’s abundant, golden, unique,

locked away in a chest or deep in the heart of a secret grotto, and nothing or no-one can ever alter its brilliance.

In Omega’s case, the treasure is worn on the wrist, of course. And, there’s no lack of brilliance, as illustrated by these three new pieces which embellish the Trésor collection, part of the De Ville family of watches, the most classical in the Bienne-based watchmaker’s catalogue and now boasting some 24 references. These three models, real jewellery-watches, correspond to three levels of intensity, if we can describe them as so, as they reveal three different degrees of preciousness: ever-so pared-down, followed by “couture” style and on to ultimate jewellery.

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© Omega

The Trésor is gifted with gentle yet perfectly-assertive personality and features charming curves. Its 36 mmdiameter case, waterproof to depths of 30 metres, is fashioned this time round in MoonshineTM gold, an exclusive alloy which endows it with a paler, more subdued aspect than traditional yellow gold, less glitzy of course, but above all much more resistant to fading caused by the sun’s rays. On the crown curved like a corolla, a vermilion-red flower created using HyCeram, a resistant material blending ceramic and polymer (around 60% and 40% respectively), hosts a diamond in its centre. A second more impressive flower blossoms on the mirrored circle decorating the model’s caseback.

Yet, the Trésor watch’s key attraction, the one which gives it its unique identity, is embodied through a duo of diamond-set waves which enlace the dial like two hands caressing the face of the person we love. These ripples comprise 38 brilliant-cut stones of various sizes to perfectly enfold the case’s contours, set along the bezel, tapering out in the opposite direction to each other so as to spread over two of the four lugs.

The Arabic numerals, either transferred or embossed

depending on the model chosen, hovered over by two Lancine-shaped hour and minute hands, appear to extend endlessly like a miniaturized sun, all dressed in gold as a nod to the case. Three face styles are proposed, from the most discreet to the most dazzling. The classical first one is lacquered with white like a piece of porcelain, highlighting its cambered flanks. The second infuses the watch with a vintage look with its MoonshineTM gold dial fashioned like a delicate fabric. The silk pattern which it centre stages is decorated with double-straight-line interlacing which criss-crosses to create chevrons. As for the third face, it is entirely covered with diamonds, strewn using the snow-set technique and the hour chapter appears to float above this brilliant tapestry twinkling like a thousand stars.

To emphasize the jewellery aspect of the Trésor even more, Omega chose to complement it with a bracelet, and folding clasp, totally crafted in MoonshineTM gold.

Its surface is textured like slightly-ruffled, soft-to-thetouch silky fabric. And, for those who so wish, it is also possible to opt for a white rubber strap, a satinfinish navy blue or taupe fabric one, or a varnished or iridescent alligator one available in several colours.

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T ISSOT

Smart time

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By Sharmila Bertin

T

he new T-Touch may be a major innovation for its fans but they’re not the only ones who are going to love it: “We’ve taken a step back since releasing the T-Touch Connect Solar and realised that our clients sometimes already own a luxury watch and want a second watch, are fans of the collection who want to replace their old one or are people who want a smartwatch without the inconvenience of having to charge it up too often or have too many functions, just key notifications and functions,” says Sylvain Dolla who was made head of Tissot on July 1st.

After four years in development, the latest design from the Le Locle firm has everything it needs to win over the masses: it’s a versatile timekeeping-meets-technology hybrid, looks nothing like regular watches but can’t be classed as a smartwatch either. The T-Touch Connect Solar, a worthy heir to the T-Touch that revolutionised the sector in 1999 with the appearance of tactile technology, is “a luxury watch with the addition of connectivity,” as Sylvain Dolla puts it, before continuing “it has all the hallmarks and finishes you’d expect, such as the central hands and polished satin-finish surfaces on the case, which we’ve finished with connectivity, solar and tactile; the three cornerstones of the collection.”

The materials adorning this chunky 47mm watch (waterresistant to depths of 100m) enhance its technical features and comfort as they’re both strong and lightweight: the body is forged out of titanium – satin finish, black PVD coating or red gold plated depending on which you choose – and the fixed bezel is in black ceramic engraved with luminescent cardinal dots. The featherweight feeling on your wrist (the watch weighs just 92 grams) continues in the rubber or titanium strap.

It’s pretty easy and intuitive to get to grips with how it works. The first step is pairing your watch with your phone using the T-Connect app available to download for iOS and Android. In terms of technology, everything’s designed in Switzerland, “we decided to develop our own low energy-consuming operating system (OS) as our main priority was to achieve low consumption and revolutionary new solar cells that would look good enough that we didn’t have to hide them but actually set the scene for the dial. We also wanted to focus on exciting, essential and low energy-consuming functions so you never have to charge it up or just have to twice a year if you use it intensively,” explains Sylvain Dolla.

The battery life is very welcome in a world where you always need your charger on you. An activity tracker

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and display for incoming calls and notifications join the T-Touch Expert Solar’s regular functions.

