Watch Your Time - English - Special Watch Magazine

SPECIAL WAT C H M A G A Z I N E

BRUNO AV E I L L A N R E V IS I TS TIME D ISCOVER THE WOR LD OF TH IS YE AR ’S NE W WATCHES

AS SEEN BY AUDEM ARS PIGUE T, BVLGAR I , CARTIER , CHOPARD, HUB LOT, JAEGER- LECOULTRE , OFFIC INE PANER AI , PATEK PH I LI PPE , PIAGE T, ROLE X , SEI KO, TAG HEUER , VACHERON CONSTANTIN , VAN C LEEF & ARPELS, ZEN ITH… EU RO P E A N ED I T I O N 2017 — S P E C I A L F E AT U R E — T H U RS DAY A P R I L 20, 2017. P RO D UC ED F O R T H E DA I LY T E LEG R A P H BY ED I T I O N S T E M P S I N T ER N AT I O N A L W H O TA K E SO LE R ES P O N S I B I L I T Y F O R T H E C O N T EN TS . (AVA I L A B LE I N LO N DO N A N D SOU T H R EG I O N S O N LY )

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YOUR TIME

EUROPE AN EDITION 2017, PUBLISHED

SPECIAL WATCH MAGAZINE

EDITIONS TEMPS INTERNATIONAL LTD 2503 BANK OF AMERICA TOWER, 12 HARCOURT ROAD, CENTRAL, HONG KONG

SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH LE MONDE (FR ANCE), FR ANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE (GERMANY ), PRODUCED FOR THE DAILY TELEGR APH ON THURSDAY APRIL 20,

IL SOLE 24 ORE (ITALY ), EL MUNDO (SPAIN)

2017 BY EDITIONS TEMPS INTERNATIONAL WHO TAKE SOLE RESPONSIBILIT Y FOR THE CONTENTS.

WATC H YO U R T I M E . C O M VACHERON CONSTANTIN TR ADITIONNELLE CHRONOGR APH PERPETUAL CALENDAR .

THE MAISON IS RE VISITING ONE OF ITS MOST ICONIC MODELS. EQUIPPED WITH THE NEW MANUFACTURE CALIBER 1142 QP, THIS TIMEPIECE PERPE TUATES THE TR ADITION CULTIVATED BY THE FINEST GENE VA WATCHMAKERS. WITH THIS NEW CRE ATION APPE ARING IN A 18K 5N PINK GOLD VERSION, VACHERON CONSTANTIN HAS OP TED TO COMBINE T WO

13 FOCUS HERMÈS, EMOTIONAL CRESCENDO

15 EDITORIAL

DANCE WITH KARL LAGERFELD

KEY COMPLICATIONS: THE CHRONOGR APH AND THE PERPE TUAL CALENDAR . CALIBER 1142 QP, A STATE-OF-THE ART MOVEMENT ENTIRELY DESIGNED AND DE VELOPED WITHIN THE MANUFACTURE TO MEE T THE STRINGENT POINÇON DE GENÈ VE CRITERIA , DRIVES THE PERPE TUAL CALENDAR FUNCTIONS — WITH INDICATIONS OF THE DAYS, DATE, MONTHS, LE AP YE ARS AND MOON PHASES — AS WELL AS THE CHRONOGR APH FUNCTIONS WITH A 30-MINUTE COUNTER AT 3 O’CLOCK , POSITIONED

17 FOCUS PATEK PHILIPPE, STATE OF GRACE

22 FOCUS

BVLGARI, ITALIAN ROMANCE

OPPOSITE THE SMALL SECONDS AT 9 O’CLOCK .

24 FOCUS CHANEL, FIRST LOVE

BRUNO AVEILLAN

26 FOCUS CHAUMET, TIMELESS JEWELLERY

28 REALIST A MOMENT OF NOSTALGIA

JAMES GURNEY

34 FOCUS

CARTIER, FELINE ICON

38 ACTIVIST A SPORTING INTERLUDE

PAOLO DE VECCHI

44 HEDONIST A MOMENT OF SEDUCTION

PALOMA RECIO

49 FOCUS

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, POETRY IN MOTION

50 COMPLEXIST TIME FOR PASSION

Floral skeleton mechanical movement. 18K white gold, set with diamonds.

Fine Watchmaking movement designed and developed by CHANEL Swiss Manufacture.

“For this series on the theme of time, I came up with an imaginary story of a couple with eternal youth, continuing the tradition of the myth of Faust. This strange, beautiful couple meet every 10 years in a Parisian hotel, the legendary Raphael. Time has no effect on them or on the hotel. Only the style and photographic aesthetic is able to reflect the suggested era…” Bruno Aveillan Multi-award winning film director and photographer, Bruno Aveillan is one of the most sought after artists in the world. He is behind many brand associated films such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Swarovski, Shangri-La, Lanvin and Guerlain. His film L’Odyssée by Cartier, which was shown at the MoMA in New York, has been seen by more than 160 million people and received over 40 Golden Awards across the world. As a plastic artist, Bruno Aveillan regularly exhibits his work in galleries and museums all over the world. He has just made Divino Inferno an art film devoted to Rodin which will be presented at a preview showing at the Grand Palais.

PHOTOGR APHER BRUNO AVEILL AN FEMALE MODEL INNA ZOBOVA / CIT Y MODELS MALE MODEL ILYA VANZ ATO / MARILYN AGENCY ST YLIST ALE XIS ROCHE HAIR OLIVIER LEBRUN MAKE- UP CATHYANNE MAC ALLISTER SET DESIGNER ANNA TAVANI PRODUCER MICHELE FILOMENO — THE COVER PHOTO AND THE PHOTOS ON PAGES 28, 38, 44, 50, 56 AND 66 WERE TAKEN BY BRUNO AVEILL AN AT HÔTEL R APHAEL IN PARIS.

PETER BRAUN

56 UTOPIST SEASON OF DREAMS

FABRICE ESCHMANN

61 FOCUS

PIAGET, SIXTY YEARS OF ELEGANCE

62 FOCUS TAG HEUER, RETURN OF AN ICON

64 FOCUS CHOPARD, A HISTORIC YEAR

66 FUTURIST PUBLISHER-FOUNDER CHRISTIAN LL AVALL-UBACH MANAGING DIRECTOR ISABELLE BOUDRINGHIN — EDITIONS@TEMPS-INTERNATIONAL.COM WATCH CONSULTANT ERIC DUMATIN EDITORIAL DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHE ROULET CONTRIBUTORS PETER BR AUN (GERMANY), VINCENT DAVEAU (FR ANCE), PAOLO DE

CHRISTOPHE ROULET (SWITZERL AND), MARIE PIERRE VALLI (FR ANCE) TRANSLATORS PETER BR AUN, SANDR A PETCH, PALOMA RECIO, PAOLO DE VECCHI, RITA

IANNICIELLO MANUFACTURE DE TR ADUCTION, AMAÏA TR ADUCTIONS PHOTOGRAPHER BRUNO AVEILL AN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR VINCENT FESSELET, GENEVA

CHANEL.COM

THE FUTURE IS HERE

VECCHI (ITALY), FABRICE ESCHMANN (SWITZERL AND), JAMES GURNEY (UNITED KINGDOM), BRICE LECHEVALLIER (SWITZERL AND), PALOMA RECIO (SPAIN),

PHOTOENGRAVERS BOMBIE, GENEVA, PRINTED IN THE EU REPRODUCTION, EVEN PARTIAL , OF MATERIAL PUBLISHED IN WATCH YOUR TIME IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED IN THE U.K . AND OTHER COUNTRIES.

VINCENT DAVEAU

70 FOCUS SEIKO, THE ART OF METAMORPHOSIS

OVE RS E A S Bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, this timepiece is the ideal companion for an extraordinary voyage that reveals a unique perspective on the world. It is the only watch of its kind.

CRAFTING ETERNITY SINCE 1755

OV E RSE AS CH RO N O G R A P H

Geneva official watchmaking certification

Vacheron Constantin Boutique, 37 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4AB, Tel: 020 7578 9500 Discover more on overseas.vacheron-constantin.com

TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE VALLÉE DE JOUX. FOR MILLENNIA A HARSH, UNYIELDING ENVIRONMENT; AND SINCE 1875 THE HOME OF AUDEMARS PIGUET, IN THE VILLAGE OF LE BRASSUS. THE EARLY WATCHMAKERS WERE SHAPED HERE, IN AWE OF THE FORCE OF NATURE YET DRIVEN TO MASTER ITS MYSTERIES THROUGH THE COMPLEX MECHANICS OF THEIR CRAFT. STILL TODAY THIS PIONEERING SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE THE CONVENTIONS OF FINE

AUDEMARSPIGUET.COM

WATCHMAKING.

ROYAL OAK CHRONOGRAPH IN STAINLESS STEEL

FOCUS WATCH YOUR TIME 13

emotional crescendo

For Hermès, time is playful, fun, emotional. As if to make this point, the Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente is all about the intense experience created in the run-up to an important event. The clock is ticking!

my Christmas presents, or meeting a new girlfriend.

I remember those feverish moments of emotional crescendo. That is what we wanted to revive with this Heure Impatiente. Although the idea is appealing, it posed a number of technical problems, which explains the five years of development. Once again, it was a matter of patience!”

It all started with a small drawing, a quick sketch on a scrap of paper. This was in 2012 at Baselworld, the international watch exhibition. The sketcher was the artistic director of La Montres Hermès, Philippe Delhotal. He was in the company of Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, watchmaker and founder of Agenhor.

The reason for this pencil sketch can be seen today in the form of L’Heure Impatiente, part of the Slim d’Hermès collection. Although this watch could be passed off as a simple countdown timer, that would be to ignore the poetic spirit of a house that prefers to play with time rather than submit to its commands.

“In the great adventure of Time, our goal at Hermès is to let people dream,” explains Philippe Delhotal.

“For this piece I drew on my personal memories. Like many others, as a child and then as a teenager I was very impatient when it came to waiting for important events such as the start of a holiday, opening

In poetic terms, this complication comes from a “jubilatory ritual that consists of setting the timer on one’s watch to the hotly anticipated event. One hour before the event, the mechanical timer is activated, and its progress can be tracked at 6 o’clock on the dial. The complication sets off this exquisite torment that puts us in a state of pleasurable turmoil, ending on a high note when the moment finally arrives.”

In technical terms, this takes the form of a module that complements the Hermès manufacture movement H1912. Agenhor’s watchmakers had to overcome the major difficulties involved in balancing the energy requirements, as only the energy of the movement was available to power the countdown timer and striking mechanism. Being a single strike on a single

gong, it had to be as long and audible as possible.

The problem was not insurmountable, however; think of the Arceau Le Temps Suspendu watch, also developed by Agenhor. Thanks to its clever triple retrograde mechanism, when the button is pushed, the hour and minute hands are immobilised either side of 12 o’clock, indicating an unlikely time, while the date disappears beneath the dial. A second push and time is set on its way again. A few years later, in collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture, Hermès debuted the Dressage L’Heure Masquée. With this watch, the hour hand is hidden behind the minute hand in normal circumstances, and only appears when you press a button set into the crown. At the same time, a second timezone is revealed behind a sliding window at 6 o’clock. “With these two watches, we marked and formalised a territory of Hermès time, which represents the values of freedom and lightness,” explains Laurent Dordet, CEO of La Montre Hermès. “Know-how, quality, precision, all that is naturally part of our watchmaking expertise, but to that we add the spirit of the house, where we like to do things seriously, without taking ourselves seriously.” It is a fine example of Hermès’ famous and seductive “side-step”.

Christophe Roulet

AGH 4132 MOVEMENT MODULE. THE MOVEMENT THAT SERVES AS THE BASIS FOR

SLIM D’HERMÈS L’HEURE IMPATIENTE. HERMÈS HAS ALRE ADY E VOKED THE PO-

INTEGRATING THE GONG WITH THE MOVEMENT. AS THIS HEURE IMPATIENTE FROM

THE CALIBRE IN THIS SLIM D’HERMÈS L’HEURE IMPATIENTE IS THE H1912, ONE OF

E TRY OF TIME WITH LE TEMPS SUSPENDU IN THE ARCE AU COLLECTION IN 2011,

HERMÈS STRIKES A SINGLE TONE TO MARK THE END OF THE COUNTDOWN TIMER,

HERMÈS’ FIRST TWO MANUFACTURE MOVEMENTS, PRESENTED IN 2012. AGENHOR

THEN WITH L’HEURE MASQUÉE IN THE DRESSAGE R ANGE IN 2014. FOR THIS HEU-

THE GONG HAD TO BE PARTICUL ARLY WELL DESIGNED TO OFFER A LONG, POW-

HAS WORKED ON AN ADDITIONAL MODULE TO OPER ATE THE 60-MINUTE TIMER

RE IMPATIENTE, THE COMPANY NATUR ALLY CHOSE ITS SLIM LINE, WHICH HAS

ERFUL CHIME . A STEEL ALLOY WAS E VENTUALLY CHOSEN AF TER SOME 30 TESTS

WITH CHIMING DE VICE ON THIS HEURE IMPATIENTE .

BEEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR THE PAST T WO YE ARS IN ITS HOURS, MINUTES AND

CARRIED OUT WITH DIFFERENT MATERIALS AND CONFIGUR ATIONS.

A TIMELESS “TERRITORY”

SMALL SECONDS VERSION, AS WELL AS A MODEL WITH PERPE TUAL CALENDAR .

dance with karl lagerfeld

JAEGER-LECOULTRE BOUTIQUE 13 Old Bond Street, London - +44 (0)20 3402 1960

EDITORIAL WATCH YOUR TIME 15

T I M EL ES S FAS H I O N

P h o to © F r a n c e t t e L e v i e u x

IMMUTABLE

Geophysic Universal Time watch Philippe Jordan, Chief Conductor and Music Director in Paris and Vienna

In 2016, Benjamin Millepied, then director of dance at the Paris Opera, asked Lagerfeld to design costumes for the four movements of George Balanchine’s 1965 ballet created for the New York State Opera. Lagerfeld conceived a striking collection for the dancers who performed Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, producing designs for 100 costumes inspired by the Vienna Secession artistic movement. Lagerfeld drew on details of paintings by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffman for the design of the men’s waistcoats and for the headdresses, using a black and white check motif.

Sumptuous “ultra-couture” costumes took shape in the flou and tailleur workshops of the Palais Garnier, in the atmosphere of excitement and anticipation that is unique to classical ballet.

The black and white corsets in satin and velvet were designed to accentuate the dancers’ waists, while frothy tutus complemented their delicate movements in white, pink or orange tulle, depending on the tableau. These timeless costumes were also conceived to withstand all the demands of the choreography, including steps such as the saut de chat, soubresaut, glissade, assemblé, échappé sauté, sissone and jeté.

TIMELESS

This is a very different process of designing costumes, because it involves dressing dancers. Karl Lagerfeld repeats his point in his slight drawl: “You can’t use couture clothes for ballet. It’s a whole other technique!” A technique that the king of fashion has kept alive until the present day, coupled with the exceptional quality inherent in luxury, radiating luminosity and total precision. These 100 costumes lent the ballet a supremely modern identity, as well as a timeless quality thanks to the precise lines and curves, echoing the aesthetics of Klimt’s paintings or the Wiener Werkstätte’s ceramics.

Before leaving the Paris Opera, Benjamin Millepied took a bold step based on eternal, liberating values, by working with Karl Lagerfeld. He even asked Lagerfeld to design the sets. To illustrate the tragic dimension of the score, Lagerfeld created a set that could have been taken from a Brothers Grimm fairytale, with an ancient verdigris palace shrouded in mist, and large dark drapes that hung down to the floor, suggesting the grandeur and sumptuousness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Each of his designs, costumes and decorative elements invites the spectator to enter his singular world. Lagerfeld understands, but also knows how to keep alive a universally valued and recognised set of skills.

Marie Pierre Valli

DANCE COSTUMES

Great names at the Opera:

© Karl Lager feld

Karl Lagerfeld is a truly one-of-a-kind couturier who is constantly creating incredibly refined collections. “I have a culture of couture and a deeper knowledge of technique than most people,” he explains. Nobody knows better than Lagerfeld how to emphasise a waist with a corset while at the same time lengthening the legs and creating a beautifully light silhouette. Every new collection demonstrates the truth of his assertion regarding his knowledge of couture. Nowhere was this skill more in evidence than when the great couturier recently returned to a tradition upheld by a few great couture houses: stage costumes.

2016

2002

Karl Lagerfeld “Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet”, ballet by George Balanchine —

Jean-Paul Gaultier: “The Marriage of Figaro” —

2009

1999

Christian Lacroix: “Jewels”, ballet by George Balanchine

Kenzo Takada: “The Magic Flute”

state of grace

FOCUS WATCH YOUR TIME 17

SANDRINE STERN, CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR AT PATEK PHILIPPE

THE PATEK PHILIPPE MANUFACTURE IN GENE VA

Midnight Planétarium Poetic Complications watch automatic mechanical movement, pink gold case.

Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Earth revolve around the Sun in real time.

At Patek Philippe, a family business with a long history, led by Thierry and Sandrine Stern, the creative director, timepieces are designed and made with an obsessive attention to detail and a technical mastery that demands respect. Through this approach, the company has earned a special status in the world of watchmaking.

number of factors that cannot be found together under any other watchmaker’s roof. The first is rarity with a very restrained annual production. This means that some models have waiting lists for hopeful buyers, who must demonstrate the utmost patience in their quest to become “worthy” of their Patek Philippe.

Almost all stories about Patek Philippe could start with a new record at auction. It is impossible not to mention the November 2016 sale when the Reference 1518, a 1943 steel chronograph watch with perpetual calendar and moon phases, sold for $11 million, setting a new record for a wristwatch. There are many other such examples that demonstrate Patek Philippe’s special status among collectors and in High Watchmaking.

Without being at all showy in their luxury, Patek Philippe watches are cherished like precious treasure by their owners. These timepieces are generally considered the best in terms of the art of watchmaking, with their impeccable heritage and standards that are among the highest in the industry. This state of grace, as we might call it, is not the result of chance. It is due to a

A classic, refined design that matches the flawless technical qualities and a rare mastery of watch complications is the second essential factor that defines Patek Philippe watches. This has not prevented the manufacture from surprising the public with models such as the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, the Aquanaut and the famous Nautilus, unveiled in 1976. But whatever the watch, level of finish or craftsmanship involved, there is always the same obsession with detail. In turn, this level of attention has an impact on the third characteristic of Patek Philippe. Without exception, all the watches that leave its workshops are destined to gain in value. This is aided by the fact that each piece is fully traceable: the manufacture has maintained records since it was founded in 1839. Such a heritage is rare in watchmak-

ing, giving the manufacture another reason to stand out.

“This heritage is not always easy to manage,” admits Sandrine Stern, director of Patek Philippe’s creative department. “We’re always wondering how the new collections will be received, in as much as the previous ones were generally successes. We proceed in small steps, in the knowledge that Patek Philippe’s watches for men are well suited to this type of development. The same is true of the women’s watches.

While many women are introduced to Patek Philippe with the Twenty4 in jewelled steel, their tastes then become more eclectic, particularly in mechanical watches. So things are constantly evolving, but with a spirit I would describe as innovative tradition. I personally follow every model, from the first sketches to delivery to the customer. Some, like the Calatrava ‘Azulejos’, a piece we’re presenting this year, for which I was inspired by my family, are particularly important to me. In this case, the watch involves the art of miniature painting on enamel, a feat in watchmaking and a world first on a watch dial.” As we can see, with Patek Philippe, every day is special.

Eric Dumatin

PATEK PHILIPPE AUTOMATIC FLYBACK CHRONOGR APH WITH ANNUAL CALEN-

PATEK PHILIPPE CALATR AVA “AZULEJOS” REFERENCE 5089G. TO MARK THE 40 th

PATEK PHILIPPE WORLD TIME FOR WOMEN REFERENCE 7130. THE WORLD TIME

DAR REFERENCE 5960/1. A COMBINATION OF T WO PRIZED PATEK PHILIPPE COM-

ANNIVERSARY OF THE ULTR A-THIN AUTOMATIC CALIBRE 240, PATEK PHI LIPPE

FOR WOMEN REFERENCE 7130 DISPL AYS ALL 24 TIME ZONES IN A NEW VERSION

PLICATIONS, THE AUTOMATIC FLYBACK CHRONOGR APH WITH ANNUAL CALEN-

PRESENTS THE “A ZULE JOS”, WHICH SHOWCASES FINE CR AF TSMANSHIP. THIS

IN WH ITE GOLD, FE ATUR ING A GRE Y-B LUE HAND - GUI LLOCHED DECOR ATION

DAR REFERENCE 5960/1 IN STEEL FE ATURES A NEW OPALINE EBONY BL ACK DIAL .

TAKES THE FORM OF MINIATURE PAINTING ON THE ENAMEL DIAL — A SKILL THAT

AT THE CENTRE OF THE DIAL . THIS DELICATE TONE ILLUMINATED BY SPARKLING

THIS ENHANCES THE CHAR ACTER AND ORIGINALIT Y OF THE MODEL , WHICH HAS

MADE GENE VA INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS IN THE 18 th AND 19 th CENTURIES — A

D IAMONDS IS ECHOED I N THE C IT Y D ISC AND THE G LOSSY PE ACOC K B LUE

THREE APERTURES FOR THE DAY, DATE AND MONTH POSITIONED IN AN ARC, AND

FIRST IN WATCHMAKING.

ALLIGATOR STR AP.

EVERY DAY IS SPECIAL

Haute Joaillerie, place Vendôme since 1906

A MONOCOUNTER FOR THE CHRONOGR APH AT 6 O’CLOCK .

www.vancleefarpels.com - +44 20 7108 6210

Big Bang Ferrari King Gold.

King Gold case inspired by the brands’ iconic lines. In-house UNICO chronograph.

Interchangeable strap with a patented attachment. Limited edition of 500 pieces.

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hublot.com

22 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

italian romance

JE AN-CHRISTOPHE BABIN, CEO OF BVLGARI

A symbiosis of Italian elegance and Swiss know-how makes Bulgari unique among watchmakers, resulting in characterful designs and impressive international growth.

past few years we have been making products that are strongly identified with our house, particularly in the Serpenti, Octo and Lucea ranges, reflecting an image of a dynamic, emotional brand. It’s a brand that gets people excited.”

On reading the results of LVMH, which has owned Bulgari since 2011, it is clear there are no clouds on the horizon for this house, founded in Rome. It appears that the turbulent environment has not affected this company, which very early on had a dual identity as jeweller and watchmaker, both equally attractive aspects. This Latin charm, which can notably be seen in the exuberance of the stones, is paired with Swiss watchmaking expertise, making Bulgari unique on its markets. Is jewellery proving more appealing in times of uncertainty, given its lasting value, or are watches more captivating in this period of euphoria due to the revival of the mechanical movement? One thing is certain: the brand is seducing enthusiasts, whichever way they turn. “One reason for our progress can be summarised in two words: creativity and innovation,” explains Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari since 2013. “We are riding a very high wave at the moment, undoubtedly due to the fact that for the

The Octo collection speaks for itself. Initially reserved for the brand’s complications, particularly retrograde displays, Octo then acquired strong aesthetic values thanks to its new case with 110 facets, before moving into an area that was not necessarily expected of the Italian brand. In this very specific field, where elegance is inversely proportional to the number of millimetres a watch measures, in other words the ultra-thin segment which is so challenging for watchmakers, Bulgari is the maestro, holding a number of records. These include one for the watch with the flattest tourbillon escapement and another for the thinnest minute repeater ever made. This year, the house has surprised us once again with an automatic version of its Octo Finissimo, followed by a skeletonised version of its Octo Finissimo Tourbillon, a true techni-

cal feat. Then there is the Octo Roma, a new interpretation with the sleekest lines in the collection.

But while Bulgari has forged an identity by making watches for men, it has always exercised its charm over women. And for good cause: as Jean-Christophe Babin points out, jewellery remains Bulgari’s main business. “The emotional content of jewellery is very high,” he explains. “In addition, buying a piece of jewellery is an important moment in life that occurs more frequently than buying a watch. Internationally, there are only around 10 global brands which represent no more than a quarter of the market, leaving them great potential.” For Bulgari, this simply means that the brand has already been global for several decades, eternally inspired by women to make its famous jewellery sets, while paying close attention to their everyday lives, surrounding them with objects they would feel deprived without. These include timepieces with evocative names such as the essential Serpenti, the charming Lucea and the spellbinding Diva’s Dream. These timepieces are “based on desirability and pleasure”, two concepts which, according to Babin, combine perfectly with those of innovation and creativity.

