highlights


BASELWORLD & SIHH: And the Shows go on ... and on Part 3

July 2005


Friday, April 1st
After a relatively short night’s sleep, I walked to the Show and went weak at the knees and felt tired just watching the throng entering. Nevertheless, I made my way to the Hall of Inspirations where Jean-Mairet & Gillman were exhibiting and revived myself with a strong cup of coffee as César Jean-Mairet, the founder, serenely presented his collections: Autour du Monde [Around the World] and Continentes. The Autour du Monde Collection has several men’s and ladies’ models – the ultimate being his admirable Tourbillon. There were more than twenty new watches on show including a Grande Date and Sport and each one was of exceptional quality with its own character and characteristics. However, one watch really stood out … the Continentes Square. This 43 mm square 18 carat pink gold watch has three different time zones – Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa – as well as the central local time hands. Using three sets of applied Breguet numerals on a mother-of-pearl dial discretely decorated with a world map, the retrograde time zones are regulated from three correctors and are very readable – as are the local hours and minutes. The watch is equipped with an automatic JMG 3101TR/1153 Calibre movement and there are sapphire crystals front and back in order to admire the movement.
The Swatch Group’s stands are right in the middle of the Hall of Dreams, and in the middle of those, Nicholas G. Hayek presented to an attentive and disciplined group of journalists the love of his life (in horological terms, of course), Breguet. Since the Swatch Group acquired the brand in 1999, it has quietly and successfully developed its magnificent range of timepieces under the astute direction of the Guv’nor to and with its La Tradition Breguet watch which capitalizes on two centuries of watchmaking tradition.
Twenty million francs have been invested in the machines, research and development and the Breguet team has been enhanced by the arrival of several master watchmakers resulting in the brand having submitted a large quantity of patent applications. All of which was underlined by the presentation of several new and extremely exciting watches that are “perfect and develop the crafts of watchmaking.”
In 2004, Breguet increased both its turnover and number of watches sold (50,000 pieces) and reinforced its presence in Germany, the USA and Asia where new markets were opened in China and Indonesia, and also in Kazakhstan and Jordan.


Watch Fair

Jean Mairet & Gillman, Breguet


Back in the Hall of Desires, I had an appointment with Locman, a progressive, innovative Italian company that is doing particularly well with its large stylized watches. Marco Mantovani, the company founder and designer, took time out to show me the brand’s latest collections. The Tender Collection immediately captured my attention with its flamboyantly coloured dials and burnished steel cases, as did the Plus, a stainless steel cruciform watch that was inspired by the Greek Cross. However, it was the Panorama Chrono that won the honours. Tonneau-shaped in 18 carat gold and equipped with an ETA 2894-2 mechanical self-winding chronograph movement, the slightly avant-garde design with its domed mineral crystal glass that follows a 6 to 12 o’clock curve which gives a sense of widening the watch, made it stand out from the lot. At 50 x 38.16 mm, the large Panorama avoids looking cumbersome through its pleasing classical Italian styling, but there are also two smaller models equipped with quartz movements.
Retracing my steps to the Hall of Inspirations, Nili Barokas, the Executive Director of Elini, presented his new Couture Collection of diamond-set tonneau watches. However, the brand’s important news was that the company had signed an agreement ‘to develop, design, manufacture and act as consultant in the distribution of 2 watch lines for Paris Hilton [the hotel heiress, model, reality TV star and renowned lady about town] producing the highest quality timepieces with the most fashionable designs that will convey the lifestyle and fashion sense of Paris Hilton.’ Made from platinum, gold or stainless steel encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones, the watches will retail around US$ 5,000 to 50,000 – and that’s a lot of bling bling!
Back in the Hall of Dreams, Eterna presented the new KonTiki Diver Concept watch (see Europa Star 2/2005) and the KonTiki GMT which displays the local time and a second time zone by turning the bezel and placing it opposite a particular city in one of the 24 different time zones.
As coincidence would have it, literally just across the corridor, Thomas Morf, the CEO of Carl F. Bucherer, was presenting the brand’s surprisingly revolutionary GMT, the Patravi TravelTec. Using a specially conceived movement, the CFB 1901 which is also visible through an aperture in the side of the watchcase, the watch is a chronograph with two push buttons, with an additional hand to show a second time zone and another pushbutton at 10 o’clock that functions 24 other time zones via a patented mechanism. The TravelTec will be available on the market in stainless steel or red gold at the beginning of 2006. The launch, with a complete technical description and photographs will appear in a future issue of Europa Star.
Further down the Hall, Peter Stas presented his company’s other brand, Alpina. Essentially sports watches (see the Sports Watches article) he decided to introduce a very elegant Avalanche Régulateur with, unusually for a regulator, a black dial decorated with the Côtes de Genève pattern. In stainless steel (42 mm) the Régulateur is equipped with a mechanical AL650, manual-winding movement and has a power reserve of 42 hours. With a sapphire crystal front and back, applied numerals and a rubber strap or stainless steel bracelet, and priced at under a thousand euros it offers excellent value for money.


Watch Fair

Carl F. Bucherer, Alpina


Upstairs, in the Hall of Desires, Guess made a spectacular presentation of their latest fashion models - Animal Instinct ladies’ watches inspired by the African Plains (see Europa Star 2/2005). The brand’s new Extravaganza Collection, oozed sophistication with names such as Limelight, Gala, Ritz and Debutante, with watches in silver and gold and set with Swarovski crystals and clearly an unambiguous fashion statement for the wearer.
In the Guess Collection series, we were shown the Ladies’ Diver Chic, a two-counter chronograph water-resistant to 100 metres. For men, there was the Diver Class timepiece, a black dialled chronograph with a unidirectional bezel, water-resistant to 100 metres with a handsome stainless steel bracelet with black central links. And Guess being Guess, there were another twenty or so new fashionable models in their vast repertoire.
Nautica, like Guess, one of the brands from the Callanen International stable, had one of the more talked about sports watches at the Fair: the N-MX 62. Inspired by vintage navigational instrumentation, this combination watch can be seen in the article on sports watches.

TO BE CONTINUED...
In the forthcoming days, the rest of this lenghty survey will be added to our europastar website.

BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 1
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 2
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 3
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 4
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 5
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 6
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 7

Source: April -May 2005 Issue

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