The T-Touch Connect Solar’s dial looks like a traditional watch with the analogical time display and a MIP (Memory In Pixel) screen at the bottom displaying selected options that appear when you press the chronographstyle pushers (start to unlock the touchscreen menus along the chapter ring and back to go back). You turn and press the electronic crown to browse and confirm commands. When you get a notification, the hands go horizontal (9.15) to free up the dial and make it easier to read.

Unlike smartwatches whose planned obsolescence for technology is fast, this future-forward toolwatch can continue working when it’s not connected and provides a perpetual calendar, altimeter and time zones just like a T-Touch Expert Solar. It will always be a watch first and foremost. “Tissot is the leader in terms of volumes and the only all-rounder in Switzerland that can make

the distinction between watches for men, watches for women, very classic pocket watches and ultra-modern watches like the T-Touch but remain consistent. And that’s what makes the brand stand out,” concludes Sylvain Dolla.

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T u dor

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From tool watches to objects-of-desire

By Sharmila Bertin

T

he latest-to-date in the Geneva brand’s collections descends from a long, almost-70-year-old, line of watches designed for action and the high seas from which it draws its stylistic inspiration, its famous blue hue and its quest for performance.

Is there any colour more soothing, more therapeutic than blue? A colour which immediately conjures up the pure bliss of a summertime sky, the beauty of a sea glistening under the sun’s glints, the tranquillity of the water of a mountain lake? No, of course there isn’t, only blue can bring peace to our minds troubled by everyday affairs, only blue can appease our undying desire for escape.

And, just like any tint, the nuances are as endless as the cloak which covers the ocean, at-times-turquoise when it caresses the soft sand on a beach, at-times indigo when it hides in the abyssal depths. Blue is a language, a poem, an art-de-vivre, and in its rich chromatic palette, there is one hue which embraces almost 70 years of watchmaking history: Tudor blue. It’s not vibrant like the blue which adorns the face of the Pelagos watch, it’s not dark blue like on a host of contemporary watches, instead it boasts a dash of grey, a savvy dosage which makes it unique. And so close to the oceanic scenescape.

In the second half of the 20th century, when businesses

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in the sector were contending in the waterproofness race, a feature which Rolex initiated back in 1922 with its Submarine model and confirmed in 1926 with the well-known Oyster case, Tudor unveiled its first watch which could handle immersions down to depths of 100 metres in 1954. Reference 7922, called Oyster Prince Submariner, measured 37 mm in diameter, boasted a screwed caseback and crown, large-sized phosphorescent indexes, a black-lacquered dial protected by Plexiglas, a graduated bidirectional rotating bezel, driven by a movement which, it goes without saying, was automatic, the calibre 390, in line with Hans Wilsdorf’s (1881-1960) wish for Rolex watches a few years before Tudor was registered as a brand, on his request, in 1926 and the creation of his foundation in 1946.

This Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner marked the birth of a long line of sports watches, tool watches,

designed for action and the high seas. In 1958, reference 7924 changed the game or rather pushed back the boundaries of waterproofness by flaunting resistance down to depths of 200 m. The watch, which aficionados and collectors nicknamed the “Big Crown” because of its 8 mm-diameter screwed crown, featured a case thicker than that of its elder 1954 sibling yet whose adornments it kept (rotating bezel, black dial under sturdier Plexiglas, ultra-readable displays and automatic motor). In 1959, it became a couldn’t-dowithout tool for the French National Navy (MNF) and adorned the wrists of a host of seafaring soldiers.

However, it was only in 1964 when reference 7928 arrived on the scene and was adopted by the US Navy that “physical” changes became more visible. Basically, the Oyster Prince Submariner model acclaimed by the US Navy (USN), abandoned its 37 mm-diameter for a 39 one and moved the crown-protecting bridge along > the right flank to suit the Navy perfectly.

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The 1969 and 1974 editions of Tudor’s dive watch would be the creations which came closest to the personality embodied by the watch today, through reference 9401, officially adopted by the MNF. First major revolution: black disappeared, replaced by blue which clearly evoked the hue of the oceans, the Oyster Prince Submariner’s favourite playground, at the end of the 1960s. A shade bubbling over with charm which adorned the dial, the bezel and then the rest of the collection and, as such, became the Geneva-based brand’s must-have visual signature. Second major revolution: the hands, which previously took on a somewhat skeleton style, now went for a sharper shape known as “snowflake” as of 1974. The hour hand was tipped with a luminescent lozenge, a figure which also highlighted the seconds, whilst the minutes kept their baton-like silhouette. This one-of-a-kind graphic design meant there was no confusion between displays, in

particular underwater when darkness reigned supreme and when time data was vital.

The descendants of these historical models are grouped together in the Black Bay family, timepieces which are intensely infused with Tudor’s heritage and in which we discover the new Fifty-Eight “Navy Blue”.