Eric Dumatin

BVLGARI OCTO FINISSIMO AUTOMATIC. L AUNCHED IN 2012, THE NEW OCTO HAS

BVLGARI SERPENTI SEDUT TORI. WITH ITS 18 CT. SAPPHIRE DECOR ATING THE

BV LG A R I LU C E A MO O N. F O R T H I S M O O N - P H A S E M O D E L , BV LG A R I H A S

R APIDLY ACQUIRED A CENTR AL STATUS AT BVLGARI. IT IS BOTH AN E X AMPLE OF

SNAKE’S HE AD, THIS SERPENTI SEDUT TORI ALRE ADY HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL PRO-

REINTERPRE TED THE CALCUL ATION AND INDICATION OF THE DUR ATION OF A

PRECISION WATCHMAKING AS WELL AS AN ARCHITECTUR AL DESIGN THAT REF-

FILE . IN ADDITION, IT FE ATURES A RIGID BR ACELE T, A FIRST IN THE CONTEMPO-

LUNAR SYNODIC PERIOD, WHICH TOTALS 29 DAYS, 12 HOURS, 44 MINUTES AND

ERENCES ITALIAN FUNCTIONALISM, WHICH IS HIGHLY VALUED BY THE BR AND.

R ARY COLLECTION, WHICH DEBUTED ON ELIZ ABE TH TAYLOR’S WRIST IN 1962.

2.8 SECONDS. THE WATCH DISPL AYS ITS APERTURE ARC IN THE UPPER SECTION

THIS YE AR , THIS R ANGE OF THIN WATCHES IS E XPANDING WITH AN AUTOMATIC

THIS SEDUT TORI SECRET WATCH ALSO SHOWCASES A DIAMOND-STUDDED DIAL,

OF THE MOTHER-OF-PE ARL DIAL , CRE ATING A PERFECTLY BAL ANCED L AYOUT,

MODEL THAT E XUDES UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE .

FOR THOSE WHO ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW THE TIME!

ENHANCED BY THE DIAMOND HOUR-MARKERS.

OCTO, THE MAGIC NUMBER

3 D AYS A U TO M AT I C ACC I A I O - 4 5 M M ( R E F. 674 )

PA N E R A I . C O M

•

+4 4 20 7 194 0260

first love FRÉDÉRIC GR ANGIÉ, PRESIDENT OF CHANEL WATCHES AND FINE JEWELLERY

Few brands enjoy success with every product. Chanel is evidently one of them, embodying the spirit admired

by Corneille: “For souls nobly born valour does not await the passing of years”. Let’s consider that. With its three decades of history in a world concerned with measuring time, the brand is a newcomer. And its youth has seduced its target audience, women, first winning their affections in 1987 with the Première watch and its irresistibly playful touch. But there was more to come. The J12 was designed for men’s wrists as well as women’s, and in the end everyone loved it, male and female alike. Launched in 2000, in the space of just a few years the J12 became the first iconic watch of the 21st century and its design was hailed as a classic.

The same goes for the Mademoiselle Privée line, unveiled more recently in 2012. Once again Chanel won respect for its mastery of the fine art of watch-

making. And then there is the recent Boy.Friend, a “watch with a masculine appeal dedicated to women,” as described by Frédéric Grangié, Chairman of Watches and Jewellery at Chanel since July 2016, and former Chairman of Louis Vuitton Japan, following stints as a director at Fendi Japan, Goyard and Marc Jacobs.

However the picture remains incomplete without reference to the brand’s persistent efforts to attain the heights of high watchmaking. The first sign of this was a close collaboration with Renaud & Papi, the experimental workshop owned by Audemars Piguet, followed by Chanel’s first in-house movement, Calibre 1, unveiled in 2016 with the Monsieur. This watch with instant jumping hour and retrograde minute encapsulates Chanel’s approach to high watchmaking. It is the “expression of a style, of an allure served by technical excellence”.

our own manufacture, G&F Châtelain, in Switzerland.

We’re presenting a new version this year, with a platinum case and Grand Feu enamel dial. But we could not leave it there. That’s why this year we’re presenting the Calibre 2, which is naturally fitted in a women’s watch.” And this watch is the Première, naturally, given that it is the 30 th anniversary of this watch which, when launched, received so much attention for its case shaped like Place Vendôme and the cap of the N°5 fragrance.

“This model has had a very encouraging reception,” comments Grangié. “For us, it is an extremely important step, because the Monsieur watch is fitted with the very first movement designed and developed by

The Première collection has already been extended in recent years with high watchmaking pieces, including one with a flying tourbillon and one with a beautifully made skeleton tourbillon. These complications were developed in partnership with Renaud & Papi, in the poetic spirit of the brand that has adopted the camellia, Mademoiselle Chanel’s favourite flower, as one of its icons. It was the inspiration for a jewelled skeleton movement with 107 components designed with curves that evoke three-dimensional camellia petals. No doubt this Première Camélia Squelette — Calibre 2 watch will match all the qualities of the desirable watches that are so characteristic of Chanel.

Eric Dumatin

CHANE L PREMIÈRE CAMÉLIA SQUELET TE WATCH. PRESENTED IN FOUR VER-

DRAWING OF THE CALIBRE 2 CAMÉLIA SQUELETTE MOVEMENT. AT CHANEL, TECH-

MONSIEUR DE CHANEL PLATINE WATCH. THIS MONSIEUR DE CHANEL WITH IN-

SIONS, THIS PREM IÈRE CAMÉLIA SQUELE T TE IS SHOWN HERE WITH A WHITE

NOLOGY IS ALWAYS USED TO SERVE FORM. FOR THIS ANNIVERSARY MODEL OF

STANT JUM PING HOURS HAND, RE TROGR ADE M INUTES AND PERPE TUAL CAL-

GOLD CASE SE T WITH 92 BRILLIANT-CUT DIAMONDS. THE HANDS ARE STUDDED

THE PREMIÈRE WATCH, THE MOVEMENT HAD TO FIT WITHIN THE CONTOURS OF

ENDAR IS A LIMITED EDITION OF 100 PIECES. IT FE ATURES A BL ACK GR AND FEU

WITH 17 BR I LLIANT- CUT DIAMONDS AND THE CROWN IS EM BELLISHED WITH

THE TIERED PE TALS OF A CAMELLIA , ONE OF MADEMOISELLE CHANEL’S FAVOUR-

ENAMEL DIAL AND A PL ATINUM CASE . THE FIRST MONSIEUR WATCH WAS PRE-

24 BR I LLIANT- CUT DIAMONDS. THE CALIBRE 2 MOVEMENT WITH 107 COM PO -

ITE FLOWERS. THE RESULT IS A LIGHT, ST YLISED SKELE TON MOVEMENT, THE

SENTED IN 2016 AND IS FIT TED WITH THE CALIBRE 1, CHANEL’S FIRST MANUFAC-

NENTS OFFERS A POWER RESERVE OF 48 HOURS.

BR AND’S SECOND MANUFACTURE CALIBRE .

TURE MOVEMENT.

MECHANICAL CAMELLIAS

louisvuitton.com

In 2016, Chanel surprised everyone with Monsieur, which gained attention as the brand’s first timepiece with a manufacture movement. In 2017, Chanel Horlogerie celebrates its 30 th anniversary and is bringing out its second in-house calibre with the Première Camélia Squelette watch.

WATCH YOUR TIME (UK) 280x380 P - W XD 1 INTERNATIONAL - On sale date: 20 APRIL

24 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

Tambour Automatic Chronograph

26 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

timeless jewellery

JE AN-MARC MANSVELT, DIRECTOR OF CHAUME T

In the luxury world, while many leading brands are keen to invest in activities outside their core business, some prefer to focus their excellence on the area in which they have achieved lasting success. Chaumet is one of the latter. “The history of Chaumet has been entwined with the history of France ever since its founding in 1780, in Paris,” recalls the brand, which quickly received the highest recognition as official jeweller to Empress Josephine. With more than 200 years of history and creations that have won the hearts of painters, sculptors and writers, such a heritage requires nurturing with the greatest care. “We felt it necessary to refocus the House on the essentials, and promote Chaumet as the great jeweller it has always been,” explains Jean-Marc Mansvelt, who took over as CEO of Chaumet in January 2015, having spent 10 years with Louis Vuitton. “This

choice, which reflects our historical credentials, leads us to focus primarily on women, on their desires and aspirations.”

So what about watchmaking, an activity closely linked to Chaumet’s cultural heritage? “This focus on jewellery forces us to make choices,” continues Mansvelt. “In other words, we cannot pursue every path. Having said that, we have no intention of abandoning watchmaking, an activity that has been part of our House since 1811.

But we will incorporate it more closely into our knowhow to create jewellery ‘objects’ that tell the time.” With this in mind, this year the brand is launching a new collection, Hortensia, with coloured straps, dials set with hard stones, and jewelled bezels decorated with delicately sculpted floral motifs. Mansvelt explains: “We are working on emotions and creating instant attraction, while offering these new pieces in an affordable range. At the same time, and in the same spirit, we are relaunching the Liens Lumière watch with a jewellery setting.” Featuring mother-of-pearl or fully snow-set dials, the collection comes in two sizes, with a jewelled bezel and colourful straps in a palette of 12 shades to match outfits for all occasions.

Watch complications are not being overlooked, though, as long as they complement the elegant “stories” told by the brand, as the tourbillon does to perfection. This elegance is epitomised by the Class One, the everyday watch for women. And what about the Chaumet man? The brand has not forgotten him. With its Dandy line, featuring a playful cushion-shaped case and unusual complications like the jumping hour and the metronomic second, Chaumet explores a very different narrative. The model has been endowed with a dual-counter chronograph in a sporty style that ensures this line stand out. “Here, we are also working within tight parameters,” says Mansvelt. “But in men’s products too, we aim to pick our battles carefully. We want to raise our profile with pieces that will be iconic and highly recognisable.”

This singular Chaumet identity is being showcased at the Forbidden City in Beijing, where this year the brand is holding a unique exhibition at the Palace museum.

Very few houses can boast of a culture built up over more than two centuries. For the Parisian jeweller, this heritage remains the best inspiration for its creativity.

Eric Dumatin

CHAUMET HORTENSIA SMALL. THE HORTENSIA DE CHAUME T COLLECTION PAYS

CHAUMET LIENS LUMIÈRE WATCH. ILLUMINATED BY WHITE MOTHER-OF-PE ARL

CHAUMET DANDY CHRONO SS XL-40 AUTO. WITH ITS CUSHION-SHAPED CASE,

HOMAGE TO EMPRESS JOSEPHINE, WHO LOVED FLOWERS AND GARDENS. THE

SE T WITH DIAMONDS, THE DIAL OF THE NEW LIENS LUMIÈRE WATCH ADORNS

THE DANDY WATCH BY CHAUME T COMBINES WATCHMAKING E XPERTISE WITH

R ANGE NOW COMES IN TIMEPIECES ADORNED WITH A GEM-SE T, FLOR AL BE ZEL

THE WRIST BY DAY AND NIGHT. THIS IS A WATCH VERSION OF THE LIENS LINE,

THE BR AND’S SIGNATURE ELEGANCE . POWERED BY THE CHRONOGR APH CAL-

THAT SHOWCASES THE DIAL SE T WITH HARD STONES, OPAL , L APIS L A ZULI, TUR-

WITH ITS CROSSED RIBBONS THAT ENVELOP THE DIAL AND AT TACH THE STR AP.

IBRE E TA 2894-2, THE WATCH FE ATURES A DIAL COM PR ISING THREE PL ATES

QUOISE AND MAL ACHITE . THE EFFECT IS STRIKING WHEN COMBINED WITH ONE

IT COMBINES CRE ATIVIT Y AND DESIRE, WITH A SE T OF 12 BRIGHTLY COLOURED

WITH A DAR K GRE Y CÔTES DE GENÈ VE DECOR ATION ON A PALE GRE Y L AC-

OF THE BL ACK OR COLOURED SATIN OR LIZ ARD-SKIN STR APS.

STR APS THAT CAN BE SWITCHED TO MATCH THE OCCASION.

QUERED BASE, FORMING T WO BANDS AND SURROUNDING T WO SK Y-BLUE RHO-

EXHIBITION AT THE FORBIDDEN CITY

DIUM-PL ATED COUNTERS.

dior.com - 020 7172 0172

Fine jewellery is a priority for Chaumet, which has two centuries of history behind it. At the same time, the brand is building its watchmaking credentials with jewelled creations that tell the time. The only exception is the elegant and sporty Dandy for men.

DIOR GRAND SOIR BOTANIC WHITE GOLD, DIAMONDS, RUBIES, EMERALDS AND SAPPHIRES ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECE

REALIST WATCH YOUR TIME 29

--o------- james gurney

A MOMENT OF NOSTALGIA

“ a bove all, a man’s thought is his nostalgia” albert camus ( 1913 — 1960 )

VINTAGE WATCHES — THOSE THAT PRECEDE QUARTZ — HAVE SEEN AN UPSURGE IN INTEREST IN RECENT YEARS. ON THE ONE HAND, THE MARKET FOR PRE-OWNED WATCHES HAS TAKEN OFF; ELSEWHERE, BR ANDS ARE FINDING INSPIR ATION IN THEIR ARCHIVES AND GIVING A NEW LEASE ON LIFE TO THEIR ICONIC DESIGNS. THIS TREND MIRRORS DEMAND FOR “WEAR ABLE” SIZES AND USEFUL COMPLICATIONS, WITH THE ADDED APPEAL OF VINTAGE CHARM.

© Bruno Aveillan

Do our watches keep nostalgia instead of time? Take a look at the watches worn around you and you will almost certainly see contemporary designs easily outnumbered by those from forty, fifty or even a hundred years ago. That’s not true for cars or fashion, architecture or interiors, so how come watch design is uniquely informed by the past? Is this nostalgia, as in Camus’ saying that prompted this article (“Above all, a man’s thought is his nostalgia”), the total thought of the watch business, or could something else be going on?

It’s certainly true that there’s no other business that makes as much of a fetish of its heritage as the watch industry, barely a week going by without one or other anniversary of greater or lesser significance being celebrated — this year promises the centenary of Cartier’s Tank watch, the 60 th of Omega’s Speedmaster and fifty years since the Rolex Sea Dweller was launched, let alone 45 years of the Royal Oak and 65 of the Navitimer. Impressively, last year saw GirardPerregaux pass 225 years, while there’s scarcely a single brand that doesn’t offer a history section on their web site, even the twenty-year old Parmigiani.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE REVERSO TRIBUTE DUOFACE. A SUBTLE DEMONSTR ATION OF JAEGER-LECOULTRE’S FINE CR AF TSMANSHIP, THE RE VERSO TRIBUTE DUOFACE HAS A DISCREE T, TIMELESS ELEGANCE WITH ITS ROSE GOLD CASE . IT FE ATURES T WO CONTR ASTING DIALS, E ACH INDICATING ITS OWN TIME ZONE, THANKS TO THE DUOFACE CONCEP T. ON THE FRONT, THE GR AINED SILVER-COLOURED DIAL FE ATURES HAND-APPLIED HOUR-MARKERS AND A SMALL SECONDS AT 6 O’CLOCK . ON THE BACK , LOCAL TIME IS DISPL AYED ON AN ANTHR ACITE GREY DIAL WITH DAY/NIGHT INDICATOR . WITH ITS CLE AN, GEOME TRIC, ART DECO-ST YLE LINES, THIS DESIGN INSPIRED BY “1931” HAS BECOME A 20 th CENTURY ICON.

Equally true has been the growth in the size and scope of the vintage and pre-owned markets. Where watches were once sub-departments of jewellery and watch dealers to be found in dusty antique markets, they’re now front of house, marquee departments, while serious independent dealers are as likely to be found in the Burlington Arcade than anywhere else. The growing supply and demand (conservatively estimated at 67% over the last ten years according to the Knight Frank Luxury Report) has been most evident in the appearance of new players specialising in different sectors — in London the last decade has seen the emergence of WatchFinder (recent pre-owned), Watches of Knightsbridge (vintage military), and The Watch Club (higher end pre-owned) join the likes of established dealers such as David Duggan and the Omega specialist Somlo in and around Mayfair.

30 WATCH YOUR TIME REALIST

THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY

And as for contemporary production, you can hardly move for the old favourites, re-issues, updates and the like, so it’s easy to see why the watch business has a reputation for looking backwards. I don’t think that’s quite right, however.

Watchmaking is bound up in its past, for very good reasons, but it is also forward-thinking, whether in terms of production, quality-control, training, infrastructure, marketing and, yes, design. To understand this seeming paradox, it helps to go back to the definition of nostalgia that’s implied by Camus. Here, the meaning is less “backward-looking” than the longing to find the essential unity in things, a search that inevitably takes in the past.

As it happens, that’s a useful way to look at the watch industry and understand the particular importance of history and heritage. Watchmaking’s essential unity is in its synthesis of craftsmanship, technology, function, adornment and heritage, but some of those values shift over time (technology and adornment) while others (craftsmanship and function) remain constant. The result is that, depending on the particular synthesis of values, watch designs from decades, even centuries ago, can remain surprisingly relevant today — it’s impossible to look at a Breguet Souscription watch and say it’s truly outdated.

Craftsmanship is one of those values that doesn’t change over time and it’s natural that designers wanting to emphasise it should look to templates from the past. Breguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin all have catalogues that are dominated by watches created with a design language that derives from decades back: all Pomme hands, guilloché dials, Breguet numerals and variations

I

on the simple round case shapes that became standard in the 1930s. What’s interesting is that the language can be used to create watches that would never have been contemplated in earlier decades; looking back does not quite equal backwards-looking. Vacheron Constantin’s Harmony Collection, for example, uses a case-shape that’s entirely of the 1930’s but fitted to movements such as a visible tourbillon chronograph that were inconceivable at the time.

THE PIONEERING YEARS

More radically, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Duomètre creates a thoroughly contemporary watch using the language of 19th-century pocket watches. Originally launched in 2007, the Duomètre is as purely “horological” a watch as you could want. It’s based on the idea of having separate power trains to run the basic timing functions and the complications, the better to preserve the isochronism of the watch.

Given that (wrist) watchmakers are forever trying to match the perfection of their pocket-watch forebears, it’s only appropriate to borrow the design language when they succeed. Slightly ironically, this was only practical in design terms once modern tastes had become accepting of larger case sizes for wristwatches.

Reaching even further back, Breguet’s Tradition creates an undeniably 21st-century watch design out of the standard movement architecture of a late 18th-century watch. First presented in such a close facsimile — minimal bridges, frosted-gilt finishes and blued screws — that it looked to have jumped straight out of the archives. Except that it was radically different for 2007, let alone 1787.

II

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V

IIII

VI

VII

I · ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL AIR KING. THIS NEW MOD-

III · VACHERON CONSTANTIN PATRIMONY MOON PHASE

IIII · CARTIER DRIVE MOON PHASES. POWERED BY THE

VI · ZENITH HERITAGE 146. ZENITH PRESENTS A NEW VIN-

EL UNVEI LED IN 2016 PERPE TUATES THE WATCHMAK-

AND RETROGR ADE DATE. WITH ITS DIAL THAT REPRO-

NEW MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT 1904-LU MC, THIS MOD-

TAGE SERIES WITH THE HERITAGE 146 CHRONOGR APH,

ER’S AERONAUTICAL HERITAGE . IT FE ATURES A 40 MM

DUCES THE MOON’S CYCLE AND AGE, WITH NO COR-

EL DISPL AYS THE MOON PHASES AT 6 O’CLOCK . THE

I N S P I R ED BY A 1960 S WATC H , W I TH A N EL P R I M E-

STEEL CASE AND HAS A BL ACK DIAL COMBINING L ARGE

RECTION REQUIRED FOR 122 YE ARS, THIS NE W TIME-

COMPLICATION REPRODUCES THE NIGHTLY MOON CY-

RO MOVEMENT. HOUSED IN A 38 MM STEEL CASE, THE

HOUR-MARKERS AT 3, 6 AND 9 O’CLOCK AND A MINUTE

PIECE INVITES THE WE ARER TO OBSERVE THE SK Y. THE

CLE THROUGH THE NEW MOON, FIRST QUARTER , FULL

WATCH HAS A RETRO LOOK WITH ITS TROPICAL BROWN

SCALE TO RE AD OFF NAVIGATION TIMES.

ELEGANT COMPLICATION COMPLEMENTS THE RE TRO-

MOON AND L AST QUARTER. IT IS DESCRIBED AS “ASTRO-

OR B LUE DIAL , AND IS POWERED BY AN EL PR I M ERO

II · AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK EXTRA-THIN. IN 2016,

GR ADE DATE DISPL AY. FE ATUR ING A NE W MANUFAC -

NOMICAL” AS IT REQUIRES CORRECTING BY JUST ONE

COLUMN WHEEL CALIBRE .

AUDEMARS PIGUE T PRESENTED SE VER AL HIGHLY SUC-

TURE CALIBRE , THE MODEL BE ARS THE PRESTIGIOUS

DAY E VERY 122 YE ARS.

VII · PATEK PHILIPPE ANNUAL CALENDAR REFERENCE

CESSFUL ROYAL OAK MODELS IN YELLOW GOLD. THIS

POINÇON DE GENÈ VE STAMP.

V · ULYSSE NARDIN CLASSICO MANUFACTURE. ULYSSE

5396. IN 2016, PATEK PHI LIPPE CELEBR ATED THE 20 th

YE AR , THE WATCHMAKER IS BACK WITH THIS NEW E X-

NARDIN PRESENTS A NE W EDITION OF ITS CL ASSICO

ANN IVERSARY OF ITS PATENTED ANNUAL CALENDAR ,

TR A-THIN MODEL WITH A CASE IN YELLOW GOLD THAT

M ANUFACTUR E , ADOR NED W I TH A D I A L F I N I SHED I N

A COMPLE TE CALENDAR REQUIRING ONLY ONE COR-

IS 39 MM IN DIAME TER AND 8 MM THICK . LIKE THE ORIG-

BLUE GR AND FEU ENAMEL . THIS TIMEPIECE EPITOMIS-

RECTION PER YE AR . THE WATCHMAKER PRESENTED A

INAL ROYAL OAK OF 1972, IT IS POWERED BY THE COM-

ES THE THREE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH ULYSSE NARDIN

NE W MODEL , S LIGHTLY D I FFER ENT I N APPE AR ANCE ,

PANY’S MANUFACTURE CALIBRE 2121.

HAS BUILT ITS REPUTATION FOR MECHANICAL WATCH-

CONTINUING THE LINE OF THE 21 VERSIONS CRE ATED

ES: AN INDEPENDENT MANUFACTURE , R ARE CR AF TS-

SINCE 1996.

MANSHIP AND A CONSTANT QUEST FOR INNOVATION.

32 WATCH YOUR TIME REALIST

You can, of course, look backward for the sake of it. Different eras catch our attention in a much more straightforwardly nostalgic way. There’s a patent romance to the pioneering years of aviation that is easy to understand and that finds expression in the kit and accoutrements of the period, the most compelling (and usable) of these being the wristwatches of the period. IWC earned critical plaudits for taking the brand’s pilot watch collections back to basics in 2016.

After several generations of the Mark watches that sought to update the formula, 2016’s Mark XVIII was much closer in spirit to the watches originally produced to a British government specification in the 1930s. Interestingly, the comments on the watch referred to it being more appropriate and closer to an ideal, suggesting that the nostalgia involved here is more of the Camus type.

GOOD DESIGN IS TIMELESS

That search for the ideal also accounts for the enduring popularity of watches such as the Rolex Submariner and, to a lesser extent, Blancpain’s trail-blazing Fifty Fathoms. The two designs established the basic template for what a diver’s watch needed to be both mechanically and in terms of design. Water-resistant, robust, reliable and legible, these watches were conceived in almost purely utilitarian terms to meet the needs of divers working in a dangerous and unforgiving

I

environment (the watch designs were also influenced by a prevailing taste for the technological). The success of these watches meant that the designs became widely understood as meaning the qualities they represented, a “truth” that still applies today even though the principal tool the divers now use is a mini-computer worn on the wrist (but commonly with a mechanical back-up nonetheless).

