Tag Archives: SIHH 2019

Blancpain Quantième Perpétuel, the new star in the game

Over the years, Blancpain has never stopped building upon the savoir-faire and capability to build marvellous timepieces that astound the world of watch collectors.

And for 2019, the star masterpiece to stun the world is the Blancpain Quantième Perpétuel, a new addition to the Villeret collection, which remains as Blancpain’s most exquisite and finely created watches that house the most sought after complications in horology.

As a boutique exclusive, the Blancpain Quantième Perpétuel (ref. 6656-3440-55B) comes in as an entrant to the esteemed Villeret collection which has already been established as one of the foremost series of dress timepieces in the Swiss watch industry.

This version has a prominent blue dial that contrasts handsomely with the luxurious platinum case of the watch. The blue dial of the watch, of course, displays the true functionalities of the watch –  the perpetual calendar mechanism that is a major complication Blancpain is well known for.

This boutique exclusive release of just 88 limited edition pieces provides accurate time, day and date tracking over the months, years and leap years so that one does not need to remember to correct these indications over the transitions of those periods.

On top of that, the watch also features indications for the moon phase. Ultimately, what the dial showcases is the ability of Blancpain’s watchmakers to create a beautiful and engaging display for all these functions via the Roman hour markers juxtaposed against the subdials that house the registers for the day, month and date.

Best of all is the whimsical smiling moon phase indicator that comes along for the ride anchoring the entire timepiece as though mirroring the smile on the face of the owner of the timepiece as he gazes upon it.

Below the dial lies the in-house Blancpain automatic calibre 5954 which powers the watch for an impressive three days. This masterful creation of haute horlogerie consists of 351 separate parts working in an intricate manner to make the entire timepiece work flawlessly.

One can view this marvel via the sapphire display case back to see it in action up close.

 

For more information about the Blancpain Quantième Perpétuel, visit the Blancpain Boutique KLCC or on www.blancpain.com.

SIHH 2019: Girard-Perregaux unified collections into one theme

One of the hardest lines for watch brands at the top of the industry to toe is the ever-fine balance between Haute Horlogerie and “accessible” timepieces.

In most brands, there are collections that serve to be the entry-level ranges and others that are often the home ground of grand complications and high-level timepieces with exorbitant price tags to match.

The contrast between the two collections as such is therefore normally vast, and don’t usually share the same design theories or principles.

This is why Girard-Perregaux‘s entire collection at SIHH this year surprised us. Instead of the usual distinction between collections, the brand’s offerings this year shared a unifying theme of “Earth to Sky” with colours and functions used to portray that.

The grand expression of that theme is found in its Girard-Perregaux Bridges Cosmos, a stunner of a watch that sees the brand’s iconic bridge holding up a tourbillon at six o’clock and an off-centre dial that indicates the hours and minutes at 12 o’clock.

But where the real focus is on the watch are the two globes at three and six o’clock. On the right side of the dial sits a terrestrial globe that serves as a day/night indicator as well as a GMT function with a 24-hour scale along the equator.

The globe is a scale model of the earth, allowing you to tell if the local area is currently experiencing day or night, depending on where you sit. At nine o’clock, another impressive globe is placed. This blue-tinted titanium model, however, sees a laser-engraved sky chart adorn it. This globe rotates every 23 hours, 58 minutes and 4 seconds – the exact duration of sidereal time, effectively being a timelapse of the sky above us.

While the watch is exemplary of Girard-Perregaux’s ability to create haute horlogerie timepieces and develop complications at the highest level, the brand has also afforded the same theme albeit more in aesthetics with its Laureato and 1966 collections too.

In general, the brand’s entire collection for SIHH 2019 sees a dark black and blue theme, with the black DLC titanium cases making an interesting background for the blue dials. While the reveal isn’t exactly unprecedented (IWC’s 150th anniversary being the most recent that had a singular theme across every piece released), it could be an interesting strategy going forward for other brands.

SIHH 2019: Meet the new Santos de Cartier and Santos Dumont

Designed for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos Dumont in 1904, the namesake Santos de Cartier is the first watch designed specifically as a wristwatch in the early 20th century when pocket watches were still de rigueur and the trend for wrist watches was just beginning.

Conceived 5 years before the iconic Cartier Tank, the Santos de Cartier has, since its creation, always been defined by the screwed-in bezel, square dial with Roman numerals and its soft angular square case.

For SIHH 2019, Cartier unveils the new Santos-Dumont timepiece – an understated, pared-down, authentic interpretation fitted to an alligator leather strap.

Santos Dumont

Cased in gold, gold and steel or all steel, the new Santos Dumont at SIHH 2019 takes the signature design codes like Roman numerals, visible screws on bezel (a major “faux pas” in luxury watchmaking of that era) , beaded winding crown sans crown guards and blue cabochon, and continues the legacy of the early watchmaking classic.