This piece has inherited the essence of the original watches, rare exquisiteness in a watchmaking world where firms frequently turn their backs on their own origins. And, no, it’s definitely not vintage as it’s equipped with state-of-the-art technology and its role extends far beyond just playing on re-editions even if its name is directly related to the year reference 7924 was launched. It is the ambassador of a style derived from almost 70 years of waterproofness, reliability and soundness expertise, yet it brandishes its own identity.

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Its case, still waterproof to depths of 200 m, is crafted in 316L steel – steel with a low carbon content which means it resists corrosion, in particular corrosion caused by salt water, better than typical ferrous alloys – and retains the same dimensions as the ones tried and tested by reference 7928 in 1964, i.e. a “democratic” 39 mm diameter which suits any type of wrist. It is set off with a screwed crown illustrated with a rose, Tudor’s emblem, and topped with a unidirectional rotating bezel, whose notching is softened compared to those of the 1950s’ versions. This bezel supports a matt blue anodized aluminium ring featuring a silvered diving scale graduated from 0 to 60. The same chromatic code is used for the delicately-curvaceous dial sitting under its dome made from sapphire-crystal – a material that’s more scratchproof than Plexiglas – which hosts geometric applique indexes coated with white luminescent material and the can’t-do-without “snowflake” hands.

When it comes to motorization, Tudor, which has been producing its own movements since 2015, has equipped its Fifty-Eight with its MT5402 calibre which self winds via a tungsten rotor. This COSC-chronometer-certified mechanical heart, integrating a silicon balance spring and beating at a standard frequency of 4 Hz, delivers a substantial power reserve of 70 hours, a real advantage when most watches laboriously total but 42 hours.

A last important point, especially for the wrist: the strap.

Three options are on offer, from the traditional softtouch steel bracelet, which is actually as soft as wool; to a blue textile strap with central grey stripe, offering absolute comfort, fashioned traditionally in the SaintÉtienne workshops belonging to Julien Faure, Tudor’s partner since 2010. Tested, approved, adopted for wear!

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R e b e llion

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Racing spirit

By Dan Diaconu

R

ebellion, official timekeeper for the first time for the Total 24 Hours of Spa, celebrates the famous endurance race with two limited series flying high the colours of the GT World Challenge Powered by AWS. Hands become one with the steering wheel. The gaze embraces the curves then looks to the horizon of the next straight line. The rev counter hand goes crazy and flirts with the red zone. With every acceleration, adrenalin ignites. “Racing is life! Anything that happens before or after is just waiting” exclaims the character Steve McQueen (1930-1980) plays in the legendary film Le Mans released in 1971. For the competitors of the latest Total 24 Hours of Spa, which took place last October, just like in any endurance event, managing time is an overriding issue. To help them, official timekeepers roll out the can’t-do-without time markers.

For the first time in this race on this legendary Belgian track, Rebellion joined the ranks and accompanied the champions with watches flying high the colours of the GT World Challenge Powered by AWS. Over the last few years, the Swiss watchmaker has been constantly playing an active role as official timekeeper for a host of championships. Its distinctive logo has become a familiar feature on cars, in paddocks and on famous racing tracks.

For this latest event, the rebellious watchmakers have passed on their passion for motor racing with two limited series boasting a mix of colours which symbolizes this exceptional spirit of resilience specific to champions.

Red conjures up passion, black evokes standards of excellence and refinement. The adornments of the Twenty-One GMT GT are all exalted as such. This model, crafted like a dual-shafted steering wheel, centre stages a small disc which brings to mind a car horn. On top, we can read the inscription “GT World

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Challenge”. To boost this graphical likeness even more, the scenography on the slightly-openworked dial focuses on perfectly-rounded components and an omnipresent balance-wheel. The hours are not displayed by a hand but by a rotating disc set at 12 o’clock. As for the minutes, they are ticked over by a hand coated with luminescent material which ensures optimal readability. This watch is wonderfully-stylish and perfectly-practical as it flaunts a second time zone.

A small 24-hour disc nestling at 8 o’clock displays the original time. To complete this time data, a small seconds counter lets the wearer check the movement is running correctly.

The Wraith Drive Chronograph takes on the same colours. On its dial, the layout of the various time

indications is also inspired by the automotive world, in particular the small seconds counter at 9 o’clock which looks like a wheel rim. In the centre, two luminescent openworked hands hover over the hours and minutes.

The date skips past in an aperture set at 3 o’clock. Time data is ever-so easy to measure and read. The bright red-varnished centrally-placed direct-drive marks the seconds. The chronograph minutes and hours are totalized in two counters displayed respectively at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock.

These two series equipped with practical complications combine exemplary finishes with high-performing Swiss Made engineering. A truism for Rebellion which is now a member of the Swiss Fondation de Haute Horlogerie.

