The Petite Aiguille category is for watches under 8,000 Swiss francs (approx $8,500). The contenders are Bell & Ross BR03-92 Ceramic Black Matte, Chopard Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Chrono, Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Moonphase, Seiko Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36,000 GMT, TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 1887 Chronographe “Racing,” and the Zenith El Primero Synopsis.
Just look at the contenders in this heavyweight Tourbillon division: Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique, Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon, Grönefeld Parallax Tourbillon, Montblanc Villeret ExoTourbillon Rattrapante, TAG Heuer Carrera MikroPendulum Tourbillon, and the Blancpain Villeret 12-Day One-Minute Flying Tourbillon. Our panel just managed to reach a majority decision, but it was a close race.
The pre-selected Calendar watches in the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève are as varied as they are superb: the A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar Terraluna, Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar, Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planetarium, Breguet Classique Tourbillon Quantième Perpétuel, Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar and the Jaquet Droz Perpetual Calendar Eclipse Ivory Enamel. Which would you choose?
Our panel picks their favorite chronographs from those pre-selected in the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. There is a very strong line-up of chronographs this year: Montblanc TimeWalker 100 Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, Chopard L.U.C. 1963, Tudor Fastrider Black Shield, Zenith El Primero 410 and the De Bethune DB29 Maxichrono Tourbillon.
According to a recent interview with CEO Jérôme Lambert at the company’s Hamburg headquarters, Montblanc’s watch business is humming along swimmingly. And an interesting statistic is that women constitute about 35 percent of the clients of this brand. Thus, it stands to perfect reason that the luxury brand boasting two Swiss factories producing elegant wristwatches would not forget women in its campaign to “share its passion for fine watchmaking.”
Surprisingly, Montblanc has entered the 2014 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). I say surprisingly because I know that Jérôme Lambert is not fond of “beauty contests.” Montblanc’s SIHH 2014 offerings were thoroughly exciting and Lambert came across like a miracle worker to me. In the short year he has been in charge, the collection now boasts clear divisions into three main pillars, the top of the line obviously remaining Villeret.
With the horological storm that is Baselworld slowing calming down, we thought this might be a quiet news week; however, it turned out to be busy with news from Rolex, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Zenith, Montblanc, Antiquorum, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot, Digital Luxury Group and F.P. Journe.
A happy Valentine’s Day to you!
* As we approach half-time at the Olympics, we’d like to direct your attention to the close of our first Olympic Week.
While it is certainly hard to focus on events outside the SIHH in the world of watches this week, rest assured that the globe continued to revolve and there were other happenings. Here is a summary of some of them.
This coming Monday will be the start of the 2015 edition of the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) in Geneva, although our coverage will begin on the weekend with a few of the independent brands. To get you in the SIHH mood, here’s another look at our recap of last year’s exhibition.
Did you ever wonder what it sounds like when journalists get together among themselves and chat about impressions from a week-long watch fair? If so, wonder no more because here we’re providing you with the opportunity to listen in on some private conversations between well-known tastemakers of both the print and online worlds right here at Quill & Pad.
Welcome to our post-SIHH 2014 discussion in which we bring you some of the best and most educated opinions in our industry on the fair, the mood and the watches we saw right here!