DAY 4 @ Salon

A watch buoyed by the energy of a legendary car, a flying tourbillon on a world timer and a watch with  five complications, Hiren Kumar Bose on the timepieces he came across

JAEGER-LECOULTRE Geophysic Tourbillon Universal Time

A flying tourbillon complication on a world timer! A maiden attempt by a Maison, Jaeger-LeCoultre has made it possible in this 43.5mm watch. With 26 global cities marked on the outer ring and a secondary ring outside that with the 24-hour indication. The blue portions of the dial represent the oceans and are hand-guillochéd in a wave pattern with a flattened image of the world as the focal point. It’s an automatic movement with a pink-gold winding rotor and 48-hour power reserve. There is an outer ring featuring 24 cities and a secondary ring outside that with 24-hour indication. The flying tourbillon, is placed in the bottom right quadrant of the dial, slightly cutting into the cities ring.

A. LANGE & SÖHNE Tourbograph Perpetual ‘Pour Le Mérite’

The 43mm watch combines the fusée-and-chain transmission with a tourbillon, a chronograph, a rattrapante function and a perpetual calendar—a combination of five complications making it a peerless timepiece. Arabic numerals, a railway-track minute scale, blued steel hands for the time and rhodiumed gold hands for the calendar as well as the cloverleaf arrangement of the subsidiary dials pay tribute to the famous A. Lange & Söhne pocket watches. Tradition also governs technical details such as column-wheel control for the chronograph and rattrapante mechanisms as well as the screw balance. Finally, it manifests itself in typical quality elements such as the two diamond end stones that suspend the tourbillon cage or the black-polished tourbillon bridge. Of the 684 parts of the new L133.1 manufacture calibre, no fewer than 206 constitute the perpetual calendar with its analog displays. It will correctly indicate the duration of each month until 2100. A one-time correction will be needed on the last day of February in this secular year. From then on, the calendar will again be correctly calibrated for the next hundred years. It has three subsidiary dials. The date at 12 o’clock and the day at 9 o’clock are indicated with rhodium gold hands. The month and leap year are both displayed at 3 o’clock. The upper half of the analog date also accommodates the moon-phase display which is calculated to remain accurate for 122.6 years. Its deep-blue disc is made of solid gold.

PARMIGIANI FLEURIER Bugatti Aerolithe Performance

Made entirely from titanium, this high-tech piece uses laser technology to apply finishes beyond the capability of conventional machining. Underneath the crown and the pushers, the intermediate ring displays an “inverted diamond point” pattern, which is impossible to create by removing material with the usual methods. The dial is split into two parts, and this continues onto the angled section of the bezel, where the indications are a nod to the exceptional performances of modern-day Bugattis. Its textured central section creates a beautiful sense of depth the ends of the diamond points give the centre a subtle brilliance, while the exterior of the dial is selectively laser sand-blasted. The counters at 3 and 9 o’clock have keen angles and are finished with a circular satin grain. The stepped counter at 3 o’clock is formed of three half-levels, each of which has a different textured effect. There is a nod to the world of high-speed pursuits in the double tachometer, which has km/h indications in red and mph in blue in reference to the signature colours of Bugatti. The double tachymeter (km and miles) on the minute chronograph counter runs continuously in periods of 30 minutes. The Delta-shaped hour and minute hands, the red “1” numeral on the date and the double hand at 9 o’clock all bear the stylistic hallmarks of Parmigiani Fleurier. The strap inspired by the embossed pattern of the manufacturer’s seats, and the deployant buckle, which is textured to match the dial. The Bugatti Aérolithe Performance is driven by the proprietary PF335 movement, which boasts a flyback chronograph module. It is decorated with “Côtes de Genève”, a classic finish which complements this round watch, buoyed by the energy of the legendary car which served as its inspiration.

MONTBLANC TimeWalker Chronograph 1000

The limited edition, 43mm TimeWalker Chronograph 1000, is a chronograph that can mechanically measure time accurately to the 1000th of a second. Using a combination of the standard chronograph hand, the small sub-dials at six o’clock, and the red dial at 12 o’clock, you can put together the time to this extraordinary level of detail. The movement is manually wound, and you can see the power reserve at 3 o’clock. It goes up to 45 minutes because after that if the watch is not charged, the accuracy on the chrono timekeeping decreases. There are two patents on the watch mechanism, which has 488 parts; only 18 versions will be made of titanium. The aesthetic codes of the new Montblanc TimeWalker timepieces are directly rooted in the world of racing: satinated cases and semi-skeletonized horns with architecturally carved flanks, all inspired by the aerodynamic lines of the bodywork of classic cars. Iconic details include knurled finishing on the flank of the emblematic black ceramic bezel, as well as on the crowns and pushers, which are reminiscent of vintage car caps. Clear legibility and visibility are achieved with strong contrasts of colour, three-dimensional counters inspired by vintage dashboards, precise scales and dauphine-shaped hands with SuperLuminova for the greatest readability and performance by day and night.