SIHH: women and diamonds first in line

Posted on by

In French, the terms “grande complication”, “technical prowess”, “ambition”, “excellence” and the “new watchmaking year” are all feminine. And as the SIHH comes to a close, it is clear that 2015 will be all about women.

Is it not a sign of great progress for a woman to be able to give a man the time while extracting a jaw-dropping “wow!!” from him as he marvels at the mechanical beauty on her wrist? Or to have a conversation with him, as equals, about the mainspring, the barrel, or even the sinks—no, not the kitchen kind—equipping the movement of her Breitling replica watches sale? Such progress is being driven by watchmakers who are ready to swap the usual equation of “quartz + mother-of-pearl + diamonds = woman’s watch” for chic, high-tech alternatives. And as is customary, Richard Mille is leading the pack with a strong and bold timepiece: the barrel-shaped RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur. Five hand-crafted, hand-painted petals of a magnolia blossom delicately enclose a flying tourbillon developed by Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi. An automaton ushers the flower guarding the tourbillon carriage to open and close every five minutes, and can be manually activated on demand by a push-piece at 9 o’Clock. The coordination between the five levers linked to the tourbillon is one of the most striking features to blossom thus far in 2015. At Roger Dubuis, meanwhile, the forest of Brocéliande is the underlying theme of a poetic trilogy showcasing ivy leaves. Offering a feminine version of the skeleton  fake Breitling watches, the Excalibur Brocéliande required close collaboration between two very different professions: watchmaking and jewelry. Released in a limited edition of 28 timepieces and set with approximately 3.44 carats, it combines a world dedicated entirely to precious stones with expertise that demands precision to 1/100th of a micron. You might think of it as a real mix of genres. You’d be wrong. The temptation to marry diamonds with beautiful mechanics is an essential part of these new codes. Of course women want to wear jewelry creations. But they also prefer models that men wouldn’t refuse—or rather, models that put them on a par with their male counterparts.

The impact of women on turnover

Ever the good students, watchmakers have figured it out: factoring in women means increasing market share. Jaeger-LeCoultre places women on a pedestal with its Rendez-Vous Moon watch equipped with a moon-phase complication. The poetic charm of the moon is heightened by a dial that depicts the night sky calibrated to remain accurate for 972 years! Vacheron Constantin is celebrating its 260th anniversary in style with an elegant and feminine interpretation of a watchmaking complication: a new dual push-piece chronograph in its Harmony collection powered by the manually wound 1142 caliber. Released as a limited edition of 260 numbered timepieces, the best Breitling replica watches uk features a graceful gem-set bezel offering 1.20 carats of splendor. The icing on the cake is the prestigious Geneva Seal stamped on the chronograph’s movement. At Audemars Piguet, women take center stage with the Millenary watch and its inverted movement; even if this model is somewhat eclipsed by its sister, the Diamond Punk, with its scintillating diamond-studded cuff bracelet.

And this list would not be complete without a mention of Cartier and its “vibrant” Ballon Bleu. Three patents and five years of development were required to perfect this revolutionary new gem-set model whose diamonds seem to shimmer and glow. It was one of the greatest sensations at this year’s SIHH. Each of its 123 stones is mounted on a microscopic spring, which moves at the slightest tremble. The Breitling replica watches for uk sale is equipped with an ultra-thin 430 MC movement, a best-kept secret amongst women in the know who recognize fine craftsmanship when they see it. So welcome to the club, as it were.

Creative inspiration

Posted on by

An anniversary, whether of a brand or one of its watches, is always a noteworthy event, as is the launch of a new collection. For the Maisons in question, they are an outlet for creativity… for those that dare, at least. A look at some of the new offerings unveiled at the 2015 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie.

As Alexandre Peraldi, head of design at Baume & Mercier, explains, “Breitling replica watches brands have made a more subdued start to 2015. Not so much with regard to movements, which are still subject to new developments, but definitely in terms of design and outward appearance. After the vintage years, we’re seeing a return to classic styles.” Proving the point, this year Baume & Mercier is putting the aptly named Classima, a 1996 model, back centre-stage in versions for men and women. But as cheap Breitling replica watches designer Eric Giroud notes, this return to more sober lines isn’t preventing brands from proposing numerous additions to their ranges, anniversary models, even entire new collections. “Even in today’s more turbulent environment, and while this may be what customers expect, brands aren’t afraid to venture into riskier terrain and with one objective in mind: creativity.”

From past to present

Classicism and creativity make a fitting description for the direction taken by Vacheron Constantin, which marked the 260th anniversary of its founding by unveiling the first seven styles in its Harmony collection. “Issued in limited editions, these eminently contemporary timepieces feature a new cushion shape and a design inspired by one of the brand’s first wristwatch chronographs, introduced in 1928. At the heart of these generous cases with their reinvented aesthetic beat new calibres, entirely designed, developed and produced in-house, focused on monopusher chronographs.” Cartier is another brand accustomed to presenting landmark collections, Ballon Bleu being the latest to date (introduced in 2007). It also stepped up with a new offering. Sporting understated but no less sculpted lines, a gently curved back and the signature features of a Cartier dial, the new Clé de replica Cartier watches – which takes its name from its crown (clé is French for key) – is driven by the new 1847 calibre. Named in reference to the year Cartier was established, this new movement anchors the brand even more firmly in fine watch territory.

As if this weren’t enough, a third collection made its debut at the 2015 SIHH when Montblanc unveiled its Heritage Chronométrie watches. This particular incursion into history sees the brand set sail with Vasco da Gama as he leads a small fleet on a voyage towards the coast of India, in 1497. “Vasco da Gama’s pioneering spirit and skilful navigation inspired Montblanc to create a new replica Breitling watches collection which connects the Portuguese Explorer’s obsession with precision and the roots of fine watchmaking. Precision, which has always been the paramount goal of watchmaking, has become synonymous with the French word chronométrie, i.e. highly accurate time measurement. This heritage of fine watchmaking provided the name for the new Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie collection.”