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Longine s

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The past forever present

By Sharmila Bertin

I

n watchmaking, as in other fields, we occasionally need to take a journey back through History to understand the present, to look for past “causes” to analyse current-day “consequences”. Whether it’s a small step or a giant leap, travelling back through time is always a pleasant experience, an enriching expedition: we rummage around, dig up, discover. A multiple-stage, sequenced exploration which definitely helps us grow. And, occasionally, comforts us.

At the start of our odyssey, our paths cross bronze, this “living”, honey-hued metal with its shimmering

glints created from an alloy comprising a high content of copper (somewhere between 55% and 95%).

It emerged on the scene during a period spanning two millennia, a key period for humanity, for its development, which began around 2,700 BCE and which led to the birth of metal-working, the first ferrous alliances. Its use is multifarious: tools, instruments, in particular in music, weapons and armour. Its tin content plays on its hardness: the more tin there is, the sturdier the bronze. And it became quickly renowned for its qualities: wear- and corrosion-resistant, for the “technical” side, and its verdigris patina obtained through copper oxidation for its “style” side.

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1967 Our second stopover takes us to an unknown realm, far from firm ground. It wasn’t inherent for Humans to swim yet the ocean would offer them provisions vital for their survival, such as food sourced from marine fauna, as well as the desire to explore and conquer new lands. To master the waves, Humans built makeshift sailing vessels which, down through the ages, and mainly from Antiquity onwards, became increasingly sophisticated and helped facilitate commercial trade and communication. Developments took place on the water, of course, but also under it, with the first tentative steps in underwater diving around 300 BCE. There’s no need for us however to weave our way back through the web of time to explain the arrival of waterproof watches, this third stage set in a more recent past. Basically, the second half of the 20th century marked the need for watchmakers to excel themselves and create pieces cut out for underwater exploration, even though the first models date back to the 1920s. Longines, already a trailblazer in the sphere

of watches designed for pilots, such as the Lindbergh Hour Angle developed in 1931 for the eponymous aviator, and military timepieces, also joined in this exhilarating race which showcased the aquatic world.

In 1967, it unveiled a waterproof chronograph driven by a hand-wound motor and (what’s more to the point) a dive watch equipped with an internal rotating bezel, a resistant steel case adorned with two crowns and an automatic movement, the calibre 290. After flying through the sky, the St-Imier-based watchmaker plunged deep into the sea.

Drawing on its 188 years of experience and expertise, Longines boasts substantial heritage, archives into which it loves to delve deep to uncover treasures which it brings back in vogue without ever altering their essence. Style-wise, the brand alters a few details here and there slightly (case size, hand shape), whereas most of the changes take place above all at motorization level and as regards the materials used. The Heritage > collection embraces these gems overflowing with

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History, with their incomparable contemporarywatch design: Flagship, PrÊsence, Agassiz, Conquest, Weems, Twenty-Four Hours, Heritage 1945, Avigation and, since 2007, Legend Diver. The latter, illustrated through reference L3.674.4.50.0 then replaced by the L3.774.4.50.0, is a rather faithful re-edition, with the date at 3 o’clock as an extra feature, which instantly enchanted its public. It was rapidly complemented by other variations, with steel Milanese mesh bracelet or case coated with black PVD over rubber for the 42 mmdiameter version, as well as with a 36 mm-diameter version available in particular with mother-of-pearl dial and, last but not least, a model called Skin equipped with an external rotating bezel.

As we head up to the surface after this introspective immersion into the timeline of Longines and that of humanity, the whys and wherefores which prompted the Saint-Imier watchmaker to imagine a new version of its Legend Diver Watch, to choose bronze to craft its body and smoked green to dress its face, appear ever-so clear. The tribute to the history of diving with its first diving suits, sailing and its instruments used for navigating, and to the History of the Human race which discovered this alloy, to time drifting by which covers the essence with a special patina, is concentrated in this 42 mm-diameter case equipped with two crowns. Its titanium caseback is screwed and stamped with an engraving illustrating a diver armed

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© Longines

with a harpoon, a sketch similar to the one which decorated the original piece back in 1967. As for the dial’s misty hue, it conjures up the seascapes, with occasionally-green-coloured water, flora made up of algae, as well as the “tropical” effect diffused by some historic watches exposed to humidity which makes the colour fade delicately.

The hour chapter, in line with the original graphic design, alternates rounded Arabic numerals and rectangular indexes, all set off with dashes of SuperLumiNova®. This same phosphorescent material, which invites for optimal time-data reading, also covers the golden trio of hour, minute and second

hands. And, like the 1967-created piece, this newcomer is date-free, a shrewd move to ensure the ensemble remains light and airy. The internal bezel, dressed in black, triggered by the crown at 4 o’clock, hosts the vanilla-coloured diving scale which matches the indications on the dial.

This watch, driven by the L888.5 calibre, an automatic movement designed based on an ETA A31.L11, which delivers a power reserve of 64 hours, wraps round the wrist with a supple, soft chocolate calfskin or olive-green textile strap, clasped by a bronze ardillon buckle.

