DAY 2 @ SIHH
Hiren Kumar Bose on the novelties launched at the SIHH 2016 which brought sparkle to the day
With -1 degree C the twenty-sixth edition of SIHH seems to be coldest so far since over a decade I’ve been visiting Geneva. As I woke up and saw from my hotel window a shroud spread around the city I shivered. The rooftops, the parked cars, the branches of trees, the road signs… were all blanketed under layers and layers of snow. As I write this it is 2 degree C and cloudy too.
This year SIHH has warmed up to include nine artisan-watchmakers among its now twenty-four exhibitors. That itself is a very exciting news.
While it snowed outside Roger Dubuis unveiled 10 latest siblings of its Velvet Collection so “each woman can unleash her inner Diva and experience her very own red carpet moment’. The collection in warm colours includes Black Velvet, Blossom Velvet, Velvet Sacred Heart, Velvet Ribbon and Velvet by Massaro which comes with pleated Haute Couture leather strap evoking the beauty, elegance and originality that Roger Dubuis shares with the famed Parisian shoe designer. Trompe l’oeil cases subtly associating tonneau and circular shapes; finely decorated lugs including a ‘third’ that becomes a precious link; as well as a split-level dial construction.
Baume &Mercier, a partner of Carroll Shelby Inc. since 2015, launched a new series of limited edition chronographs inspired by one of the most successful Cobras in history: CSX2128, the 289 Roadster built to conquer the gruelling 1963 12 Hours of Sebring race. The Capeland Shelby® Cobra collection’s case back is engraved with the name of the collection, as well as the words “one out of 1963” in reference to the number of limited-edition pieces and the year which saw the Cobra’s first victory at the American championship. The sapphire crystal features the CSX2128’s famous N° 15 race number. Completing the design is the Cobra logo itself, forged into the seconds hand. Finally, the tachymeter function – highly useful in determining speeds during a race – encircles and highlights all of these attributes. The final touch of green light emission Superluminova combined with anti-glare technology on the dial ensures perfect clarity.
Panerai’s “Lo Scienziato” collection, dedicated to the genius of Galileo Galilei, is now enhanced by a new special edition with technically remarkable solutions. The 47mm Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio, a Special Edition limited to only 150 pieces, has a wealth of features: hours, minutes, small seconds, GMT with am/pm indication, a power reserve of six days with indication of the power remaining on the back, and a tourbillon escapement. The P.2005 mechanical movement, the hand-wound calibre with the special tourbillon patented by Panerai, appears here for the first time in the P.2005/T version, skeletonised and with titanium bridges and plates. Thanks to the lower density of this material – about half that of the brass of which these components are normally made – the overall weight of the movement is 35% less than that of the P.2005/S skeletonised version.
With RM 50-02 ACJ Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph from Richard Mille combines horological tradition with new materials in the realisation of horological masterpieces. This new timepiece, just like the truly exceptional luxurious corporate jets built to the exacting and personal desires of clients by ACJ, makes use of advanced, open worked design elements in the internal design of bridges and baseplate in grade 5 titanium, along with an extensive application of skeletonisation to every possible area, offering significant weight reduction. A number of parts within the movement have been coated with a distinctive, special aeronautical coating normally used to protect engine and chassis parts from corrosion and environmental conditions. The end result is a visually breathtaking and dramatic view of the technical interior of the split seconds chronograph movement which also technical repercussions such as the elimination of the initial jump of the chronograph seconds hand during starting and stopping, with new split seconds components also in titanium additionally lowering the chronograph’s energy consumption through the reduction of internal friction. A premiere for the brand, this is also the first time the iconic Richard Mille screws around the outer edge of the bezel have been replaced by Torq set® screws with their distinctively shaped head slots, and a jet engine inspired crown bearing an engraved, wave patterned Airbus logo. The tourbillon RM 50-02 ACJ is a limited edition of 30 pieces.
World Time watches are a regular feature at watch jamborees but it’s a rarity that you come across a watch featuring a second-time zone and the world time expressed with a mysterious display. Which De Bethune has done with the DB25 World Traveller, an intelligent watch featuring a second-time zone. The exceptional ease of use and convenient systems for setting and display make this timepiece a loyal companion for the long-distance traveller. World times appear on a disc in the centre of the dial, encircled by a graduated channel in which a moving microsphere indicates the reference time – also known as the home time. This microsphere, a technical signature of De Bethune since their invention of the three-dimensional moon-phase, has two halves that allow it to also indicate day and night. One-half is blue, the other pink, and they reverse positions when they pass 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Local time is displayed on the hour circle, and the day on the last exterior circle.
Cartier’s Métiers d’Art offerings have always surprised us. The Ballon Bleu De Cartier Enamel granulation with panther motif did this year too. For this creation, master enamellers of Cartier drew inspiration from the principles of granulation, which consist of creating minuscule beads of gold and then mounting them on a plaque. The enamel was first worked in pieces or in powder form, then stretched out into delicate threads which are chiselled off into fine flakes and heated by blowpipe, until they are also formed into beads one by one. The size of these beads depends on the original diameter of the enamel thread from which they have been made. They are then assembled together in accordance with the motif concerned, the colour tone and desired volume. The result is utterly stupefying: a panther’s head that is strikingly lifelike in appearance and expression. Limited to 30 individually numbered pieces, the case is in 18-ct yellow gold set with 124 brilliant-cut diamonds.
