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SalonQP poised to light up fine watchmaking

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November 2016


On 3rd – 5th November 2016 at the Saatchi Gallery in London, the luxury watch fair will present four special exhibitions.

The SalonQP bills itself as “the fine watch exhibition,” and with good reason too.

London’s watch fair is on the small side comparatively speaking - in 2015 about 8,000 visitors were present to see watches from about 80 exhibiting brands. But what helps raise its prestige is the fact that it is held annually at the Saatchi Gallery for contemporary art.

Consistent with that “contemporary” theme, this year the show has announced four special exhibitions to celebrate diversity in watchmaking: “Deep Time”, “Metiers d’Art: Art of Time”, “Travels in Time” and the “Lume Room” by Black Badger.

DEEP TIME

SalonQP poised to light up fine watchmaking

When we think of watches as instruments, we usually think of diving watches. The development and use of diving watches have been vital to the history of watchmaking, both in advancing the performance of timepieces and in influencing decades of watch design.

The Deep Time exhibition will show how and why these watches became so important. Participants include Tudor, Seiko, Eterna, Oris and Christopher Ward. Vintage pieces from Rolex, Panerai, Blancpain and others will also be on display.

METIERS D’ART: ART OF TIME

SalonQP poised to light up fine watchmaking

This exhibit will present the story of the arts and crafts used to decorate the finest watches. A range of rare skills that might go unnoticed or under appreciated in the watch industry will be demonstrated on site, including hand engraving, enamelling, guilloché engraving, marquetry and mosaic-setting.

THE LUME ROOM BY BLACK BADGER

SalonQP poised to light up fine watchmaking

Black Badger is an industrial design studio that has become a hit in the watch world of late, thanks to its work with luminous materials. In fact, they have already worked with some of the most creative independent watch brands, including MB&F, Sarpaneva and Schofield. Pieces from all of founder James Thompson’s collaborations will be on display in the dark - something never before attempted at a watch fair.

TRAVELS IN TIME

SalonQP poised to light up fine watchmaking

Designed with journeying in mind, so-called ‘travel time’ wristwatches will be the focus of this exhibition, which will celebrate where the glamour of travel meets the ingenuity and craft of fine watchmaking.

Visitors will see key historic timepieces from pioneering multi time zone pocket watches to classic world timers of the 1940s. The exhibition will present pieces by Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Andersen Genève, Nomos, Fabergé, and Bulgari.

Through these new exhibitions, the show’s eighth edition looks set to once again offer visitors a complete, luxury horological experience.