Top 10 Watches From The SIHH
Is there a slowdown in the watch industry? You wouldn’t think so when you saw the new watches that the brands introduced during the SIHH. From complicated skeleton watches to understated dress watches, it was all there and everything in between. We picked out 10 favorites.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Tourbillon
This year, Girard-Perregaux introduced a tourbillon version of the Laureato. With a diameter of 45mm, it is by no means a small watch, but the use of titanium keeps the watch nice and light. With a height of only 12mm, you know that we are dealing with a highly refined watch and movement. Fitted with caliber GP09510, it features not only a tourbillon but also a micro-rotor. Girard-Perregaux takes good use of the space that the Laureato Tourbillon offers by giving the tourbillon a prominent place at 6 o’clock and further features an hour and a minute hand above the signature hobnail dial.
Panerai LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech
With the LAB-ID Luminor 1950 Carbotech, Panerai introduces several innovations that will guide the future of the brand. The case is made of thin layers of carbon that are put under very high pressure, at a controlled temperature, together with an organic polymer. The dial is made of carbon nanotubes that absorb nearly all the light, making the dial almost blacker than black, but more importantly, eliminate practically all reflections, and the new caliber P.3001/C only needs a service once every 50 years. Panerai achieves this, among others, by fitting the watch with an escapement made from silicon with a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating on the wheels and making the main plate and the bridges out of a low friction composite.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ceramic
It was quite a surprise when Audemars Piguet introduced its Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in a ceramic case, with matching bracelet. Technically identical to the gold and stainless-steel model, the black ceramic gives the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar an entirely new look. Audemars Piguet fitted the watch with an anthracite dial for a touch of contrast and increased legibility. The ceramic case and bracelet almost count as an additional complication as it takes 30 hours to correctly polish the ceramic bracelet, while it only takes six hours for the stainless-steel version.
IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar
IWC launched a new collection of the Da Vinci, with its pièce de résistance the perpetual calendar. Just like the original Da Vinci, the latest addition features a perpetual calendar combined with a chronograph. Even the movable lugs, a hallmark feature of the first generation, have returned, although redesigned to fit today’s style and fashion. Powered by a manufacture movement, one of the features that sets it apart from other perpetual calendars is the four digit year indication.
Lange & Söhne “Pour le Mérite” Tourbograph Perpetual
When A. Lange & Söhne introduces a new addition to its “Pour le Mérite” collection, you know that you are in for something special. It is not a yearly event, but rather an occasion for which the brand takes it time to create something extra special. With the 2005 Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite” as a basis, Lange & Söhne has found room to also incorporate a perpetual calendar in this watch, making it the most complicated member of the collection so far.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon
Just when you think that Cartier couldn’t make the Mysterious Double Tourbillon even more impressive, they add a minute repeater to it, as well as making the watch transparent in multiple ways. Not only does the one-minute flying tourbillon seem to be suspended in space, but also all the other movement parts are visible. Among them are the parts needed for the minute repeater. For this watch, Cartier uses a titanium case. This is a surprising material for such a classic and high-end watch as this. Cartier spent a significant amount of time and effort in perfecting the sound of the minute repeater, making it loud and rich. Titanium proved to be the perfect material to make the case out of and help accomplish this.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic Tourbillon Universal Time
With a return of the Geophysic into the collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre revived in 2014 one of its favorite classic models from the 1950s. Now, they step it up with the introduction of the tourbillon version of the Universal Time, making it is the very first world time watch with a flying tourbillon! The tourbillon is fitted with the Gyrolab balance and placed amidst the world map and a blue guilloche pattern resembling the waves. It is surrounded by a conical shaped world time ring, making it the perfect cosmopolitan tourbillon.
Piaget Altiplano 60th Anniversary
This SIHH Piaget celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Altiplano. Among the special models that they introduced was this 43mm white-gold cased version, inspired by some of the earliest Altiplanos. It features a blue sunburst dial with the brand’s vintage logo. But by being an Altiplano, the movement is equally important. Inside the case, connoisseurs will find the successor of the legendary caliber 12P, caliber 1200P, which is just 2.35 mm thick, and boasts beveled bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève, circular-grained main plate, satin-brushed steel parts and blued screws, and a gold oscillating weight engraved with the Piaget coat of arms.
Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication
Even in a world in which complicated watches are not that rare anymore, making a watch that is the most complicated is still quite an accomplishment. With the Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication, Vacheron Constantin introduces a watch that boasts no less than 23 functions and uses 514 parts to do so. This is all packed in a case that is 45mm in diameter and only 13.6mm in height. In this compact space Vacheron Constantin even found enough room to fit six mainspring barrels, giving the watch a power reserve of three weeks.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pirelli – Double Flying Tourbillon
In a unique partnership, Roger Dubuis joined forces with tire manufacturer Pirelli to create the Excalibur Spider Pirelli – Double Flying Tourbillon. For the strap, they use the rubber from a Formula 1 tire that has actually been used on one of the cars. However, that is not the only attraction that this watch has to offer. Within the 47mm titanium case with black DLC-coating resides hand-wound caliber RD105SQ, boasting not one, but two flying tourbillons in a heavily skeletonized movement.