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MB &F

rEVOlution in motion

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By Dan Diaconu

W

hich watch should you wear when playing sport, working in the office, relaxing on the beach? Give in to reason or passion? ...

Well, MB&F invites you to choose both by unveiling its first-ever ‘go-everywhere’ timepiece.

MB&F whisks us off masterfully to faraway fantasy lands through its highly-unusual watchmaking creations. Occasionally though, our peregrinations oblige us to keep our feet firmly on the ground. As we all know, the elements of nature, ocean spray and grains of sand launch vicious attacks on these precious engineered objects. And, whenever our everyday activities become intense and extreme, well it’s vital to stow them somewhere safe to protect them. Whilst the Horological Machines exquisitely mix Maximilian Büsser’s (MB&F’s founder) childhood dreams and memories together, the Legacy Machines pay tribute to the great watchmakers of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Yet, “they’re disconnected from my life” states the brand’s creator, who settled in Dubai a few years ago to balance his time-consuming professional activity with

his family life. And, practically-speaking? During an Instagram meet-up, he says he’s rather fond of wearing a Legacy Machine Perpetual. Though not during his leisure time! “It’s not a watch for diving into the pool with”. And that’s frustrating. And, on the beach, while his children are having fun with others, parents start chatting together during these relaxing moments.

When asked “what do you do for a living?”, Maximilian Büsser answers enthusiastically “I design watches”.

But more precisely, “what do you think I wear during these moments… anything but a MB&F”. But, the arrival of the Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO changes the game at long last!

EVO as in Evolution. Virtually a revolution. The case keeps its initial 44 mm-diameter size, but the bezel disappears and is replaced by a newly-designed sapphire-crystal dome welded to the case-middle.

The pushers are more wearer-friendly and take on an oblong shape. And, now that the crown is screwed, the case is waterproof to depths of 80 metres. And to ensure the calibre imagined by Stephen McDonnell is

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© MB&F

protected effectively, a new annular shock-absorbing system called FlexRing, made from a single block of steel, was developed. It absorbs shocks, bumps and jerks across several axes and ensures the large balancewheel remains firmly in place.

The most practical of all grandes complications, perfectly secured inside the case, comes to life in a totally new setting. The positions of the time data features remain the same as before. Here, everything is easily- and optimally-readable in particular thanks to the dial-plate which adorns three different colours.

Each version is issued in just fifteen pieces. Two take on already-well-known hues. One goes for black PVD treatment (Physical Vapour Deposition), the other is

coated using a blue CVD process (Chemical Vapour Deposition). As for the third, its shade is produced by a groundbreaking application method. Its orange CVD surface vibrantly brightens the watch’s style.

And, to ensure incomparable wearing comfort, the lugs of the rubber strap are integrated in the case crafted in zirconium, a transition metal which is more resistant than titanium and boasts a naturally-silvered, satinbrushed glow.

As MB&F emphasizes, the Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO is not a sports watch yet it’s endowed with all it takes to accompany you through a host of activities, from early morning until well through the night!

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Gir ar d- Pe r r e Gau x

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When the classical watch becomes shrouded in mystery…

By Benjamin Teisseire

G

irard-Perregaux’s 1966 collection portrays the quintessence of the “dress” watch. Slim, understated and pared-down, this year it’s unveiled in a limited Infinity edition boasting extreme elegance.

It’s far from an easy task to attain excellence when you wish to pursue strict classical watchmaking codes yet add originality. Yet, Girard-Perregaux, the manufacture founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1791, successfully meets this challenge by unveiling a novel totally-dressedin-black, steel version of its iconic 1966.

The intenseness of black Black, painting the night, the depths of the universe, forever inspires. This unostentatious, sophisticated colour diffuses its discreet elegance like on a tuxedo or frill-free, long dress. Here, it stunningly adorns the dial of the 1966 where our eye instantly catches the power of onyx. Onyx, a difficult material which requires undeniable savoir-faire to create this mirrorpolished finish which attracts the glance.

Clémence Dubois, Girard-Perregaux’s Chief Product and Marketing Officer, explains: “To delicately craft the black onyx dials, you need to be incredibly qualified. This work requires a total of fifteen meticulous operations which take several months to complete in our manufacture, and which gifts each piece with its exceptional character”.

The result was worth the wait! The dial mesmerizes with its intenseness and breathes strength and character into this classical watch. We discover the refined, pared-down curves of the 1966 collection, yet onyx really does add a touch of extra mystery.

The applique rose gold indexes stand out perfectly against the black backdrop and delicately set off the ensemble. The central seconds hand is also dressed in rose gold to emphasize the contrast, enhanced even more so by the GP monogram centre staged at 12 o’clock. The two hour and minute hands are slimline, leaf-shaped and rhodiumplated for optimal readability. An exquisite mix of classicism and originality: suave, understated, efficient!

