In part two of our series we profile the remaining six of the twelve watchmakers exhibiting at the annual haute horlorgerie event
Watches & Wonders returns with 12 of the world’s leading watchmakers introducing the newest timepieces that the maison’s are eager to unveil to watch connoisseurs and clients throughout the region and from around the world
In the second part of our series we profile the remaining six timepieces that are highly appealling, both technically and aesthetically:
Montblanc
When Montblanc released its first perpetual calendar, the Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar in 2014, it made waves, not only because of the timepiece’s streamlined design and inherent functionality, but also because of the price, which was well under the rest of the its competitors. As one fellow watch journalist put it was like getting a Ferrari for the price of a Toyota Corolla. This year at Watches & Wonders, Montblanc presents another impressive timepiece in the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Perpetual Calendar Sapphire, which showcases the classic complication through a transparent dial.
The timepiece, which comes in a 39mm 18K red gold case, is a sleek one at only 10.24mm thickness. Its refined lines and subtly curved lugs are made more elegant by a polished bezel and case back, and the transparent smoky sapphire crystal dial adds to the visual draw that the watch offers. A connoisseur’s expert eye will be able to admire a delicately circular-grained main plate, and some of the components of the perpetual calendar function, particularly the month and leap year cams, the moonphase wheels and various levers and jumpers. To enhance the design, the moonphase disc is entirely visible, presenting an inventive illustration of the lunar phases and adorned with a delicate circular guilloche pattern.
The decision to display the movement under a transparent dial was, according to Montblanc, to share with watch lovers the mechanical workings of the grand complication that the team has worked hard on. The self-winding caliber MB 29.15, which can also be admired through the screwed sapphire crystal caseback offers up to 42 hours of power reserve, and small correctors fitted into the middle-piece of the case allow for easy setting of the day, date, month, leap year and moon phase by means of a precious resin instrument especially developed for Montblanc. For as long as the movement remains in operation, the calendar indications will require no further manual adjustment until the year 2100. To ensure reliability, Montblanc sends each Heritage Spirit Perpetual Calendar through 500 hours of rigorous tests.
Piaget
At this year’s Watches & Wonders, Piaget marks yet another milestone as it introduces its first complication dedicated to a woman’s watch, under a collection called the Limelight Stella. Designed and developed entirely in-house, the manufacture chooses one of the most charming and sensuous complications ever, the moon phase, which appear on a disc decorated with stars and two moons, driven by a 135-tooth wheel. Its ingenious mechanism requires a one-day correction only after 122 years – which essentially spans beyond a lifetime – instead of the usual one-day discrepancy adjustment every two and a half years. The automatic Caliber 584P movement delivers a 42-hour power reserve, enabling the hours, minutes, central seconds and moon phases, while the more simplified 580P Caliber equips the jewelry version, which sans the central seconds would immediately turn one’s focus on the watch’s aesthetics. Its oval-shaped case, slight build (at 36mm), beautiful sunburst dial and slender gold hour-markers together give the piece a graceful fragility. The moon phase gets pride of place and occupies most of the dial, contained within fan-shaped aperture delicately framed by two lines set with 14 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Richard Mille
While we’re pretty used to seeing Richard Mille’s serious and all-too-determined side, the RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon reveals his sense of humor. As you may have guessed from its name, it is a provocative piece that expresses one’s innermost desires. Erotic watches are not entirely new; rare, perhaps, but there has been a steady flow of them throughout the years, most using automatons that provide rather explicit visuals that leave nothing to the imagination. The RM 69, on the other hand, gets a bit more creative and quirky as it proclaims these desires implicitly through words in three separate windows, made possible by a new complication called the “oracle”; this function is activated on demand by pressing a button at 10 o’clock. To ensure that these proclamations can be easily read, Richard Mille’s engineers developed a mechanism that enables the hands to break free from the gear train though a push-piece at 8 o’clock that will prompt the hands to disappear, and in releasing it returns to their correct position.
In spite of its 505 components, the movement is in fact very compact, thanks to its unique Duoplan construction, which makes it possible for the tourbillon and barrel to be aligned on the same axis. This ingenious and truly unique movement was the result of a collaboration between Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi. This intriguing piece is limited to only 30 pieces, and will be available exclusively in Richard Mille’s boutiques.