As time goes by

As well as new collections, this year’s SIHH produced an equally rich crop of anniversary watches. One important jubilee in 2015 is that of Roger Dubuis, which celebrates its twenty-year existence with the Hommage Minute Repeater Tourbillon Automatic. However, the brand instead chose to train the spotlight on its Excalibur Skeleton collection, with a single tourbillon and a double tourbillon joining an automatic hours and minutes model, so as to make its mechanical difference clear. This was matched by the world’s first ever rubber bezel to be set with diamonds. “Our skeleton replica Breitling watches with their powerful architecture stand in a class of their own,” comments creative director Alvaro Maggini. “This year we have extended the skeleton theme to the Excalibur line, which has iconic stature. This has given products that are perfectly representative of Roger Dubuis’ enigmatic and determined soul.”

A number of other Maisons are celebrating a milestone in their history this year. For IWC, this means 75 years since the launch of the Portugieser line. A. Lange & Söhne put the accent on the Saxonia while Audemars Piguet focused on the Millenary; both these models first saw daylight exactly 20 years ago. Anniversaries such as these are, of course, a choice occasion to give a second wind to already storied best Breitling replica watches. True to form, IWC revisited the range from top to bottom. Audemars Piguet, meanwhile, fleshed out its palette of women’s models. Ever classic, A. Lange & Söhne focused its explorations on sizes and useful complications. This leaves Jaeger-LeCoultre, which spotlighted a grande complication pocket watch from 1895 incorporating moon phases, a chronograph and a minute repeater. For its 120th anniversary, the manufacture has chosen to share its fascination with the movements of the heavenly bodies as a source of inspiration: “Through its new creations, Jaeger-LeCoultre illustrates the phenomena observed by ancient civilisations and which punctuate our daily lives.” And so astronomy and history meet.

Time Chimers: 4 Notable Minute Repeaters from SIHH 2015

Posted on by

It is not uncommon during the SIHH watch fair to hear the popping of Champagne corks and the clinking of glasses in the luxuriously appointed halls of Geneva’s Palexpo. This year, guests also heard the pleasant chiming of several new minute repeater Breitling replica watches uk from the exhibiting luxury watch brands. Here are four repeater watches from SIHH 2015 that caught our eye — and ear.

The A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is the first Lange cheap Breitling replica watches to combine  jumping time displays for the hours and minutes with a 10-minute interval repeater. The simple, legible dial belies the complexities of the movement and its chiming mechanism.  Since the time can be read quickly (jumping hours are displayed in a window at 9 o’clock, minutes are on two discs of different heights at 3 o’clock, and small seconds at the bottom of the dial), the wearer can then turn his attention down to the bottom of the dial, where the two black-polished steel hammers for the minute repeater are readily visible on either side of the seconds subdial. When the pusher at 10 o’clock is pressed, the hammers strike the gong encircling the dial. The hours hammer, with a lower pitch, is on the left side; the higher-pitched minutes hammer is on the right. Ten-minute intervals are signaled via a “double tone”: the higher pitch is hit with the lower one immediately following. The maximum duration it takes to strike out the time (at 12:59) is approximately 20 seconds. For more detail on the Lange Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, click here.

A Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater soldier 560

To develop its prototype Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD#1, the luxury watch brand from Le Brassus partnered with the École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), a Swiss organization dedicated to the study of acoustics. The result of their intensive sound research program is, according to AP, “the first chiming watch so acoustically considered as to become a sound concept in its own right.” By applying the principles of stringed instrument making to the development of the watch’s chiming mechanism, the brand has created a repeater Swiss replica watches with a significantly enhanced sound transmission. The movement features a brand-new, almost silent striking mechanism regulator, along with a column-wheel chronograph and a tourbillon.For more on this year’s Royal Oak Concept, click here.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Acoustic Research

While not truly a “grand complication” in the strictest sense of the term (it lacks, for example, a chronograph function), the Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Grand Complication was nevertheless regarded as one of the most impressive debuts at this year’s SIHH. This is in part because of its astounding thinness (the 45-mm platinum case case is just 12.6 mm thick, while the skeletonized movement, Cartier Caliber 9406 MC, is a mere 5.49 mm thick) and also because of its incorporation of several major haute horlogerie functions, which include a flying tourbillon and perpetual calendar in addition to a minute repeater. The bottom of the dial showcases the minute repeater, which is equipped with an inertia-free fly wheel, with its hammers and gongs on display thanks to the openwork of the movement. Click here to read more about the Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Grande Complication.

Cartier Grande Complication soldier 560

Jaeger-LeCoultre has created many minute repeater watches over its long history, but this year the grande maison from Le Sentier rolled out its first repeater in a ladies’ collection, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater, a timepiece that is striking in more ways than one. The replica Breitling watches sale gets its name from the ivy motif on the white gold, blue-enamelled dial, which features diamonds in a snow setting on the curling ivy leaves — symbolizing, JLC says, the evening of winter’s first frost in the Vallée de Joux. The bezel, lugs, caseband, crown, and push-piece are also diamond-set, making for a total of 548 diamonds, including 255 on the dial. Inside the 39-mm case is the new automatic Caliber 942A, whose innovative repeater mechanism is fitted with two patented trebuchet hammers that strike two crystal gongs connected to the sapphire crystal. The mechanism is also equipped with a silent regulator to reduce peripheral sounds. The repeater is activated by a single push-button rather than a traditional slide, and features a security system that ensures that the movement will not be damaged if the push-button is inadvertantly activated while the repeater is already in motion.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater