“Best of…” SIHH 2015 – part 2

Łukasz Doskocz5.03.201510 min. of reading

In part 2 of our SIHH roundup we present you more of the favourite pieces from the 2015 Geneva fair, including the names like Lange, Richard Mille and Montblanc.

You can read part 1 of our “Best of SIHH 2015” HERE. Now on to part 2.

Miguel Seabra (Espiral do Tempo, Worldtempus)

Hailing from Portugal, I should have been tempted to pick at least one from the wide range of new Portugieser timepieces introduced by IWC to celebrate the collection’s 75th anniversary, right? Wrong, even though the Portugieser Minute Repeater remains a dream watch to me – and I’m still trying to find out the point of yet another version of the digital Perpetual Calendar after having it on the Pilot, the Ingenieur and the Aquatimer collections. But one digital timepiece made it to the top of my picks at the SIHH 2015: Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk (Decimal) Minute Repeater; I’m a chrono guy and love the Datograph, yet the Zeitwerk is my favorite exercise in style from the historic Glashütte manufacture and, having always favored acoustic complications over tourbillons or perpetual calendars, the latest Zeitwerk creation had to be on the pinnacle of my preferences.

I’m also a huge fan of ‘shaped watches’ and neo-vintage/new-retro interpretations – so, Vacheron Constantin’s new Harmony commemorative collection caught my attention the minute I stepped in at the Palexpo. I actually think a couple of timepieces in the Harmony range were wide of the mark, but the Harmony Chronograph (more than the even more exclusive Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph) struck home. Perfect use of the cushion architecture on a contemporary case size – I’m definitely not one of those who think an elegant, classic timepiece should be small.

For the third choice, I went out on a limb and elected a dress watch that apparently does not have a lot to do with me; it certainly isn’t an easy and consensual timepiece, but I was blown away by Piaget’s Black Tie Vintage Inspiration – a remake of the chunky Beta 21 watch owned by Andy Warhol. You really have to put it on the wrist to fully appreciate the original shape so typical of the 1970s, the finishing of the white gold case, the black onyx stone dial and the slimness of the automatic calibre 534P. One fabulous timepiece that requires cultural & aesthetical background to be fully understood.

Now, looking back at my chosen trio, I realize they’re all either exclusive and/or limited editions – and I normally always pick a more affordable watch for the ‘normal’ aficionado, being perfectly aware that most of us can’t afford these masterpieces from the watchmaking $trato$phere. Yet, this time there wasn’t one ‘regular’ timepiece that really stuck in my mind and, overall, this year’s SIHH failed to match my high expectations… like every other edition of every watch show (I realize now it is a problem of mine!). And I’ll give honorable mentions to Richard Mille’s RM 19-02 Tourbillon as the best ladies’ watch, the loud Audemars Piguet Concept RD1 Minute Repeater as the most impressive prototype, Naissance d’Une Montre from Le Garde Temps (a project by Greubel Forsay with Philippe Dufour) as the most laudable initiative and the Montblanc brand as the party spoiler due to its aggressive strategy under Jérôme Lambert’s helm – with F.P. Journe’s Sonnerie Souveraign Boutique Edition as the best watch (albeit not a novelty) I’ve laid on my wrist outside the Palexpo premises.

A final word for the absolute worst of the SIHH: the cloakroom gave my suitcase to someone else who returned it the following day when I was already back home and when I finally got hold of it there were things missing. Such a security incompetence at a temple of luxury is SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE and definitely stained my memories from 2015’s first horological Grand Slam.

Robert-Jan Broer (Fratellowatches.com)

1. A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
Although the updated Lange 1 model deserves a lot of kudos as well, the real jaw-dropper at Lange & Söhne’s impressive booth in Geneva was their Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. It is a decimal minute repeater, so when activating the mechanism the hammer strikes every 10 minutes (instead of the more commonly quarters). It has a genius mechanism for ‘remembering’ the time as well, as the minute repeater will strike the exact time when the wearer activated the mechanism (for example when done at 11:59 and 58 seconds). Besides all the technical complexity this timepieces carries, it is just a beautiful watch.

2. Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum

Montblanc surprised me over the whole range basically, but what really striked me as ‘best bang for the buck’ was this Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum. For just below € 5000 Euro, the buyer will get a beautiful looking timepiece with one of my favorite complications a watch can have: a world timer. Using two sapphire discs to indicate day and night and then there is a city disc ring around it that is being operated by a pusher at 8 o’clock. The Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum – or world timer – is an affordable mechanical piece with great functionality and apparel.

3. Richard Mille RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur

This is an odd choice, at least for me it is. I rarely look at ladies watches I have to admit, and I have little going on for tourbillon complications to be honest (mainly due to the overkill of them). However, this Richard Mille Tourbillon Fleur was definitely one of the eye-catchers of the SIHH in Geneva this year. The reason of that is the beautiful painted white gold flower that hides and reveals the tourbillon cage every 5 minutes. Witnessing this mechanism at work was simply mind-blowing. Richard Mille’s Tourbillon Fleur has a pusher on the left side of the case to manually trigger the opening and closing of the flower. For the woman who has everything already.

Frank Geelen (monochromewatches.com)

Now, a few weeks after the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie has come to an end, it’s easier to determine which watches I liked best. While the show is going on, and even the week after the show, my mind is on overload. And even now it’s difficult to name just 3 watches, because the 2015 edition of the SIHH has been a very interesting one.

My absolute favorite watch of this year, is classic with a twist, it’s a new iteration of the magnificently beautiful A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, that now has been equipped with a decimal repeater. Although its price is far out of reach for most mortals, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. Lange has chosen the rare decimal repeater over a standard minute repeater, because its chiming sequence aligns perfectly with the way the time is indicated on the Zeitwerk.

When it comes to more affordable timepieces, there were several pieces that made a strong impression, and some I would just love to add to my personal collection. Now you might think that I want every watch in my own collection, however that’s not the case. Some, like the new Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum, just stand out and before I knew it I said “I want one” as soon as I saw it. The design might remind you of Vacheron’s world timer, however this Montblanc is slightly thinner and the dial, hands, and case finishing is absolutely superb. Especially when considering the price!

After wearing a Roger Dubuis Pulsion Skeleton Flying Tourbillon for some time, I got hooked. The exhibitionist nature of this watch might scare people away, as it initially did with me. However from a bit of a distance, this nature is actually hardly visible. Until you come close by and get to see a full horological lesson on the wrist. I might be slightly (ahum) biased, because I think that the Roger Dubuis tourbillon cage is the most beautiful on the market, and to see two of these tourbillon cages next to each other is a feast for the eye.

Magdalena Piekarska (Chronos)

I visited Geneva for SIHH many times before (first was in 1998) and I witnessed many downturns. I recall when some 10 years ago Asia was hit by SARS epidemic and most of Asian guests didn’t even arrive, or the gloomy mood after Lehman Brothers fall and put many companies into trouble. This year’s number one subject was Swiss National Bank decision to stop protecting Swiss Franc rate that came short before the fair. You could hear it being discussed all over the place. Of course all the novelties are prepared well ahead of January so nobody could foresee what’s coming, but one thing is sure – it is not a happy time. There were only few interesting technical novelties and significantly less new models. One brand that did not disappoint was A. Lange & Sohne, always with something nice in store. Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is highly impressive watch (even though I’m not a fan of this complication), that strikes actual time, displayed digitally on the dial. It is not a classic repetition we all know, but everyone who knows Lange is well aware such approach is its thing. The brand’s philosophy is to present classic solutions in modern way.

Another piece that brought me to my knees was an RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur. I should firmly highlight I’m not a fan of ladies watches as I think vast majority of them is just made to shine and blink (although more and more manufacturers approaches the subject more seriously). What Richard Mille came up with this year made huge impression. If I only had unlimited budget the Tourbillon Fleur would land high on my wish list. The shear view of magnolia flower opening to reveal the tourbillion – priceless!

In the SIHH top 3 I’d also like to include Audemars Piguet’s contemporary new Royal Oak Concept RD#1 with unique minute repetition, which strikes the time louder than any huge pocket watch.

Tomasz Kiełtyka (CH24.PL)

The most interesting suggestions on what to put on a wrist – and it’s not going to be anything new, judging by other opinions – were presented by Vacheron manufacture. Harmony is the first collection in years, whose all watches I could put on my wrist, without an exception. Beautiful, decorated in-house movements were combined with fantastic vintage-style dials and the whole thing enclosed in cusion-shaped cases. Pure beauty!

My second choice is Zeitwek with decimal minute repeater. I have a weakness for this model…To such an extent that virtually every version of Zaitwerk could be automatically included in such compilation (well, maybe except for Handwerkskunst model from 2 years ago). German manufacture A. Lange&Söhne managed to combine modern look of digital-readout display with perfect workmanship seen in all elements of the watch!

Admittedly, we mainly write about men’s watches, but sometimes it’s just not possible to ignore timepieces designed for ladies. It’s one of them that will join to my Top-3 list. I’m talking about RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur, a lovely watch with beautifully designed tourbillon complication “emerging” from an opening flower. If I was a woman, it would probably go on my 2015 wish list.