It would be impossible to talk about the influence of past design on contemporary watchmaking without looking at Panerai. As much by accident as intent, the Panerai template that the brand inherited in the 1990s was remarkably consistent as shown in the exhibitions that Panerai occasionally puts on tracing the evolution of the brand’s watch design from the original 1930s diver’s watches commissioned by the Italian Navy through to the latest models. Ironically enough, this is clearly not nostalgia, but an exercise in brand identity carried, successfully, to extremes. It does, however, show that good design is essentially timeless.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s pure dress watches that are most susceptible to going out of fashion, possibly because the defining value is adornment — the longlooked for revival of Patek Philippe’s Gondolo watches at auction will happen, but only once fashion catches up with the idea once more. There are of course exceptions such as the Reverso (though you might say that Art Deco is never out of fashion) and, celebrating its centenary this year, Cartier’s incomparable Tank, the watch that showed what a wristwatch might be. It has, of course, enough variations that there’s always one that catches the mood of the day, but the basic Tank has never really dated and if that’s nostalgia, I want some.

ˇ

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I · PAN E R AI LUMINOR MARINA 1950 AMERICA’S CUP

BLUE IS THE SUPREME COLOUR IN FASHION FOR MEN

IT DESERVES IN ITS COLLECTIONS. THIS CONTEMPO-

PIECE INSPIRED BY A FL AGSHIP MODEL THAT IS KEP T

3 DAYS AUTOMATIC ACCIAIO — 44MM. WITH THIS CL AS-

AND WOMEN.

R ARY WATCH COMBINES DESIGN, DE TAIL AND A HIGH

AT ITS SWISS HE ADQUARTERS. AVAI L AB LE I N STEEL ,

SIC, PANER AI CRE ATED THE OFFICIAL WATCH FOR THE

III · MONTBL ANC 1958 AUTOMATIC. THE VINTAGE ST YLE

STANDARD OF CHRONOME TRY.

YELLOW GO LD AND ROSE GO LD, THESE NU M BER ED

35 th

EDITION OF THE OLDEST SPORTING COMPE TITION

O F T H E M O N T B L A N C 18 5 8 C O L L EC T I O N I S O N C E

V · TU D OR BL ACK BAY CHRONOGR APH. AF TER TH E

LIMITED-EDITION TIMEPIECES FE ATURE A FL AGSHIP ON

IN MODERN TI M ES. TH IS SPECIAL EDITION HAS BEEN

AGAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF

VERS I ON W I TH A B RONZE CAS E U NVEI LED I N 2016,

THEIR BACK .

PRODUCED IN A SERIES OF 300 PIECES. WITH ITS MINI-

BRONZE, A FIRST FOR THE WATCHMAKER . BY CHOOS-

THIS IS THE CHRONOGR APH MODEL OF THE HERITAGE

VII · DIOR VIII MONTAIGNE. EIGHT IS A MAGIC NUMBER

MALIST DESIGN AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, THIS UN-

ING TH IS M E TAL , MONTB L ANC IS COM B IN ING TR ADI -

BL ACK BAY LINE, INTRODUCED IN 2012. AN E XCELLENT

FOR CHRISTIAN DIOR . IT E VOKES 8 OCTOBER 1946, THE

DERSTATED MODEL IS PERFECTLY SUITED TO THE DE-

TIONAL SWISS WATCHMAKING CR AF TSMANSHIP WITH A

DIVER’S WATCH, THE BL ACK BAY IS WATER RESISTANT

DAY THE HOUSE OPENED ITS DOORS, AS WELL AS ITS

MANDS OF MARITIME NAVIGATION.

T YPICAL MATERIAL IN THE HISTORY OF TIMEPIECES, RE-

TO 200 METRES. HERE IT COMES IN WONDERFULLY RET-

ADDRESS ON AVENUE MONTAIGNE IN THE EIGHTH AR-

II · HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION BR ACELET BLUE TITANIUM

VIVING THE AUTHENTIC SPIRIT OF THE 1930S.

RO FORM, ACCENTUATED BY THE BE ZEL WITH ITS EN-

RONDISSEMENT OF PAR IS, AND “EN HUIT”, THE NAME

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S WARDROBES ARE BASED ON A

I I I I · G IR ARD - PE RREG AUX L AURE ATO 42MM. IN 2016,

GR AVED TACHYME TER SCALE .

OF ITS FIRST COLLECTION. IT IS ONLY NATUR AL THAT

FE W KE Y PIECES. AMONG THEM IS THE CL ASSIC FU-

THE L AURE ATO MADE A COME-BACK IN THE FORM OF

VI · LONGINES FLAGSHIP HERITAGE 60th ANNIVERSARY

D I OR ’S F I RST CER A M I C WATCH SHOU LD B E AR TH I S

SION BR ACELE T BLUE . THIS IS THANKS TO ITS SIMPLE

A LI M ITED ED ITION CELEBR ATI NG 225 YE ARS OF G I -

THIS YE AR , LONGINES CELEBR ATES 60 YE ARS OF ITS

ICONIC NAME .

ELEGANCE AND TI MELESS SI LHOUE T TE , WITH TITANI -

R ARD-PERREGAUX. AF TER THIS SUCCESSFUL VERSION,

FI RST FL AGSH I P COLLECTION . TO M AR K THE OC CA-

UM CASE AND BR ACELE T, AND ITS SHADES OF BLUE .

THE WATCHMAKER IS GIVING THE L AUREATO THE PL ACE

SION , THE WATCH M AKER IS PRESENTI NG TH IS TI M E-

34 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

FOCUS WATCH YOUR TIME 35

CYRILLE VIGNERON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CARTIER INTERNATIONAL

feline icon THE CARTIER STORE ON THE CHAMPS-ELYSÉES, PARIS

P h o to N i c o l a s G u e r b e © C a r t i e r

Having imposed its inimitable signature in jewellery, and confirmed its expertise in highly complicated timepieces, the Parisian firm continues to forge ahead with watches that are distinctive, affordable, and so very Cartier.

Mention the panther to anyone with even a passing interest in luxury items, and chances are they will answer with the Cartier name. For more than a century, the feline has been an emblem of the watchmaker-jeweller, lending itself to countless renderings from fully-formed likenesses to mere suggestions of its presence, each a demonstration of Cartier’s complete command of artistic crafts. In the 1980s and 90s, the panther became synonymous with a collection of watches that were instantly recognisable for their square case, metal bracelet and screwdown crown: a classic timepiece that quickly made its mark among women. Yet despite its success, the Panthère line disappeared from the collections in the early 2000s to make way for more complex creations as Cartier entered the upper echelons of time measurement, where a watch worthy of the name could not exist without an accumulation of complications that made a simple hours and minutes display pale into insignificance.

PURE PLEASURE

Here too, Cartier has employed its style and skill to exceptional effect. Proof, were it needed, came at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, where the brand presented the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon, hallmarked with the Poinçon de Genève. It was, as Cartier explains, a twofold challenge: “In addition to the technical feat of assembling 448 components in a case measuring a mere 11.15 mm, the timepiece is aesthetically stunning. The openwork mechanism and contrasting black rhodium finish expose the transparency of the mysterious double tourbillon and reveal the steady rhythm of the minute repeater.” Few watchmakers have ventured into such challenging terrain, not forgetting that this mysterious double tourbillon is unique to Cartier.

However impressive they may be, such a raft of competencies — which have also produced concept watches that have opened up new potential for innovation — are not at the core of Cartier’s watchmaking business. Cyrille Vigneron, who has presided over the brand since January 2016, explains: “High watchmaking is certainly an area in which Cartier excels, and we shall continue in this vein but with limited editions. Today, Cartier watchmaking must propose products with a powerful status and iden-

tity, products that give pleasure. Globally speaking, in recent years there has been a tendency to constantly push out new products, with one taking the place of another, one copying another. Prices have also lost touch with what the customer considers to be a healthy reality. It’s time we stopped spreading ourselves thin and returned to lasting values.

Modern technology comes with planned obsolescence whereas the luxury we propose is for ever. And beautiful, which makes people happy.”

CRYSTAL-CLEAR POSITIONING

Hence there must have been a warm glow around Cartier when it decided to revive its Panthère watch, a collection with a “powerful aesthetic that transcends generations,” in the words of Cyrille Vigneron.

The brand already began to mark out its territory two years ago with the introduction of Clé de Cartier, an original collection with simple lines and fitted with a specially developed movement, Calibre 1847 MC, named in reference to the year Cartier was founded.

This was the first completely new range since Ballon Bleu made its debut in 2007. As it turned out, this Clé (“key”) was to open a lot of doors: in early 2016 it reappeared as an Automatic Skeleton whose Calibre 9621 MC was the first Cartier movement to skeletonise the bridges into Roman numerals, and skeletonise the 22k gold oscillating weight while conserv-

ing its winding efficiency. As if this weren’t enough, another new line, Drive, roared onto the scene that same year, inspired by automobiles and racing with its domed sapphire crystal, a crown shaped like the bolts used to assemble cars, and guillochage on the dial inspired by a vintage radiator grill. Dressier than its predecessor, the Roadster, Drive returned earlier this year with an extra-flat version and a moon-phase model extending the range.

Bolstered by this new “crystal-clear” positioning — products with a strong identity, for men and for women, that are what the market calls for — Cyrille Vigneron is in no doubt that “Cartier watchmaking is back. This refocusing is, in itself, the best growth engine the brand could wish for. Building on this, we intend to step up our efforts in the markets, with the United States and Asia in our sights. It’s a fact that jewellery has performed better in the economic climate of recent months, but thanks to our new watch offering we can now count on two equally strong pillars to underpin our development in the months and years to come.” As a strong signal to the markets,

the public will be treated to some very special events, along the lines of the unveiling, in Japan in October 2016, of the critically acclaimed Magicien high jewellery collection. “Our events were too focused on Europe,” Cyrille Vigneron concludes. “London and Paris, to take two examples, are major cities on the luxury map, but they no longer hold any secrets for many of our customers. Our option now is to go towards Asia and the United States by inviting customers from around the world to discover new horizons and experience new sensations.” An invitation no-one could refuse.

Eric Dumatin

CAR TIE R PANTHÈRE . I N THE 1980S, CAR TI ER ’S FAMOUS PANTHER BECAM E ASSOC IATED WITH A COLLECTION OF WATCHES RECOGN ISAB LE FOR THEIR SQUARE CASE, ME TAL BR ACELE T AND SCREW-LOCKED CROWN. THE PANTHÈRE R ANGE WAS D I SC ONTI NUED AT THE TUR N OF THE CENTURY, BUT R E TUR NS THIS YE AR WITH NO LESS THAN 17 WATCHES IN T WO SIZES (22 MM AND 27 MM) IN GOLD, STEEL AND T WO-COLOUR VERSIONS.

CALIBRE 9918 MC. THE AUTOMATIC CALIBRE 9919 MC IS HOUSED IN A 44 M M

CAR TIE R PANTHÈRE JOUEUSE WATCH. THE PANTHER I S A SPEC IAL AN I M AL

CARTIER DRIVE E X TR A-FLAT. THIS NEW VERSION OF THE DRIVE HAS AN UNDER-

WHITE GOLD CASE SET WITH BRILLIANT-CUT DIAMONDS. COMPRISING 214 COM-

FOR CAR TI ER . HER E IT APPE ARS I N P L AYFU L FOR M , THAN KS TO A NE W C OM -

STATED ELEGANCE WITH ITS CUSHION-SHAPED CASE , WHICH IS 7 M M THICK

PONENTS, IT OFFERS A POWER RESERVE OF 48 HOURS. BECAUSE THE PANTHER’S

P L I CAT I O N I N T H E B R A N D’ S C O L L EC T I O N S . S P R I N G I N G F O R T H F RO M T H E

— 40% FL AT TER THAN THE ORIGINAL MODEL . THE SUNBURST SATIN-FINISHED

PAW TR ACKS THE MINUTES AND THE BALL SHOWS THE HOURS, THE PANTHER

DEP THS OF THE D IAL , THE AN I M AL TR I ES TO CATCH A BALL . THE PANTHER ’S

DIAL , FL AT SAPPHIRE GL ASS AND REFINED ALLIGATOR STR AP CONTRIBUTE TO

MANAGES TO CATCH THE BALL ONCE E VERY 60 MINUTES. IT’S A FINE E X AMPLE

HE AD AND PAW I ND ICATE THE M I NUTES, WH I LE THE BALL M AR KS THE PASS-

THE CLE AN LINES. UNDERSTATED, EXTR A-FL AT AND SMALLER, IT HER ALDS A NEW

OF NE VER GIVING UP!

I NG HOURS .

LOOK FOR THE COLLECTION.

ACTIVIST WATCH YOUR TIME 39

--o------- paolo de vecchi

A SPORTING INTERLUDE

“ t here are all sorts of epidemics; the taste for sport is a health one” jean giraudoux ( 1882 — 1944 )

WRIT TEN IN 1928, THIS PHR ASE BY THE FRENCH WRITER AND DR AMATIST JEAN GIR AUDOUX ILLUSTR ATES THE UNPRECEDENTED POPUL ARIT Y OF SPORT AS A PASTIME AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DEFINING THE BURGEONING “MODERN” ER A .

© Bruno Aveillan

Modern taste in art took the form of Art Deco; in fashion it appeared in the revolutionary style of Coco Chanel; in manufacturing and consumption it coincided with the first examples of industrial design. In elegant society, modernity went hand-in-hand with new forms of leisure, from the derring-dos of aviators to motoring, travel, cocktails and jazz, and a new-found interest in sport.

This new trend first showed itself in watchmaking not in the emergence of a particular category of timepieces, but in their transition from a man’s waistcoat pocket or a lady’s purse to the wrist. This marked a turning-point in the history of time measurement, as it implied the miniaturisation of centuries of history and artistic, technical and scientific conquests. What had once seemed unthinkable, if only from a manufacturing perspective, was now reality: the wristwatch was born.

Even before it was used to time sporting competitions (chronograph) or equipped to keep divers safe under water (dive watch), the watch already possessed the qualities that would win the allegiance of professional sportsmen and women. All it took was the addition of a strap to bring it into the modern era.

PANER AI LUMINOR 1950 OR ACLE TEAM USA 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC CER AMICA .

THIS IS ONE OF THREE OFFICIAL WATCHES DESIGNED BY PANER AI FOR THE OR ACLE TE AM USA , WHO ARE COMPE TING IN THE 2017 AMERICA’S CUP. ITS TECHNICAL CHAR ACTERISTICS CELEBR ATE THE PERFORMANCE OF A PROFESSIONAL TE AM THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED GRE ATLY TO THE SAILING LEGEND. LIGHT WEIGHT YE T SOLID, THE 44 MM CASE OF THE LUMINOR 1950 IS MADE FROM A SPECIAL SYNTHE TIC CER AMIC OBTAINED FROM CUBIC ZIRCONIA . IT HAS A SPORT Y LOOK IN A UNIFORM MAT TE BL ACK LIVERY. POWERED BY THE MANUFACTURE CALIBRE P.9100, THIS LUMINOR 1950 IS A CHRONOGR APH EQUIPPED WITH A FLYBACK FE ATURE .

AN AGE OF INNOVATION

Giraudoux’s observation is a comment on the society of his day, in an era when sport — formerly a military and patriotic discipline — was entering ordinary life thanks to races, competitions and the spread of healthy, active pastimes that reflected a new way of life. Sports were played as a group, as part of a team or with a club. This exactly coincided with the rise of the wristwatch and, from the point of view of production, with new emphasis on mechanical functionality, versatility and design that mirrored social and cultural changes. These were the qualities that instantly set these new timepieces, and their owners, apart, much like a tie or a piece of jewellery.

40 WATCH YOUR TIME ACTIVIST

While Cartier was first to make an officially documented wristwatch, sold as the Santos model in Paris circa 1911, it was Rolex that gave a decisive impulse to its development with two successive innovations: the Oyster case, first to guarantee proper waterproofness, and the Perpetual rotor for automatic winding. These two systems, introduced in 1928 and 1931 respectively, have benefited from continual improvements and are still in use today.

It’s interesting to note that the Santos watch descends from a one-off that Louis Cartier in person made in 1904 for his friend, the Brazilian magnate Alberto Santos-Dumont, in response to his request for something more practical than a pocket watch when flying his plane. The solution took the form of a wristwatch, more readily visible.

Pilot watches went on to inspire major developments, including milestones such as Cartier’s Santos or the Zenith worn by Louis Blériot, the first man to fly across the English Channel. Longines made its hour angle watches with another aviation pioneer, Charles Lindbergh, in mind. At the same time, mil-

I

itary instruments devised by more or less famous names began to acquire their defining features: large diameter, triangular marker at 12 o’clock, a black dial and only essential indications, which had to be instantly legible and often with a luminescent coating. These characteristics are typical of today’s Big Pilot range by IWC as well as several Breitling collections, in particular the Navitimer with its mechanical chronograph function.

Water-resistance and automatic winding are both essential features of a modern, hence “sport” wristwatch, yet both were inexistent prior to Rolex’s innovations. Another historic reminder of the link between functionality and the presence of wristwatches in sport is the creation of the Reverso by Jaeger-LeCoultre, to satisfy demand among British army officers stationed in 1930s India for an elegant watch that was suited to military life and such gentlemanly pastimes as polo matches. Hence the Reverso’s case, which can be swivelled 180° to position the metal back uppermost and therefore protect dial and glass from stray polo balls and other shocks.

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THE ETERNAL MOVEMENT Ulysse Nardin, from the movement of the sea to the perpetual innovation of Haute Horlogerie. For over 170 years, the powerful movement of the ocean has inspired Ulysse Nardin in its singular quest: to push back the limits of mechanical watchmaking, time and time again.

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I · ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL COSMOGRAPH DAY TONA

CATEGORY. THIS TI MEPIECE COMBINES THE BEST OF

THE NEW AUTOMATIC MECHANICAL MOVEMENT 1110P.

OD, THE BIDIRECTIONAL SECOND HAND STARTS MOV-

AN EMBLEMATIC TIMEPIECE CREATED IN 1963, THE COS-

BOTH WORLDS.

V · HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO MAGIC SAPPHIRE. OVER

ING CLOCK WISE, TIMING THE R ACE . THIS CLE AR , INTU-

MOGR APH DAY TONA BY ROLEX WAS DESIGNED TO MEET

III · AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE DIVER

THE YE ARS, HUBLOT HAS INTRODUCED A NUMBER OF

ITIVE AND HIGH-PRECISION FE ATURE WAS DESIGNED

THE DEMANDS OF PROFESSIONAL PILOTS. WITH A HIGH-

AF TER THE SUCCESS OF FUNK Y COLOURS IN 2016, THIS

INNOVATIVE ALLOYS AS WELL AS AESTHE TIC AND COL-

BY ULYSSE NARDIN.

LY RELIABLE CHRONOGR APH AND A BE ZEL WITH TA-

YE AR AUDEMARS PIGUET PRESENTS A ROYAL OAK OFF-

OUR CHOICES INTO ITS DISTINCTIVE COLLECTIONS. THE

V I I · VACH E RON CON S TANTI N OVERSE AS CHRONO -

CHY M E TER SCA LE , I T A LLOWS P I LOTS TO M E ASUR E

SHORE DIVER IN EQUALLY VIBRANT TONES, INCLUDING THIS

BIG BANG UNICO MAGIC SAPPHIRE BRINGS TOGE THER

GR APH CALIBRE 520 0. STAMPED WITH THE POINÇON

TH EI R AVER AG E S PEED W I TH PR EC I S I ON , AT U P TO

MODEL WITH AN APPLE GREEN DIAL AND STRAP. THIS TIME-

SEVER AL OF THESE IN THIS TIMEPIECE POWERED BY AN

DE GENÈ VE, THIS WATCH IS POWERED BY THE NEW AU-

400 KILOME TRES OR MILES PER HOUR .

PIECE IS WATER RESISTANT TO 300 METRES AND FEATURES

IN-HOUSE MOVEMENT, HOUSED IN A CASE MADE FROM

TOMATIC CHRONOGR APH CALIBRE 5200. THE RESULT

II · PATEK PHILIPPE WORLD TIME CHRONOGR APH REF-

A DIVING SCALE AS WELL AS A ROTATING INNER BEZEL .

A MATERIAL DE VELOPED THROUGH HUBLOT’S UNIQUE

OF F I VE YE ARS OF DE VELOP M ENT, TH I S M OVEM ENT

ERENCE 5930. REFERENCE 5930 COM B INES T WO OF

IIII · PIAGET POLO S. THE NAME OF THIS WATCH DE-

E XPERTISE IN MACHINING SAPPHIRE .

MADE UP OF 263 PARTS HAS A COLUM N WHEEL FOR

PATEK PHILIPPE’S SPECIALITIES: THE CHRONOGR APH

SCRIBES ITS GENESIS: POLO BECAUSE IT IS THE L AT-

VI · ULYSSE NARDIN MARINE REGAT TA. GE T TING OFF

THE CHRONOGR APH FUNCTIONS AS WELL AS A VERTI-

AND WORLD TIME . TODAY, THE GENE VA-BASED WATCH-

EST GENER AT I ON I N A CH I C, SP OR T Y C O LLECTI ON

TO A GOOD START IS THE FUNCTION OF THIS PATENT-

CAL CLUTCH TO CONTROL THE JUMPING HAND WHEN

MAKER OFFERS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SELECTIONS OF

L AUNCHED I N 1979, AND “S” FOR STEEL , WH I CH I S

ED NEW REGAT TA CHRONOGR APH, WHICH FE ATURES

THE CHRONOGR APH IS STARTED.

CHRONOGR APHS AND WATCHES WITH WOR LD TI ME ,

WHAT THIS LINE IS MADE FROM . BE T WEEN A CUSH-

A COUNTDOWN TIMER WITH HANDS ADJUSTABLE FROM

WHICH ARE AMONG THE MOST SOUGHT-AF TER IN THEIR

ION AND A ROUND SHAPE , THE 42 MM CASE HOUSES

ONE TO 10 MINUTES. AT THE END OF THE TIMED PERI-

Classico Manufacture Self-winding movement Silicium technology Water-resistant 30m ulysse-nardin.com

42 WATCH YOUR TIME ACTIVIST

MORE THAN AN ACCESSORY

While these timepieces designed for track and field were behind the origin and development of the wristwatch, it wasn’t long before the sport watch was taking on an appearance and specificities of its own, and acquiring new status as a piece of sporting equipment in its own right, not simply an accessory.

With water-resistance, robustness and legibility now standard, and once movements provided the requisite functionality and reliability, the wristwatch was set to time anything from car races to Olympic events. They braved the ocean’s deep with amateur and professional divers. They took to the airs with civilian and military pilots, and even launched into space. The Omega Speedmaster accompanied each of the Apollo space missions, including on July 20 th 1969 when Neil Armstrong made history by walking on the moon.

Until the 1970s, there were no electronic timers to determine who was first over the finish line, only mechanical instruments, and one of the pioneers

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in this domain was TAG Heuer. The brand’s first notable, not to say revolutionary, venture into the world of sport and the measuring of short intervals goes back to 1916 when the Swiss firm, established some fifty years earlier in Saint-Imier, developed the first stopwatch that was capable of timing to the nearest 1/100 th of a second; this was ten times more precise than any other watch of the day.

Leaving land for sea, Officine Panerai and its history best illustrate the creation and development of dive watches. The Italian firm, now part of Richemont, was a specialist manufacturer of instruments for underwater use, such as depth gauges, compasses and flashlights. It made its name in watchmaking thanks to the watches it produced to specifications established by the Italian Navy for its combat divers in the 1940s. The original Radiomir case was later replaced by the Luminor, which had the benefit of a lever to protect the watertight crown. It is the perfect example of a watch that earned its credentials in professional usage before evolving into an iconic contemporary sport watch, renowned the world over for its qualities of precision, resistance, design and functionality.

ˇ

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I · CHOPARD MILLE MIGLIA CLASSIC CHRONOGR APH

FIRST APPE ARED IN 1969, BECOMING AN ICONIC E X AM-

TER-RESISTANT TO 200 ME TRES, HAS A TITANIUM CASE

AND A RED CASE-BACK . THE CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER

S P O R T Y, V I N TAG E A N D D I S T I N G U I S H E D, T H E N E W

PLE OF HIGH-PRECISION MECHANICS.

AND BR ACELE T, A UNIDIRECTIONAL ROTATING BE ZEL

CHRONOGR APH WITH TACHYME TER SCALE UPHOLDS

M I LLE M IG LIA C L ASSIC CHRONOGR APH COM ES IN A

III · TUDOR PELAGOS LHD. IN REFERENCE TO ITS HIS-

AND A SCREW-LOCKED CROWN.

