BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF TIME

Amidst the sea of luxury watches that captivated the mindsAnd hearts of one and all at the two international watchExhibitions this year, veyoleen mehrotra and sumita bagchiPresent a few extraordinary ones that stole the limelightWith their distinct personality

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) and BASELWORLD closed an exciting chapter this year, offering an exceptionally subtle and elegant treat for its visitors. The timepieces presented exuded with much élan the expertise of the exhibiting brands, as some stood out robustly through the technical and aesthetic innovation captured in their timepieces.
Several brands decided to revisit the basic premises and philosophies on which they built dazzling legends, while the unique craftsmanship behind each of the timepieces showed up prominently. In-house movements, ingenious display mechanisms and spectacular tourbillons, housed in noble metals like pink or white gold, high-tech alloys or finely worked ceramic, topped the bill.

THE MAGIC AT HEART
Admired for their unique see-through quality since the 1800s, the skeleton watches continued to shine. The Santos 100 Squelette watch based on the Santos XL case size with a finely carved manually-wound movement from the house of Cartier was a kind that takes the expression skeleton to a new dimension. A sapphire crystal in front and on the reverse makes it possible to view the movement, thereby making this an outstanding piece.

Similarly, Audemars Piguet again led the way with three Jules Audemars complication skeleton models, not to mention its diamond-set Millenary Chalcedony Tourbillon. Parmigiani’s Pershing Tourbillon came with openwork dials, as did Montblanc’s Star Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph Open Date and Vacheron Constantin’s Patrimony Traditionnelle openwork that has two new sizes to choose from.

Carrying on with this theme of watches is the Golden Bridge Lady from Corum. This hand-wound movement is visible in all its glory, thanks to the transparent front and back. Its exquisite craftsmanship lends new meaning to the exercise of reading time.



COMPLICATIONS GALORE
The year, so far, has witnessed a strong focus on movements for brands to assert their expertise, both in the development of new calibres and the art of decoratingthem.One example is Harry Winston’s Histoire de Tourbillon. Beatrice de Quervain Blanchard, Global Marketing Director for Harry Winston, explains, “The Histoire de Tourbillon houses a double tourbillon, placed on a single axis. The two tourbillons work together to neutralise the effect of gravity. To top it off, this rare display is placed in a case that is unrestricted and visible to the world.” On the aesthetic side, the 48-mm case is constructed of white gold and Zalium, an ultralight alloy found in the aerospace industry. This low-density, high-thermal resistance and high-durability alloy is a material exclusive to Harry Winston timepieces. The need for detail and craftsmanship automatically makes this a highly collectible series.

Along the same lines is Roger Dubuis, with a sculptural interpretation of its Double Tourbillon, which is home to all of the manufacture’s movements, both complicated and highly complicated, from the triple time zone function to the minute repeater, combined with the flying tourbillon. Performance was no less of a concern at Montblanc. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Manufacture Minerva and the inaugurationof its renovated headquarters in Villeret, Montblanc presented the new Grand Tourbillon Heures Mystérieuses from its Collection Villeret 1858. The timepieces have one feature that is impossible to overlook—a tourbillon on the dial with guilloché decoration for gold watches and custom-made dials for the platinum models.

However, Jaquet Droz steals the limelight this year, with its presentation of the Time Writing Machine. A brainchild of its President Manuel Emch, the machine strives to deliverthe essence of watchmaking. Emch elaborates, “When I took over Jaquet Droz in 2001, although it had a rich history, we started fromscratch. And we wanted to create a link from the 18th to the 21st century. We wanted to establish a connectionwith craftsmanship,aesthetics and philosophy. In the 18th century, Jaquet Droz was renowned for its pocket watches and automatons. Rather than transforming a past creation, we decided to focus on the concrete aspect of having time. In that regard, the Time Writing Machine physically captures the time and gives it to you. It is a philosophical concept. It transforms analog mechanical time into digital mechanical time.”


A TRIBUTE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP
The touch of master craftsmanship and the timeless refinement of enamelling worked wonders for the timepieces, which captured many a heart at the SIHH. Jaeger-LeCoultre in fact, had an enameller working away painstakingly on reproductions of masterpieces suchas Venus de Milo on a tiny 42-mm diameter disc at a prominent corner at the event. The exclusive Master Minute Repeater and the Master Grand Tourbillon models from their collection bring to light two traditional enamel techniques—grand feu and champlevé enamelling. The dial of the Master Minute Repeater depicts a stunning interpretation in the form of enamelled miniatures of four famous historical paintings depicting Venus, the goddess of love, while the borders of the various countries and the outlines of the continents gradually take shape on the dial of each of the three Master Grand Tourbillon models. Themodels present one of the three large continental ensembles: Asia and Australia, the Americas and the entity composed of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

At Van Cleef & Arpels, the Midnight Tourbillon Jardin d’Extrême Orient, with its pink sapphires, diamonds and fired enamel, recreate a symbolic garden in the heart of the Empire of the Rising Sun, while the Midnight Jardin d’Extrême Orient reveals a pagoda, lotus flowers and an ancient tree on an onyx and mother-of-pearl inlay dial.

In this magnificent time zone where one actually loses the sense of time gazing at such and many more exquisite timepieces, there were some which stood out distinctly. The Cat’s Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendars that made an entry from the house of Girard-Perregaux as a fitting tribute to the fascinating dance of the stars is a unique timepiece that unites civil time, the lunar cycle and the zodiac cycle. Made of mother of pearl, gold and diamonds, and equipped with a movement crafted by Girard-Perregaux, the model draws its inspiration from the observation and interpretation of celestial phenomena. Guided by a lucky star, the signs of the zodiac glide alongside the months of the year. At the centre of the dial, the moon shows its various faces. At most, a single annual correction is required in February,except for during a leap year.

Vacheron Constantin turned up with a rather interesting American 1921 model that was revived as part of its Historiques collection. Christian Selmoni, Product Marketing Director, Vacheron Constantin explains, “We found this design in our museum and we thought it was very eccentric.” It stands out for its diagonally-set dial, with the crown at one o’clock. History suggests that a few such pieces were ordered by clients from the US years ago. Originally, it was a diver’s watch, which gradually evolved into a ‘conference watch’. A smart one indeed!

With such novel techniques, styles and functions put together, it is little wonder that your imagination is left not just baffled by the artistic horological creations, but also wondering what more one can expect.