The five best ones

T he Swiss watch industry is far from the prophecy of a shrunken future. The presence of a lively host of watch connoisseurs and exquisite watch collections at this year’s SIHH was evidence enough. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) hosted in Geneva, is one of the most important watch fairs in the world. This year was the 28th iteration of SIHH and the throttle on innovations and opulence intensified like never before. Here are our top five picks from some of the most popular luxury watch brands at SIHH.

Montblanc 1858 Pocket Watch

Montblanc found inspiration for this year’s novelties in the exciting work being done by one of its manufacture houses, ‘Minerva’. Although the Minerva manufacturing unit was acquired by Montblanc only in 2007, the plant has been making watches for the last 160 years. The limited edition pocket watch of 100 pieces makes it to our list with good reason. The blue-dialled Montblanc 1858 Pocket Watch is designed to attract collectors and adventurers alike, with a striking and useful inbuilt compass. The pocket watch can be strapped around the wrist with an aged calfskin strap made with the Sfumato technique, when one chooses to use the 60mm watch on an expedition. Montblanc used a natural mineral called Dumortierite stone for the dial to get the attractive blue colour. A new mono pusher movement caliber MB M16.24 inspired by the Minerva monophuser chronograph, powers the 2018 pocket watch. The limited edition Montblanc pocket watch is priced at €43,000.

Cartier Révélation D’une Panthère watch

Trickling beads of gold occupy the outline of Panther’s majestic face in the Révélation D’une Panthère watch. Taking cues from the concept of an hourglass where sand fluently flows to time as though it were a symphony, the gold beads in the Cartier watch replicate the motion of passing time, but in a more artistic way.

Cartier Révélation D’une Panthère watch

It is a delight to see the majestic face of the Cat disappear and reappear like the phases of the moon. Cartier has cleverly used the motion of the wrist and clubbed it with an automatic watch movement to make a reference to the Panther’s moods.

Framed in a pink gold case, the Cartier Révélation D’une Panthère is made in rich shades of black, green and red. The bezel of the watch is commissioned with brilliant cut diamonds weighing a little over two carat. Coloured Panther dials are complimented by a matching precious stone on the crown.

Van Cleef Arpels Dandelion Secret Watch

Van Cleef & Arpels has mastered the art of creating functional jewellery. Every year at SIHH, it surprises us with at least one exquisite piece that makes its way to the top of the list for best ladies watch at the Geneva watch fair. The Dandelion Secret watch by Van Cleef & Arpels is predominantly a bracelet brimming with precious stones. The watch function is secondary. It is crafted with rapt attention to its inspiration — a dandelion flower. From its striking, fully bloomed bunch of yellow petals to its delicate form in autumn, the Van Cleef & Arpels secret watch does justice to it.

Van Cleef Arpels Dandelion Secret Watch

A delicate diamond ball encases the ‘trembleuse mechanism’ to animate the ball of seeds, replicating the flower’s delicate structure in autumn. When the hand moves, the little diamonds placed as seeds of the flower, quiver delicately as if about to take flight. On the other end of the bracelet, a small quartz dial is hidden behind layers of yellow gold and yellow diamonds. The maison is proficient at creating a sense of secrecy with hidden dials in jewellery watches. The stem of the Dandelion Secret watch is encrusted with rows of diamonds and precious stones and makes for an heirloom-grade timepiece.

IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition “150 Years” Watch

At SIHH 2018 this year, there were a surprising number of watches inspired by vintage pocket timepieces, in what seemed to be a concurrent trend. IWC or the International Watch Company launched a limited edition wristwatch version of the Pallweber pocket watch., inspired from the original one.

The backstory of this chronograph goes back to the late 19th century, when an Austrian watchmaker Josef Pallweber had licensed his invention, a rather unusual digital display watch design, to IWC. It became one of the first-ever IWC watches to feature jumping numerals in a digital display. On the original pocket watch, a melodious concert of ticking minutes and hours was narrated using a rotating disc with numerals. The 2018 wrist watch version of Pallweber jumping minutes watch uses new machinery called 94200 calibre developed in-house by IWC, to perform the same style of time-telling in a more advanced fashion. The calibre is designed to control the flow of mechanical power to guarantee a precise rate of its usage and a high 60-hour power reserve. The watch is available in a limited edition of 250. Its dial measures 45mm in diameter, although it's also relatively thin at 12mm as compared to the original pocket watch.

The Triple Split Chronograph by A. Lange & Söhne

This multi-complication watch is the first in the world to have a mechanical split-seconds chronograph that allows multi-hour comparative time measurements. A chronograph calculates lapsed time with the help of a stop/start pusher. This amazing watch can record two separate concurrent events that could last anywhere between one-sixth of a second to 12 hours. Another highlight of this watch is that it can calculate not just split seconds but also split minutes and split hours (up to 12) and thus the name ‘Triple Split’. The split seconds are calculated by the two central seconds hands, the split minutes are calculated by the counter at 4 o’ clock and the split hour is calculated by the counter at 12 o’clock.

The Triple Split Chronograph by A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne’s Triple Split Chronograph uses two seconds-like hands coloured differently to identify the two separate lapsed times. One is in rodhiumed steel and the other is in blue. It is an extremely difficult task to make this watch. Only 100 of these will be made by A. Lange & Söhne.

Shilpa Dhamija is the editor of LuxuryVolt.com

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