THE HIGH-TECH, FUNCTIONAL QUALIT Y OF THE CHIF-

VERSION FOR MEN AND WOMEN. WITH ITS BL ACK DIAL

TORY, TUDOR HAS BROUGHT OUT ITS PEL AGOS IN A

V · CHAUMET CLASS ONE. CHAUME T HAS CHOSEN THE

FRE ROUGE COLLECTION.

WITH L ARGE LUMINESCENT NUMER ALS, IT IS POWERED

LEF T-HANDED VERSION, WITH THE WINDING STEM PO-

CL ASS ONE FOR A LIMITED EDITION BY CONTEMPOR ARY

VII · TAG HEUER AQUAR ACER 300M ALUMINIUM BEZEL

BY A COSC-CERTIFIED PRECISION MOVEMENT. AVAIL A-

SITIONED ON THE LEF T SIDE OF THE CASE-MIDDLE, AL-

ARTIST LORIS CECCHINI, A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE

F O R I TS 2017 ED I T I O N , TH E AQ UA R AC ER H AS K EP T

BLE IN 42 MM AND 39 MM DIAME TERS, THIS WATCH DUO

LOWING IT TO BE WORN ON THE RIGHT WRIST. TUDOR

FIRST DIVE WATCH ON PRESTIGIOUS PL ACE VENDÔME

ITS CHAR ACTER ISTIC S BUT IS NOW MORE AFFORDA-

DEMONSTR ATES THE CL ASSIC R ACING SPIRIT PRIZED

HAD ALRE ADY PRODUCED SIMIL AR INSTRUMENTS FOR

IN PARIS. CECCHINI HAS RE TURNED TO HIS WALLWAVE

BLE THAN E VER THANKS TO AN ALUMINIUM BE ZEL AND

BY CHOPARD.

PROFESSIONAL DIVERS, INCLUDING THE FRENCH NAV Y.

V I B R AT I O N , W H I C H R E P R E S E N T S T H E V I B R AT I O N S

QUARTZ MOVEMENT. WITH THIS STANDARD OF FINISH

II · ZENITH EL PRIMERO 36’000 VPH. ZENITH’S LEGEND-

I I I I · SE IKO PROSPE X DIVER’S 20 0M. L AUNCHED T WO

OF WATER IN MOVEMENT, TO IMAGINE A MONOCHRO-

AN D FUNCT I ONA LI T Y, THE AQUAR ACER C O M ES I N A

ARY EL PRIMERO ACQUIRES A BL ACK AND WHITE LOOK

YE ARS AGO, PROSPE X HAS BECOME ONE OF SEIKO’S

M ATI C C L ASS ONE WATCH WITH A UN I QUE DES IGN .

PAR ED - BAC K VERS I ON TO C ONQUER AF I C I ONADOS’

W I TH AN I NTENSE B L AC K C ER A M I C I SED A LU M I N I U M

MOST POPUL AR COLLECTIONS. THE WATCHMAKER HAS

VI · DIOR CHIFFRE ROUGE A05. THE REDESIGNED CHIF-

HE ARTS.

CASE , A CONTR ASTING PALE /DARK DIAL WITH THREE

SE T ITSELF THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING HIGH-PRECI-

FRE ROUGE A05 HAS AN UPDATED CASE AND STR AP

COUNTERS, AND A PERFOR ATED RUBBER STR AP. THIS

SION, RELIABLE WATCHES FOR USE IN E VEN THE MOST

B U T R E TA I N S TH E H A L L M A R KS O F I TS SUC C ES S: A

EL PRIMERO 36,000 VPH CHRONOGR APH FROM ZENITH

E X T R E M E C O N D I T I O N S . T H I S D I V ER ’ S WATC H , WA-

STEEL STRUCTURE WITH A B L AC K RUBBER COATING

Liens Lumière Collection

HEDONIST WATCH YOUR TIME 45

--o------- paloma recio,

director, R&E magazine

A MOMENT OF SEDUCTION

“the ultimate seduction is not to express one’s feelings, but to hint at them.” jules barbey d’aurevilly ( 1808 — 1889 )

© Bruno Aveillan

THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF CREATIVIT Y AND BEAUT Y, THE DECOR ATIVE ARTS ARE AN INTEGR AL PART OF HIGH HOROLOGY. EXTR AORDINARY WORKS OF PRECISION AND BEAUT Y, THEY ADD A NEW LEVEL OF DESIR ABILIT Y TO THE WATCHMAKER’S EXPERTISE.

In the eternal quest for beauty, watches can become works of art, equally indebted to the watchmaker and the craftsman or craftswoman. The time-honoured task of embellishing a watch is entrusted to the métiers d’art, watchmaking’s companion crafts which transform the tiny surface of a case or dial with imagination and virtuoso skill. The measuring of time is almost a secondary consideration in these watches that showcase the decorative arts of enamelling, miniature painting, engraving, gem-setting, guilloché, marquetry or filigree.

Most often we associate these métiers d’art with women’s watches, whose dials are embellished with scintillating diamonds, the muted tones of lacquer, brightly coloured enamel or delicate engravings, and while this may be true, men too have their choice of carefully decorated timepieces. First to spring to mind are those which Patek Philippe made to commemorate its 175th anniversary. Comprising very limited editions and “unique pieces”, this collection draws on the creativity and inventiveness of artists and craftsmen to revisit what Patek Philippe describes as “the most beautiful legacies of the watchmaking tradition.” The Dome table clocks, each one unique, are decorated with finely detailed scenes, such as the wildlife of the Swiss Alps, the celebrated Matterhorn, or the vineyards that grow on the slopes by Lake Geneva, using the subtleties of enamelling, gem-setting, engrav-

ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL PEARLMASTER 39. ROLEX PRESENTS A NEW VERSION OF THE OYSTER PERPETUAL PEARLMASTER 39 IN A 39 MM 18K. EVEROSE GOLD CASE. WITH THIS DIAMOND-STUDDED TIMEPIECE, ROLEX ONCE AGAIN DEMONSTR ATES ITS JEWELLERY EXPERTISE. THE PEARLMASTER 39 ALSO EPITOMISES THE BR AND’S WATCHMAKING KNOWHOW. THIS MODEL IS POWERED BY THE NEW-GENER ATION CALIBRE 3235, WHICH FEATURES 14 PATENTED INNOVATIONS AND INCORPOR ATES THE CHRONERGY ESCAPEMENT DEVELOPED

BY ROLEX. THE WATCH ALSO BENEFITS FROM CHRONOMÈTRE SUPERL ATIF CERTIFICATION, WHICH WAS REDEFINED IN 2015 TO GUAR ANTEE A WATCH’S FL AWLESS PERFORMANCE.

ing and goldwork. For certain wristwatches in the collection, the Manufacture turned to marquetry to depict scenes once played out on Lake Geneva. They are assembled on a solid gold plate from up to 166 pieces of wood veneer and 45 incrustations, individually cut from between 15 and 30 different species of tree to produce what is truly a work of art for the wrist.

ASIAN INFLUENCE

Vacheron Constantin is another Manufacture that is committed to preserving these ancestral techniques. Each year it adds fascinating new pieces to its Métiers d’Art collection.

Carrying on this tradition are the Villes Lumières watches, whose dials represent a bird’s-eye view of three cities at night. One is Geneva, the cradle of watchmaking and home to Vacheron Constantin. The second is Paris, known the world over as the City of Light, and the third is New York, the city that never sleeps. Pinpoints of light are recreated by sprin-

46 WATCH YOUR TIME ACTIVISTE

A BUCOLIC CELEBRATION OF TIME Dior Grand Soir, a collection of exceptional timepieces launched in 2010, pays homage to the history of the house.

As Dior Horlogerie explains: “the watches in this collection combine creativity, a flair for colour and the house’s refined, sophisticated vocabulary with watchmaking expertise in oscillating weights, bezels, calibres and finely wrought dials”. This unique approach to measuring time has already produced some remarkable pieces which go by the names of Kaleidiorscope, Frou-Frou, Origami and Pampille.

Offering a new perspective on time, they deliver a visual performance that is only achievable with the highest mastery of creativity and craftsmanship. There is little need to add that, for the Paris house, timekeeping is all about symbiosis: “a watch is not just a watch,” is its motto. “It is also clear proof of Dior’s expertise in couture and ready-to-wear.

It is a sign, on the wrist, of a taste for beautiful things, for creative audacity, but also of the historical roots of a house founded in the mid-20 th century.”

This Dior spirit is perfectly captured in the unique new Dior Grand Soir Botanic pieces, which demonstrate its impressive know-how. This time, the Studio was inspired by the flowers and gardens that were so important to Mr Dior himself. “The dial comes to life in precious stones, mother-of-pearl and opals, or in petals of polished gold,” says the house. “Through the combination of shapes, the bouquet blooms beneath the crystal, drawing one’s attention to the very heart of these exceptional jewellery creations. The case studded with snow-set diamonds highlights the asymmetry and intoxicating beauty of the dial.” So as not to compromise the elegance of these pieces, they have been relieved of their crown, while the case-back evokes the precious corolla of this bucolic theme. The midnight blue fabric strap lends a subtle touch of modernity — the stamp of Dior.

C.R.

kling a precious powder of gold, platinum, pearls and diamonds across Grand Feu enamel — the first time such a technique has ever been used in watchmaking. Vacheron Constantin collaborated with the Japanese artist Yoko Imai, already celebrated for her calligraphy-inspired paintings on canvas.

Like Vacheron Constantin, Hermès enlisted the talent of a Japanese artist, Buzan Fukushima, for the creation of its Slim Koma Kurabe collection. Each of these 12 unique watches features a particularly refined dial in Sèvres porcelain, painted in graduations of red and ochre by master Fukushima using an ancient Japanese technique known as aka-e. These miniature paintings depict the Koma Kurabe horse race that is held each year at the Kamigamo temple in Kyoto, a tradition that is several centuries old.

Asian buyers, and the Chinese in particular, are especially receptive to the presence of decorative arts in watchmaking, ever since the days Swiss watchmakers produced matching pairs of pocket watches for these markets, with colourful enamelled and lacquered cases showing scenes of everyday

I

life or contemplative landscapes. These days, the Chinese New Year is a perfect opportunity for the elite Manufactures to show off these métiers d’art.

Vacheron Constantin, Blancpain, Ulysse Nardin, Jaquet Droz, Piaget, Harry Winston and Chopard have all celebrated the years of the tiger, the horse, the dragon and, this year, the rooster with stunning timepieces enhanced with enamel, engraving, precious gems and other forms of embellishment. Chopard, for example used urushi, an ancient Chinese lacquer technique, for a watch commemorating the year of the monkey.

INFINITE EXPERTISE

Names such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Cartier have established a longstanding tradition of métiers d’art, and are able to draw on the specialists they employ in-house as well as reaching out to freelance artists. One of these “outside talents” is the enameller Anita Porchet. She has created some of the most stunning dials for the most eminent representatives of

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DIOR GR AND SOIR BOTANIC. FOR THIS UNIQUE SERIES OF PIECES, THE STUDIO WAS

I · HERMÈS FAUBOURG MANCHET TE JOAILLERIE

DECOR ATED WITH DELICATE SAINT- GALL L ACE

THAT LEF T A L ASTING I M PRESSION ON GABR I -

INSPIRED BY THE FLOWERS AND GARDENS THAT WERE SO IMPORTANT TO MR DIOR HIM-

IN 2014 HERMÈS BROUGHT OUT A NEW DESIGN

IN RICH HUES.

ELLE CHANEL , WITH A DESIGN INSPIRED BY THE

SELF. THE DIAL COMES TO LIFE IN PRECIOUS STONES, MOTHER-OF-PE ARL AND OPALS,

FOR WOMEN. WITH ITS ELEGANT, PETITE SILHOU-

III · CHOPARD HAPPY OCEAN. THE HAPPY SPORT

C I S T E R C I A N S TA I N E D - G L A S S W I N D OWS O F

AND IN PE TALS OF POLISHED GOLD. THE BOUQUE T BLOOMS BENE ATH THE CRYSTAL ,

E T TE , THE FAUBOURG WATCH NOW BECOM ES

L I N E H A S E N J OY E D U N WAV E R I N G S U C C E S S

AUBA ZINE ABBEY. THIS PIECE CELEBR ATES THE

DR AWING ONE’S AT TENTION TO THE VERY HE ART OF THIS E XCEP TIONAL JEWELLERY

A L E AT H E R C U F F. I T S H OWCAS E S H E R M È S ’

SINCE IT WAS L AUNCHED. OVER THE YE ARS, IT

CR AF TSMANSHIP OF THE BEST MASTER ENAMEL-

CRE ATION BY DIOR . THE CASE STUDDED WITH SNOW-SE T DIAMONDS HIGHLIGHTS

FINE LE ATHER CR AF TSMANSHIP AND GEM-SE T-

HAS EXPANDED WITH THE ADDITION OF ORIGINAL

LERS, ENGR AVERS, CARVERS AND GEM-SET TERS.

THE ASYMME TRY AND INTOXICATING BE AUT Y OF THE DIAL . THE MIDNIGHT BLUE FAB-

TING E XPERTISE IN THE FAUBOURG MANCHE T TE

DESIGNS. THIS YE AR , CHOPARD SURPRISES US

V · VAN CLEEF & ARPELS CHARMS E X TR AORDI-

RIC STR AP GIVES THESE WATCHES A HIGHLY CONTEMPOR ARY QUALIT Y. THE BACK OF

JOAILLERIE .

AGAIN WITH A SPORTY YET ELEGANT TAKE ON THE

NAIRE FÉE SAKUR A. THIS WATCH IS INSPIRED BY

THESE REFINED TIMEPIECES E VOKES A CIRCLE OF PE TALS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN RE-

II · HUBLOT BIG BANG BRODERIE SUGAR SKULL

HAPPY OCE AN . H IGH-TECH YE T PL AYFUL , IT IS

CHERRY BLOSSOM. AGAINST A DEEP PINK BACK-

LIE VED OF THEIR CROWN SO AS NOT TO COMPROMISE THEIR ELEGANCE .

FLUO. AN ICON OF HUB LOT’S ART OF FUSION ,

WATER-RESISTANT TO 300 METRES AND IS POW-

GROUND, THE DIAL DEPICTS “ENCHANTED NA-

THE B IG BANG DEMONSTR ATES THE BR AND’S

ERED BY AN AUTOMATIC CHOPARD MOVEMENT.

TURE” THROUGH DIFFERENT ARTISANAL CR AF TS.

AB I LIT Y TO I NNOVATE WITH TH IS NE W SUGAR

I I I I · CHANE L MADEMOISELLE PRIVÉ AUBA ZINE.

THE CARVED, HAND-PAINTED MOTHER-OF PE ARL

SKULL FLUO. AVAI L ABLE IN FOUR COLOURS, IT

CHANEL UNVEI LS A NE W MODEL IN ITS E XCEP-

FORMS DELICATE FLOWERS, WHILE THE PE TALS

R ES E M B LES A N I L LU M I N AT ED G U I P U R E L AC E

T I O N A L C O L LECT I O N O F E LEG A N T T I M EP I EC -

IN THE FOREGROUND ARE FIN ISHED IN CABO -

SCULP TURE THAT ADORNS THE WR IST. THESE

ES FOR WOM EN . M ADEMO ISELLE PR IVÉ AUBA-

CHONNÉ ENAM EL , CRE ATING AN OPALESCENT

E YE- CATCHING , GL AMOROUS TIMEPIECES ARE

ZI NE PAYS HO M AGE TO A DEC OR AT I VE M OT I F

RELIEF EFFECT.

48 WATCH YOUR TIME HEDONIST

Swiss watchmaking. An art that can be traced back to Antiquity, and which first appeared on watches in the seventeenth century, enamel is a vitreous substance.

Regardless of the specific technique — champlevé, plique-à-jour, paillonné, cloisonné, miniature painting — enamel begins life as glass that is melted at high temperature then crushed into a colourless powder, which is then mixed with metal oxides to produce a vast palette of colours and shades. Once applied to a metal substrate, the enamel powder is repeatedly fired at a temperature in excess of 800°C. The most elaborate designs require up to twelve separate firings.

While enamel is possibly the most frequently encountered technique among watchmaking’s companion crafts, gem-setting is not to be overlooked. The skill and dexterity of the setter, and the careful selection of diamonds and other precious stones, transform the watch into a scintillating work of art. As Patek Philippe explains, “drilling into the gold of the case to make a hole in which to nestle a diamond is a delicate task, while forming the metal into grains or beads to securely grasp the stone requires carefully calibrated force. All precious stones must be set evenly and equally aligned at the same height. Each stone must be securely set and they are never glued.” A diamond-set watch can represent weeks of meticulous work and intense concentration. By way of example, Chopard’s Happy Sport Diamantissimo anniversary watch called for 1,700 hours for the gem-setting alone. Chopard chose the invisible setting, invented in the

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I · BVLGARI LUCEA TOURBILLON. PERFECT FOR BOTH

HAS FEATURED ON SOME MODELS IN THE RENDEZ-VOUS

PERNICUS. WITH ITS UNUSUAL DISPL AY AND SPECTAC-

BOUR SPIN TIME IS DRIVEN BY A MOVEMENT THAT DIS-

DA I LY WE AR AND SPEC I A L OC CAS I ONS, THE LUCE A

LINE SINCE ITS L AUNCH.

UL AR DECOR ATION, IT PAYS TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE

PL AYS THE TIME USING A SYSTEM OF ROTATING CUBES

WATCH ALWAYS ADDS A TOUCH OF G L AMOUR . TH IS

I I I · AUDE MARS PIG UET ROYAL OAK FROSTED GOLD.

GRE ATEST DISCOVERIES IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN-

A D O R N E D W I T H PAV E- S E T D I A M O N D S A R R A N G E D

IT Y: HELIOCENTRISM.

AROUND THE CENTR AL FLOWER , CARVED FROM MOTH-

ANN IVERSARY OF ITS ROYAL OA K

FOCUS WATCH YOUR TIME 49

ˇ

II

40 th

poetry in motion

1930s, for a seamless carpet of diamonds in which the stones are cut and adjusted so that the metal that would normally be visible between them disappears. The stone-setter cuts a groove in the underside of each stone in order to slide each one onto rails that remain hidden from view. Patience and talent are without doubt the keys to a craft that is still highly appreciated in watchmaking.

Certain makers are looking beyond these traditional crafts and reviving new means of expression. Filigree is one, recently brought back to life by Cartier. This little-known art is believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt, some 3,000 years B.C.. Delicate wires in gold, silver or platinum are fused together to form a raised pattern. The craftsmen at Cartier roll and curl micro-wires into rings then gently tap them flat, following which they are moulded into the desired shape then soldered together. The “openwork filigree” technique, used on the Ronde Louis Cartier with panthers motif, has the particularity that the wires are attached by the sides rather than the base. Cartier can also take credit for reviving another ancient technique, Etruscan granulation, which reached its apogee in the seventh century B.C. Tiny beads are cut from gold filaments, rolled in charcoal dust, then heated. These grains are then positioned one by one, by hand, to create a raised design before being fused to the gold background. Cartier again chose the panther to showcase this technique to stunning effect. In addition to the 40 hours of engraving required, it took 320 hours to deposit the individual granules — 3,850 in all — on the dial. Once a maximum of five granules were in place, the piece had to be fired to ensure proper fusion to the gold, hence the dial was fired 3,500 times prior to completion.

For the first time in its history, Van Cleef & Arpels has unveiled an Extraordinary Object, the Automate Fée Ondine. Some twenty craft studios worked for three years to produce this remarkable creation. The result is a moment of pure magic.

While every Van Cleef & Arpels creation has a story to tell, the one unveiled earlier this year is worth every narrative ever told in the world of watchmaking and jewellery. What’s more, it does so with the poetry and finesse with which the brand enchants its many devotees. No doubt 2017 will go down in memory as the year of the Automate Fée Ondine.

This mammoth undertaking was eight years in the making, including three years for the actual crafting of the piece by artisans from some twenty of the most virtuoso workshops.

Who would even consider making an automaton in an age where electronics have swept aside skills that go back to the eighteenth century, when marvels such as these delighted and entertained royal courts with their mechanical antics? “We’re actually very close to this world, because it adapts so wonderfully

to our figurative style, inhabited by fairy-tale characters,” explains Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos. “It’s true, the aesthetic isn’t one we would have seen two centuries ago, but it speaks the language of the métiers d’art which are at the heart of what we do.”

At the same time as the Poetic Complications concept was taking shape as a new avenue for the brand’s watches, the idea for an “experimental project”, in the form of an automaton, was sown. The objective was the same as for the timepieces: to use mechanics to create something magical. The encounter with François Junod, a contemporary automaton-maker and master of his art, would prove decisive. It was now possible to imagine a storyboard that would revolve around the Fée Ondine, an imaginary creature who entered the brand’s fantasy world in the 1940s.

Incorporating a retrograde hour display around its ebony veneer base, the Automate Fée Ondine comes alive on command for 50 enchanting seconds that are truly a sight to behold. Van Cleef & Arpels describes the scene thus: “First the water lily

leaf begins to ripple, as if blown by a gentle breeze.

Chimes ring out a crystalline melody and the water lily flower slowly blooms. The fairy awakes and raises her head to admire a butterfly at the centre of the corolla: it rises into the air, beating its wings and twirling about. After moving simultaneously, the butterfly returns to its shelter, the fairy goes back to sleep and the water lily’s oscillation comes to an end.”

Beyond the purely mechanical prowess, no fewer than twenty workshops, all renowned in their field of expertise, contributed to this “human adventure”. Lapidarists, jewellers, stone setters, enamel artists, cabinet makers and other specialists from France and Switzerland added their skills to the crafts already mastered within Van Cleef & Arpels.

Needless to say, not even the most infinitely tiny detail was overlooked, despite the additional constraint of working not within the confines of a watch but on much larger surfaces, and the weight of the components in relation to the movement they would perform. All these challenges were overcome thanks to a tenacity and expertise that command respect, for a result that transcends expectations.

Christophe Roulet

50 MESMERISING SECONDS

YE AR , THE COLLECTION IS E XPANDING WITH A TOUR-

TO M AR K THE

B I LLON ESCAPEM ENT VERSION FE ATUR ING A DIAL IN

FOR WOMEN, AUDEMARS PIGUE T HAS BROUGHT OUT

V · TUDOR GLAMOUR DOUBLE DATE. THIS DOUBLE DATE

ER-OF-PE ARL .

HAR D STONE W I TH JE WELLED HOUR- M AR K ERS . THE

A FROSTED GOLD VERSION. ME TICULOUS WORK WAS

FROM TUDOR IS AN ACCOMPLISHED E X AMPLE OF RE T-

VII · DIOR VIII GR AND BAL PLISSÉ RUBAN. THIS MODEL

DELICATE CASE HAS A DIAMOND-STUDDED BE ZEL AND

REQUIRED TO APPLY THE SURFACE FINISH, WHICH RE-

RO ST YLE AND SENSUALIT Y. THE DIAL FE ATURES A DOU-

RE TURNS WITH A NE W LOOK AND A CASE THAT MAR-

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS OBJET EXTRAORDINAIRE ONDINE FAIRY. MARRYING JEWEL-

ONDINE FAIRY AUTOMATON, A TEAM EFFORT. THE ONDINE FAIRY AUTOMATON DE-

THE ONDINE FAIRY. STRIKINGLY GR ACEFUL , THE SILHOUE T TE OF THE ONDINE

STR AP AT TACHMENTS.

SEMBLES GLIT TERING DIAMOND DUST. THIS INVOLVED

BLE DATE APERTURE AT 12 O’CLOCK AND A SMALL SEC-

RIES SPARKLING DIAMONDS AND POLISHED STEEL WITH

LERY AND WATCHMAKING TR ADITIONS, THIS UNIQUE PIECE MARKS A NEW STAGE

MANDED THE E XCELLENCE OF THE MOST QUALIFIED AND E XPERIENCED MASTER

FAIRY WAS FIRST PICKED OUT IN WHITE GOLD, BEFORE SHE WAS DRESSED IN

I I · JA E G E R - L E CO U LT R E R EN D E Z-VO US S O NAT I NA

A TR ADITIONAL HAMMERING ME THOD ALSO KNOWN AS

ONDS COUNTER AT 6 O’C LOC K . DECOR ATED WITH A

YELLOW GOLD. IN A 36 MM DIAME TER , THIS NEW TIME-

FOR VAN CLEEF & ARPELS. ANIMATING DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE WATCH AND

CR AF TSPEOPLE . FOR THIS, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS WORKED WITH SOME 20 DIF-

HER SPARKLING COSTUME. HER BUSTIER AND SKIRT ARE SET WITH A GR ADATION

LARGE. FOR A DISCREET REMINDER OF AN APPROACHING

THE “FLORENTINE TECHNIQUE”.

