Gearing up for the 29th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, leading brands have released teasers that set high expectations for other novelties, to be unveiled at the prestigious watch fair, scheduled from Jan 14-17
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph
Last year, Audemars Piguet marked Royal Oak Offshore's 25th anniversary with a large collection of watches in different colours, patterns, contrasts and materials, as well as sizes.
The playfulness extends to a trio of 44mm Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronographs featuring ceramic bezel, pushpieces and screw-locked crown; Méga-Tapisserie pattern on the dial; and rubber straps in matching colours or camouflage print.
Powered by a self-winding movement offering a 50-hour power reserve, the blue and green ceramic models are housed in a stainless steel case, whereas the brown ceramic version is harmoniously presented in a pink-gold case.
This family of watches is associated with innovative materials. Harder than steel, ceramic withstands scratches, high temperatures and even thermal shock. Colouring the ceramic requires complex research to find the right pigments, as well as a long and delicate manufacturing process.
Hermès Arceau 78 and Cape Cod Chaîne d'ancre
Cape Cod Chaîne d'ancre.
La Montre Hermès celebrated four decades of Arceau in 2018. Its birth year is reflected in Arceau 78, a very large 40mm model housed in a mirror-polished stainless steel case, topped by a beadblasted bezel.
The dial has been fashioned in finely-grained anthracite, for a nice contrast with the cream-coloured luminescent hands and Arabic numerals.
Hermès artistic director Henri d'Origny designed the sloping font of the numbers to evoke a horse's gallop while Arceau's asymmetrical lugs are inspired by stirrups.
His other creations include Cape Cod, which made its debut in 1991, as a watch with a square embedded in a rectangle, featuring a case shape and dial font inspired by Chaîne d'ancre, or anchor-chain motif.
The design was a winning compromise, as he was asked to imagine a square watch but preferred rectangular ones. The watch was later fitted with a double tour strap that makes it a style icon.
The anchor chain has been reinterpreted with black spinels and a champlevé aventurine decor upon a black lacquered dial in one version of the new large steel models with a gem-set bezel.
The other version differs, with a white lacquered dial, and the motif adorned with diamonds and champlevé mother-of-pearl.
Piaget Altiplano
Piaget's ultra-thin watchmaking and gem-setting savoire faire is showcased in three new Altiplano timepieces.
Baguette diamonds sparkle on bezel and quarter markers of the 36mm high-jewellery model, whose sunray-brushed dial in Piaget Blue, a shade between cobalt and midnight blue, creates a play of light and shade under varying levels of illumination.
Also encircled by diamonds, the blue dial of the 41mm white-gold Altiplano Tourbillon is made from meteorite, whose surface features Widmanstätten patterns, typical of the crystallised nickel-iron structures found within the iron meteorites.
The time is indicated at 8 o'clock, while the flying tourbillion at the 2 o'clock position recalls the rotation of planetary bodies in a dark blue firmament.
The colour scheme changes in the 40mm Altiplano, whose pink-gold case and indices bring out the subtle nuances of the grey meteorite dial.
Panerai Submersible Chrono -- Guillaume Néry Edition
The professional diver's watch and chronograph with a flyback function pays tribute to French freediving champion Guillaume Néry, whose feats include plunging to a depth of 126m, achieved with a single breath.
This is illustrated along with Néry's signature, as engraving on the case back of the special edition, which is water-resistant to 300m (30 bar).
The unidirectional rotating bezel accurately displays the duration of the dive. Under all lighting conditions, even complete darkness, the dial is clearly legible due to luminous white markers that contrast with the shark-grey, textured background.
Though sized at 47mm, the titanium model is light and stylish, with the blue ceramic disc applied to the bezel matched with blue hands and rubber strap.
Its precision and performance are assured by P.9100 automatic calibre, developed by Panerai's Laboratorio di Idee and made in its watchmaking facilities in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
