From Panerai to Parmigiani, watchmakers were out in force at this year’s SIHH. Here’s our pick of the best, most beautiful and innovative timepieces on show at the fair…
Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox
Jaeger-LeCoultre typically don’t make watches under six figures. As such, we were pleasantly surprised when their new Polaris collection debuted at SIHH earlier this month, starting at just $6,600. Deputy CEO, Geoffroy Lefebvre, explained that this new collection of sports watches are aimed primarily at the American market, a sector slower to recover from the global downturn in Swiss watch sales than other territories.
Out of the new Polaris collection, we like the Memovox diver’s alarm watch the most. Priced at $12,600 – the second most expensive piece in the new range – and a 1,000-piece limited edition, this is a remake of the original Polaris Memovox, a 1968 watch that has influenced all of the new Polaris models with their trapezoidal indexes, large hands and crowns, and three-sector dials.
Mont Blanc 1858 Bronze 40mm
Vintage is very much in. Across the board, we’re seeing a want for smaller cases, and Mont Blanc are leading the charge. With their 1858 collection, the watchmaker has introduced a variant of the staple of the bi-metallic automatic with a bronze bezel and smaller 40mm case.
Inside, you’re looking at an automatic calibre with a 38-hour power reserve – derived fro a Sellita SW200, and the bronze bezel is set off nicely by a gold-plated crown. Although from looking you’d think that this smaller watch uses the same hands as its 44mm brother, they too have been scaled down, and the dial offered in either classic black, or the slightly more out-there ‘smoked champagne’.
Richard Mille 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough
Richard Mille are never one to exhibit quietly. In past years, they’ve been very public about solving problems pertaining to gravity, G-Forces and extreme stress. For their latest technical endeavour, the watch has turned to the world of polo – and bears the name of 10-goal Argentinian player Pablo Mac Donough.
A world premiere in the realm of watchmaking, the RM 53-01 is equipped with a crystal of laminated sapphire glass. Comprising of two cylindrical discs polished to a mirror finish of both sides and treated with an antireflective coating, the watch’s complex architecture is inspired by the suspension based infrastructure seen in civil engineering, increases stiffness and ensures optimal shock absorption.
Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic Chronometer
With a witty name and genuine interesting USP, this latest from Baume & Mercier may have been the star of SIHH 2018 as a whole, and one of the watches we most wanted to take away. The most technologically-advanced brand you can get from virtually any Richemont Group brand at the moment, the Clifton Baumatic is the embodiment of delicate, considered timekeeping.
Just look at those long, slender ‘lancet’ hands, the subtle, almost non-existent minute markers, and that cross hair dial so focused and fine that it gets you in its sights. Legibility is clearly high on the agenda, as are aesthetics, but inside is where the real excitement happens. Expect a self-winding movement with a five day power reserve, Twinspir balance spring and silicon escape wheel. It’s impressive stuff, both inside and out.
Parmigiani Kaplagraph Chronometre
Among Parmigiani’s reveals at SIHH this year, this beautiful Chronometre particularly shone out. Featuring an in-house chronograph movement with a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, it not only features all of the technical features of the Kalpa Chrono, but also houses them in a beautiful 18 karat rose gold case – seemingly one of Parmigiani’s favourite precious metals at the moment – with an azure blue dial and alligator strap.
Santos de Cartier Medium Gold/Steel
Last year, Cartier revealed the return of the Panthere. This year, it’s the turn of the Santos. Back in two different sizes – medium and large – we prefer the smaller size, in the two-ton steel and yellow gold colourway. Powered by the automatic calibre 1847 MC, one of the best features of the new Santos is not inside the case, but attached to it.
Developed so you can change straps in a hurry – and don’t need to defer to professional help to do so – the brand has introduced both and easy change system and SmartLinks to make their straps more easily customisable than ever before. We like the leather option, although little beats the classic steel.
Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic
It may not be pioneering in design or unexpected from the watchmaker, but what Panerai do, they do well. Case in point, the Luminor Due 3 Days. An automatic, and less than 40mm in diameter, this 38mm is one of the smaller the company has ever made.
A three-day power reserve makes this a solid watch, and the ivory dial contrasts nicely with the blue numerals – markings which, in turn, complement that blue leather strap, the boldest move from a conservative watchmaker but one that pays dividends.
Want more watches? Learn more about the Graff Eclipse Tourbillon here
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