In part one of our series we profile the first six of the twelve watchmakers exhibiting at the annual haute horlorgerie event

Watches & Wonders is upon us again, and this year, 12 of the world’s leading haute horlogerie maisons are ready greet the thousands of visitors who come to discover not only the timepieces that were originally presented at January’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, but also the newest timepieces that the watchmakers have been eager to unveil to the watchmaking connoisseurs and clients from all over Asia, and the world. 

All the brands are now settling into this twice-yearly cycle of presentations, and each has a number of new pieces to tempt you, with most of them already available in your favourite boutiques, or with only a short delay until you have the opportunity to add them to your collection. The 12 maisons have certainly put a tremendous effort into bringing us collections that are highly appealing – both technically and aesthetically.   


Baume & Mercier

The Clifton collection is once again expanding with its first pocket watch. The 18K red gold Clifton 1830 five-minute repeater pocket watch pays homage to this treasured collection as well as Baume & Mercier’s illustrious history in pocket watches. Indeed its legacy pieces served as inspiration – the Clifton 1830 itself a well-documented heirloom piece passed through the generations. Chiming pocket watches are particularly sought after and admired to this day, and this 50mm satin finished 18K red gold piece is no exception.

A large trigger at 4 o’clock activates a low note for the hours, and then pairs together low and high tones for each five minute period thereafter, ringing out with a melody much like a musical instrument. It features an “all or nothing” safety mechanism, where it will not chime unless the button has been fully cocked, thus preventing damage to the mechanism. The hand-wound movement, whose skeletonized beauty may be admired through the sapphire case back, beats at a frequency of 18,000vph and maintains up to 46 hours of power reserve. A JMC Lutherie resonance tray accompanies this pocket watch, with resonating spruce wood and Nomex / Kevlar honeycomb to amplify the chimes, while a black calfskin leather strap perfectly offsets the red gold. 


A. Lange & Sohne

This year, A. Lange & Söhne pays tribute to Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who was born exactly 200 years ago, with a limited edition 1815 “200th Anniversary FA Lange” watch, created with a special surface finish and case from an innovative gold alloy. The first edition of the watch, with a platinum case and black dial, was presented at SIHH in January. For Watches & Wonders, the watch comes in a honey gold case, one of Lange’s signature alloys, and solid-silver argenté-grainé dial. Composed of 188 parts, the manually wound caliber L051.1 has a power reserve of 55 hours. The timepiece’s key hallmarks include the three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, the hand-engraved balance cock, the classic screw balance, the precision beat-adjustment system with lateral set screw and whiplash spring, and five gold chatons that are secured with thermally blued steel screws. The 40mm case in honey gold is engraved with the watch’s number in the limited series of 200.


Cartier


One of the highlights earlier this year for Cartier was when they introduced a new shape to their artillery – the Clé de Cartier boasts bold, clean lines along with a streamlined profile that allows it to be comfortably positioned on the wrist as well as eliminate any sharp edges. Having already been released with a “standard” dial, it has been redefined with the revered mysterious hours function. The focus of the openwork dial is no doubt the floating hands that sweep past with no visible attachments; inspired by the historical mystery clocks that have been one of the maison’s signatures, and the result of painstaking research by the manufacture’s watchmakers, to bring the magic to the wristwatch. Classic Cartier characteristics come to life here with the “rail-track” minute circle, sword-shaped hands and blue Roman numerals that match the sapphire on the winding key; it is available in palladium and pink gold versions. If that wasn’t enough, a third Clé de Cartier movement has also been introduced this year. Encrusted in diamonds, it features a flying tourbillon, which is yet another highly sought-after complication; bringing together a piece showcasing both novel and prevailing expertise.


Jaeger-LeCoultre

Earlier this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre refreshed upon two of its current lines – the Duomètre Sphérotourbillon welcomed a brand new moon phase, and the Master Calendar paid homage to the cosmos with a dial cut and polished from a single block of meteorite discovered in Sweden. Ever the inventor at its core, the manufacture continues to welcome challenges and strives to innovate, with an original line this year named the Geophysic, which was named after a watch that earned itself a special place in the Jaeger-LeCoultre history.

The Geophysic line is named after the International Geophysical Year in 1958 during which Jaeger-LeCoultre produced a chronometer for scientists to use while on missions. This piece was able to endure the magnetic fields of the North Pole without compromising its precision. Decades later, Jaeger-LeCoultre was keen to resuscitate and refresh this legend with two new pieces: the Geophysic True Second and Geophysic Universal Time. Adding to it 21st century techniques, both aim to appear as clean-cut as possible, but as with all things this manufacture aligns itself with, there are several layers of meaning and innovation.


IWC


The sophisticated Portofino, IWC’s youngest design, has already proved itself a true favorite amongst the brand’s greatest followers. For three decades, it has been admired for its elegance and timelessness and at last year’s Watches and Wonders, the Portofino Midsize collection was introduced with many different variations. Today, the collection once again welcomes new additions; the Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 features a classic moon phase against an iridescent mother-of-pearl dial and unlike its predecessors, keeps its stainless steel case free from diamonds to keep with a more understated feel. The moon phase shows a moon rising and setting behind a foreground of delicate clouds and is set by the correction button at 2 o’clock. A green alligator strap offsets the piece perfectly.

The Portofino Automatic 37 is seen in two diamond-set stainless steel versions – one with a dial the color of the Ligurian sea, with a matching alligator leather strap, and the other with a silver-plated dial and punchy raspberry alligator leather strap. Both feature bezels set with 66 glimmering diamonds, sun pattern guilloché dials and recessed inner circles for a three-dimensional appearance. The functions of the watch are kept to a minimum – with only hours, minutes, central hacking seconds and a rapid-advance date display all powered by the 35111 caliber. 


Officine Panerai

Although Officine Panerai’s current range encompasses much more than the Radiomir, the brand’s heritage and identity remain deeply entrenched in this iconic model. This year at Watches & Wonders, Panerai looks back at an important time in its history, when its traditional cushion case Radiomir watches were replaced by the Luminor 1950 case with the crown-protecting device due to requirements by the Italian Navy. 

The result of the new manufacture’s technical efforts, the new Radiomir 1940 features an improved version of Panerai’s first in-house caliber, the P.1000 hand-wound caliber with three-day power reserve. The model comes in two variations: the 3 Days Acciaio 42mm and 3 Days Oro Rosso 42mm, the main difference being the material of the case, one in steel and the other in rose gold. 

The new P.1000 caliber, which is made entirely at Panerai’s state-of-the –art Neuchatel manufacture, is a solid, reliable movement running at 4 Hz, equipped with a precise system for stopping the balance to zero the second hand (second reset) when setting the time, for perfect synchronization with the reference time.

The newly enhanced movement, which is seen through the watch’s sapphire crystal caseback, has the fundamental functions – hours, minutes and the seconds counter at 9 o’clock – and its size, at 26.8 mm diameter and thickness of 3.85mm –makes it an ideal movement for creating watches of smaller dimensions. Thanks to two spring barrels connected in a series, the movement offers a three-day power reserve, and both steel and rose gold models are water-resistant to 100 meters.

A polished bezel frames the classic Panerai black dial, with large bar markers and figures. The dial has the brand’s famous sandwich structure, which was invented at the end of the 1930s to maximize the visibility and legibility of the markings, where two superimposed discs containing the luminous substance shines through the markers. In the steel model – PAM00574 – the strap comes in a light alligator green, while the model in red gold – PAM00575 – is supplied with a black alligator strap.


Watches & Wonders runs at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 30 to October 3, 2015