Tag Archives: Geneva

Watches and Wonders 2022 Day 3 Highlights

It’s the weekend so we’ll take a different tack to our continuing Watches & Wonders Geneva stories. In fact, Watches & Wonders Geneva is not the only game in town and we dropped in on Time to Watches to check out Corum, among other brands. The temperature outside plummeted but Corum warmed us up with a great conversation about time, and their new Admiral 42 watches, and a wildly luminescent Admiral 45 model.

The Admiral 42 watches sport the 2019-introduced dial decoration called grenadier fendu, which has a historical military inspiration. This decoration is shared across all the Admiral variants this year and speaks well to current appetites and tastes. We applaud the updates and look forward to more of such options. Not that Corum will be making more watches or anything, because the brand tells us that they will actually be making fewer watches, and cutting references even more than they already have. If you love the Bubble watch, as we do, you need not worry there because it is very much in the picture.

Back in the hallowed halls of the Palexpo, I want to take you through a true aural pleasure, the new minute repeater from A. Lange & Sohne. We spoke with our old friend, Product Development Director Anthony de Haas about it, off camera, and we’ll bring you that story in May. The short story on the Richard Lange Minute Repeater is that you have to hear it for yourself. It has a classical appeal, from its three-part enamel dial to the chiming mechanism that avoids awkward pauses in the absence of quarters, that contrasts strongly with the new Odysseus watch in titanium. More on that last watch later…

For now the new minute repeater serves to connect our day, between A. Lange & Sohne and the Patek Philippe Museum. This is because Richard Lange worked on thermocompensation in the balance spring and the Museum has an excellent showcase of early thermocompensation experiments, in pocket watches, just as Richard Lange would have made. The science and culture of watchmaking cuts across time and space, and it’s nice to have a visceral experience of that here in Geneva.

Ok that’s a lot of verbiage and not a lot of watches, but we do have to save some of our coverage for the months to come. A lot of the watches at Watches & Wonders Geneva and Time to Watches for that matter, will be released throughout the year so we have to keep the excitement going for a little while. Of course, the Patek Philippe Museum can be experienced year round, but only in Geneva.

Speaking of strange connections, we managed to surprise our friends at Blancpain with a detail about the Air Command watch, which was not in their press release, and that you can read about in the latest issue of WOW, also online at LUXUO. In a bunker underneath the Blancpain boutique, we also saw a new bracelet for the Bathyscaphe and got a little handsy with the Fifty Fathoms 8 Days Tourbillon. The conversation was a little too animated and exciting so details on that bracelet and the Fifty Fathoms will have to wait. But honestly, these are the kinds of meetings and experiences that watch fairs are about. To us, they are worth a price above any watch. Okay maybe not a Van Cleef & Arpels Automaton but I digress.

Bringing the curtain down on this day of WWG was a private concert called the Sound of Colour by Hans Zimmer, courtesy of IWC. We skipped dinner to make this, and it was well worth it. Experiences like this one are also what watch fairs need, and deliver a visceral edge to the debut of the IWC and Pantone Top Gun watches.

For more highlights on Watches and Wonders 2022, click here.

The World’s Largest Purple-Pink Diamond Fetched $26.6M in Geneva

An auction in Geneva on Wednesday, 11^th November 2020, made history for the sale of an ultra-rare purple-pink diamond. The event hosted by Sotheby’s showcased the extremely recherché 14.8-carat Russian diamond, known as “The Spirit of the Rose”. Unlike 99% of pink diamonds which are under 10 carats, this stone is one of three in an original collection by Russian mining company, Alrosa.

The World’s Largest Purple-Pink Diamond Fetched $26.6M in Geneva

Taking its name from the 1911 Russian ballet “Le Spectre de la rose,” this precious jewel was cut from an even larger rough rock unearthed in 2017, and even displayed in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei before its sale. According to the chairman of Sotheby’s jewellery division, Gary Schuler, the diamond’s rarity is a result of its size and colour, which had been graded as “Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink.” In a measure of its clarity, this stone is classified as “internally flawless,” while belonging to a rare subgroup of diamonds that contain little to no nitrogen.