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Fine-watchmaking motor Girard-Perregaux keeps its manufacture GP033001402 movement which has proven reliability. The heart of this watch, beating at a frequency of 4 Hz, boasts faultless accuracy and delivers a power reserve of 46 hours. The finishes on the self-winding mechanical calibre – visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback – illustrate once again Girard-Perregaux’s savoirfaire: circular-graining of various diameters, bevelled bridges and Côtes de Genève. The 18-carat rose gold oscillating weight completes this sought-after aesthetic style by echoing the fragments of the same material dial-side.

Two sophisticated versions Two 188-piece limited variations are available. The large version, in a 40 mm-diameter, 8.90 mm-thick

steel case, adorns gracious lines and the exquisite customary elegance of the collection. It asserts its status as a perfect dress watch. It’s discreet for sure, yet definitely doesn’t go unnoticed! The stone-set version, presented in a 30 mm-diameter case, features a slim bezel decorated with 60 diamonds which illuminate the onyx dial and highlight the contrast with the rose gold applique indexes. It epitomizes Girard-Perregaux’s vision of fine-watchmaking jewellery pieces.

These two superbly-classy timepieces complement the 1966 collection perfectly. The Infinity editions add intenseness, mystery and pure, simple elegance. They prove that a watch can be classical yet highly-original, discreet yet noticeable, black yet dazzling. Their respective 9,100 and 10,070 Swiss franc pricetags should definitely spark savvy collectors’ interest.

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Spot light

Magical Bordeaux

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By Sharmila Bertin & Mickael Gautier

“

The red watch, mummy! Look at the red watch!” shouts out my little boy in wonder as he points to an object in the store window with his chubby finger. I’m at the Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique with my family to pick up a watch which the brand has kindly lent me to write this article. And I smile whilst my heart as a mum explodes with tenderness at the excitement of my youngest son and his already-well-asserted tastes despite his young age. I smile because, on this sunny Friday, he waltzed the whole way round the premises with his dad and his sister, inspected everything, then stopped in front of the Reverso collection and, with his index finger, picked out a watch from the twenty-odd pieces on show, without knowing it was the model I’d come to collect. A few minutes later, the Reverso Tribute Small Seconds is on my wrist as we stroll along the Rhône enjoying the heat of the Indian summer and I keep smiling thinking that one day, when he’s big, I’ll have to explain to him that you can’t just go into a store, set your sights on a watch and leave with it without handing over your credit card to pay, that the moment he has just experienced is really out of the ordinary and it’s because of my work. But we’ve still got time though, because for

now, he’s happy to see me with this magnificent watch and I delight in his childlike joy, I revel in this interlude with my family yet still keep admiring my wrist.

I discovered the Reverso about twenty years ago when I was a young, pretty student in Paris, when I was more attracted by fashion than by watchmaking. My best friend owned one, a gift for her twenty-fifth birthday if I remember well. I was familiar with the name JaegerLeCoultre yet what fascinated me more than finding out about the firm’s history was this little case, its slender shape, its clear-cut yet soft features, the delicateness of its dial and, above all, this protection system which you could slide with the tips of your fingers to unveil a caseback that was as dazzling as a mirror. I reckon I must have played twenty times or more with the double-sided mechanism of this watch. The timepiece, worn by my future daughter’s future godmother, was one of indescribable elegance. She had explained to me that the russet-honey-coloured strap sprinkled with miniscule bumps, with its ever-so particular grain, was fashioned in ostrich and this detail had really surprised me because I didn’t know that you could tan the skin

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of this gigantic bird. The Reverso was an object which aroused my curiosity and sparked my admiration, and it’s still the case two decades on.

Whenever I started working in the watchmaking industry almost sixteen years ago (already?!), I began exploring the sector, delving into different brands, different models. It goes without saying that the name Jaeger-LeCoultre appeared, and I rediscovered the Reverso with great pleasure, I studied its history and I finally understood the real reason for its retractable case, for this dial which turned over to give way to a small anti-shock shield, created in 1931. I admit I’d sort of cast aside the other collections at the time because, as far as I was concerned, only the Reverso could embody the prestigious watchmaker’s emblem, and be the ambassador for its prodigious savoir-faire. And even when I became a specialized journalist in 2011, the Reverso continued to be part of my Top 5 perfect-tobuy list for any self-respecting watchmaking enthusiast.

I saw it evolved and its offer redesigned, I saw it become the blank canvas on which the famous Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) self-portrait was reproduced in miniature, I saw it hosting classical complications like the moon phase and totally spectacular ones like the gyrotourbillon, I was there when it blew out its 85 candles and I hope I’ll be there when it celebrates its 90th anniversary next year.