The basic geometry while greatly refined, remains unchanged. Promoting the pure and symmetrical mirroring the four corners of the Eiffel Tower, the Cartier Santos Dumont symbolised the design revolution of the early 1900s when it ran counter-current to the time period’s accepted watch design codes.

While it is anyone’s guess why Cartier chose a high autonomy quartz movement for the new Santos Dumont when the Maison could just have easily equipped it with an ultra-thin calibre, it is our guess that in opting for quartz, the pure, pared-down Santos Dumont timepiece could then be offered at greatly enticing price points for a wider market.

With an ultra-thin movement, it would be available only to the most dedicated of connoisseurs but with the 6 years run-time high autonomy quartz calibre, Cartier makes the most potent argument this SIHH 2019 with peerless practicality in its contemporary reflection of the style of Alberto Santos Dumont.

Able to operate twice as long as traditional quartz movements,  the SIHH 2019 Cartier Santos Dumont’s high-efficiency quartz movement was achieved with a reworked and resized movement for reduced energy consumption and then powered with a new high-performance battery.

Santos Dumont Price and Specs

Movement High autonomy quartz calibre with 6 years power reserve
Case 38mm Stainless steel with black ADLC bezel, stainless steel with yellow gold bezel, and rose gold with 30 metres water resistance
Strap QuickSwitch system bracelet and/or leather
Price From US$5,500

 

Santos de Cartier Chronograph

2018 saw the reinvention of the Santos collection and since a chronograph has always been part of the series, it is fitting that for SIHH 2019, Cartier re-introduces the Santos de Cartier Chronograph in similar 43.3mm proportions as its contemporary pioneer.

Available in three variants: stainless steel with a black ADLC steel bezel, stainless steel with an 18k yellow gold bezel, and solid 18k rose gold, the 2019 Santos de Cartier Chronograph features a greatly modified 1904-CH MC chronograph calibre which eschews the traditional pushers around the crown layout for a more symmetrical look – putting start/stop pusher on the left side of the new Santos de Cartier chronograph and then mirrored by the crown with reset function itself integrated into the crown.

Of great horological interest is how the new Santos de Cartier chronograph makes a subtle reference to the Cartier Paris Collection Prive or CPCP mono-pusher chronograph operation concept found on vintage Cartier Tortue Chronograph models. This attention to elegance and ergonomics simply takes that heritage into the 21st century.

Fitted with the 1904-CH MC Cartier Manufacture movement, the SIHH 2019 Santos de Cartier chronograph features a fine watchmaking chronograph calibre with column wheel, vertical clutch, and linear reset hammer.

New Santos de Cartier Chronograph Price and Specs

Movement Automatic calibre 1904-CH MC with 48 hours power reserve
Case 43.3mm Stainless steel with black ADLC bezel, stainless steel with yellow gold bezel, and rose gold with 100 metres water resistance
Strap QuickSwitch system bracelet and/or leather
Price From US$8,950 to US$24,700

 

Santos de Cartier Skeleton Noctambule

If the latest Santos Dumont was a spiritually authentic interpretation of the milestone 1904 wristwatch, the new SIHH 2019 Santos de Cartier Skeleton Noctambule can be considered a postmodern variant. With bridges are coated with Super-LumiNova pigments, the new Skeleton Noctambule looks similar to the first Santos de Cartier Skeleton by day but by night, the Super-LumiNova coated bridges light up the countenance of the timepiece.

The new Santos de Cartier Skeleton Noctambule is equipped with the Manufacture calibre 9612 with manual winding and skeletonised bridges in the shape of Roman numerals.

Santos de Cartier Skeleton Noctambule Price and Specs

Movement Manual winding calibre 9612 MC with 72 hours power reserve
Case 38mm Stainless steel with black ADLC bezel, stainless steel with yellow gold bezel, and rose gold with 30 metres water resistance
Strap QuickSwitch system bracelet and/or leather
Price From US$27,000

 

SIHH 2019: IWC Schaffhausen Pilots Watch fronts the game this year

At every watch fair where releases upon releases are unveiled to the public in a day, one question tends to stand out among collectors and fans – are brands tied to just their icons? It’s an important point to note.

We, as part of the media, understand and know a brand’s heritage all the way through, remembering references from a time that has past. More often than not, however, the public tends to not share the same sentiment. For a larger demographic that appreciates watches and not the watch industry as a whole, a brand like IWC Schaffhausen tends to only signal “pilot’s watches” in their head. The same folk that would have never understood why Rolex would create the Cellini, or that Audemars Piguet has any other reference than Royal Oak and its larger counterparts.