Despite earning a title as the most expensive purple-pink stone ever to sell at auction, the final price tag proved significantly lower than Sotheby’s estimates. Expecting to fetch up to $38 million, one lucky buyer went home with the world’s most valuable pink diamond for a mere $26.6 million.

By Julia Roxan

180 years of watchmaking artistry at Patek Philippe’s “The Art of Watches” Grand Exhibition in Singapore

The historic Patek Philippe Salon in Geneva, lovingly maintained and kept true to its 18th century roots

Patek Philippe is holding their 5th and largest “The Art of Watches” Grand Exhibition in Singapore. From Saturday, September 28 till Sunday, October 13, 2019, the world of Patek Philippe makes landfall for the first time in Asia, bringing the exquisite heritage and legacy of the historic salons on Rue du Rhône in Geneva, the manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, or the Patek Philippe Museum.

Taking place during the Singapore Bicentennial year, Patek Philippe’s Grand Exhibition brings 180 years of artisanal watchmaking craft to to the city-state’s iconic Marina Bay Sands, underscoring the diminutive country’s unique importance as world’s 7th largest watch market (first if you adjust by per capita) and in general, Southeast Asia for Patek Philippe.

Patek Philippe and Singapore has had a historically close association. This table clock was specially created to celebrate SG50, Singapore’s 50th year of independence, in 2015 and it was inspired by the William Farquhar collection of natural history drawings from the National Museum of Singapore. Farquhar was the first Resident and Commandant of Singapore

Spanning 1800 square metres at Marina Bay Sands (comparatively, the New York Grand Exhibition was 1200 square metres), The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition recreates the world of Patek Philippe in Singapore via ten themed rooms, rooms, each with its own distinctive ambiance. Visiting the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition in Singapore is akin to visiting the hallowed grounds of the Patek Philippe Salon, factory and museum in Geneva – an immersive movie of the maison’s history provides context for what curious guests and watch aficionados are about to experience in each of the rooms where watchmakers and artisans demonstrate their skills live on site, offering insights into horological artistry and the finesse mastered by specialist artisans such as enamel painters, a large foundational craft for the Geneva manufacture.

Enamel painting demonstrated on this Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R was specially made for New York’s Grand Exhibition and it retails for US$561,341.

The Grand Salon will be replicated in part at Singapore’s The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition

A comprehensive array of Patek Philippe’s current collection will be present as well as an amazing range of rare and unique high complications and other stunning calibres. Celebrating Singapore’s Bicentennial, a a specially themed Singapore 200th Anniversary room will present selected timepieces and milestones of Patek Philippe’s history together with key milestones of Singapore’s rich history since Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in there. When you’re done with exploring all 1800 square metres of amazing watchmaking artistry, you can finally take a breather in the Patek Philippe lounge café.

The museum section is divided into two departments, as is the case in Geneva. The “Antique Collection” provides a wonderful historic panorama of the history of watchmaking with some of the very first portable timepieces from the mid-16th century, richly enameled pocket watches, musical automata, and technical timepieces crafted by Europe’s most gifted watchmakers. The “Patek Philippe Collection” offers a selection of the manufacture’s most splendid creations from 1839 to the present day. Notable among them are the royal watches (particularly a piece presented to Queen Victoria in 1851 during the Great Exhibition at the London Crystal Palace), the first Swiss wristwatch (1868), and some of the most famous Patek Philippe “supercomplications”.

Since 2012, Patek Philippe has held its Art of Watches Grand Exhibitions around the world, beginning with Dubai, heading to Munich in 2013 and then to London in 2015 before heading to New York in 2017 where 27,500 visitors convened at Cipriani 42nd Street to gain an intimate look at the last independent, family-owned watch manufacturing company.

The 2017 The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition New York, was a gathering of 450 timepieces, among them 128 exceptional exhibits were on loan from the Patek Philippe Museum, including a selection of historic timepieces with USA-related backgrounds. For the exhibition, Patek Philippe also created 9 limited editions, including a World Time Minute Repeater that had its global debut in New York, as well as 17 Rare Handcrafts creations(pocket watches, wristwatches, and dome table clocks) that paid tribute to America and New York.