Then, suddenly, on 16 January 2019, at 2:33pm precisely, something changed. I was sitting in the darkness of

a SIHH conference room attending the presentation of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new pieces. I was listening inattentively to the marketing talk, as I was focused on the models displayed on the screen. One of them caught my eye. I held my breath because I hadn’t seen it “for real” yet, I hadn’t felt it on my wrist, and, as we all know, occasionally photos can be deceiving. When the lights in the room came on again and we were invited to head over to the stands where the new models were displayed, I dashed across the room to arrive before my dear colleagues to find out if my eyes had played a dirty trick on me or if... I clasped hold of the watch quickly but gently. I wanted to be the first to touch it. Once in my hands, it was clear that neither my eyes nor my instinct had been making fun of me: this Reverso Tribute Small Seconds was magnificent. Whilst my colleagues waited their turn with varying degrees of patience, I took a dozen or so wristshots and, less than half an hour later, I published one of these photos on social media with an ever-so simple but totally sincere caption, like a heartfelt appeal impossible to hold back: “I’m head over heels in love with this beauty”.

Virtually two years have gone by now and this beauty, well, it’s on my wrist. It embraces my skin and I can’t help but admire it, I can’t help but feel privileged and fortunate to have the honour of owning it for a few days, a few weeks, this watch, this famous “red watch” which my youngest child spotted. Its robe, braided with steel, fringed by the rectangular architecture of its case, > fascinates me with its highly-personal way of catching

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Spot light

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© Mickael Gautier

and playing with light, of changing when kissed by the sun. Wine-lee, plum, aubergine, carmine or Bordeaux?

I’m unable to figure out its exact colour as it forever varies, so I use the shade of its strap to sort of pin it down. This strap is hand-crafted in cordovan in the family-run Casa Fagliano company workshops. This Argentinean firm, founded in 1892 and specializing in riding boots has been partnering with Jaeger-LeCoultre, mainly on the Reverso collection, for almost ten years now. Both businesses share the same passion for polo and the same values as regards the craftsmanship of their products.

Even though the watch is a little too big for me as it measures some 45.6 x 27.4 mm, its horns don’t overshoot and it fits comfortably on my slender wrist. Incidentally, it stands out even more so (on my wrist) given its size and its flamboyant hue, and that delights me. As for its hand-wound movement, the 822/2 calibre, I’ve got used to winding it when I jump out of bed in the morning, like a ritual that’s just as welcoming as a mug of hot chocolate. Even the strange period we’re going through right now which obliges us to stay cooped up at home hasn’t prevented me from wearing it. On the contrary, it has helped me stay well in tune with time whilst the health crisis has meant we’ve lost a lot of our markers. It’s like a Siamese twin to me, I’ve taken it everywhere: the Jura to go traipsing with the family, the Joux Valley – its home region – for strolls round the lake and the Geneva countryside for our little Sunday outings but also, and even if it’s much less glamorous, the supermarket, my

son’s music classes, walking the dog with my daughter and even for my appointment at the dentist’s. Apart from night-time and when showering, it’s never left my side.

Without rubbing up its iconic stature the wrong way but to prove to it that it can be an all-rounder, off-roader watch, without extinguishing its dazzle by combining it with drab colours but more-so to enhance it, I took it out of its classical-style comfort zone, I pulled it off the beaten tracks to blend it with outfits better tailored to my life as a bit-of-an-eccentric remote-working mum, fan of daytime pyjamas, a far cry from formal, strict and boring work-wear which I don’t even wear when I’m at professional events. And, that’s probably what I love the most in this sort of exercise: showing that there are no rules, that a timepiece like the Reverso is perfectly at home outdoors in unspoilt nature worn with khaki velvet dungarees and a big baggy lilac woolly pullover, with mountain boots to match. It accepted all the challenges, it met them all, hands down. It’s incredible.

And oddly enough, after all this prose I’ve just poured out, this declaration filled with fond memories, you know what takes the biscuit is that I don’t like shaped watches. The Reverso is the exception.

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De sign

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Label Noir for the happy few

By Sharmila Bertin

T

he Geneva-based bespoke specialist now proposes small series of customized, numbered watches, produced hand-in-hand with watchmaking brands, and exclusively available via its online store.

Globalization, which emerged at the dawning of the 20th century, well-rooted since the end of the 1980s and which advocates the free movement of goods, capital, services and people amongst other things, nevertheless engenders adverse effects such as standardization of desires. You just need to check out Instagram or – if you’re more so old school – go sit on a café terrace and watch the world passing by. Clothing, accessories, style: everything

looks the same, everything tends to follow a single trend.

Globalization which erases personality even manages to grab hold of industries like watchmaking as some brands occasionally roll out a host of all-alike models. So, if you want to feel special, own something out-of-the-ordinary, then you need to switch to customization and limited editions, a solution which Label Noir has been offering since it was created back in 2011.

If truth be told, this Geneva-based design office has become a can’t-do-without expert in bespokeness and invites us to discover its one-of-a-kind creative expression, far removed from the mainstream products

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© Label Noir

which proliferate on wrists. Tailor-designed is also a means for nurturing uniqueness, rareness, for having your own special thing designed just for you. Drawing on its experience and the success which seasons its young track record, Label Noir shifts up gear by proposing small series of watches which it has revamped and by embracing a co-branding strategy with watchmaking firms who share this groundbreaking philosophy. This partnership is a one-off for each capsule collection as a different “guest” brand is invited each time to create new synergies.