DELICATE TUDOR ROSE MOTIF, IT E VOKES THE BR AND’S

PIECE IS POWERED BY DIOR’S EXCLUSIVE IN-HOUSE AU-

THE TIME DISPL AY, THE HIGHLY COMPLE X MECHANISM IS ONLY OUTSHONE BY

FERENT WORKSHOPS IN FR ANCE AND SWITZERL AND. THE E XPERIENCE OF THE

OF SAPPHIRES, WHILE A DIAMOND DIADEM CROWNS HER FACE . THE L AT TER IS

RENDE ZVOUS, WATCHMAKERS AT JAEGER-LECOULTRE

IIII · VACHERON CONSTANTIN MÉTIERS D’ARTS COPER-

FIRST LOGO, USED IN THE 1930S AND 1940S.

TOMATIC MOVEMENT, THE CALIBRE DIOR INVERSÉ . ITS

THE POE TRY OF A MOMENT: MOVEMENT AND LIGHTNESS, THE BE AUT Y OF NA-

AUTOMATA-MAKER FR ANÇOIS JUNOD, BASED IN SAINTE-CROIX IN SWITZERL AND,

RENDERED IN A SOF T HUE OF AQUAMARINE, HAND-FACE TED BY THE L APIDARY

DESIGNED THE RENDE Z-VOUS SONATINA L ARGE , OF-

NIC SPHÈRES CÉLESTES. VACHERON CONSTANTI N’S

VI · LOUIS VUIT TON TAMBOUR COLOR BLOSSOM SPIN

FUNCTIONAL OSCI LL ATING WEIGHT, P OSITIONED ON

TURE AND THE GR ACE OF A FAIRY WAKING, COLOURED WITH PRECIOUS STONES

WAS COMBINED WITH THE E XPERTISE OF L APIDARISTS, JEWELLERS, GEM-SE T-

TO E VOKE HER FEMININE FE ATURES.

FERING A NEW FUNCTION. IT SOUNDS THE TIME OF THE

FI NE CR AF TS M ANSH I P IS SHOWCASED I N TH IS NE W

TIME. THE BR AND’S ICONIC MONOGR AM FLOWERS ARE

THE DIAL SIDE, IS FINISHED WITH GOLD AND DIAMONDS

AND ENAMEL .

TERS, ENAMELLERS AND CABINE TMAKERS.

M EE TING THAN KS TO THE SMALL MYSTER IOUS STAR ,

MÉ TIERS D’ART COLLECTION WHICH DEPICTS THE AS-

ENTERING A FRESH NEW ER A WITH THE BLOOMING OF

AND E VOKES A PLE ATED SKIRT.

WHICH CAN BE MOVED AROUND THE DIAL , AND WHICH

TRONOMICAL WORLD ACCORDING TO NICOL AUS CO-

A C O L LECT I ON OF PR EC I OUS WATC H ES . TH I S TA M -

COMPLEXIST WATCH YOUR TIME 51

--o------- peter braun

TIME FOR PASSION

“the passions are enemies of peace and quiet, i acknowledge; but without them there would be no arts or industries in the world” anatole france ( 1844 — 1924 )

IN AN ER A OF DIGITAL PRECISION, THE MINUTE REPEATER IS STILL THE ULTIMATE COMPLICATION. RELIABILIT Y, MELODY, TEMPO AND MOST OF ALL TONALIT Y ARE NOW THE SUBJECT OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY. AS INCREDIBLE AS IT MAY SEEM, 150 YEARS AF TER THIS COMPLICATION WAS INVENTED, WATCHMAKERS ARE STILL ABLE TO MAKE QUANTUM LEAPS.

© Bruno Aveillan

For many decades, the watch was the prized and priceless possession of a powerful or, at the very least, wealthy elite.

At a time when light was not commanded by the flick of a switch, hands sweeping a dial served little useful purpose once darkness fell, hence the utility of a clock, whether public or domestic, that could sound the hour. Over the centuries, the jacquemarts and automata that struck the hour were replaced by sophisticated mechanisms which also chimed the quarters and minutes by way of tiny hammers striking two coiled gongs in hardened steel. Each hour that passed from midday or midnight was marked by a low note.

Quarter-hours were sounded on an intermediate note with a high-pitched tone for the minutes.

The minute-repeater mechanism includes a feeler which “detects” the position of the hands and converts this information into mechanical impulses that “trip” the hammers.

As the inverted commas suggest, the difficulty lies in the extremely small tolerances allowed by the two to three hun-

VACHERON CONSTANTIN TR ADITIONNELLE MINUTE REPEATER TOURBILLON WITH THIS POINÇON DE GENÈ VE-CERTIFIED MODEL , VACHERON CONSTANTIN UNVEILS A NEW TIMEPIECE WITH AN E XCEP TIONAL STRIKING MECHANISM. ITS NEW MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT — THE 2755 TMR — COMBINES T WO MA JOR WATCH COMPLICATIONS, THE MINUTE REPE ATER AND THE TOURBILLON, AND FE ATURES A DIAL WITH A UNIQUE HAND-GUILLOCHED PAT TERN. IT DISPL AYS THE HOURS, MINUTES AND SMALL SECONDS, POSITIONED ON THE TOURBILLON CAGE . THE 58-HOUR POWER RESERVE INDICATOR IS DISPL AYED IN DISTINCTIVE FASHION ON THE BACK OF THE WATCH R ATHER THAN ON THE DIAL , WITH A BL ACKENED ROSE GOLD HAND.

dred components. One of the first improvements to this system was a slide set in the side of the case to command the spring that powers the striking mechanism. The role of this sophisticated device is to ensure the striking mechanism operates only when the spring is fully wound, so that once the sequence has begun it will be played out in full; hence its name: “all or nothing”. We owe this ingenious solution to the late nineteenth-century watchmakers in the Swiss Vallée de Joux, who were skilled enough to produce repeater movements that measured less than 20 millimetres in diameter.

52 WATCH YOUR TIME

RUBRIQUE WATCH YOUR TIME 53

MIRACLES OF MINIATURISATION

COLOURFUL TIME

MUSIC AND SCIENCE

The real difficulties began when watchmakers started looking for ways to miniaturise this mechanism so it would fit inside a pocket watch, and later a wristwatch. How loudly a minute repeater chimes is largely dependent on the size of the case, which doubles as a resonator. Because it is more compact and thinner than that of a pocket watch, a wristwatch case is less suited to transmitting vibrations. Also, when the watch is resting against the wrist, the back of the case is no longer able to resonate; the only way to enjoy the full sound of a minute-repeater watch is therefore to hold the ends of the strap between two fingers. That the gongs are affixed to the soft brass of the mainplate is less than ideal. Furthermore, the vibrations they produce have only the tiny volume of air contained inside the wristwatch case in which to propagate. Developments have shown that neither watchmakers nor engineers have been oblivious to these problems.

If we think of an animal whose mythology is closely entwined with the Bulgari culture, it has to be the snake.

Feared and venerated in equal measure, this creature features strongly in Greco-Roman heritage — think of the Rod of Asclepius or Hermès’ caduceus — and plays a central role in the Book of Genesis. So it is no surprise that this reptile appears early on in the imagery of Bulgari, whose first workshop was founded in Rome in 1884 by Sotirios Voulgaris, a Greek goldsmith. According to the in-house archives, by the 1940s the snake had become one of the main artistic symbols used by Bulgari, which also became known for its spiral Tubogas bracelets, based on a technique that already existed but had never previously been applied in this creative sphere. Bulgari’s first wristwatches were the Serpentis, which explored all possible shapes of cases and dials, paired with the famous Tubogas bracelets, also made in endless different versions.

The Serpenti, the brand’s signature piece, has since been interpreted in many different ways over the decades, sometimes jewelled, sometimes simple and understated, while never losing its classy, elegant identity. This year it is back in a new version that focuses on colour and versatility to suit women’s varied tastes and needs. The Tubogas bracelet has been replaced by interchangeable double spiral leather straps that come in 22 different colours. The case retains its symbolic snake’s head shape, in two sizes, in gold or steel, with or without jewellery embellishment. The dials are finished in mother-of-pearl or decorated with a delicate guilloché pattern. After the Serpenti Incantati watches, unveiled in 2016, which offered a jewelled interpretation of this icon, the new pieces return to a more casual way of wearing this watch, with its almost mythical aura.

E.D.

Just a couple of years ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre innovated by soldering the heel of the two gongs coiled around the movement to the underside of the watch’s sapphire crystal, thus enabling the sound to be amplified by its surface. This initiative was only partly successful as, to be truly effective, vibrations must be transmitted from the hardest to the softest materials, and sapphire crystal is harder than the steel of the gong. The amplitude of the sound is also restricted by the two trébuchet hammers. They have a jointed construction and perform a catapult motion that strikes the gongs with more force than would a conventional hammer.

For the new minute repeaters in its Tradition collection, Breguet attaches the gongs directly to the bezel so that the sound is spread across the surface of the sapphire crystal. In another feat of mechanical derring-do, the brand has positioned the hammers to strike the gongs not horizontally but vertically from bottom to top, thereby taking advantage of almost the full move-

I

ment height. At Chopard, the designers of the L.U.C Full Strike went a step further and machined the crystal and the gongs from a single block of sapphire, with the obvious benefit that vibrations from the two gongs are directly transferred to the crystal’s surface, enabling the sound waves to be transmitted without any loss or interruption. The tonality is a perfect fourth (C-F) of extraordinary amplitude and purity.

The most noteworthy progress of recent years is, however, to have eliminated the whirring made by the governor (the part that regulates force from the spring, and therefore the pace at which the hammers strike the gongs, so that the chiming sequence is not played out in just a few seconds). Breguet has built on research into close field magnets, used in escapements, to develop a silent magnetic governor that works like a tiny electromagnetic brake to maintain constant rotation. Because there is no contact between spinning parts, there is no undesirable humming noise.

II

V

Ten years ago, Giulio Papi was asked to comment on the new generation of minute-repeater specialists. “Our young staff are wonderful,” the director of Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (APRP) enthused, “but none of them are musicians, which the older watchmakers were.” Indeed, playing an instrument or singing in a choir would have been the main, if not only, pastime for generations of watchmakers whose lives revolved around Vallée de Joux. “Watchmakers specialising in repeater mechanisms were all excellent musicians with a trained ear,” Papi recalls.

Instead of sending his staff on a music course, in 2007 he asked the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne to scientifically isolate the sound qualities of the ideal minute repeater.

APRP then went to work. Affixing the two gongs to a membrane, which acts as a sound board, between the movement and the case back increased the volume of the strikes significantly. However, it

III

VI

IIII

VII

VIII

I · R O L E X OYST ER P ER P E T UAL S K Y DWELLER

I I · I W C DA VI N C I TO U R B I LLO N R É T R O G R AD E

ACOUSTIC TIME INDICATION. THIS IS ACHIE VED BY

V

THIS

FRESH NE W APPROACH TO TI M E AND UNVEI LS A

VI I I · FRÉ DÉ RIQUE CONS TANT CL ASSIC WORLD -

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS LADY ARPELS PAPILLON AUTOMATE. AT THE 2017 SIHH HELD IN

FE ATUR E TH E SNA K E M OT I F I N 1932. NA M ED “TUBOG AS” I N R EFER ENC E TO TH E

PACKED WITH TECHNOLOGY AND PROTECTED BY

CHRONOGRAPH. THIS WATCH OFFERS AN ORIGINAL

T WO GONGS WITH DIFFERENT TONES THAT CHIME

C H AU M E T WATC H W I T H TO U R B I L LO N E S CA P E-

R A D I CA L LY D I F F ER EN T WATC H F O R S E ASO N ED

TIMER MANUFACTURE. THIS MODEL HAS A 42 M M

GENE VA , VAN CLEEF & ARPELS BROUGHT ITS ENCHANTED NATURE THEME TO LIFE IN A

INDUSTRIAL AESTHETIC THAT WAS FASHIONABLE AT THE TIME, THESE WATCHES WERE

14 PATENTS, THIS MODEL MAKES IT E ASY FOR TR AV-

AND HARMONIOUS COMBINATION OF FE ATURES: A

ON THE HOUR AND E VERY 10-MINUTE INTERVAL .

M ENT IS AN I NGEN IOUS AND NO LESS DELICATE

TR AVELLERS.

ROSE GOLD-PL ATED STAINLESS STEEL CASE WITH

NEW FORM WITH THE L ADY ARPELS™ PAPILLON AUTOMATE WATCH. FE ATURING A PAR-

DESIGNED TO WR AP AROUND THE WRIST. THEIR INGENIOUS SYSTEM ARTICUL ATED

ELLERS TO KEEP TR ACK OF TIME . IT DISPL AYS T WO

FLYBACK CHRONOGR APH WITH HOURS AND MIN-

I I I I · JAEG E R- LECOU LTR E HYBRIS MECHANICA À

E X AMPLE OF COMPLE X MICROMECHANICS. OVER

VI I · LONG IN E S CONQUEST CL ASSIC FIS ALPINE

A MAINLY BROWN DIAL . THIS TR AVEL WATCH FE A-

TICUL ARLY SOPHISTICATED AUTOMATON MODULE, IT FE ATURES A BUT TERFLY WHOSE

BY GO LD H I NGES AND M ADE F LE XI B LE THAN KS TO A H I DDEN SPR I NG G AVE THE

TIME ZONES SIMULTANEOUSLY: LOCAL TIME IN THE

UTES TOTALISER IN A SINGLE 12-HOUR COUNTER ,

GR ANDE SONNERIE. BEHIND THE NAME OF THE HY-

A THOUSAND GEMSTONES — SAPPHIRES, MANDA-

WO R LD S K I C HAM P IO NS H I P ST. M O R I T Z 2017

TURES A DELICATELY ENGR AVED WORLD MAP ON

WINGS FLUT TER AT R ANDOM INTERVALS, GOVERNED BY THE WE ARER’S MOVEMENTS.

TIMEPIECES THEIR REP TILIAN SUPPLENESS. SINCE THEN, THE SERPENTI PIECES HAVE

CENTRE AND THE REFERENCE TIME IN A 24-HOUR

A FLYING TOURBILLON WITH STOP SYSTEM THAT AL-

BRIS MECHANICA À GR ANDE SONNERIE LIES ONE

RIN GARNE TS, TOURMALINES AND BRILLIANT-CUT

LONGINES HAS BROUGHT OUT A LIMITED-EDITION

THE DIAL , SURROUNDED BY THE NAMES OF 24 CIT-

IT THUS CRE ATES AN AFFINIT Y, WHILE THE PASSING HOURS ARE DISPL AYED AGAINST

BECOME EMBLEMATIC DESIGNS FOR BVLGARI, AND HAVE DEFINITIVELY ENTERED THE

DISPL AY ON THE ROTATING DISC. THE DATE AND

LOWS THE WATCH TO BE ADJUSTED TO THE NE AR-

OF THE MOST COM PLICATED WR IST WATCHES I N

D IAMONDS — COM B I NE I N A WONDERFUL NATU-

TIMEPIECE TO CELEBR ATE THE 2017 ALPINE WORLD

IES OF THE WORLD. THE DATE, INDICATED BY A HAND

A BACKDROP OF PL ANTS. THE SCENE IS BROUGHT TO LIFE WITH A WIDE VAR IE T Y

H ISTORY OF JE WELLERY WITH THE 2013 PUB LICATION OF A BOOK DEDICATED TO

MONTH , M E ANWHI LE , ARE INDICATED IN THE AN-

EST SECOND, AND A RE TROGR ADE DATE DISPL AY.

TH E WOR LD, AN E XC EP T I ON A L T I M EP I EC E TH AT

R AL TABLE AU INSPIRED BY THE BEE AND ITS HONEY.

SK I CHAM PIONSH I PS AT SAINT- MOR IT Z . PART OF

ON A COUNTER AT 6 O’CLOCK , COMPLEMENTS THE

OF ARTS, ALL PR ACTICED AT VAN CLEEF & ARPELS’ WATCHMAKING WORKSHOPS IN

THE SERPENTI ST YLE . THE STORY WAS FAR FROM OVER , HOWE VER , AND THIS YE AR

NUAL CALENDAR APERTURE .

III · A . L ANGE & SÖHNE ZEIT WERK DECIMAL STRIKE

HOUSES 26 COMPLICATIONS INCLUDING AN INNO-

V I · LOU I S V U IT TON ESCALE MINUTE REPE ATER

THE CONQUEST C L ASSIC COLLECTION OF TI M E-

WORLD TIME FUNCTION.

MEYRIN, SWITZERL AND.

CONTINUES WITH TH IS NE W LINE THAT FE ATURES INTERCHANGE AB LE STR APS IN

L AU N C H ED I N 20 0 9, T H E ZE I T W ER K I N STA N T LY

VATIVE GR ANDE SONNERIE, A FLYING TOURBILLON

WORLDTIME. AT A TIME WHEN BORDERS ARE DIS-

LESS DESIGNS, THIS CHRONOGR APH ALSO FE A-

DIFFERENT COLOURS TO SUIT THE WRIST ON ALL OCCASIONS.

STOO D OU T TH A N KS TO I TS M EC H A N I CA L T I M E

AND A PERPE TUAL CALENDAR WITH RE TROGR ADE

APPE ARING, LOUIS VUIT TON HAS BROUGHT OUT A

TURES A 24-HOUR DISPL AY AND A CALENDAR WITH

DISPL AY USING JUMPING NUMER ALS. THIS LINE OF

DISPL AY.

NEW COMBINATION OF TWO PRESTIGIOUS COMPLI-

DAY, DATE, MONTH AND MOON PHASES.

WATCHES NOW BOASTS A NEW MEMBER WITH AN

CHAUMET

A B E I L L ES .

“Enchanted Nature” is one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ favourite themes. This year it takes the form of fairies and butterflies that compose poetic animated scenes on its timepieces.

At the heart of every Van Cleef & Arpels creation is a focus on technical innovation, celebrating the magical stories told by the brand through its unique mastery of specialist craftsmanship. The Lady Arpels Papillon Automate watch is an excellent illustration of this. It features a particularly sophisticated automaton module featuring a butterfly that flutters its wings randomly, between one and four times in succession depending on the power reserve status. The frequency of the wings’ movement is also irregular: they flutter every two to four minutes when the watch is stationary, and more frequently while the watch is in active use.

This spectacle that plays out on the dial serves as a particularly striking power reserve indicator, and can also be activated on demand, via the pushpiece.

Van Cleef & Arpels has used a number of artistic techniques to give this scene its vitality. Sitting on a sculpted mother-of-pearl flower is a gold butterfly, its wings picked out in two shades of plique-à-jour enamel. The surrounding vegetation is highlighted in champlevé enamel, apart from a few particularly curved plants which are finished in a curved plique-à-jour enamel — a new technique developed by Van Cleef & Arpels that creates a relief effect to give the surface depth — in graduated shades of blue and green. “The transparency of the material combines with a three-dimensional effect that enhances the depth of the dial,” explains the house. The perspective of the dial is further accentuated by the backdrop, with the moon in paillonné enamel reflected in the water’s surface, which is set with blue, mauve and purple sapphires. Round and pear-shaped diamonds punctuate the scene like flowers. The imagery continues when the watch is turned over, in the form of a bas-relief on the case-back and the oscillating weight, visible through the decorative sapphire crystal.

C.R.

BVLG AR I SERPENTI. THE ROM AN JE WELLER BROUGHT OUT ITS FI RST JE WELS TO

·

T O U R B I L LO N

POETIC AUTOMATON

CATIONS: A M INUTE REPE ATER AND WORLD TIME .

TH I S R EF I NED AND UNUSUAL PA I R I NG BR I NGS A

54 WATCH YOUR TIME RUBRIQUE

Barely three years after its launch, the Heure Universelle timepiece by Louis Vuitton has already secured its place in watchmaking heritage. With its unique handpainted dial that evokes a multi-faceted kaleidoscope, it offers an interpretation of this complication that uses no hands to display the time in 24 zones, as defined by the International Meridian Conference held in 1884.

The dial is made up of three discs, synchronised by the Manufacture calibre LV 106 and adjustable using a single crown. The large outer disc, which is coloured and on two levels, bears the initials of the cities. It can be rotated to position the reference city at midday, above the yellow arrow. The middle disc, which rotates constantly, indicates the time in 24 hours with day/night display, while the smallest disc in the centre, which also rotates constantly, displays the minutes. Local time is displayed beneath the yellow arrow that extends from the central triangle, the only fixed parts of the dial, and the time in the reference cities is shown directly beneath the relevant initials. This apparently simple system is beautifully functional but mechanically complex.

This year, the timepiece, which is already established as a Louis Vuitton classic, comes with a luminous blue dial, giving it a very contemporary look. But nothing is as simple as it seems. “Requiring the highly skilled technique of miniature painting in oil paint, it takes the master craftsperson 40 hours to complete a dial in the dedicated workshop at the Louis Vuitton Fabrique du Temps centre in Geneva,” explains the house. “The process involves applying 38 colours, one by one, with a brush, using tiny strokes, before firing the dial at 100°C.” The results speak for themselves, like an invitation to travel.

E.D.

A minute repeater chimes a relatively uniform and straightforward series of notes, and this has been the cause of another annoying problem. Consider that the hour sound (“dong”) is followed by the “ding-dong” of the quarters, itself followed by a certain number of “dings” for the minutes. The gaps that occur between each sequence result in an embarrassing silence between the last hour strike and the first quarter strike. Certain manufacturers have succeeded in reducing this ungainly pause. The designers of Chopard’s L.U.C Full Strike imagined three separate striking systems for the hours, quarters and minutes. When one sequence has finished, the next is immediately triggered to maintain a constant succession of chimes.

ˇ

I

II

III

IIII

LOUIS VUIT TON ESCALE WORLDTIME BLUE. UNVEILED IN 2014, THE ESCALE WORLD-

I · ROTONDE DE C A R TI E R MINUTE R EPE ATER

II · ZENITH DEF Y EL PRIMERO 21. ZENITH MARKS

TION IN COGNAC. THE CASE IS IN TITANIUM FOR

TIME PERPE TUATES THE GRE AT TR ADITION OF TR AVEL AT LOUIS VUIT TON. TODAY, ITS

MYSTER IOUS DOUBLE TOUR BILLON. CA R T I ER

THE THIRD MILLENNIUM WITH A NEW HIGH-PER-

OP TIMAL SOUND QUALIT Y, AND MOVES UP FROM

FAMOUS TRUNKS AND LUGGAGE REMAIN MUST-HAVE ACCESSORIES FOR THOSE WHO

H AS C O M B I N ED I TS M YSTER I OUS M OVEM EN T

FORMANCE CHRONOGR APH MOVEMENT: A HUN-

THE ORIGINAL 34-MM DIAME TER TO A CONTEM-

LIKE TO TR AVEL THE WORLD IN REFINED ELEGANCE AND ST YLE . THE UNIQUE ESCALE

WITH A MINUTE REPE ATER . THIS WATCH REPRE-

DREDTH OF AN HOUR INDICATION VIA THE CENTRE

POR ARY 42 MM.

WORLDTIME BLUE DR AWS ON THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY AND ITS LEGENDARY

SENTS T WO ACHIE VEMENTS. FIRSTLY, A TECH-

HAND, AN IN-HOUSE COSC-CERTIFIED CALIBRE, A

I I I I · B V L G A R I O CT O T O U R B I L LO N SA P H I R

TRUNKS TO REINVENT THE VALUES OF WATCHES DESIGNED FOR SE ASONED TR AVEL-

NICAL ONE, BY HOUSING 448 COMPONENTS IN

DUAL-CHAIN ARCHITECTURE, THE CARBON NANO-

BVLGARI’S TOURBILLON SAPHIR MAKES AN AP-

LERS. IN THIS ER A WHEN BORDERS ARE BRE AKING DOWN, LOUIS VUIT TON BRINGS

A CASE JUST 11.15 MM THICK . SECONDLY, AES-

TUBE REGUL ATOR THAT IS IMPERVIOUS TO MAG-

PE AR ANCE WITH A NEW STRUCTURE INSIDE AN

A NEW INTERPRE TATION OF THE WORLDTIME FUNCTION TO THE WRISTS OF GLOBE-

THE TICALLY, BY RE VE ALI NG THE RHY TH M ICAL

NETISM AND TEMPER ATURE CHANGES, AND THE

OCTO CASE . LUMINESCENCE ALSO TAKES ON A

TROT TERS.