IW371815_Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph TOP GUN Ceratanium_Lifestyle

While that may have been the online response from IWC’s Da Vinci campaign in 2017 (that did well, mind you), 2019 sees IWC pushing what some have called the brand’s icon back to the forefront. It’s a win-win situation for all, of course. The people who love IWC timepieces for the one collection have plenty to celebrate, and the media itself has a fantastic collection to review.

IWC Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph TOP GUN Ceratanium

While much of the fanfare at IWC’s SIHH booth has been about the seven-watch collection for the Pilot’s Watch Spitfire range, we’re going to have to give a mention to the Top Gun timepieces from this year. With four pieces in total, the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Top Gun Ceratanium leads the pack.

The all-black stealth piece sees IWC’s titanium and ceramic alloy used in a 44mm case, as well as all case components, including the push-buttons and pin buckle. The 79420 calibre is an automatic double chronograph that lets its user record intermediate times.

 

IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition Mojave Desert

If the all black look isn’t quite your thing, there’s IWC’s new Mojave Desert variant of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun. The colour, derived from a combination of zirconium and other metallic oxides according to the brand, matches the flying suits of the US Navy’s pilots based in the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in the Mojave Desert.

The watch is a limited edition though, with just 500 pieces available worldwide once it’s released.

SIHH 2019: All you need to know about the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date

Zeitwerk Date

Celebrating its 10th birthday, A. Lange & Söhne’s mechanical “digital” watch receives an update for SIHH 2019. The latest Zeitwerk Date delivers the same high precision jumping digital display with an all-new feature – an additional date complication via a sapphire ring date displaying the current date in red.

The new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date is equipped with a new manufacture calibre, adding a date complication variant of the Zeitwerk series of Handwerkskunst, Minute Repeater, and the Decimal Strike.

SIHH 2019 A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date

The Zeitwerk series debuted in 2009, ushering a new era in timekeeping- a digital watch with a mechanical heart. Inspired by the famed Dresden clock (and not an ironic watchmaking exercise mimicking digital quartz devices which almost killed the industry), the Lange Zeitwerk became known for its innovative, precisely jumping digital hours and minutes.

Arguably a  foundational pillar for the Saxony manufacture’s know-how, alongside the Datograph collection, the innovative concept of a digital mechanical wristwatch, with constant-force escapement and precisely jumping digital displays indicating hours and minutes with jumping numerals, became a revolutionary icon for the resurgent brand.

Zeitwerk Date

Ten years later, the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date uses the new Lange manufacture calibre L043.8, introducing the series’ first date complication. The 44.2 mm  white- gold Zeitwerk Date with a grey dial could be mistaken for a regular Zeitwerk in the collection save for the circumferential date ring consists of glass with printed numerals from 1 to 31 with the current date indicated in red, as a result, the ring-shaped date complication is perfectly harmonised with the Lange Zeitwerk’s overall design codes.

Zeitwerk Date

To achieve the post-modern date display, a small colour segment beneath the date ring performs one step exactly at midnight. Advancing 31 days, the red section would have complated one full orbital association.

Hence, the date is always clearly legible at all times and also recognisable intuitively. The date is itself manually adjusted with a corrector at 8 o’clock which operates on what Tony de Haas calls, “the inverted pusher”.

Zeitwerk Date

Typically, a user subjects the movement of his watch to an inordinate amount of pressure when using his pushers, this action could technically damage the user’s calibre. However, the switching impulse generated by the Zeitwerk Date when it is released takes a lot of the guesswork and potential for damage out of the equation.

Inclusion of the new date display unexpectedly threw up some inconvenient challenges like how the aesthetic codes of a Zeitwerk do not allow for easy layout for the brand’s signature outsized date. Hence, the team eventually decided that they needed a totally new design approach with a precisely jumping ring date.

Zeitwerk Date

Since time setting accurate to 24 hours would take too long to adjust via the crown of a Zeitwerk due to the minute by minute advancement, the SIHH 2019 Lange Zeitwerk Date incorporates an additional button at 4 o’clock allowing for advance of the hour indication separately.

The integration of the hour button was associated with considerable design modifications. To enable the correction independently of the switching cycles of the movement, a clutch uncouples the hour ring from the jumping numerals mechanism each time the button is pressed – Lange Technical Director de Haas refers to this convent as the “inverted” pusher.

The  516 piece manually wound calibre L043.8 stands out with its clearly organised movement architecture. What remains is the patented constant-force escapement that handles two tasks. As a remontoir device, it powers the balance of the Zeitwerk Date with a uniform amount of force for the entire running duration. Additionally, it also delivers the one-per-minute impulse for switching the three-disc jumping numerals display.

 

Zeitwerk Date Price and Specs

Movement Manual winding Lange manufacture calibre L043.8 with 72 hours power reserve
Case 44.2 mm white gold case
Strap Alligator leather
Price $96,700