Singapore’s Art of Watches Grand Exhibition in 2019 is held over 16 days, making Patek Philippe’s “love letter” to the market not just its biggest but also its longest. With such an expansive space, the maison can receive as many as 1000 guests at a time and for such a lengthy period, visitor numbers are expected to eclipse the other Grand Exhibitions held in other parts of the world.

The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition’s Ten Rooms

Cinema: The historic Patek Philippe film is screened here.
Current Collection Room: This room is reserved for the presentation of the current collection. Its interior was inspired by the appointment of the Patek Philippe Salon on Rue du Rhône in Geneva.
Napoleon Room: The seductive effect of this room is that it spirits visitors away to the Patek Philippe Salon in Geneva, treating them to a fantastic motion-picture panoramic view of Lake Geneva. This is also where the limited special editions created explicitly for the South-East Asia market are displayed.
Museum Room: Like the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, this room is subdivided into two departments, one for the Antique Collection, the other for the Patek Philippe Collection.
Rare Handcrafts Room: Artisans demonstrate techniques, especially enameling, with which wristwatches and table clocks are decorated. A selection of watches that would be unthinkable without ancestral skills underscores Patek Philippe’s commitment to rare handcrafts.
Watchmakers Room: Master watchmakers from Patek Philippe invite visitors to take a close look at the inner workings of mechanical timepieces.
Grand Complications Room: A unique overview of the most complicated and innovative Patek Philippe timepieces concentrated in one place. They contributed considerably to the reputation of the manufacture.
Movements Room: This space is dedicated to the extensive range of Patek Philippe movements – from simple calibers to highly elaborate ones developed for the world’s most complicated watches.
Interactive Room: This room allows visitors to experience a hands-on, in-depth tour of the Patek Philippe manufacture and gain insights into caliber engineering.
Singapore 200th Anniversary Room: This area showcases selected timepieces and events from Patek Philippe’s timeline alongside key milestones in Singapore’s history.

The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition 2019 Singapore

When: 28 September to 13 October 2019
Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956
Open: Monday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm
Admission is free

Yacht-like cabin interiors are becoming a trend

Lufthansa Technik’s new SkyRetreat Concept is reminiscent of yacht style

Lufthansa Technik, the design and engineering division of Lufthansa airlines recently unveiled SkyRetreat a VIP cabin interior concept for the Airbus A220. Presented at the recent European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibitions (EBACE) in Geneva, Lufthansa’s SkyRetreat concept is reminiscent of the increasing adoption of yacht style (no pun intended) thanks to the appeal of naturalist approaches which makes generous use of “warm” fixtures and fittings like wooden decking, furnishings and plush leather seating.

Yacht-like cabin interiors are not a new concept. Famously, luxury automotive carmaker Rolls-Royce employed artisan specialists who have previously worked with Princess Yachts and Sunseeker. In the 2000s, Rolls-Royce secured the skills of famed Coachline painter Mark Court, and started to deploy the teak decking found on yachts on models like the Rolls-Royce Dawn and the Phantom drophead. This new direction necessitated that the British luxury car marquee had to hire people from shipyards, according to an exclusive LUXUO/Yacht Style interview with CEO Torsten Müller Ötvös.

In the field of aviation, the SkyRetreat’s yacht interior is an unconventional approach designed around minimalism, integrating tech gadgetry into the cabin much like an Observation Lounge on an ocean-going vessel albeit not so much for safety on rough seas but simply for its Zen appeal – 4K display screens roll-up and hideaway when not in use.

The Yacht-like cabin interior sees rows of seats replaced with welcoming L-seating sofas and marble fixtures paired with yacht-like wooden decking and other matching furnishings. In a 2017 conversation with South China Morning Post, Carla Demaria, president of Monte Carlo Yachts and Thibaut de Montvalon, APAC director for Beneteau, Lagoon’s parent company are quick to point out that yacht companies are adapting new models to suit Asia-Pacific tastes; the yacht’s ability to be customised is a big drawing card for Asian owners in particular Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Hong Kong clientele.

Hence, the eventual adoption of yacht cabin styles for private jets in 2019 is not an altogether surprising phenomenon. The SkyRetreat concept will be exhibited in full at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.