BE ATING OF THE M INUTE REPE ATER THROUGH

45 MM TITANIUM 1970S-ST YLE CASE.

NEW LOOK WITH A TR ANSPARENT CASE-MIDDLE

THE OPENWORKED MECHANISM WITH ITS “MYS-

III · TUDOR HERITAGE ADVISOR. THE HERITAGE

DECOR ATED WITH MICROTUBES FILLED WITH IN-

TERIOUS DOUBLE TOURBILLON”.

ADV I SOR , W I TH I TS M ECHAN I CA L A L AR M , R E-

TENSE GREEN SUPERLUMINOVA , A SUBSTANCE

TURNS TO A CL ASSIC TUDOR WATCH FROM 1957,

ALSO FOUND ON THE PL ATINUM LUGS, FORMING

NOW WITH A NE W DIAL AND STR AP COMBINA-

AN IRIDESCENT SUN.

CHRONOMASTER I Heritage 146

www.zenith-watches.com

AN INVITATION TO TRAVEL

also amplified the noise made by the mechanical governor, which therefore had to be deadened. After experiments with a centrifugal governor proved unsatisfactory, APRP developed a new flexible anchor governor that slides silently over the escape wheel. For the tonality, they looked to a 1941 Audemars Piguet minute repeater from the brand’s museum. The Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie, unveiled in 2016 at Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, chimes the exact same melody, but two to three times as loud. The crystal-clear notes can be heard from several metres away, and are even more audible when the watch is on the wrist, thanks to slots cut into the curved, octagonal case back, the only “barrier” between the sound board and the outside world, through which the sound can escape.

UTOPIST WATCH YOUR TIME 57

--o------- fabrice eschmann

SEASON OF DREAMS

“ d o not think that what is hard for you to master is humanly impossible” marcus aurelius ( 121 — 180 )

MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING IS NOT STUCK IN A BYGONE ER A .

IN RECENT YEARS, CERTAIN BR ANDS HAVE MADE IT THEIR BUSINESS TO TAKE THIS MECHANICAL ART TO NEW EXTREMES. OF TEN, THIS MEANS HARNESSING TECHNOLOGIES AND EXPERTISE FROM VERY DIFFERENT FIELDS, SUCH AS MEDICAL OR AEROSPACE. INTRODUCING THE WATCHMAKER’S GUIDE TO THE IMPOSSIBLE…

© Bruno Aveillan

It’s a game, albeit a game not everyone can play. Over the past fifteen years or so, a handful of watchmakers have set out to achieve the impossible. The lightest ever watch, the most precise oscillator, the thinnest movement, the most robust case… the enormity of these challenges might escape us, were we to overlook the fact that, in order to succeed, they must transform the mindset of an industry that remains steeped in tradition, and which continues to value skills that are hundreds of years old. Only the bold can step outside the established boundaries, including when this means tapping into the latest technologies.

Aerospace, Formula 1, medical technology and electronics have thus crossed over into mechanical watchmaking, bringing innovative sciences and materials to bear on the measurement of time. Carbon, silicon, titanium and ceramic have taken up residence inside our watches, giving them previously unattainable qualities.

HERMÈS SLIM QUANTIÈME PERPÉTUEL PLATINE. ALL DECKED OUT IN BLUE, THE NEW SLIM D’HERMÈS QUANTIÈME PERPÉ TUEL PL ATINE CATCHES THE EYE WITH ITS APPARENT SIMPLICIT Y. ON THE DIAL , THE NUMER ALS AND FONT DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR THE SLIM ARE SUBTLE YE T STAND OUT. THE DATE, MONTH, SECOND TIME ZONE AND LE AP YE ARS ARE INDICATED ON VARIOUS COUNTERS, WHILE A MOTHER-OF-PE ARL MOON PHASE IS DISPL AYED ON AN AVENTURINE SK Y AT 3 O’CLOCK . ELEGANT AND BOLD, THE DIAL SITS IN A PRECIOUS PL ATINUM CASE . THE E XTR A-THIN MANUFACTURE CALIBRE H1950 IS PACKED WITH REMARK ABLE TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING WATCH COMPLICATIONS, THE PERPE TUAL CALENDAR .

FOR A FEW GRAMS LESS

The man spearheading this mission impossible is, without doubt, Richard Mille. French-born and formerly with the Matra watch division then Mauboussin, he is intrigued by technology, to say the least. When in 1999 he set out on his own, he already knew he would be looking outside the box for ideas he could adapt to watchmaking. He was, therefore, the first to adopt carbon nanofibres and first to introduce alusic, an alloy used to manufacture communication satellites. This determination to shake up the old order went beyond unlikely materials. The watchmaking establishment looked on agape as he invented new architectures, such as replacing the plate with a tubular structure on the RM 012,

58 WATCH YOUR TIME

WATCH YOUR TIME 59

A KIND OF MAGIC

LABORATORY OF IDEAS

or suspending the movement from micro-cables.

The RM 27-01 is an example of this. Made for Rafael Nadal, this tourbillon watch withstands accelerations of up to 5,000 G thanks to its unique construction which combines rigidity with the necessary give. The plate is attached to the case by four micro-cables with a diameter of 0.35 mm, so that the movement remains suspended inside the case.

Designed for all contexts, not just the tennis court, the RM 27-01 is also the lightest watch on the market, weighing just 18.83 grams including the Velcro strap. Such an achievement was made possible by ultra-lightweight but hard-wearing materials: carbon nanotubes for the case, grade 5 titanium for the plate, and for the movement lital, a lithium-aluminium-copper-magnesium-zirconium alloy borrowed from the Airbus A380. The calibre of the RM 27-01 tips the scales at a mere 3.5 grams.

To honour its description as the Laboratory of Ideas, Panerai presented a LAB-ID™ Luminor Carbotech™ 3 Days – 49mm at SIHH in Geneva. This model, which will be made in a limited series of 50 pieces, is noteworthy in that it requires no lubrication. This is a holy grail of watchmaking, because ageing oils pose a recurring problem in mechanical watches. Once again, Panerai demonstrates that strength comes from within. The core design of this Luminor has not been altered, and it retains all the hallmarks of the collection. There is one instantly visible difference, however: the black dial.

Based on the classic sandwich structure developed by the brand, it features a carbon nanotube coating, a first in watchmaking, which absorbs the maximum amount of light. The result is the deep black hue of the dial, which contrasts spectacularly with the hour markers and hands.

The case is made from Carbotech™, a composite material based on carbon fibre. Panerai has pioneered the use of this material in watchmaking. “As well as offering exceptional technical performances,” explains the house, “Carbotech™ has a particularly black, matt and varied finish, meaning that every piece is unique, depending on the way the material is cut.” Panerai then turned its attention to the question of the movement.

Thanks to a combined solution that once again harnesses the mechanical properties of carbon composites, the mainplate, bridges, barrels, escapement and anti-shock system require no lubrication at all. This calibre structure allows the brand to offer a 50-year warranty on the movement, proof that watchmaking is a truly enduring craft!

C.R.

SLIMLINE

Innovative alloys are also in evidence at Hublot, this time for an ultra-resistant watch case.

Commissioned by the Geneva-based brand, a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s materials research centre in Lausanne worked for three years to achieve what no-one had succeeded in doing until then: develop a gold alloy of unprecedented hardness that still qualified as 18 karat gold.

Ceramic powder (boron carbide) is compressed in a silicon mould to form a shape that is close to that of the finished object. Once out of the mould, this shape is hardened at 2,200°C to produce a rigid, porous structure. Molten gold is then injected at high pressure (200 bars) to fill the ceramic pores and transform the piece into a hard, watertight mass.

The result is a precious metal that is 75% gold, 3% aluminium and 22% boron carbide, with a hardness close to 1,000 Vickers. This compares with

I

400 Vickers for conventional gold and 600 Vickers for hardened steel. Only a diamond can make any impression on Hublot’s Magic Gold.

Brands have also defied the limits of the imagination in finding alternatives to the conventional hands-on-a-dial display. At HYT, the hour is shown by liquids in capillary tubes. One (of many) obstacles facing the young brand was how to prevent the tube from dilating as a result of temperature variations; on this scale, the capillary or the liquid need only expand by a few microns to skew readings. HYT solved this problem by making its microtube from borosilicate glass, which has a very low thermal dilation coefficient. For the coloured fluids, a thermal compensator was added to the closed circuit. The ultra-flexible, high-strength, mechanically articulated bellows that push the liquid through the tube were developed by a company with ties to NASA.

II

V

In a more traditional though no less technical vein, Piaget has long led the way in extra-thin watches.

In 2014 it unveiled the Altiplano 900P, just 3.65 mm high. The world’s thinnest hand-wound mechanical watch, composed of 145 parts, its movement and case literally form one: to save vital millimetres, the back of the case is machined to accommodate mechanical parts, thus doubling up as a plate. This implies a reverse construction for the movement, with bridges and gears visible on the dial side.

While looks are important, watchmakers’ favourite playground remains precision. A watch has a heart — the balance and spring assembly — and the faster this heart beats, i.e. the more “ticks” there are per second, the more precisely the movement will keep time. The majority of today’s movements run at a frequency of 3 or 4 Hz, which is 6 to 8 jumps of the seconds hand per second.

III

VI

The perpetual calendar is part of Audemars Piguet’s heritage. This watch complication indicates the day, date, month and leap year, is generally accompanied by a moon phase, and requires no correction until the year 2100, a non-leap year due to the subtleties of the Gregorian calendar. In 1955 the house unveiled its first version of the perpetual calendar on a wristwatch, a veritable feat for the time, thereby marking a milestone in the history of watchmaking. Since then, many other versions have appeared in Audemars Piguet’s collection, including a recent version in yellow gold, issued in 2016, reviving the tradition of this precious metal which was very popular in the early 20 th century.

A year later, the same complication can be found in Audemars Piguet’s current catalogue, but in a very different guise. The new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar comes with a ceramic bracelet and case. One only has to note the complexity of the watch exterior to grasp the extent of the house’s expertise in machining this black ceramic, which has been finished by hand. It is a first in the brand’s emblematic collection and demanded no less than 600 hours of research and development. It takes some 30 hours to make the ceramic bracelet alone, from machining and polishing to finishing and assembling. This is five times longer than the time required to make a similar bracelet in steel.

All the features of the Royal Oak as it was originally designed by Gérald Genta in the 1970s remain present, including the “Grande Tapisserie” pattern on the dial, on which appear the calendar indications driven by the hand-wound calibre 5134. A particular feature of this model is that the perpetual calendar with astronomical moon is accompanied by a week indication in the form of a pointer on the flange.

E.D.

IIII

VII

CERAMIC MAGIC

VIII

PANE R AI L AB-ID™ LUMINOR 1950 CARBOTECH 3 DAYS – 49MM. PAST AND FUTURE

I · RO LE X OYSTER PER PE TUAL GMT MASTER II

WHICH THE MAINPL ATE, BRIDGES AND UPPER SEC-

I I I I · JA E G E R - LE CO U LT R E DUOMÈ TR E SPHÉR O -

V · TAG HEUE R CARRER A HEUER- 01 FULL BL ACK

FIRST TIMEPIECE STAMPED WITH THE POINÇON DE

V I I I · R I C H A R D M I L L E R M 5 0 - 0 3 M CL AR EN- F1

AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK PERPETUAL CALENDAR. THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR IS

COME TOGETHER IN THIS NEW EXAMPLE OF CONTEMPOR ARY HIGH WATCHMAKING DE-

THE GMT-MASTER II BY ROLE X, ORIGINALLY A PRO-

TION OF THE TOURBILLON CAGE ARE ALL-CARBON.

TOUR BILLON. BAS ED ON TH E DUA L-W I NG PR I N -

MAT T CER AMIC. UNVEI LED T WO YE ARS AGO, THE

GENÈVE. WITH THIS FLYING TOURBILLON “POINÇON

TH E M OVEM ENT OF TH I S R M 50 - 03 W I TH TOUR-

A COMPLICATION AT THE HEART OF AUDEMARS PIGUET’S IDENTITY. IT ALSO REMINDS US

VELOPED BY PANER AI’S E XPERIMENTAL L ABOR ATORY: THE PANER AI L AB-ID™ WATCH.

FESSIONAL WATCH, HAS BECOME A TIMEPIECE FOR

THE MAINPL ATE AND CASE FORM A CHASSIS THAT IS

CIPLE USED IN ALL DUOMÈ TRE WATCHES, WHICH

CAR RER A HEUER- 01 HAS BECOM E TAG HEUER ’S

DE GENÈVE”, THE WATCHMAKER HAS CRE ATED ONE

BILLON AND FLYBACK HAND, 30-MINUTE TOTALIS-

THAT ALL ME ASUREMENTS OF TIME COME FROM ASTRONOMY AND NATUR AL CYCLES.

PRODUCED IN A SERIES OF 50 PIECES, THIS NEW SPECIAL EDITION REVISITS THE TIME-

GLOBE TROT TERS THANKS TO ITS FUNCTIONALIT Y

LIGHTER BECAUSE OF THE MATERIALS USED.

C ONS I STS OF T WO I NDEPENDENT M ECHAN I S M S

SIGNATURE CHRONOGR APH. FOR 2017, THE WATCH

OF THE MOST LIGHTWEIGHT TIMEPIECES IN ITS CAT-

ER AND I ND ICATORS FOR THE P OWER RESERVE ,

IN 1955, AUDEMARS PIGUE T PRESENTED A WORLD FIRST: A PERPE TUAL CALENDAR

LESS DESIGN OF THE LUMINOR 1950 COLLECTION, WHILE INTRODUCING TECHNOLOG-

AND ST YLE . ITS DUAL TI M E ZONE CONTINUES TO

III · GIR ARD - PERREGAUX NEO-BRIDGES. A FUTUR-

S H AR I NG TH E SA M E R EGU L AT I NG ORG AN , TH I S

COMES IN AN ALL-MAT TE BL ACK CER AMIC VERSION.

EGORY.

TO R Q U E A N D F U N C T I O N W E I G H S J U S T S E V E N

WATCH WITH LE AP-YE AR INDICATION IN A LIMITED EDITION OF JUST NINE PIECES IN

ICAL INNOVATIONS THAT DEMONSTR ATE THE FLORENTINE BR AND’S TALENT FOR DR AW-

BE USEFUL TO THOSE TR ANSFERR I NG BE T WEEN

ISTIC EXTR APOL ATION OF A MOVEMENT ARCHITEC-

DES IGN I NTRODUCES THE SPHÉROTOUR B I LLON .

THE CASE, BE ZEL , LUGS, MIDDLE, AND ALL OTHER

VII · HUBLOT BIG BANG FERR ARI CARBON. SINCE

GR AMS. DEVELOPED IN COLL ABOR ATION WITH THE

18K . YELLOW GOLD. SINCE THEN, MANY VERSIONS HAVE FOLLOWED, INCLUDING THE

ING ON ITS PAST TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF HIGH WATCHMAKING. BY OP TIMISING THE

TR ANSCONTINENTAL FLIGHTS, BUT THE GMT-MAS-

TURE DATING BACK TO THE 19 th CENTURY, CONSID-

THIS IS A TOURBILLON WITH T WO A XES FE ATURING

PARTS E XPOSED TO FRICTION ARE FORGED FROM

2011, HUBLOT AND FERR ARI HAVE BEEN DESIGNING

FAMOUS AUTOMAKER , MCL AREN, THIS WATCH, IN-

ROYAL OAK QUANTIÈME PERPÉ TUEL , WHICH COMBINES YELLOW GOLD WITH GÉR ALD

INFINITE POSSIBILITIES OF CARBON, THIS NEW TIMEPIECE FE ATURES A HIGH-PERFOR-

TER II IS ALSO APPRECIATED FOR ITS ROBUST BUILD

ER ED TO BE G I R AR D - PER R EG AUX’S H I STOR I CA L

A R ARE STOP-SECONDS FUNCTION THAT RE TURNS

BL ACK CER AMIC, A MATERIAL THAT OFFERS UNPAR-

DISTINCTIVE TIMEPIECES. EVERY NEW WATCH EPIT-

CLUDING THE STR AP, TOTALS JUST 40 GR AMS, A

GENTA’S EM B LEM ATIC DESIGN . TH IS YE AR , AUDEM ARS PIGUE T IS E XPAND I NG ITS

MANCE CASE, A NEW DEEP BL ACK DIAL , AND A MOVEMENT WITH A 50-YE AR WARR AN-

AND COSMOPOLITAN ALLURE .

SIGNATURE DESIGN, THE AUTOMATIC NEO-BRIDG-

THE SMALL SECONDS TO ZERO VIA A PUSHPIECE

ALLELED SCR ATCH RESISTANCE .

OMISES THE QUEST FOR INNOVATION AND PERFOR-

WORLD RECORD.

ROYAL OAK QUANTIÈME PERPÉ TUEL R ANGE WITH A MODEL MADE COMPLE TELY FROM

T Y THAT REQUIRES NO LUBRICATION.

I I · ROG E R DUBUIS E XCALIBUR SPIDER CARBON

ES WATCH IN TITANIUM INTRODUCES A STRUCTURE

USI NG THE FLYBAC K PR I NC I PLE , TO GUAR ANTEE

VI · LOUIS VUIT TON FLYING TOURBILLON “POINÇON

MANCE ESPOUSED BY BOTH COMPANIES, AND THE

THIS MODEL IS HOUSED IN A SKELE TON CASE OF

CONCEIVED TO SHOWCASE THE FUTURE OF WATCH

PRECISION.

DE GENÈVE”. HAVING INAUGUR ATED L A FABRIQUE

BIG BANG FERR ARI DOES NOT DE VIATE FROM THIS

TITANIUM AND CARBON. E VEN MORE REMARK ABLE,

M EC H AN I C S . TH I S I NSTRU M ENT OFFERS A N E W

DU TEM PS, ITS NE W WATCH M AK I NG FACTORY I N

PRINCIPLE . INSPIRED BY THE FORMS AND DESIGNS

IT FE ATURES FOR THE FIRST TIME A MOVEMENT IN

LOOK FOR THE MANUFACTURE FOUNDED IN 1791.

GENE VA , AT THE END OF 2014, LOUIS VUIT TON HAS

OF THE L ATEST FERR AR IS, THE BIG BANG UNICO

NOW TAKEN ANOTHER STEP FORWARD WITH ITS

SPORTS NE W LINES AND HIGH-TECH MATER IALS.

BL ACK CER AMIC, FINISHED BY HAND.

60 WATCH YOUR TIME

In this field of research, one brand stands out from the crowd and that is TAG Heuer. As early as 1916, it unveiled the Mikrograph, the first stopwatch beating at 50 Hz and precise to 1/100 th of a second (an anniversary edition recently saw daylight). Fast forward to 2011, and the Mikrotimer Flying 1000 caused a sensation at 500 Hz. Already, TAG Heuer was abandoning the classic balance wheel and using a short, rigid spring. The following year, the Mikrogirder debuted nothing less than the fastest mechanical regulating organ ever, at 1,000 Hz. That’s a heart-pounding 2,000 jumps per second or 7.2 million vibrations per hour: twice the speed at which a fly flaps its wings.

After Reference 57260, the most complicated watch in the world, we were well aware of the extent of Vacheron Constantin’s expertise. Now the watchmaker has demonstrated its prowess again with two exceptional new watches, Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600, an astronomical timepiece with 23 complications, and Les Cabinotiers Symphonia Grande Sonnerie 1860, which offers both a grande sonnerie and petite sonnerie combined with a minute repeater. Both watches are unique pieces. They are the result of more than five years of development, and each one is stamped with the Poinçon de Genève.

The Celestia Astronomical is worth taking a moment to contemplate, as it demonstrates how the Manufacture has pushed itself to the limits of what is possible. This double-sided watch offers a combined display of civil, solar and sidereal time thanks to three separate gear systems, driven by six barrels, offering a power reserve of three weeks! In total, this new calibre is made up of 514 components packed into a space just 8.7 mm high. On the dial, 24-hour mean civil time is read in the conventional manner, with the hour and minute hands. True solar time — the movement of the sun which varies from mean time by -16 to +14 minutes due to Earth’s elliptical orbit — is indicated by a running equation of time, via a central hand. The third measure of time, sidereal time, considered to be the movement of the celestial sphere in a given place compared with the local meridian, can be read on the back of the watch via two overlapping sapphire discs.

But that is not all… The watch also features a perpetual calendar with precision moon phase, a mareoscope with three-dimensional representation of the Earth-Moon-Sun alignment, a sunrise/sunset and length of day/night indication, signs of the zodiac, seasons, solstices and equinoxes.

And then there is the fascinating tourbillon escapement, visible through the sapphire case-back. This truly is the high art of watchmaking!

C.R.

TWO MILLION YEARS AWAY

A traditional movement construction was out of the question. Just as the Dutch physicist, astronomer and mathematician Christiaan Huygens parted company with pendulum and weights when he made the first sprung-balance in 1656, TAG Heuer completely

In a different register, in 2016 Andreas Strehler succeeded in producing the most precise moon phase ever. This complication at best requires an adjustment of one day every 122 years; Strehler’s Lune Exacte watch is so precise that its moon phase will deviate by just ten minutes after two million years. A Vernier scale shows the age of the moon not in days but to within three hours. Astounding!

ˇ

THE ACTOR AL AIN DELON CHOSE TO WE AR A PIAGE T FOR THE PREMIERE OF IS PARIS BURNING? IN 1966.

Photo©Gettyimages

THE HIGH ART OF WATCHMAKING

sixty years of elegance

rethought the oscillator: a linear (rather than spiral) oscillator vibrates isochronously at a very small angle. It causes vibrations in a beam that carries the escapement’s pallet lever at one end. Properly executed, this construction will vibrate at mind-boggling speed. This ultra-high frequency system, as one might expect, drives the chronograph; there is a separate chain for the timekeeping display of hours, minutes and seconds.

FOCUS WATCH YOUR TIME 61

I

II This year, Piaget celebrates the 60 th anniversary of its first ultra-thin watch. That timepiece led to the creation of the Altiplano collection, which embodies finesse and elegance.

III

IIII

VAC H E R O N CO N S TA N T I N LES CABINOTIER S CELESTIA ASTR ONOMICAL GR AND

I · VAN CLE E F & AR PE L S MONTRE CADENAS EM-

UNTIL THE 2016 L AUNCH OF A VERSION IN YELLOW

IIII · CHANEL MADEMOISELLE J12 38MM. PRODUCED

COMPLICATION 3600. A SHINING STAR IN THE HIGH WATCHMAKING FIRMAMENT, THE

ER AUDE. TH E CADENAS™ C O L LECT I ON W I TH I TS

GOLD. THIS YE AR , T WO NEW LIMITED-EDITION VER-

IN A LIMITED SERIES OF 555 PIECES IN HIGH-TECH

UNIQUE DOUBLE-SIDED CELESTIA ASTRONOMICAL GR AND COMPLICATION 3600 UNITES

UNIQUE, BOLD AESTHETIC, IS EXPANDING THIS YEAR

SIONS HAVE BEEN UNVEILED: ONE IN ROSE GOLD

WHITE CER AMIC AND STEEL , THIS MODEL REPRIS-

ASTRONOMY AND THE ART OF WATCHMAKING IN A CELESTIAL COMPOSITION IN WHITE

WITH A JEWELLERY VERSION. FAITHFUL TO THE ORIG-

WITH MATCHING BR ACELE T, THE OTHER IN STAIN-

ES THE KEY CHAR ACTERISTICS OF THE J12, WITH A

GOLD. WITH 23 COMPLICATIONS, MOSTLY ASTRONOMICAL , ON BOTH SIDES OF THE

INAL DESIGN, IT ADORNS THE WRIST WITH A DOUBLE

LESS STEEL .

NOD TO MADEMOISELLE CHANEL, WHOSE FIGURINE

WATCH, IT DISPL AYS THREE INDICATIONS OF TIME, CIVIL , SOL AR AND SIDERE AL , E ACH

SNAKE CHAIN AND IS ADORNED WITH SNOW-SET DI-

III · PANER AI LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 BMG-

FE ATURES ON A SAPPHIRE DISC FIXED TO THE DIAL .

