The success of Watches and Wonders Geneva can also be measured by the profusion of design that was on display. Often closely influenced by existing collections, the new timepieces confirm the widespread trend for interchangeable bracelets and models with increasingly long power reserves. The many different GMT watches were competing with chronographs, often part of a sporty chic look. One notable trend is for models fitted with a minute repeater, a skeleton movement or a tourbillon which should delight collectors, just like the dials demonstrating the skills of artistic trades such as marquetry or enamel, to name but a few. Platinum is being used alongside yellow gold, which is still very popular, while titanium is becoming more widespread. The colors of choice remain blue and green, even if black, in either a glossy or matt finish, is making a marked comeback. Orange, coral and red are limited to a few designs, as are mineral, beige and forest green shades.
Indomptables de Cartier
Inspired by its emblematic tête-à-tête torque bracelets and necklaces, there are three high jewellery models: crocodile, zebra and tiger under the Indomptables de Cartier collection. Each timepiece features a pair of exquisitely sculpted head of the Panthère on the bracelet in the face-off across a diamond studded dial. A tiger on yellow gold (as pictured) embellished with diamonds, yellow sapphires, orange spessartines and black spinels.
Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée watch
The Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée watch reflects a theme dear to the Maison: dance. In this new version in white gold, the dancer’s graceful silhouette has been revisited with an elegant and dynamic attitude, while the flounces of her tutu unfurl in new materials and colors. Thanks to a retrograde module, the upper veils delicately rise to indicate the time, turning the ballerina into a delicate butterfly.
Patek Philippe 5270P Chronograph Perpetual Calendar
Reference 5270, launched in 2011, is heir to several generations of Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronographs. The Manufacture reinterprets this timepiece in a model featuring an iconic yet original style. The radiance of platinum — the most precious metal of all yet also the hardest to work with — magnifies the timeless design of the case, with its concave bezel, its elegant two-tier lugs and its correction push-pieces that are satin-brushed on the flanks and polished on top.
Hermès The Kelly Watch
Created in 1975, the Kelly watch reveals new facets of its free-spirited attitude. Whether a metal bracelet, diamond-set or worn as a sautoir necklace, it demonstrates a light-hearted gift for self-reinvention. A powerful style statement expressing a distinctive take on femininity, it derives its padlock shape from the iconic handbag designed by Robert Dumas in the 1930s.
Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Ultra-thin
A response to women’s growing desire for complex mechanical timepieces, the Traditionnelle perpetual calendar ultra-thin watch displays its technical nature in an eminently feminine manner.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Dazzling Star
Defying the laws of horology, the Rendez-Vous Dazzling Star recreates the phenomenon of the shooting star. Thanks to the new Calibre 734, a shooting star appears on the dial at random. Loyal to the signature design codes of the collection, the dial is made of aventurine, with delicate golden Floral font numerals and hands enlightened by a bezel formed of two concentric rings of “griffe” (prong) set diamonds.
Piaget Limelight Gala Aventurine
Housed in a 32mm white gold case adorned with swirls of 62 diamonds set on two elongated lugs, the Limelight Gala Aventurine features a magical aventurine-glass dial. The sparkle of aventurine-glass and diamonds is paired with a sophisticated white gold Milanese mesh bracelet. Crafted with the same refinement and creative extravagance as an Haute-Couture gown, this intricate bracelet takes over 100 hours of craftsmanship by no less than eight of Piaget’s artisans. It all starts with one gold thread, which is then shaped in a spiral and weaved together to create a supple fabric of gold. Each bracelet, thanks to its extraordinary suppleness provides undeniable comfort. A limited edition of 300 pieces.
Czapek Frozen Star S
Czapek introduces Antarctique S – an elegant new 38.5mm case size for slimmer wrists. The ‘Frozen Star’ dial is made from the rarest precious metal on Earth. Extremely hard, dense and heavy, osmium is also highly unstable unless crystallised – which requires a temperature of more that 3,000C. The resulting crystals have a unique bluish-grey sparkle – an intense natural brilliance that contrasts with the cool silvery tones of the steel case and bracelet.
