It has now become quite common for high-end mechanicals to reduce the dial to indications around the bezel. However, Christophe Claret’s quirky Maestro, launched at SIHH 2017, has most of the movement on display instead. And the Maestro is a watch with a substantial “wow” factor.
In honor of the upcoming 27th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), which opens its doors on January 16, 2017, we present you with an overview of 35 new models that have already been revealed – at least electronically.
Welcome to the 2016 edition of Quill & Pad’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. The pre-selected finalists are: Ulysse Nardin Skeleton Tourbillon Pearl, Bulgari Serpenti Incantati Tourbillon Lumière, Christophe Claret Marguerite, Girard-Perregaux Cat’s Eye Tourbillon with Gold Bridge, Louis Vuitton Tambour Color Blossom Spin Time, and Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down Art Deco.
They say that money doesn’t grow on trees, but during a visit to Christophe Claret I discovered what appears to be the secret to the company’s manufacturing process: regular pruning. What story do you think explains the horological fruit that this tree bears? Please leave your suggestions in the comments.
Post-SIHH reports indicate that the inclusion of the so-called indies was a big success for both visitors and the small brands alike, but also that there was a little grumbling from some of the large established SIHH brands generated by the fact that visitors to the fair remarked − with justification − that there were more interesting watches in the Carré des Horlogers than in the rest of the SIHH altogether. What can the industry learn from their inclusion in 2016’s first fair?
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Mechanical Exception category are the Christophe Claret Maestoso, Dewitt Academia Mathematical, Emmanuel Bouchet Complication One, Hautlence Vortex, HYT H3, and Jaquet Droz’s The Charming Bird.
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Striking category are the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, Akrivia Tourbillon Chiming Jump Hour, Christophe Claret Allegro, Franc Vila Inaccessible Tourbillon Minute Repeater, Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon with Gold Bridges, and the Hublot Big Bang Alarm Repeater.
While the “she loves me, she loves me not” complication on Christophe Claret’s first ladies’ watch, Margot, is highly original and very poetic, it’s not the kind of thing a wearer is likely to use frequently unless in a particularly tempestuous relationship. In which case it might be better to lock the watch away until things calm down. Margot might be better suited, a watch featuring luminous butterflies and disappearing and reappearing declarations of love.
Following the Swatch Group’s takeover of Harry Winston, a continuation of the Opus series with an Opus 14 seemed in doubt to me, though at Baselworld 2015 Dr. Nayla Hayek, chair of the Swatch Group’s board of directors and CEO of Harry Winston, quietly let it be known that a Harry Winston Opus 14 is forthcoming. What better reason to take a look back at the history-making timepieces of the Opus series.
Paradoxically, the SIHH really begins at least a day before its doors open; Sunday is the time to visit the smaller brands holding private exhibitions Geneva. So we put on our Sunday best and headed into town for a busy day of meetings with De Bethune, Urwerk, Laurent Ferrier, Revelation, Christophe Claret, Speake-Marin.