DRIVEN BY ITS OWN GE AR SYSTEM. HARNESSING THE VERY L ATEST TECHNOLOGY, ITS

AMONDS ON WHITE GOLD. THE WATCH IS FURTHER

TECH. FOR THE CASE OF TH I S WATCH , PANER A I

THE HANDS REPRESENT MADEMOISELLE’S AR MS,

NEW FULLY INTEGR ATED CALIBRE IS MADE UP OF 514 COMPONENTS IN A SPACE JUST

ENHANCED BY DEEP GREEN PRINCESS-CUT EMER-

USED A M E TA LLI C G L ASS THAT I S LIGHTER AND

WHICH ROTATE AROUND A WHITE L ACQUERED DIAL.

8.7 MM THICK , WHILE SIX BARRELS GUAR ANTEE A POWER RESERVE OF THREE WEEKS.

ALDS THAT PICK OUT ITS STRONG LINES.

T WICE AS STRONG AS STEEL . THIS ALLOY, MADE

I I · AUDE MARS PIG UET ROYAL OAK TOURBILLON

FROM ZIRCONIUM, COPPER , ALUMINIUM, TITANIUM,

E X TR A-THIN OPENWORKED. ISSUED IN 2012, THE

AND NICKEL , HAS PROPERTIES THAT MAKE IT E X-

FIRST ROYAL OAK TOURBILLON E XTR A-THIN OPEN-

TREMELY RESISTANT TO SHOCKS AND SCR ATCH-

WORKED MARKED ROYAL OAK’S 40 th ANNIVERSARY.

ES, AND TOTALLY IMPERVIOUS TO CORROSION AND

AT THE TIME IT WAS ONLY AVAIL ABLE IN PL ATINUM,

MAGNE TIC FIELDS.

the company was known in suppliers’ catalogues as an expert in making ultra-thin components. This expertise was masterfully asserted in 1957 when Valentin Piaget, the founder’s grandson, presented his hand-wound calibre 9P, a 2 mm-high movement that was unanimously praised for its construction and inimitable profile. Three years later, the manufacture returned with the 12P, this time an automatic calibre, which broke a new record with a thickness of just 2.3 mm, achieved through the use of an off-centre micro-rotor.

in existence, created using an inversed structure in which the case-back doubles as a mainplate.

Piaget did not acquire its expertise in this complex field yesterday. From its beginnings in 1874 in Côte-aux-Fées, a small village in the Swiss Jura,

This year, Piaget celebrates this mechanical virtuosity by marking the 60 th anniversary of its first legendary movement, the one that would inspire the Altiplano collection of timepieces that defy the laws of physics. Out of the 25 ultra-thin calibres developed by the manufacture in recent years, 12 have obtained thinness records in their respective categories. One example references the legendary movements of the previous century: today, the Altiplano 900P, at 3.65 mm, is the thinnest hand-wound watch

This quest for elegance in watches, expressed in harmonious proportions and perfect ergonomics, first captured the public’s imagination back in the 1960s. At the time it was presented as “the watch of the international elite”, and ever since has continued to express its unique character in both its aesthetics and its mechanical engineering. During the era of pop art, Piaget’s ultra-thin timepieces featured dials adorned with colourful hard stones. When Piaget wanted to celebrate the splendour of movements following the quartz crisis, the Altiplano models were skeletonised, some gaining a chronograph with dual timezone when that watch complication became indispensable. To highlight its six decades of slimmed-down design, Piaget is going back to its roots, presenting two new models inspired by the aesthetics of the first ultra-thin watches, with the original logo and gold applied hour-markers, in tribute to the beginnings of the line. More than a signature, Altiplano is a way of life.

E.D.

PIAG E T ALTIPL ANO SKELETON. A M ONG TH E I N NOVAT I ONS I N TH E CA LI B R E

PIAG ET ALTIPL ANO AUTOMATIC 43 MM. TO MAR K THE 60 th ANN IVERSARY OF

P I AG E T ’ S 12P MOVEM ENT. I N 19 6 0, P I AG E T U N V E I L E D CA L I B R E 12P, A N

120 0S THAT P OWERS TH I S A LT I P L ANO SQ UELE T TE I N WH I TE GO LD I S TH E

ITS ALTIPL ANO, PIAGE T HAS RE VISITED TH IS ICON IC MODEL THAT FE ATURES

ULTR A-THIN AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT ME ASURING JUST 2.3 MM. THIS THINNESS

MICRO-ROTOR IN 950 PL ATINUM AND THE BE AUTIFUL BRIDGES. THE FOCUS ON

A SUNBURST DIAL IN PIAGE T’S TR ADITIONAL BLUE , A DEEP SHADE BE T WEEN

HAD PRE VIOUSLY BEEN UNTHINK ABLE, AND WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE USE

THINNESS IS ACCOMPANIED BY DECOR ATIVE DE TAILING, CRE ATING SURFACES

COBALT AND M IDNIGHT. INSIDE THE WHITE GOLD CASE , THE 2.35 M M -THICK

OF AN OFF-CENTRE MICRO-ROTOR IN PURE 24K . GOLD, TO ENSURE EFFICIENT

THAT ALTERNATE BET WEEN MAT T FINISHES — SUNR AY BRUSHED OR SANDBL AST-

CALIBRE 1200P REPRESENTS THE FOURTH GENER ATION OF PIAGE T ULTR A-THIN

WINDING OF THE MAINSPRING. THIS CALIBRE WAS HAILED AS “ONE OF THE MOST

ED — TO CONTR AST WITH THE POLISHED BE VELS AND THE COLOURS THAT VARY

AUTOMATIC MOVEMENTS.

BE AUTIFUL PAGES IN THE HISTORY OF WATCHMAKING”.

“We always want to amaze people with our ultra-thin watches. But at Piaget, this process must meet our standards of elegance. Technology serves design.”

In a few words, Philippe Léopold-Metzger, Piaget Honorary President, summarises the approach of a manufacture that has made its name with watches that are classic, understated and timeless, with their subtle curved lines. But make no mistake: at this level of thinness, mechanical watches present a challenge on a par with some of the most difficult watch complications. To reduce the height of a calibre, all components must be redesigned, with an important constraint: in no circumstances must the lack of space compromise robustness or reliability.

BE T WEEN RHODIUMED AND BL ACKENED.

A WAY OF LIFE

62 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

return of an icon

MARINE TR ADITION

The emblem of Ulysse Nardin, the ship’s anchor that separates the first name and surname of the brand’s founder was not chosen at random. At the time the watchmaking company was founded in 1846, it was impossible to calculate longitude at sea without being able to measure distance travelled using a marine chronometer. As soon as he took up watchmaking, Ulysse Nardin, followed by his son Paul-David, became interested in developing and building chronometers and pocket watches with complicated mechanisms. This developed into a specialism that has won the company more than 4,000 awards including 18 gold medals, reflecting international recognition of its expertise in the precision art of marine chronometers. Ulysse Nardin has remained loyal to its prestigious origins and continues to perpetuate the tradition of making instruments designed for adventures at sea. Indeed, the watchmaker is supporting Artemis Racing in the 35 th America’s Cup, the highlight in the sailing calendar.

JACK HEUER , HONOR ARY CHAIRMAN OF TAG HEUER , AND JE AN-CL AUDE BIVER , CEO OF TAG HEUER

In today’s connected world, pre-1970s mechanical watches, made in the days before quartz ruled, are fuelling an immoderate appetite for “vintage” timepieces. The Heuer Autavia chronograph is one of the names keeping the legend alive.

RUBRIQUE WATCH YOUR TIME 63

Swiss brands were quick to realise that their archives were filled with unexploited treasures. After all, even as we marvel at the electronic performance of smart devices, old-school mechanical watches — and call them a charming anachronism if you like — can still get a collector’s heart pounding. One who knows all about a watch’s emotional pull is Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH’s watch division and ipso facto CEO of TAG Heuer. Established 1860, TAG Heuer is a name that ranks high in the watchmaking pantheon, with contributions that have helped change the face of timekeeping through technical innovation and irresistible design. The success enjoyed by last year’s limited-edition Monza in titanium, a celebration of its 40 th anniversary, gives some idea of the excitement that has grown up around these vintage styles.

These skills are put to use in the brand’s timepieces dedicated to seafaring in its Marine collections, launched in 1996 with its first Chronometer, and the Diver that appeared two years later. The former adopts the classic char-

“The marine world holds no secrets for Ulysse Nardin. Having helped conquer the oceans by developing its legendary marine chronometers, the manufacture anchors its expertise in the subaquatic depths.” This is how Ulysse Nardin introduces its Marine Diver, which is both a sports watch that can be worn on all occasions and a reliable diving instrument with unidirectional bezel, luminescent finish on the hour-markers and hands for perfect readability, and a screwdown case-back and crown, for water resistance to 200 metres. In honour of its partnership with Artemis Racing, the watchmaker is presenting a chronograph version of its Diver in a limited edition of 250 pieces.

C.R.

U LYS S E N A R D I N MAR INE TOUR BILLON AND ULYSSE NAR DIN DIVER

THE PARTNERSH IP BE T WEEN ULYSSE NARDIN AND THE ARTEM IS R AC -

CHRONOGR APH ARTEMIS R ACING. THE MARINE TOURBILLON EPITOMIS-

ING TE AM IN THE AMERICA’S CUP IS VERY NATUR AL , AS BOTH PARTIES

ES THE THREE CORE QUALITIES OF ULYSSE NARDIN’S IDENTIT Y: IN-HOUSE

SHARE THE SAME MARITIME HISTORY. WITH THIS DIVER CHRONOGR APH,

PRODUCTION, TECHNICAL INNOVATION AND CR AF TSMANSHIP. MADE IN ITS

THE WATCHMAKER IS PAYING TRIBUTE TO ITS PARTNER . COMBINING AN

WORKSHOPS IN LE LOCLE, SWITZERL AND, THE NEW AUTOMATIC CALIBRE

ELEGANT DESIGN INSPIRED BY THE ARTEM IS R ACING YACHT AND THE

UN-128 REPRESENTS THE COMPANY’S DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORICAL IN-

E XTREME PRECISION OF THE DIVER COLLECTION, THIS WATCH FOR SE A

DEPENDENCE IN MOVEMENT PRODUCTION. BENEFITING FROM THE INNO-

LOVERS PERFORMS EQUALLY WELL ON WATER AND ON L AND. THE DIVER

VATIVE PROPERTIES OF SILICON, IT OFFERS A 60-HOUR POWER RESERVE

CHRONOGR APH ARTEMIS R ACING IS A TRUE DIVER’S WATCH COUPLED

AND A FLYING TOURBILLON AT 6 O’CLOCK. DESIGNED TO OFFSET THE NEG-

WITH A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CHRONOGR APH.

and aviation (the name is a contraction of these two words). Designed for racing drivers, this elegant and well-constructed chrono with rotating bezel soon established itself as a serious contender on the market, not to say a “must” for Formula 1 drivers of the 1960s and 70s. It’s a favourite story at TAG Heuer that Jo Siffert himself was the Autavia’s greatest ambassador. Not in any official capacity, as would be the case today, but by convincing fellow drivers in the paddock of its exceptional attributes. Won over by what they saw, Jochen Rindt, Clay Regazzoni, Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve at one point or another all wore an Autavia on their wrist. A legend was born.

For many watch fans these past years, it’s been a case of “out with the new, in with the old” as more and more buyers set off in search of styles that date from the golden age of watchmaking, when back to the drawing board meant exactly that, dimensions were calculated with a slide rule, and parts were made with hydraulic machine tools and jig borers.

In other words, the watches our grandfathers wore; ones that hark back to a day when the sublime was still the work of the human mind, not digitally conceived. It’s a time many look back on with nostalgia, and a tireless devotion to the “vintage” objects that personify it… including discreetly elegant, beautifully functional timepieces. Legacies from the past, they bring with them a history and an aura untarnished by the decades.

As it turned out, the Monza was just for starters. TAG Heuer had another ace up its sleeve in the form of the Autavia chronograph, manufactured between 1962 and 1986 and which takes its name from the dashboard timers that Heuer built for automobiles

TAG Heuer is now resuscitating this iconic watch, after some 50,000 fans took part in the Autavia Cup, an online vote to pick one of 16 historic Autavias for reissue. The winner: the 2446 MK3, launched in 1966 and known as the “Rindt” Autavia in honour of Austrian Formula 1 world champion Jochen Rindt.

The legend lives on.

Christophe Roulet

TAG H E U E R AUTAVIA R INDT MK3 . T H E AU TAV I A C U P C O N C LU D ED W I T H A

TAG HEUER AUTAVIA HEUER 02 CHRONO 42MM. THE NEW AUTAVIA IS AN AUTO-

HEUER 02 CALIBRE. ALL TAG HEUER’S AUTOMATIC MOVEMENTS ARE MADE IN

WI NNER: THE 2446 M K3 I NTRODUCED I N 1966 AND K NOWN AS THE “ R I NDT ”

MATIC HEUER 02 MANUFACTURE CHRONOGR APH WITH THE L ATEST FE ATURES.

SWITZERL AND AND MEE T STRICT PRECISION CRITERIA . THIS HEUER 02 CALIBRE

AUTAV I A I N HONOUR OF TH E AUSTR I AN FOR M U L A ON E WOR LD C HA M P I ON

TH E TH R EE S K Y B LUE AN D WH I TE C H RONOG R APH C OUNTERS HAVE B EEN

IS NO E XCEP TION. A CHRONOGR APH MOVEMENT WITH DATE AND AN 80-HOUR

JOCHEN RINDT, WHO WORE ONE . IT FE ATURES A SLIM HOURS BE ZEL , APPLIED

SPACED OUT, FOR BE T TER RE ADABILIT Y. THE WATCH ALSO FE ATURES A DATE

POWER RESERVE, IT CONTROLS THE HOURS COUNTER AT 9 O’CLOCK , THE MIN-

STEEL HOUR-MARKERS WITH SMALL LUMINESCENT DOTS, AND “MATCHSTICK”

DISPL AY AT 6 O’CLOCK , IS WATER-RESISTANT TO 100 ME TRES, AND HAS A L ARG-

UTES AT 3 O’CLOCK AND THE SMALL SECONDS AT 6 O’CLOCK .

SHAPED HANDS.

ER DIAME TER OF 42MM. THE DIAL IS IN BL ACK ALUMINIUM.

THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND

acteristics of marine instruments, with a generously sized case for excellent readability, a fluted bezel, a screw-locked crown to guarantee water-resistance, and solid lugs for better stability on the wrist. Among the new versions is the Marine Tourbillon with its white dial in Grand Feu enamel, a fine homage to the company’s original designs and the result of Ulysse Nardin’s passion for craftsmanship. Inside the watch, automatic calibre UN-128 features a silicon tourbillon escapement and spring and a 60-hour power reserve.

ATIVE EFFECTS OF GR AVIT Y ON THE MOVEMENT’S PRECISION, THE TOURBILLON IS A MASTERPIECE OF MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING.

ALL THE LATEST WATCH NEWS If you are reading this then you must be interested in watches and watchmaking. And so is WorldTempus!

This leading digital commentator posts some 50 articles and videos on its website every week. Based in Switzerland, its editorial stance is known for being enterprising and authoritative. As well as its quality articles, the WorldTempus website gives enthusiasts access to the largest public database on luxury watches in the world. Its Watchfinder lists around 13,000 timepieces by 80 brands. Read what the specialists think about them.

Interested in a weekly overview of watchmaking news?

Subscribe to its free newsletter, considered the most comprehensive in the industry.

The WorldTempus website is organised in different sections to make navigation easy, with headings such as news, innovations and technology, styles and trends, art and culture, exhibitions, brands and people. The most important topics are covered in reports that offer numerous analyses, such as Baselworld, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, Only Watch, and SIHH, of which WorldTempus is a special partner.

Launched in 2016 to mark the 15 th anniversary of WorldTempus, the sale of unique pieces on the website instantly attracted connoisseurs: Anonimo, Bulgari, Frédérique Constant, Tiffany, Vacheron Constantin and Zenith all designed a unique piece with a “15” on the dial at 3 o’clock! The initiative was such a success that it is being repeated in 2017, with just 16 timepieces with a “16” on the dial available for sale to collectors.

This year, WorldTempus has launched its Watch Picture Awards, which honours the 10 best photos every month.

Take a photo of your favourite watch based on the monthly theme and send it to WorldTempus. It will publish its top 10 photos and the best one will receive a prize. The photos will then be included in an exhibition as part of the Geneva Watch Tour, also set up by WorldTempus in association with GMT magazine.

Brice Lechevalier

64 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

WATCH YOUR TIME 65

CHOPARD MANUFACTURE L .U.C IN FLEURIER .

USAIN BOLT, THE FASTEST MAN IN THE WORLD, REQUIRES NO INTRODUCTION. A HUBLOT FAITHFUL SINCE 2012, THIS ACCOMPLISHED ATHLE TE WAS E VEN PRESENT

a historic year

AT THE FESTIVITIES STAGED TO CELEBR ATE THE OPENING OF THE HUBLOT MANUFACTURE OVERLOOKING L AKE GENE VA .

keeping it in the family The concept is easy to understand.

As watchmakers’ domains are no longer bounded by geographical limits, the relations they nurture should also have an international reach. In other words, because the love of beautiful watches is global, their makers must speak a universal language to create a dialogue. This is never more eloquently expressed than by celebrities who are already known across five continents. Such figures are generally to be found in the worlds of the arts and sports, partly because the values they represent are so similar to those upheld by the big names in watchmaking, and also because today, these are fields in which borders no longer exist.

Christophe Roulet

KARL-FRIEDRICH SCHEUFELE, CO-PRESIDENT OF CHOPARD, WITH HIS FRIEND, THE PILOT JACKY ICKS

K ATE WINSLET HAS A GR ACE AND INTELLIGENCE THAT MAKE HER STAND OUT AS AN ACTOR . THIS WAS CONFIRMED WHEN THE INDUSTRY PAID TRIBUTE TO HER WITH THE OSCAR

THE INTOUCHABLES

FOR THE BEST ACTRESS IN 2009. A YE AR L ATER SHE JOINED

MADE OMAR SY AN

LONGINES, PERFECTLY ENCAPSUL ATING THEIR ASSERTION

INTERNATIONAL STAR .

THAT “ELEGANCE IS AN AT TITUDE”.

HE FOLLOWED THIS UP WITH HIS RECENT APPE AR ANCE IN INFERNO ALONGSIDE TOM HANKS. A MEMBER OF THE L ARGE AUDEMARS PIGUE T FAMILY, THE ACTOR RECENTLY VISITED THE BR ASSUS MANUFACTURE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE MYSTERIES OF THE MECHANICAL CALIBRE .

Chopard enjoyed one of its most memorable years in 2016, winning the top prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, as well as marking the Fleurier manufacture’s 20 th anniversary and launching a world first with the L.U.C Full Strike.

“For this watch, which sounds the hours, quarter-hours and minutes, we wanted to find an innovative solution,” Scheufele commented. “The gongs of this minute repeater are made from sapphire instead

of metal, and are machined with the crystal in a single piece. This explains the exceptional chimes.” This patented world first comes with the latest technical solutions to ensure the watch is protected when handled in all situations, usually one of the vulnerabilities of this type of complication. Two barrels provide a power reserve of 60 hours and an energy source that is sufficient to sound the longest chime sequence 12 times over. COSC-certified, the 08.01-L movement is also stamped with the Poinçon de Genève, and required 17,000 hours of development.

But that was not all. Scheufele then stepped onto the stage at the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève awards ceremony to receive the Aiguille d’Or, the highest prize at this “Oscars for watches”. But this time, it was not for a Chopard timepiece. It was for the Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB1, the first watch by this new “brand”, which acknowledges one of the most famous watchmakers of the 18th century, known for his marine chronometers. Thanks to Scheufele’s tenacity, after five years of development, the name of Ferdinand Berthoud was once again in the spotlight on timepieces developed alongside Chopard’s, with the same spirit of perfection.

C.R.

CHOPARD L.U.C LUNAR ONE. PRESENTED IN 2005, THE L .U.C LUNAR ONE HAS

CHOPARD L.U.C FULL STRIKE. THE HIGHLIGHT OF CELEBR ATIONS TO MARK THE

BECOME A LE ADING MODEL IN CHOPARD’S HIGH WATCHMAKING COLLECTION.

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, will probably look back at 2016 as a historic year, for a number of reasons. It began with an important anniversary for the Chopard manufacture, which was founded with a visionary spirit in 1996.

“When I started this venture, I didn’t really feel I was understood or supported,” explains Scheufele.

“Why establish a manufacture out of nothing when you could buy high-quality movements at competitive prices? But for me, it was a matter of giving the product credibility and integrity. A High Watchmaking timepiece should be powered by its own movement. And as I had the passion and persuasive powers, we launched the project.” Chopard Manufacture has been busy over the past two decades. From its first calibre, the L.U.C 96.01 stamped with the Poinçon de Genève, to today, more than 10 families of L.U.C movements have been created,

in some 100 versions. The result is that Chopard has gained respect thanks to its manufacture.

To celebrate its anniversary, at the beginning of 2016 Chopard unveiled a number of exceptional pieces including an L.U.C Perpetual Chrono, an original combination of a chronograph and a perpetual calendar housed in a case forged from Fairmined gold, reflecting the company’s support for socially responsible practices throughout the gold industry. But the best was yet to come, the company promised. This “best” finally appeared in mid-November in the form of the L.U.C Full Strike, Chopard’s very first minute repeater, produced in a special anniversary limited edition — of 20 pieces, naturally. At the Dubai Watch Week, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was able to showcase this little gem and demonstrate its chimes. His audience were in awe at the unusually powerful yet crystal-clear tones.

TRIALS AND MASTERY

FOR ITS NEW POLO S, PIAGE T NEEDED AN INTERNATIONAL FACE AND ABOVE ALL A PERSONALIT Y TO EM-

DIVING IN Tudor is a watchmaking company steeped in tradition.

Established in 1946 by Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, to make watches that respect Rolex’s recognised philosophy of quality at more affordable prices, it continues to uphold that original vision to this day. Known for its iconic timepieces with a variety of features and evocative names such as Ranger, Advisor and Monte-Carlo, it is also famous for its long tradition of diver’s watches.

Tudor first ventured under water in 1954 with the launch of its reference 7922. “The first in a long line of ‘divers’, ergonomic, clear, accurate and robust, it encapsulates the approach defined by American architect Louis Sullivan, whereby an object’s form must follow its function,” explains Tudor. “It also laid the aesthetic and technical foundations of the ideal diver’s watch as an understated, functional and reliable tool.” During the 60 years since then, Tudor’s diver’s watches have continued to build on the intrinsic qualities of those first Submariners, becoming the professional watches of choice for many maritime forces including France’s Marine Nationale and the US Navy.

With its Pelagos, which were the first Tudor watches to feature manufacture movements, in 2015, but also with its Black Bays with their domed dial and prominent winding crown that echo the brand’s first diver’s watch water-resistant to 200m, presented in 1958, Tudor maintains this tradition today with characterful, technically flawless timepieces.

BODY ITS VALUES. THE COMPANY FOUND ALL THIS IN RYAN REYNOLDS, THE CANADIAN ACTOR AND PRODUCER WHO HAS HAPPILY KNOWN THE BE T WEEN SEIKO AND NOVAK DJOKOVIC, ONE OF THE BEST TENNIS PL AYERS IN THE WORLD, THE UNION IS

BR AND SINCE HIS CHILDHOOD.

COMPLE TE . DJOKO IS THE JAPANESE WATCHMAKER’S AMBASSADOR FOR NE ARLY ALL ITS COLLECTIONS. HIS RIGOROUS, PRECISION PL AYING ECHOES THE VALUES UPHELD BY SEIKO.

THE WORLD OF DOWNHILL SKIING IS A NEW TESTING GROUND FOR RICHARD MILLE . WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FRENCH-NORWEGIAN SL ALOM CHAMPION WITH HIS VICTORY AT THE RECENT AUSTR ALIAN

ALE XIS PINTUR AULT, THE COMPANY CAN NOW TEST ITS WATCHES IN RE AL-LIFE CONDITIONS.

OPEN, 35 YE AR-OLD ROGER FEDERER NOTCHED UP YE T ANOTHER ACHIE VEMENT

TUDOR HERITAGE BLACK BAY AND TUDOR HERITAGE PELAGOS. A MAGNIFICENT E X-

AND R AISED HIS STATUS

AMPLE OF A “TOOL” WATCH THAT SYMBOLISES ADVENTURE, THE PEL AGOS IS ONE OF

E VEN HIGHER IN THE

THE MOST MULTIFUNCTIONAL MECHANICAL DIVER’S WATCHES OF OUR TIME. IT IS PART

WORLD OF TENNIS.