Roger Dubuis
As Roger Dubuis proclaims 2015 as the “Year of the Skeleton,” it makes its Astral Skeleton concept a focal point at this year’s Watches & Wonders, with a persuasive line-up of Excalibur models, led by the truly compelling Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument – the brand’s radical interpretation of a pocket watch. At the heart of this extraordinary piece is the sophisticated 590-component RD101 caliber, which boasts four sprung balances, and features two of the brand’s signature complications: the patented double moon-crescent power reserve display, and its renowned double flying tourbillon. The Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument takes on the distinct design codes of the Excalibur, such as the fluted bezel and the easy-grip crown, but the stunning movement in full view takes this distinct design to a whole new level. Envisioned to be more than just a watch, the futuristic-looking piece was designed to be appreciated from all angles, and to be used just as the wearer pleased – that is, worn dangling on its end from a specially crafted chain, or as a table clock or décor, when hung from a solid base, making it reminiscent of a very traditional device used in watchmaking workshops to measure precision.
Van Cleef & Arpels
At this year’s Watches & Wonders, Van Cleef & Arpels sticks to what it knows and does best: timepieces that are essentially about self-expression, poetry and the splendor of life. The moment you step foot in Van Cleef and Arpels’ booth, you are at once whisked away from the, at times, intimidating world of highly technical watches, unto a mystical and enchanted realm where timepieces are also incredible storytellers. On this occasion, the maison presents visitors with new interpretations of “Enchanting Nature” collection, a line inspired by flowers and plants, while it brings its “Extraordinary Dials” line to life with beautiful birds, as a stunning landscape created by precious stones make the dial of the unique Lady Arpels Peau d’Âne Forêt Enchantée timepiece. Van Cleef & Arpels also pays homage to two of its historic designs: the Cadenas from the 1930s, and the À Cheval set from the 1980s.
The maison also enriches its distinguished line of Extraordinary Dials, executing the ever precise and delicate miniature feather art, where the artist selects a feather according to the right color and texture, then carefully removes its bards and barbules, and skillfully sets it against the background, which in this case is a stone dial made from jade, turquoise or lapis lazuli, where the rest of the bird is painted around the feather, and in its periphery, a stunning landscape is painted. We are treated with three feathered pieces: the Lady Arpels Cardinal Carmin featuring the feathers of a cardinal; the Lady Arpels Colibri Indigo with hummingbird feathers; and the Lady Arpels Martin-Pêcheur Azur with Kingfisher feathers. The Lady Arpels Peau d’Âne Forêt Enchantée, on the other hand, is a unique piece that highlights the maison’s mastery in stone setting. Its 41mm dial provides the canvas to an incredible landscape presented through the careful setting of square-cut diamonds, princess-cut yellow sapphires, buff‑topped emeralds, sapphires, tsavorite garnets and spessartite garnets.
Vacheron Constantin
The depth of Vacheron Constantin’s abilities is second-to-none, for it’s truly one of the very few manufactures that has an uninterrupted history, now reaching a staggering 260 years. Through world events, global crises, and all the key developments we have seen in so many fields over that time, Vacheron Constantin has been crafting watches from its inception in Geneva, where it is still based today. You can imagine that for a manufacture with such a long history, the knowledge it has acquired is significant, and there are few complications that it has not, at some point in time, ably tackled and delivered. Such is its ability that it has an entire department dedicated to making custom pieces: the Ateliers Cabinotiers. For those who are ready to take that step, a pilgrimage to the historic boutique on Geneva’s Quai de l’Île is required, where the collector will first discuss his or her idea and requirements. The concept will then be evaluated, in terms of technical feasibility, and also whether it falls in line with what’s expected, esthetically, of a Vacheron Constantin timepiece. All these factors are carefully considered before it’s accepted or not, for the brand has to dedicate itself to producing the watch on the same basis as a “regular” production watch; that is, it needs to be made so that the technical drawings, the parts, as well as the ability to produce them, is maintained, so should it ever come back in future – regardless of how much time has past – the manufacture’s watchmakers are able to service and restore the watch.
In what could perhaps be its proudest moment, Vacheron Constantin is unveiling its latest timepiece, one it calls its “most complicated ever,” a statement that you may have come across before, but when it comes from a manufacture with such a long history, it is not to be taken lightly. Even amidst the excitement and pride that the maison’s watchmakers show when talking about the timepiece, a sense of decorum is maintained, and the watch is simply given a reference number: 57260.
Read the full story in the Watches & Wonder supplement in the October 2015 issue of Revolution
Watches & Wonders runs at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 30 to October 3, 2015