by Ian Skellern
Welcome to the inaugural Quill & Pad Baselworld “awards,” in which we highlight a few of the watches and goings-on that caught our eyes at the world’s largest watch exhibition. Please accept these citations in the way they are presented: at times tongue-in-cheek, at times serious, always fun!
Please note that this list is based simply on what we saw and photographed; it isn’t exhaustive and we are sure that there are many great (and not-so-great) watches we missed that may have merited inclusion here. To those brands we apologize.
So without further ado, here’s what caught our eyes at Baselworld 2014 in no particular order.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon (5 mm high case)
Best ultra-thin timepiece: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon with a movement only 1.95 mm and a case only 5 mm high
Louis Moinet “Compteur de tierces” style USB key
Best USB key press kit: hands down the Louis Moinet “Compteur de tierces”
Zenith Pilot Type 20 Grand Feu 60 mm diameter (right) beside a 42 mm Zenith (left)
Largest wristwatch: Zenith Pilot Type 20 Grand Feu, which measures 60 mm in diameter
Patek Philippe Reference 5270 chronograph with perpetual calendar
Best chronograph 1: Patek Philippe Reference 5270 chronograph with perpetual calendar
De Bethune DB29 Maxi Chrono Tourbillon
Best chronograph 2: De Bethune Maxi Chrono Tourbillon
For more on the Maxi Chrono, please click Two Very Different Chronographs Launch At Baselworld: Glashütte Original And De Bethune
Glashütte Original PanoMaticInverse XL
Best practically invisible evolution of an existing model: Glashütte Original’s PanoMaticInverse XL – just as visually aesthetic, but now automatic
Hermès Arceau Millefiori with artisanal crystal dial by Cristalleries Royales de Saint-Louis
Best artistic dial 1: Hermès Arceau Millefiori
For more on the Arceau Millefiori, please click Hermès Presents Seriously Playful Springtime Watches At Baselworld 2014
Green enamel over hand guilloche with diamond-set bezel on the Rondo Translucent by Delaneau
Best artistic dial 2: This stunning green enamel over guilloche dial on the Rondo Translucent by Delaneau (though anything by Delaneau is worth a photo)
Nomos movement with in-house “Swing System” escapement
Tip of the hat: Nomos for declaring its independence by making escapements in-house using traditional materials in its new “Swing System”
Baselworld is much easier to navigate in comfortable shoes
Best shoes: Quill & Pad Converse
Sauterelle à la lune perpétuelle by Andreas Strehler: the moon phase is accurate to 14,189 years (give or take a few seconds)
Best moon phase: Andreas Strehler’s Sauterelle à la lune perpetual, which is accurate to a full day for 14,189 years
Corum Admiral’s Cup AC-One Tides
Best Nautical Watch: Corum Admiral’s Cup AC-One Tides
Corum Golden Bridge Dragon
Best dragon: Corum Golden Bridge Dragon, a watch you can never get sick of despite an overabundance of dragons of late
Ulysse Nardin’s Ulysse Anchor Escapement
Best new escapement: Ulysse Nardin’s Ulysse Anchor Escapement
Girard-Perregaux Tri-Axial Tourbillon
Best multi-axis tourbillon: Girard-Perregaux Tri-AxialTourbillon
Margot in white gold by Christophe Claret
Best ladies’ complication: Christophe Claret Margot
For more about Margot (including video), click Christophe Claret In Bloom: Introducing Margot, His First Ladies Watch
Loupe System: the world’s best loupes, bar none
Best loupe: Loupe System
Thomas Mercer marine clock
Best marine clock: Thomas Mercer
The Hodinkee team visiting the Ressence stand at Baselworld
Most numerous blog team in attendance: Hodinkee with four members
Visitors to Sattler’s booth admiring the three-meter-high clock
Biggest clock: Erwin Sattler’s Maxima Secunda, which stands three meters/10 feet tall
The MCT Sequential Two S200
Welcome back 1: MCT with Sequential Two S200
Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II “Pepsi”
Welcome back 2: Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II, otherwise known as the “Pepsi”
Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater
Best Jaquemart: Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater
The Ressence Type 1
Best “Look, Ma, no hands!”: Ressence Type 1
Model of a Breguet silicon escapement
Best new “mainstream” technology: silicon escapements in evidence by brands as diverse as Breguet, Rolex, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz, H. Moser & Cie and many others
New Hautlence ambassador Eric Cantona looking at the brand’s collection
Best use of color on an existing model and coolest new ambassador: Hautlence with the HLRQ04 model and Eric Cantona
Grönefeld Parallax Tourbillon
Most innovative tourbillon: Grönefeld Parallax Tourbillon
Lume shot of Stepan Sarpaneva’s Korona Moonshine
Best moon depiction (and best lume): Stepan Sarpaneva’s Korona Moonshine
For more on Stepan Sarpaneva, please click Stepan Sarpaneva’s Man In The Moon
Romain Gauthier Logical One Secret
Most eye-catching high complication: Romain Gauthier Logical One Secret
Kari Voutilainen 2-Eight with custom maki-e dial
Best maki-e dial: Kari Voutilanen’s 2-Eight
Just a few of the new models presented by Speake-Marin at Baselworld 2014
Most prolific assortment of incredible new watches: Speake-Marin
For more photos of new models by Speake-Marin, please click First Live Photos Of New Speake-Marin Watches Pre-Baselworld 2014
Blancpain 12-Day Flying Tourbillon
Longest power reserve with one spring barrel: Blancpain 12-Day Flying Tourbillon
Chopard Mille Miglia
Best evolution of an existing model: Chopard Mille Miglia, which celebrates Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s 25th participation as a driver in the famed Italian classic car rally of the same name
Bremont MBIII
Most eagerly awaited timepiece: the Bremont Martin-Baker III, which didn’t disappoint!
For more on the Bremont Martin-Baker III, please click Bremont Introduces Much-Awaited Third Martin-Baker Watch
Armin Strom Racing Gravity Automatic
Most innovative inclusion of Formula 1 technology in a wristwatch: Armin Strom’s Racing Gravity
Antoine Martin Tourbillon Astronomique and a bottle of white wine from the Epesses region of Switzerland (near Lausanne)
Best watch and wine combination: Antoine Martin Tourbillon Astronomique with a bottle of Epesses wine served chilled at the booth
Shinola watches now come with a lifetime guarantee
Most unexpected announcement: Shinola’s lifetime guarantee on all watches – quartz, mind you
Lang & Heyne Augustus 1
Best iCalendar replacement: Lang & Heyne Augustus I, which stores several dates
For more on Lang & Heyne and the Augustus, please click Lang & Heyne’s Marco Lang Heads New Watch Group
Cufflinks containing a copy of the 3D planet of the Greubel Forsey GMT (not by Greubel Forsey)
Coolest cufflinks: a Greubel Forsey fan had these cufflinks made with a little three-dimensional earth like that on the Greubel Forsey GMT
Vianney Halter reading the Baselworld Daily News wearing his Deep Space Tourbillon
Coolest watch worn while reading the Baselworld Daily News: Deep Space Tourbillon worn by Vianney Halter
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