These Extraordinary Watches from the Geneva Fair Are Created to Inspire Watchmakers and CEOs
These Extraordinary Watches from the Geneva Fair Are Created to Inspire Watchmakers and CEOs
Geneva’s unfavorable snowy weather last week was a surprise for April, but as expected, dazzle was inside the Palexpo, with its swish booths and jeweled watch. In the week-long Watches and Wonders 2022, which saw 22,000 visitors (including 1000 journalists), exceptional examples of watchmaking fall into two categories. There are popular watches that retailers chase for their customers, and 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 a dial that bloom to indicate the hours. Or a watch that brings the constellation to the wrist. Here are five such unique watches from Watches & Wonders 2022.
Ferdinand Berthoud: Marine Clock No. 8
Everything about this watch works for me. Launched in January, the Chronometre FB RSM Marine reinterprets the architecture and design of clock numbers. 8 built 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 caliber after 20 pieces and also customizes many of the major exterior elements chosen by the collector. The FB-T.FC-RSM caliber, a tourbillon regulator with fusee-and-chain transmission, incorporates an independent deadbeat seconds and stop-seconds mechanism, first visible on the dial side. Base Price: CHF 270,000 (goes up with customized additions)
Van Cleef and Arpels: Blossoming the Flowers
I have not seen anything so beautiful and intelligent in a long time. Inspired by the concept of a floral clock conceived by Carl von Linne in 1751, the Lady Arpels Heures Florales Sericier presents a poetic rendition of the passage of time, thanks to a special module for opening and closing the 12 corollas on the dial. Telling time becomes a spectacle, as flowers bloom and close, offering a refreshing sight every 60 minutes. Just a red mark on the edge of the bezel marks the minutes.
Jaeger-LeCoultre: Ride in the Classroom
The Master Hybris Artistica Caliber 945 Atomium is packed with complexities and has the added mystic value of bringing the stars to you. Highlighting his expertise in celestial complexities, Jaeger-LeCoultre reinterpreted the Caliber 945, which displays constellations on the wrist as seen in real time across the sky. It connects this display to a minute repeater and is propelled by the Cosmotourbillon. Available in white or pink gold, in a very limited edition of five watches in each metal. CFF 450,000
VACHERON CONSTANTIN: A SKELETED VERSION
I remember hosting a party in Mumbai in 2016 for the launch of the Overseas Collection, the luxury travel companion of Geneva’s master watchmaker, Vacheron Constantin. Since then the collection has grown from strength to strength.
4300V/120R-B642
A new interpretation of the Overseas Ultra-thin Perpetual Calendar model has now joined the collection. This gold-covered piece is magnified by a sapphire dial, allowing the wearer to dive into the heart of its anatomy and explore its ultra-thin fully open-worked perpetual calendar caliber 1120 qp. Is. CFF 148,000
Chopard Luke: The Capucon Effect
Improve the quality of chimes with Sapphire Gong! With its natural luster and innovative design, the LUC Full Strike Sapphire is a one-minute repeater watch with a translucent sapphire case that offers an unobstructed view of one of Chopard’s most sophisticated calibers. Five patents have been filed for the 533-part LUC 08.01-L movement that takes hours, quarters, and minutes on a transparent sapphire crystal gong that produces perfectly clear and unique sound. Collaborations with the Capucone Brothers, violinist Renaud and cellist Gautier helped Chopard fine-tune the acoustics. CFF 450,000
