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Quill & Pad Team Members Pick Their Top 5 Watches From Baselworld 2017 Plus Special Mentions And Biggest Surprises. Warning: Modem-Burning Photo Fest!

by Ian Skellern

After two economically difficult years for sales of high-end watches, I was expecting a fairly subdued Baselworld 2017. I could not have been more wrong. The sun was literally shining outside for most of the show and metaphorically inside.

The year 2017 wasn’t just good for both interesting and exciting new wristwatches at Baselworld, I’d go so far to rate it as a vintage year.

This post started as a pure Top 5, but the sheer number of superb watches soon had us reaching for our “Special Mention” over spill. And that’s all without the really big surprises.

So without further ado, here are the picks from our team members.

Ian’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

It was extremely hard to narrow my list down to just a Top 5 as there were so many excellent watches at Baselworld 2017 that caught my eye, however here goes:

Top 5
Akrivia AK-06
Lang & Heyne Georg
Patek Philippe Reference 5320G
Konstantin Chaykin Joker
Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Special mention
Tutima Tempostopp
Van der Klauuw Real Moon Stella Nebula
Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente
Rebellion Weap-One
Nomos Club Neomatik

Biggest surprise
James Pellaton

Akrivia AK-06

Akrivia AK-06

Lang & Heyne Georg

Lang & Heyne Georg

Patek Philippe Reference 5320G

Patek Philippe Reference 5320G Perpetual Calendar

Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Special mention

Tutima Tempostopp

Tutima Tempostopp

Van der Klauuw Real Moon Ammolite

Van der Klauuw Real Moon Ammolite

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Rebellion Weap-One

Rebellion Weap-One

Nomos Club Neomatik

Nomos Club Neomatik

Biggest surprise

James Pellaton Chronomètre Royal Marine

James Pellaton Chronomètre Royal Marine

Elizabeth’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

Top 5
Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente
Lang & Heyne Georg
Tutima Tempostopp
Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton
Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Special mention
Patek Philippe Reference 5320G and Reference 5650 Advanced Research Aquanaut
Graff Floral Tourbillon and MasterGraff Structural Skeleton Automatic
Breguet Marine Equation of Time Marchante Reference 5887
Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor

Biggest surprise
Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Lang & Heyne Georg in platinum

Lang & Heyne Georg in platinum

View through the display back to the beautiful movement of the Tutima Tempostopp Flyback Chronograph

View through the display back to the beautiful movement of the Tutima Tempostopp Flyback Chronograph

Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton

Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph Black

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph Black

Special mention

Patek Philippe Reference 5178

Patek Philippe Reference 5320G

Patek Philippe Ref. 5650 Advanced Research Aquanaut

Patek Philippe Reference 5650 Advanced Research Aquanaut

A bouquet of Graff Floral Tourbillons

A bouquet of Graff Floral Tourbillons

Graff MasterGraff Structural Skeleton Automatic

Graff MasterGraff Structural Skeleton Automatic

Breguet Marine Equation of Time Marchante Ref. 5887

Breguet Marine Equation of Time Marchante Reference 5887

Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor

Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor

Biggest surprise

Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist

Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist

GaryG’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

Top 5
Akrivia AK-06
Hajime Asaoka Chronograph
Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure
Patek Philippe Reference 5178
Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Special mention
Breguet Classique ultra-thin Reference 7147

Biggest surprise
Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist

Akrivia AK-06 on the wrist

Akrivia AK-06 on the wrist

Hajime Asaoka Chronograph

Hajime Asaoka Chronograph

Voutilainen art watch inside back cover

Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure inside back cover

Voutilainen art watch movement

Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure movement

Voutilainen art watch dial

Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure dial side

Patek Philippe Ref. 5178 Minute Repeater

Patek Philippe Ref. 5178 Minute Repeater

Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Special mention

Breguet Classique ultra-thin Ref. 7147

Breguet Classique ultra-thin Reference 7147

Biggest surprise

Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist

Moritz Grossmann Tefnut Twist (left and right)

