Watch special 2022 |
Geneva’s hostile snowy weather this last week was surprising for April but the razzle dazzle, as expected, was inside the Palexpo with its swish booths and jewelled timepieces. At the week-long Watches and Wonders 2022, which saw 22,000 visitors (including 1000 journalists), the exceptional examples of watchmaking fell under two categories. There are the popular watches that the retailers chase for their clients, and the million-dollar unique pieces that inspire watchmakers and designers to think outside the box and for CEOs to fund these projects. Imagine a watch that has flowers on the dial that bloom to indicate the hours. Or a timepiece that brings the constellation to the wrist. Here are five such one-of-a-kind timepieces from Watches and Wonders 2022.
FERDINAND BERTHOUD: from Marine Clock no. 8
Everything about this watch works for me. The Chronomètre FB RSM launched in January reinterprets the architecture and design of the Marine Clock no. 8 produced by the master clockmaker in Paris in 1768. Marine Chronometers were the most accurate timekeeping devices before GPS and only a handful of watchmakers could make them. Being truly a collector’s brand, Ferdinand Berthoud retires a calibre after 20 pieces and also customises several key exterior elements as chosen by the collector. The FB-T.FC-RSM calibre, a tourbillon regulator with fusee-and-chain transmission, for the first time incorporates an independent deadbeat second visible on the dial side and a stop-seconds mechanism. Base price: CHF 270,000 (goes up with customised additions)
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS: making flowers bloom
I haven’t seen anything so pretty and intelligent in a long time. Inspired by the floral clock concept imagined by Carl Von Linné in 1751, the Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier offers a poetic rendition of the passage of time, thanks to a special module opening and closing the 12 corollas on the dial. Telling the time becomes a spectacle, as the flowers blossom and close, offering a refreshing view every 60 minutes. Just a red mark on the side of the bezel marks the minutes.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE: riding into orbit
The Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 945 Atomium is loaded with complications and has the added mystic value of bringing the stars to you. Highlighting its expertise in celestial complications, Jaeger-LeCoultre reinterprets the Calibre 945, which displays the constellations on the wrist as can be seen in real time in the sky. It unites to this display a minute repeater and is further elevated by a Cosmotourbillon. Available in white or pink gold, in a very limited edition of five watches in each metal. CHF 450,000
VACHERON CONSTANTIN: a skeletonised version
I remember hosting a party in Mumbai in 2016 for the launch of the Overseas Collection, the luxury travel companion from master watchmakers from Geneva, Vacheron Constantin. The collection has grown from strength to strength since then.
A new interpretation of the Overseas ultra-thin perpetual calendar model joins the collection now. This gold-clad piece is magnified by a sapphire dial, allowing the wearer to dive into the heart of its anatomy and explore its ultra-thin entirely open-worked perpetual calendar Calibre 1120 QP. CHF 148,000
CHOPARD L.U.C: the Capuçon effect
Improving the quality of chime with a sapphire gong! With its natural lustre and innovative design, the LUC Full Strike Sapphire is a minute repeater watch featuring a translucent sapphire case that offers an unobstructed view of one of Chopard’s most sophisticated calibres. Five patents have been filed for the 533-part LUC 08.01-L movement that sounds the hours, quarters and minutes on transparent sapphire crystal gongs producing a perfectly clear and unique sound. The collaboration with the Capuçon Brothers, violinist Renaud and cellist Gautier, helped Chopard fine tune the acoustics. CHF 450,000