OF A LONG WATCHMAKING TR ADITION. WATER-RESISTANT TO 500 ME TRES, THE PEL A-

FOR ROLE X, IT WAS

GOS IS POWERED BY A TUDOR MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT. THE SAME APPROACH, UN-

ANOTHER OPPORTUNIT Y

DERLINED BY 60 YE ARS OF TUDOR HISTORY IN DIVING, WAS BROUGHT TO THIS HER-

L.U.C FULL STRIKE - CALIBRE L.U.C 08.01-L. CALIBRE 08.01-L IS A DESIGN THAT MEETS

TO CONGR ATUL ATE

ITAGE BL ACK BAY, UNVEILED IN 2016, WITH AN IN-HOUSE MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

20 th ANNIVERSARY OF CHOPARD MANUFACTURE, CHOPARD L AUNCHED THE L.U.C

THE NEEDS OF TRADITIONAL MINUTE-REPEATERS CONSTRUCTED IN LAYERS. ONE LAY-

THEIR LONGSTANDING

THIS PERPE TUAL CALENDAR WITH L ARGE DATE AND MOON PHASES BRINGS TO-

FULL STRIKE, THE COMPANY’S FIRST MINUTE-REPE ATER . THIS WATCH STRIKES

ER MEASURES THE TIME, THE OTHER TURNS THE TIME INTO NOTES. THE THINNESS OF

PARTNER , WITH WHOM

GE THER ALL OF THE COMPANY’S WATCHMAKING E XPERTISE . A MEN’S CL ASSIC,

THE HOURS, QUARTER-HOURS AND M INUTES ON SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL GONGS

THIS NEW CALIBRE L.U.C MEANS THAT THE L.U.C FULL STRIKE IS JUST 11.55 MM THICK,

THE BR AND SHARES THE

IT RESPECTS THE RULES OF SYMME TRY FOR OP TIMAL RE ADABILIT Y. THIS ELE-

THAT HAVE AN E XCEP TIONAL SOUND QUALIT Y. ITS CALIBRE 08.01-L REQUIRED

A FEAT FOR A WATCH WITH MORE THAN 500 COMPONENTS.

GANT TIMEPIECE NOW COMES IN PL ATINUM.

ALMOST 17,000 HOURS OF DE VELOPMENT AND INVOLVED SUBM IT TING THREE PATENTS.

SAME QUEST FOR E XCELLENCE .

FUTURIST WATCH YOUR TIME 67

--o------- vincent daveau

THE FUTURE IS HERE

“ t he future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” eleanor roosevelt ( 1884 — 1962 )

IN AN EXPANDING MULTIMEDIA L ANDSCAPE, THE MOST CONNECTED USERS MAY BE WONDERING WHETHER IT’S TIME TO TR ADE IN THEIR TR ADITIONAL WATCH FOR A “SMART” VERSION, ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR PHONE, WHEN REALLY WE NEED TO APPROACH THE MAT TER FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE.

© Bruno Aveillan

Rather than asking whether smartwatches pose the same threat as quartz/LCD watches did back in the 1970s, the more interesting question is to see how “traditional” watchmakers are already taking advantage of the possibilities offered by an entente cordiale with electronics.

It’s worth noting that electronics were having a considerable impact on mechanical watch design as from the early 1990s, as calculators and computers gradually took the place of the drawing boards and engineers that were the backbone of any studio. For the past 20 years and more, complication watch mechanisms have been conceptualised using software to produce real-time, three-dimensional models and simulations of movements made from several hundred components.

A functional perpetual calendar module that once took years to develop is now put together in a matter of weeks thanks to computer-aided design. The entire sequence that will serve to produce the parts for a tri-axial tourbillon now fits happily on a flash drive.

PIAGET EMPER ADOR COUSSIN XL 700P. FOR A LONG TIME QUARTZ WAS CONFINED TO WOMEN’S WATCHES, BUT IT HAS NOW ACHIE VED ITS DUE STATUS IN THE WORLD OF HIGH WATCHMAKING. PIAGE T’S ENGINEERS STARTED OUT WITH A TR ADITIONAL MOVEMENT: A BARREL WOUND BY AN OFF-SE T MICRO-ROTOR AND CONVENTIONAL GE AR TR AIN. TO REGUL ATE THIS FORCE, THEY THEN REPL ACED THE UBIQUITOUS SPRUNG BAL ANCE WITH A MINIATURE GENER ATOR .

AS IT ROTATES IT CRE ATES AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT THAT POWERS A QUARTZ. THE PRINCIPLE OF THIS HYBRID MOVEMENT IS BASED ON A NEW CONCEP T ORIGINALLY REGISTERED IN 1972, WHICH REQUIRED FURTHER REFINEMENT TO ENSURE TOTAL RELIABILIT Y.

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS

It’s true to say that every mechanical watch now contains some element of electronics, given that no-one today would even consider putting pen to paper to sketch a design — incidentally a method still taught at watchmaking schools in a not so distant past. Of course, there has to be some degree of trial and error. Something that functions as a CAD drawing doesn’t necessarily perform as anticipated when translated into physical materials hermetically sealed inside a case, as numerous workshop directors have found out to their cost.

How many potential new developments look good but fail in practice, and ultimately have to be shelved, whereas an oldschool watchmaker knows, through experience, when and where to tweak a mechanism to make it work.

68 WATCH YOUR TIME FUTURIST

WATCH YOUR TIME 69

We’re not talking quartz watches here, but mechanical timepieces that electronics’ avant-garde technologies have transformed into “bionic” instruments. Silicon, found in quartz bars, is the first example that springs to mind. Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breguet, Zenith, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux and many other leading manufacturers use silicon to make balance springs, escape wheels, pallet levers and bearings for their purely mechanical watches, despite reservations expressed by a good many traditional watchmakers who fear that on a horological scale, which is measured in centuries, silicon’s lifespan is far from guaranteed.

This hasn’t prevented components linked to electronics from making an appearance in traditional watches. Seiko, for one, has pushed the boundaries in its association of mechanical and quartz. Think of the Kinetic calibre which the Japanese firm invented in 1988 (engineers at ETA, the main production unit within Swatch Group, worked on similar technology under the name Autoquartz). This mechanism, which is regulated by a quartz vibrating at 32,768 vibrations per second, is powered by a battery that is charged

I

by an oscillating weight operating a micro-dynamo.

Proof that this is a valid system, François-Paul Journe uses a similar construction for his electromechanical calibre 1210.

hybrid mechanism functions to all intents and purposes exactly like Seiko’s. It’s worth noting that the Japanese calibre, which is still protected by some sixty patents, is widely appreciated in terms of pure chronometry as it provides identical if not greater precision than a basic quartz movement.

Others have chosen a different form of hybridisation.

Urwerk, a member of watchmaking’s “new guard”, is one. Its UR-EMC2 watch houses a manual-wound, in-house-manufactured, mechanical movement: classic, were it not for an electronic monitoring and synchronisation unit by the name of EMC (short for Electro-Mechanical Control). EMC functions with an optical sensor that measures the movement’s rate, hence precision, on demand and compares it to a reference, which is an electronic oscillator vibrating at 16,000,000 Hz. The entire unit is powered by a fold-out crank handle! Bulgari, meanwhile, came up with its solution in the Diagono Magnesium. It incorporates a cryptographic chip and an antenna embedded in its automatic movement to transmit, using near field communication (NFC) technology, a digital

THE BENEFITS OF HYBRID

Quartz opened up numerous avenues. Shortly after the Kinetic movement, the engineers at Seiko — them again — went on to develop the Spring Drive.

The basic design was conceived in the 1970s and finalised 20 years later, although the first Spring Drive watch didn’t come to market until 2005. It is a mechanical movement with an innovative regulating system whose speed is controlled by an electromagnet, itself regulated by a quartz that is made to vibrate by electricity from a rotating oscillator that acts as a dynamo. Even in Switzerland, a country one might have imagined immune to electromechanical temptations, the battle rages. Last year, Piaget introduced the Emperador Coussin 700P, a 188-piece limited edition fitted with a calibre that uses technology patented in 1976. Without going into detail, this

II

VII

III

certificate to the Bulgari Vault app which the watch’s owner will have downloaded and set up on his smartphone. Then there’s Breitling, whose Emergency is well-known for its use of electronics for the benefit of pilots and other adventurers. The company has followed this with the Exospace, a chronograph equipped with a multifunction Superquartz™ calibre with COSC chronometer certification that harnesses the power of a smartphone to deliver tailor-made features for pilots.

LADIES FIRST

While traditional watchmakers make a show of shunning quartz for their men’s timepieces, many have fewer qualms about using, some would say excessively so, quartz movements in their ladies’ styles.

Generally smaller and often unconventionally shaped, women’s watches frequently have recourse to quartz. Practical, robust, accurate and requiring minimum upkeep, quartz continues to keep track of the hours even when only occasionally worn: a quartz watch can sit in a drawer for months and

IIII

VIII

still give the precise time. Hence the presence of quartz in Patek Philippe’s Twenty-4, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Cadenas, and in certain Reverso by JaegerLeCoultre or Cartier Tank, alongside numerous small ladies’ watches from the likes of Longines, Tissot and Omega. In all, some three-quarters of women’s watches are driven by a quartz calibre. Within the next three years, models at the high end of the market might well integrate communication systems capable of displaying their owner’s lifestyle habits on a smartphone. A development that will likely interest gentlemen, too.

Devices such as this, which keep the wearer informed on their environment and track their personal data, were slated to become the next big thing. Alas, rapid growth was followed by a sharp decline in sales at end 2016. Traditional watchmakers, meanwhile, have been more successful in riding the storm. But are we comparing like with like? The distinction between a timepiece and a device that gives the time, between watch and wearable, is more than a question of technology, no matter how connected we are.

ˇ

V

IX

“O time, suspend your flight,” wrote Lamartine in his symbolic poem Le Lac (“The Lake”), reflecting on the human condition. There are indeed moments in time that we wish would last forever because of the boundless pleasures they generate. It could be a moment of intense, shared joy, or a feeling of tranquillity in harmonious surroundings. The owners of the Hotel Raphael Paris wish to create the same impression for their guests and visitors... A feeling of timeless wellbeing that makes people forget they have only just walked through the doors. The Louis XV- and Louis XVIstyle furniture certainly helps. As does the hotel’s superb location in central Paris, a stone’s throw from historic monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, which can be viewed from the roof garden. Or perhaps it is simply the subtle blend of comfort and harmony that reigns throughout the hotel, stemming from the fact that everything is exactly as it should be.

Film stars, leading politicians, artists and poets have enjoyed staying in this five-star establishment that has retained its family spirit through the generations. Opened in 1925, the Raphael Paris is one of three hotels owned by the group Les Hôtels Baverez, along with the Regina and the Majestic, founded a few years earlier. The group is still led by the same family, today in its fourth generation, represented by Véronique Valcke, its CEO. The Raphael Paris is frequented and appreciated by guests on longer stays, professionals looking for a discreet setting for their business negotiations, and food lovers in search of gastronomic pleasures. The hotel has also been used as a location for a number of films, thanks to its classic Parisian ambiance, giving it another “timeless” quality.

VI

X

A HAVEN IN PARIS

XI

I · PANE R AI LO SCIENZIATO LUMINOR 1950 GMT

DECOR ATION FOR THE FIRST, WHILE THE SECOND IS

TOURBILLON WITH V-SHAPED CAGE THAT ROTATES IN

N AT I NG M I N I ATU R E- PA I NTED C O M P L I CAT I ONS: A

VIII · ZENITH EL PRIMERO TOURBILLON SKELETON

ING. THE T-TOUCH E XPERT SOL AR BENEFITS FROM

XI · R ADO TRUE THINLINE COLOURS. TH IS R ADO

HOTEL RAPHAEL PARIS. AF TER OPENING THE HOTEL REGINA IN 1900 AND THE MA JESTIC

TOURBILLON TITANIO. A TRIBUTE TO GALILEO GALI-

ADORNED WITH A SUBTLE GUILLOCHE FINISH ON THE

ONE MINUTE. THE TIME IS DISPLAYED VIA THE 24-HOUR

ROTAT I N G G LO B E W I T H DAY/ N I G H T I N D I CAT I O N

THIS MODEL WITH 45 MM CER AMIC CASE AND OPEN-

A MORE MODERN, UNDERSTATED DESIGN THAN ITS

LINE , WHICH FE ATURES THE THINNEST TIMEPIEC-

IN 1907, LÉONARD TAUBER PURSUED H IS BR I LLIANT CAREER WHEN HE L AUNCHED

LEI, THIS NEW EXECUTION OF THE LO SCIENZIATO

CASE-MIDDLE. EVERYTHING ELSE IS THE SAME.

SPIN TIME FUNCTION OF 12 ROTATING CUBES, WHILE

A N D A P R EC I S I O N M OO N - P H AS E D I S P L AY. TH I S

WO R K ED D I A L M A R R I ES A TOU R B I L LO N W I TH A

ILLUSTRIOUS FOREBE ARS, ALLOWING IT TO ADAP T

ES E VER PRODUCED BY R ADO, WITH A 4.9 MM PRO-

THE HOTEL R APHAEL IN 1925, AN ESTABLISHMENT DESIGNED FOR A VIP CLIENTELE

WATCH IS CRAFTED FROM ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT TITA-

I I I · U LYS S E N A R D I N INNOVIS ION 2. C H A R AC -

THE MINUTES ARE INDICATED VIA A HAND.

COMPLE X STRUCTURE IS ENHANCED BY THE ICON-

HIGH-FREQUENCY CHRONOGR APH. THE TOURBIL-

TO ALL SITUATIONS.

FI LE , COMES IN SE ASONAL COLOURS THAT COV-

I N AN I NTI M ATE , C OM FOR TAB LE SE T TI NG . TH I S FAM I LY GROUP I S NOW D I R ECTED

NIUM. IT RESPECTS ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF HOURS,

TER ISED BY 10 INNOVATIONS, THE INNOVISION 2

V · HUBLOT BIG BANG MECA-10 MAGIC GOLD. THE

IC DESIGN THAT CAP TURES THE LIGHT.

LON CAGE, OFF-SET AT 11 O’CLOCK, ROTATES EVERY

X · SEIKO ASTRON GPS SOLAR DUAL-TIME. POWE-

ER THE WHOLE WATCH, FROM DIAL TO BR ACELE T.

BY V ÉRO N I Q U E VA LC K E , TH E G R E AT- G R A N D DAUG H TER O F C O N STA N T BAV ER E Z ,

M INUTES, SMALL SECONDS, SECOND TIME ZONE

SHOWCASES ULYSSE NARD IN’S STRONG E XPER-

NE W MANUFACTURE CALIBRE HUBLOT HUB1201 IS

VII · IWC DA VINCI PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRON-

M I N U T E , W H I L E O P EN WO R K ED C H R O N O G R A P H

RED BY SOL AR ENERGY, THE ASTRON USES THE

E AC H C O N T E M P O R A RY, M I N I M A L I S T WATC H I S

PREVIOUSLY ONE OF LÉONARD TAUBER’S CLOSE COLLEAGUES. AT THE HOTEL R APHAEL,

OVER 24 HOURS, A SIX-DAY POWER RESERVE WITH

T I S E I N R&D. TH E WATC H STAN DS OU T F OR I TS

BASED ON AN INNOVATIVE CONSTRUCTION THAT RE-

OGR APH. THIS WATCH IS THE FIRST TO COMBINE

COUNTERS FORM AN ELEGANT FIGURE EIGHT. BE AT-

GPS NE T WOR K TO DISPL AY THE TI M E WITH ATO -

MADE FROM HIGH-TECH CER AMIC IN EITHER FOR-

WHICH WILL SOON BE CELEBR ATING ITS 100 th ANNIVERSARY, LE ADING POLITICIANS

THE CORRESPONDING INDICATION ON THE BACK OF

A R C H I T EC T U R A L F E AT U R E S — S E L F -W I N D I N G

VE ALS THE UNUSUAL IMBRICATION OF ITS POWER

A DOUB LE- C OUNTER CH RONOG R APH W I TH TH E

ING AT 36,000 VPH, THIS CHRONOGR APH IS ACCU-

MIC PRECISION, AND ADJUSTS TO ANY TIME ZONE

EST GREEN, INK Y BLUE, LUNAR GREY OR CHOCO-

AND ACADEM IC S RUB SHOULDERS WITH FI LM DIRECTORS, ACTORS AND WR ITERS,

THE CASE, AND A TOURBILLON ESCAPEMENT.

MECHANISM, OSCILL ATOR AND ESCAPEMENT SYS-

RESERVE ON THE DIAL SIDE , AND IS HOUSED IN A

MOON PHASE DISPL AY IN A SINGLE SUB-DIAL . A SIL-

R ATE TO THE NE AREST 10 th OF A SECOND.

AT THE PR ESS OF A PUSHP I ECE . THE DUAL-TI M E

L ATE BROWN. THE PERFECT FINISHING TOUCH FOR

UNITED IN THEIR APPRECIATION OF FRENCH LUXURY.

II · PATEK PHILIPPE GRANDMASTER CHIME REF 6300

TEM , TIME DISPL AY — BUT ALSO FOR THE USE OF

MAGIC GOLD CASE. THIS IS THE FIRST SCR ATCH-RE-

VER- OR GOLD-COLOURED DISC REPRESENTS THE

IX · TISSOT T-TOUCH E XPERT SOLAR NBA SPECIAL

CALIBRE ME ANS THAT A SECOND TIME ZONE WITH

E VERYDAY WE AR .

THE DIFFERENCE BE T WEEN REF. 6300, THE ANNI-

GROUND-BRE AKING MATERIALS.

SISTANT GOLD, THE HARDEST IN THE WORLD, DEVEL-

FULL MOON, WHILE THE DARK BLUE, ROUNDED PART

EDITION. T I SSOT I S A NATUR A LLY AVANT- G AR DE

24-HOUR INDICATION IS DISPL AYED IN A SUB-DIAL .

VERSARY LIMITED EDITION OF SEVEN PIECES, AND

IIII · LOUIS VUIT TON ESCALE SPIN TIME TOURBILLON

OPED AND PATENTED BY HUBLOT FIVE YE ARS AGO.

OF THE DISC — THE E ARTH’S SHADOW — DISPL AYS

WATC H M A K ER AN D I S B R E A K I NG N E W G ROUN D

THE L ARGE DATE AT 12 O’CLOCK ADDS A HARMO-

THE GR ANDMASTER CHIME REF. 5175 IN THE PATEK

CENTRAL. THIS HIGHLY ARCHITECTUR AL NEW MODEL

VI · GIR ARD -PERREGAUX PLANETARIUM TRI-A XIAL.

THE WA XING AND WANING OF THE MOON DEPEND-

WITH THIS FIRST TOUCH-SENSITIVE WATCH POW-

NIOUS TOUCH.

PHILIPPE COLLECTIONS, IS THE CASE. BOTH ARE IN

FEATURES CALIBRE LV 92, A MECHANICAL MOVEMENT

THE MA JESTIC HIGH-SPEED TRI-A XIAL TOURBILLON

ING ON ITS ROTATION.

ERED BY SOL AR ENERGY. PACKED WITH FE ATURES,

WHITE GOLD WITH SOPHISTICATED HAND-ENGRAVED

WITH AUTOMATIC WINDING AND CENTR AL FLYING

BY GIR ARD-PERREGAUX IS JOINED BY T WO FASCI-

IT IS ERGONOMIC AND HAS E XCELLENT POSITION-

70 WATCH YOUR TIME FOCUS

the art of metamorphosis

TIME , A HE RMÈS OB JECT.

THE SHINSHU WATCH STUDIO, THE COMPANY’S MANUFACTURE, COMBINES CUT TING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY WITH TR ADITIONAL CR AF TSMANSHIP.

The exceptional growth of the Grand Seiko line since its international launch in 2010 has led Seiko’s leadership to make this name a brand in its own right, inspired by independence. It is a guaranteed success story!

Watch fanatics know that with Seiko, revolution always comes slowly. So identifying the core values that would lead this change required in-depth anal-

Existing as a brand obviously requires strong consideration of the future. That is why, this year, Grand

Seiko is presenting different products to lay the foundations for its future range. There is the watch that reworks the first “in-house” timepiece with more contemporary accents. Its inspired design, its 40.5mm case in polished titanium, exclusive to Grand Seiko, and its automatic calibre with date indication, will doubtless appeal to many. Exclusivity comes in the form of the choice of movements and materials.

These include the black ceramic of the Spring Drive Chronograph GMT, the centrepiece. Produced in a limited edition of 500 units, it celebrates the anniversary of this new-generation mechanical calibre, recognised by professionals as the most innovative and also the most accurate on the market today.

Excellence can also be sporty, and so Grand Seiko has launched a limited edition of its first professional diver’s watch, water-resistant to 600 metres and powered by a high-frequency (5 Hertz) automatic manufacture calibre. Clearly, this new-look Grand Seiko offers enthusiasts all the characteristics of a unique brand for which tradition and innovation exist in symbiosis.

Vincent Daveau

GR AND SEIKO. SINCE ITS L AUNCH, THE GR AND SEIKO LINE HAS BEEN A GRE AT

GR AND SEIKO BLACK CER AMIC SPRING DRIVE GMT. THE E XCLUSIVIT Y OF THE

GR AND SEIKO HI-BEAT 36000 PROFESSIONAL DIVER’S 600M. THIS YE AR , GR AND

SUCCESS, INITIALLY IN JAPAN, THEN INTERNATIONALLY FROM 2010. EPITOMISING

NEW GR AND SEIKO BR AND CAN BE SEEN IN THE CHOICE OF MOVEMENTS AND MA-

SEIKO IS PRESENTING DIFFERENT PRODUCTS THAT ARE L AYING THE FOUNDA-

JAPANESE E XCELLENCE, THIS R ANGE HAS BEEN JUSTLY RECOGNISED BY SWISS

TERIALS. THESE INCLUDE BL ACK CER AMIC, USED ON THE SPRING DRIVE CHRON-

TIONS FOR ITS FUTURE R ANGE . AS THE JAPANESE MANUFACTURE IS A PIONEER

PROFESSIONALS, WHO SELECTED THE GR AND SEIKO HI-BE AT 36000 GMT FOR

OGR APH GMT. PRODUCED IN A LIMITED EDITION OF 500 PIECES, IT CELEBR ATES

IN DIVER’S WATCHES, IT HAS UNVEILED THIS PROFESSIONAL MODEL , WATER-RE-

THE GR AND PRIX D’HORLOGERIE DE GENÈ VE IN 2014. THIS MODEL REPRODUC-

THE ANNIVERSARY OF THIS NEW-GENER ATION MECHANICAL CALIBRE, RECOG-

S I STANT TO 600 M E TR ES AND P OWER ED BY A H IGH - FR EQUENCY (5 HER T Z)

ES THE ORIGINAL GR AND SEIKO L AUNCHED 57 YE ARS AGO.

NISED AS THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND MOST ACCUR ATE ON THE MARKE T.

AUTOMATIC MANUFACTURE CALIBRE .

The exponential rise of Grand Seiko since its launch in Japan in 1960 encouraged Shinji Hattori, Seiko’s current chairman and CEO, to start distributing its products internationally in 2010. Once again, success came quickly. Following the annual doubling in sales of this high-end line, which has been available through export for seven years now, the parent company decided to consider its future. By giving Grand Seiko the image it deserves by raising its status from collection to brand, the Japanese company founded in 1881 in Tokyo by Kintaro Hattori has, once again, taken a decisive step forwards.

ysis from its team. They have pulled out all the stops to enable this young company, founded in 1960 and now fully verticalised, to meet the expectations of connoisseurs of exceptional timepieces. Naturally, to reconnect with its history steeped in understated luxury, the company’s leadership drew inspiration from its roots. So the new Grand Seiko watch, presented as a brand product, reprises all of the aesthetic features of the first model launched in the 1960s. This piece, powered by a hand-wound mechanical calibre and available in three limited editions (136 pieces in platinum, 353 in yellow gold, 1,960 in steel without the star on the dial), comes in 38 mm, a larger diameter than the original, more in line with current tastes.

A magnificent collector’s piece, this fine watch with precision timekeeping proudly displays the Grand Seiko name in gothic lettering at 12 o’clock, and on the back, a lion that represents the company’s powerful presence.

MAJOR RELAUNCH OF THE LINE ENRICHING ITS HERITAGE

Cape Cod Time beyond time.