Alex’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

Hajime Asaoka Chronograph
Beat Haldimann H12
MCT Dodekal
TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre Heuer 02
Patek Philippe Reference 5320G

Hajime Asaoka Chronograph on the wrist of its creator

Hajime Asaoka Chronograph on the wrist of Hajime Asaoka

H12 by Beat Haldimann

H12 by Beat Haldimann

MCT Dodekal One D110

MCT Dodekal One D110

TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre Heuer 02 (photo courtesy http://www.chrono24.pl)

TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre Heuer 02 (photo courtesy www.CH24.pl)

Patek Philippe Reference 5320 lume shot

Patek Philippe Reference 5320 lume shot

Nola’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

Top 5
Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente
Chopard L.U.C XPS
Chanel Première Camellia Skeleton
Omega Railmaster
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic

Special mention
Nomos Club Neomatik
Rolex Yacht-Master II 40
Bulgari Serpenti
Dior Grand Soir
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Seasons

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Hermés Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente

Chopard L.U.C. XPS

Chopard L.U.C. XPS

Chanel Première Camellia Skeleton

Chanel Première Camellia Skeleton

Omega Railmaster

Omega Railmaster

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic

Special mention

Nomos Club Neomatik

Nomos Club Neomatik

Rolex Yacht-Master II 40

Rolex Yacht-Master II 40

Bulgari Serpenti

Bulgari Serpenti

Dior Grand Soir Botanic collection

Dior Grand Soir Botanic collection

Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Seasons

Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Seasons Spring

Joshua’s Baselworld 2017 Top 5

Top 5
HYT H0
Akrivia AK-06
MCT Dodekal
Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph
Hajime Asaoka Chronograph

Special mention
Konstantin Chaykin Joker

Biggest surprise
James Pellaton

HYT H0

HYT H0

Akrivia AK-06_ Akrivia AK-06[/caption]

MCT Dodekal One

MCT Dodekal One

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Fabergé Visionnaire Chronograph

Close up look dial side of the Hajime Asaoka Chronograph

A close look dial side at the Hajime Asaoka Chronograph

Special mention

Konstantin Chaykin Joker wristshot

Konstantin Chaykin Joker on the wrist

Biggest surprise

James Pellaton Chronometre Royal Marine

James Pellaton Chronomètre Royal Marine

15 replies
  1. IanE
    IanE says:
    March 31, 2017 at 11:10 pm

    Interesting take that this was a vintage year – most blogs/forums I visit seem to assess it as dull, bland, boring! My own take (admittedly not worth that much in the scheme of things) is that it was impressive at the High End (where most picks here seem to be based – my own favourite being the Haldimann H11 and H12, which, at least for me is definitely High End even in steel), but pretty dire (with a few exceptions of course) elsewhere.

    Reply
    • Ian Skellern
      Ian Skellern says:
      April 1, 2017 at 9:22 am

      That’s a fair comment, Ian, as Elizabeth and I focus on the high end of the market so that’s what we see and that’s what I base my observations on.

      That said, there were also quite a few very interesting new models in the mid-market, Omega in particular had an excellent line-up.

      Regards, Ian

      Reply
  2. daiKel
    daiKel says:
    April 1, 2017 at 4:27 am

    Incredible photos. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Ian Skellern
      Ian Skellern says:
      April 1, 2017 at 9:24 am

      Thank you daiKel and stay tuned as you are likely to enjoy our next article as well which will focus on lume shots from Baselworld.

      Regards, Ian

      Reply
  3. Pat
    Pat says:
    April 1, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Great work! Thanks! In my humble and personal opinion, I find it to be a well-rounded and “politically correct” (if I may say so) selection that reflects what I personally perceive as an attempt to steer away from traditional mainstream brands and an undying sense of duty to encourage and promote independents and non-mainstreams.
    As an avid collector who relies a lot on your evaluations to decide where to spend my hard-earned dollars, I wonder if some of your top 5 selections would be where you would really spend your money if you had to write a cheque! Is your evaluation based purely on creativity and aesthetics or does it involve some degree of ‘good-investment’ factor too. I’m really eager to know!

