DAY 1 / Mon / 19 Jan 2015
09:15HRS – CARTIER: Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication
While Cartier has always been renowned for its high jewellery pieces, in recent years the maison has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of high horology. Standing proud at the head of its 2015 novelties is the new Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication, which assumes the mantle as the maison’s first ever grand complication timepiece. Consisting of 578 individual components and developed over five years, the Grande Complication offers a perpetual calendar, minute repeater and flying tourbillon powered by the in-house self-winding Calibre 9406 MC housed within a 45mm platinum case. This skeletonised movement features a platinum-micro rotor with intricate guilloché and Côtes de Genève finishing, and also bears the hallowed Poinçon de Genève certification of excellence.
10:45HRS – IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN: Portugieser Perpetual Calendar
IWC’s decision revisit the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar for the 75th birthday of the Portugieser family came as a surprise to many, for this is a timepiece that has long been regarded as ‘perfect’ in every aspect. While the previous rendition will forever hold a place in our hearts, the new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar competes very strongly for that affection with its new cleaner, more legible aesthetics that provide this icon with a breath of fresh air, while also respecting the traditional design codes of the original. New to the dial design is a railroad track that replaces its predecessor’s dotted minute track, as well as the removal of the count-down display showing the number of days remaining until the next full moon. The new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar offers itself in a 44.2mm case forged of either 18K red or white gold and features the new automatic IWC manufacture Calibre 5200.
12:00HRS – ROGER DUBUIS: Excalibur Spider Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon
Ever since Roger Dubuis was founded by Mr Dubuis in 2005, every timepiece it has produced has borne the Poinçon de Genève, or Geneva Seal, a mark of excellence signifying that every aspect of a timepiece has been crafted, polished and finished to perfection. Such are the standards of the Poinçon de Genève that only 0.0009 per cent of Swiss timepieces bear the seal and, of this, 20 per cent come from the manufacture of Roger Dubuis. These are the rules Roger Dubuis has played by for the last 10 years and its latest creation, the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon, is no exception. Featuring not one, but two flying tourbillons, this timepiece’s skeletonised dial allows for an uninhibited view of the manual-winding RD01SQ movement within. This timepiece also incorporates a vibrant red aluminium flange and crown into its 47mm black DLC titanium case to lend an enviable degree of hardiness to an otherwise fragile skeletonised timepiece.
14:25HRS – PIAGET: Altiplano Chronograph
Just when you thought Piaget was running out of timepieces to ‘ultra-thin’, it’s done it again with the Altiplano Chronograph. Taking the mantle as the brand’s first manual-winding chronograph and the first member of the Altiplano family to don a complication, the Altiplano Chronograph is also the world’s slimmest hand-wound flyback chronograph timepiece with a thickness of just 8.24mm. The movement, the 883P Calibre, boasts a thinness of 4.65mm, with the chronograph gear finger being no thicker than 0.06mm; to put that into perspective, that’s thinner than human hair! The Altiplano Chronograph also matches its stylish slimness with substantial timekeeping prowess, with the movement operating at a precise 4Hz and offering an impressive 50-hour power reserve. And because all good things come in pairs, this timepiece is available in two renditions, the first with a handsome 41mm pink gold case and a second of 18K white gold with a bezel set with 56 brilliant-cut diamonds (1.8cts).
17:15HRS – JAEGER-LECOULTRE: Duomètre Sphérotourbillon Moon
With Jaeger-LeCoultre’s brand slogan stating that ‘only the impossible matters’, one would imagine it would be hard-pressed to deliver on this bold promise year on year. But this 2015, it’s clear that the maison not only lived up to its pledge, but exceeded it with the new Duomètre Sphérotourbillon Moon, which features a moonphase complication that will remain accurate for the next 3,887 years! Offering itself in a 42mm platinum case, the Duomètre Sphérotourbillon Moon boasts a three-quarter dial with an opening at 9 o’clock framed by a ‘stairwell’ of stain-finished nickel silver to reveal the Sphérotourbillon, which rotates on two axes to counteract the adverse effects of gravity on timekeeping performance. Viewed on the rest of the dial is a 24 hour sub-dial at 12 o’clock, the hours, minutes and moon-phase on the off-centre dial at 3 o’clock, and the small seconds at 6 o’clock. The small seconds also offer a flyback function, thus allowing the wearer to reset the seconds hand to zero with a press of the pusher at 2 o’clock.
DAY 2 / TUE / 20 Jan 2015
11:00HRS – RICHARD MILLE: RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleurier
Richard Mille continues to amaze with the Tourbillon Fleurier, a timepiece that was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the entire fair. Offered in a gem set 45.4×38.3×12.5mm tonneau-shaped case of 18K white gold, the aptly named RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleurier offers an automation mechanism at 7 o’clock containing a sculpture of a magnolia flower that houses a flying tourbillon. Every five minutes, the petals of the magnolia flower open to reveal the tourbillon humming within and, subsequently, close to conceal the tourbillon in the following five minutes. The flower can also be manually controlled via the pusher at 9 o’clock, thus allowing the wearer to admire the elegant dance of kinetic art to his heart’s content.