Besides the undeniable advantage which acquiring a limited edition offers the customer, this type of ephemeral collaboration initiated by Label Noir is part of a win-win approach which delights all parties as it breathes new life into already-existing pieces, a sort of up-cycling which attracts an every growing number of buyers, it forms a working base for designers with novel ideas, enhances what’s on offer, provides an opportunity to take advantage of (and as such reduce) stock and produce more perceptively and smartly. “Nothing is lost, everything is recovered” is the key to tomorrow’s consumption to live by starting today.

To inaugurate this new milestone, Label Noir joins up with Anonimo to reinterpret one of its not-to-be-missed models, the automatic Epurato watch. Customizing a product doesn’t mean altering its appearance or, worse still, transforming it into a Christmas tree, it means respecting its codes whilst adding an extra little something, a fresh touch, a detail which will gift it with another style. Mission accomplished for this first opus whose dial adorns an exquisitely-luminous, candid, delicately-sandblasted grey. This elusive spirit is enhanced by the matt black DLC layer which covers the 42 mm-diameter cushion-shaped steel case and its fluted bezel, a colour which also reigns on the facetted indexes and applique Arabic numerals of the hour chapter. Like a bolt of lightning cracking through the sky, the direct-drive catches the eye with its bright azure shade. Electrifying, it literally eclipses the dusky hour and minute hands as well as the date set at 6 o’clock and even graces the textile strap stitching.

The fifteen pieces of this limited edition are available for purchase via Label Noir’s online store and we’re now waiting with baited breath for its next-up partnership!

THE WATCHES MAGAZINE

WINTER 2020

MOOD

Gender is so has-been

By Sharmila Bertin

A 74

few months ago, when we were still free to stroll around town without having to worry about restrictions, I went into a store to try on a watch which I’d set my sights on. This is one of my favourite hobbies whenever the weather’s great and my mind needs a bit of fresh air: just wandering around, looking at shop windows, spotting cool watches and heading in to see if they work their magic on my wrist. In a nutshell, this lets me (re)test new releases and use my first-hand impressions for writing articles, chat with store managers and get a bit of feedback which I believe is relevant and essential: from sales teams in the field who’re in direct contact with the end customer.

So, I step over the threshold, say hello, smile just like my parents taught me to do and ask to see a model displayed in the window, please, if I may, thank you.

Until this point in time, everything’s going great and once I’ve got the object in my hand, I’m over the moon because it’s really exquisite. I slip it on my wrist but realize that its strap, even when I tighten it to the last hole, is too big, so I tell the sales girl who everso naturally says “That’s normal: it’s a man’s watch”.

Well, that didn’t go down too well: I’m a woman. And if ever there was anyone in this business to whom you must never utter these words, it’s me. As well as aggravating me like there’s no tomorrow, this reaction literally turned me off wanting to find out more about the product.

Impossible to count the number of times I’ve had to listen to this sort of remark in the last fifteen years.

I’ve even been asked if I wore my father’s watch or my grandfather’s, nyaa-nyaa-nyaa... as if just because I was a woman, I couldn’t wear a 42 mm-diameter, a dive watch, a chronograph, etc. Or, for that matter,

anything else that wasn’t small, stone-set, golden or featured quartz (the be-all-and-end-all of insults for a watchmaking geek). Basically, everything I’m describing here is exactly what I already slammed in one of my first opinion pieces nine years ago...

Who knows, maybe it’s because my mindset’s way too forward-looking, maybe I’m too feminist for an industry often governed by codes which are a bit hasbeen, sectarian, an industry that loves to label futilely.

Nothing irritates me more than discovering on Internet that some brands split their virtual catalogues into sectors based on gender: “men’s watches” and “ladies’ watches” – and with the vocabulary, you can’t get much more has-been than the word “ladies”, so outdated, so fusty, so... full of the smell of mothballs.

Wouldn’t it be great if watchmaking firms could stop thinking of women as fragile, sweet, romantic little beings, who are probably too frivolous or even too stupid to take an interest in anything mechanic.

Women don’t want “ladies’ watches” with diamonds, fancy-frills and whatnot, they just want watches full stop. They want to be free to wear what they desire and not what a brand thinks they should wear.

I reckon that in 2020 we can do a lot better, that we can stop wanting to “genderize” watches at all costs and labelling things whenever there is no call whatsoever to do so, that we let everyone decide what they want to wear... right? As far as I’m concerned, categorizing everything really curbs sales.

Thank goodness exceptions exist though, lucid, open-minded firms which don’t put their products in little, tunnel-vision, sexist boxes but, on the contrary, encourage liberty to express itself. A big thank-you to these firms for giving me hope <3

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RAISED AROUND THE WORLD

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