    Reply
    • Ian Skellern
      Ian Skellern says:
      April 1, 2017 at 12:09 pm

      Hi Pat,

      Speaking for myself, my comments are in no way influenced by trying to be “politically correct” but reflect both my own specific interest in independent watchmaking and the (relatively speaking) limited number of watches that I happened to have seen and handled. Our comments are in no way intended to be anything but biased personal reflections.

      As far as I’m concerned, the investment value of a new watch is at best on par with that of a new car. That said, however, on Tuesday we will be publishing a Round Table discussion, which will include the watches we would want to buy with our own money, the watches we would buy if money was no object, and the watches that might be considered “investments” (though I’d stick to the stock market).

      Regards, Ian

      Reply
    • Elizabeth Doerr
      Elizabeth Doerr says:
      April 1, 2017 at 12:45 pm

      Speaking for myself, Pat, I simply chose the watches that made me go “wow” for this Top 5. This is the first time we’ve done a Top 5 this way, and it only reflects personal interests (which in my case certainly does tend more toward the independent side of watchmaking). Our round table to be published on Tuesday will indeed be a more well-rounded overview of the luxury offerings as we saw it.

      Reply
    • Alex
      Alex says:
      April 3, 2017 at 3:53 pm

      Also speaking for myself there is nothing politically correct as three of my major choices are from micro brands and had I the funds they would all be in my collection 🙂

      Reply
  4. Larryseiden
    Larryseiden says:
    April 1, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    I understand Q&P is targetted for the purist who appreciates those pieces and artisans that are not necessarily mainstream, yet not one of you mentioned the improved dialed Rolex Skydweller in steel at 25% MSRP of the previously released, precious metals examples. The willingness to offer their most complex movement at a very aggressive price says volumes to me that the marketers at Rolex know how to sell more than well-priced, robot-manufactured, sports watches. The moon phase Cellini is more whimsy than tool, but I expect Rolex to sell a ton of of the SkyDs as long as they don’t play the Daytona “rarity” game with it.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Doerr
      Elizabeth Doerr says:
      April 2, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Thanks for reading, Larry! This “Top 5” post was intended as a quick look at what we personally liked. Our big post-fair round table (which is a tradition at Q&P) is to be published on Tuesday. That’s where you’ll find things like that and other “happenings” from the fair.

      Reply
  5. Larry seiden
    Larry seiden says:
    April 1, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Amazing photos! Thank you. Even better than trying to see it all at the Fair.

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Lang & Heyne And Squaring Off With Gorgeous Georg | Quill & Pad says:
    July 10, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    […] Heyne, was a real surprise – and it was extremely well-received among the fans of the brand (see Quill & Pad Team Members Pick Their Top 5 Watches From Baselworld and Baselworld 2017 Round Table: What We Liked And What We Didn’t Like), as shaped cases exude a […]

    Reply
  2. A Collector’s View: Is Akrivia Bound for Glory? | Quill & Pad says:
    June 18, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    […] The watches are just darned clever! This year’s AK-06 (my top watch pick at Baselworld 2017) might seem to be “just” a three-hand watch, but the dial-side power reserve features a novel […]

    Reply
  3. Kiss Drummer And Watch Collector Eric Singer’s Baselworld 2017 Top 10 | Quill & Pad says:
    April 4, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    […] This classic new ultra-thin Classique Reference 7147 with its high-fire enamel dial and playful secret signature has been widely acclaimed in the specialized press and even in our Quill & Pad team members’ Top 5 selections. […]

    Reply
  4. My Biggest Surprise Of Baselworld 2017: James C. Pellaton Royal Marine Chronometer | Quill & Pad says:
    April 2, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    […] I mentioned before in Quill & Pad Team Members Pick Their Top 5 Watches From Baselworld 2017 Plus Special Mentions An…, this brand is my biggest surprise of Baselworld 2017, and I hope that the small group of people in […]

    Reply

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