12:15HRS – PARMIGIANI FLEURIER: Bugatti Type 370 Révélation
Parmigiani Fleurier celebrates the 10th anniversary of its partnership with renowned automaker Bugatti with three limited edition Bugatti timepieces. Of these, the most outstanding model has to be the Bugatti Révélation, a timepiece that draws its inspiration from the transverse tubular movement of the 2004 Bugatti 370 model. A literal engine for the wrist, the Bugatti Type 370 Révélation has its dial positioned unconventionally at the side of the case to allow the wearer to read the time even when both hands are gripped firmly on the wheel. To further invoke its resemblance to the iconic Bugatti Veyron, the Révélation has its movement partially concealed by an intricate honeycomb mesh grilled, which can be opened to reveal — hence its name Révélation — the manual-winding PF370 Calibre within, as you would do with an actual car bonnet.
15:00HRS – A LANGE & SÖHNE: Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
The Saxon watchmaker gives new meaning to the term ‘minute repeater’ when it unveiled the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, which, for the first time in horology, combines a mechanical jumping numeral display with a decimal minute repeater. Compared to a regular repeater that sounds off the hours, quarters and minutes, the decimal repeater of the Zeitwerk will instead chime on the hour, every tenth minute as well as the minutes, thus enabling the wearer to more easily identify the time being announced. These chimes are performed by a pair of black polished striking hammers at 4 and 8 o’clock, with the left hammer chiming out the hours and the right sounding off the minutes. Viewed at 12 o’clock on the silver dial is a power reserve indicator that reads how much energy is left for both timekeeping and the repeater, and, if energy levels run below 12 hours, it actually stops it from chiming to prevent compromising its chronometric capabilities. Furthermore, the crown is locked in place and cannot be pulled out while the timepiece is chiming to prevent damage from being done to the gorgeously finished manually-wound 771-component Lange manufacture Calibre L043.5, which can be viewed in all its glory through the back of the 44.2mm platinum case.
DAY 3 / WED / 21 Jan 2015
09:30HRS – PANERAI: Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech 3 Days Automatic
Panerai’s hallowed Luminor Submersible 1950 is back in black and better than ever this 2015. First introduced in 2010 with a bronze case, the latest rendition now comes decked out in a 47mm case forged of carbotech, a new high-tech composite material never before seen in high horology. Consisting of thin sheets of carbon fibres compressed under a high pressure with a binding polymer, carbotech is not only stronger and lighter than ceramic and titanium, but also offers an uneven, grainy matte black appearance that varies according to the manner in which it was cut, meaning every Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech 3 Days Automatic is endowed with its own unique appearance. Encased within this nigh indestructible 47mm carbotech case is the P.9000 automatic calibre, designed and developed completely in-house at Panerai’s manufacture in Neuchâtel.
10:45HRS – AUDEMARS PIGUET: Royal Oak Concept RD#1
Audemars Piguet has called upon the Royal Oak to be the harbinger of the minute repeater to end all minute repeaters in the form of the Royal Oak Concept RD#1. This concept watch, which looks more like a space ship than a watch (this is something Audemars Piguet won’t necessarily deny), was created with the objective of improving the overall quality and clarity of the sound produced by minute repeaters, which have faced the historic issue of being all but inaudible in any room with even a hint of conversation. While Audemars Piguet remains hush-hush about the arcane inner workings of this timepiece, we do know the brand applied the principle of stringed instruments and incorporated an ‘almost silent striking mechanism’ regulator to improve the clarity and audibility of the chimes, while also reducing background ‘parasitic’ noise created by the movement’s components when the mechanism is activated. Furthermore, the use of titanium in the 44mm case lends significantly to the RD#1’s acoustic quality, owing to the material’s lower density compared to gold or platinum. This timepiece also features a tourbillon and a column-wheel chronograph, making it as much a visual treat as it is an audio one.
16:30HRS – GREUBEL FORSEY: GMT Black
Greubel Forsey has built up a formidable name for itself with its ambitious, insanely technical and out-of-the-box timepieces, and its 2015 GMT Black is no exception to this rule. Executed in a sleek black 43.5mm case, which has a slight bulge to accommodate an aperture containing a titanium globe at 8 o’clock, the GMT Black is home to an incredibly complex movement consisting of 437 individual parts, 86 of which for the tourbillon alone. The vibrant silver and blue globe, undoubtedly the most striking item on the dial, performs a complete rotation each 24-hour cycle on a pole-to-pole axis and provides an approximation of the time in countries across the entire Northern Hemisphere. Sitting next to the globe is the tourbillon, which, unlike the standard one-minute tourbillon, completes a full revolution every 24 seconds and is inclined at 25° for greater chronometric performance. Viewed upon the caseback is a segmented wheel etched with the names of all 24 major cities and their respective timezones.
17:45HRS – MONTBLANC: Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphéres Vasco da Gama
The latest addition to Montblanc’s Villeret collection pays tribute to one of the most legendary explorers in history, Vasco da Gama, who set sail from Lisbon on 8 July 1497 with a small fleet of four ships with the aim of finding a sea route to India. Armed with only the most rudimentary navigation instruments, Vasco da Gama travelled to Saint Helena Bay in south-west Africa, the Cape of Good Hope and, finally, arriving at Calicut on the Malbar Coast of India on 20 May 1498, making him the first man to bridge the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by sea. Thus, viewed upon the dial of the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphéres Vasco da Gama are two hand-painted globes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres chronicling the explorer’s voyage across the oceans. Each globe is accompanied by 24-hour day/night discs depicting the hour around the globe, with the home time being indicated by the compass rose located at 6 o’clock. At the beating heart of the Calibre MB M68.40 is the tourbillon located at 12 o’clock, which is driven by a cylindrical hairspring and features a double-infinity bridge, a feat few manufactures are capable of pulling off. This movement can be furthered admired through the back of the 47mm 18K red gold case.
