Łukasz DoskoczCH24 Watch of the Year 2023 – winners of the 14th edition!
Hereby we present you the winners of the 14th edition of our “CH24 Watch of the Year”. International […]
“The Best of…” BaselWorld 2013 – part 2
And here is the second part of “Best of BaselWorld 2013” by our journalist-friends. With Omega, Girard Perregaux, Chopard, TAG Heuer and some very cool independents.
Tomasz Kiełtyka (CH24.PL)
Contrary to our previous part 1 and my friends quite optimistic views, I’m not as excited by this year’s BaselWorld. I find 2013 to be on the safe side with the collections prepared to overcome the economical crisis. And if they are safe, it means that they either are painfully classical or… similar to each other, and therefore mostly boring. But of course among this big mass there were some interesting novelties. Here are some of my favourites…
As a fan of sporty timepieces I can’t skip the TAG Heuer Carrera Claibre 1887 Chronograph dedicated to Jack Heuer. In-house emovement, bullhead case (inspired by the ultra-expensive Mikrogirder) and perfect colour combo of the dial makes this watch almost perfect. Almost, because its 45mm in diameter is somewhat big for my wrist. Staying in the “bullhead-case” theme I also enjoyed the Omega Speedmaster Chronograph with white dial.
After last year’s Pilot Montre d’Aeronef Type 20 Zenith gained much respect and recognition. Unfortunately with its size (59.5mm!) it was more suitable for a wall clock rather than for a wrist. Regularly sized version for a “normal” human – 40mm in diameter – came out this year. Looks and feels great!
And finally “The Palace” with all independents – a place that makes every watch aficionado’s heart bit faster. This time, just like Łukasz did in part 1, my choice is not a timepiece but… a music box. MusicMachine is a thing of beauty – you just want to own it. And let the perfect recommendation be the look off glittering eyes of visitors at Maximilian Busser’s booth.
Louis Nardin (TheWatches.tv)
Girard-Perregaux Echappement Constant – The regulator is the heart of every movement, and one of the most sensitive and complex element. With its revolutionary Echappement Constant in silicon, Girard-Perregaux launched one of the most important innovation of the fair, and more largely in watchmaking, even if the official presentation took place a few days before Baselworld in Zurich. Three major reasons make it significant. The first one is that the escapement is based on the buckling, a physical principle never used before in watchmaking and difficult to master. The second is a consequence of the first point. This physical principle prevent the watch from slowing down when the energy is decreasing. In fact, the Echappement Constant is the only one that offers a perfect chronometry until it stops naturally because of the lack of energy. The third reason is that the Echappement Constant can pulse at various frequencies, even high ones.
Ressence Type 3 – “Once upon a time, a Belgian industrial designer decided to create his own watch. Basically, that’s how Benoît Mintiens started Ressens, a brand that connoisseurs noticed since its beginning three years ago. The Type 3, the last creation is absolutely awesome regarding the design and the technique. About the forms and look, just imagine a watch without dial, where all the indications are like painted perfectly clearly on the back of the sapphire glass. Benoìt Mintiens wanted this amazing effect to offer an absolutely perfect visibility of the dial. He succeeded in it by immersing the dial module into naphtha, the same liquid used in old compasses. And the effect is simply amazing. In addition to this, this watch has no crown. All the settings are possible through the back of the watch. Time, date, and even the winding are accessible by turning the glass box on the back. Finally, the morphology of the watch is just astonishing. In fact, the case is a plate of metal with the strap on each extremity. The dial module and the movement are like plugged on it and have no physical contact one with the other. The fact is that the caliber transmits its informations via magnets, strong enough to activate the parts of the dial”
Breguet Classique chronométrique 7727 – “Just imagine an automatic tourbillon caliber of 3mm thick. This is maybe the reason why the Classique chronométrie 7727 from Breguet is so smart and interesting. In addition to this technical achievement, the watch includes a double silicon spiral and the magnetic escapement launched last year as a prototype. Thanks to it, the frequency is 10Hz, and the caliber much more resistant to any external magnetic field. And as usual somehow, the designers of the manufacture realized a perfect job with the decoration of the dial and case, and with the global esthetic. The Classique chronométrie 7727 is thus a watch that a collector can love as well as a contemporary dandy.”
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 15’000 gauss – “Magnetic fields can ruin the precision of a watch. And considering the presence of more and more magnetic fields in our day to day life (smartphones, computers, etc.), Omega launched a caliber that resists to magnetic fields of 1,5 tesla, 15’000 gauss. The norm is 1000 gauss and Rolex has a famous model wearing this name. But Omega followed its own strategy and instead of protecting the caliber with, for instance, an iron case, the engineers integrated antimagnetic components. For instance, the balance-wheel axis has been created in Nivagauss, a new alloy developed within the group by Nivarox. The Seamaster Aqua Terra 15’000 Gauss can be seen first as an important step in the quest of anti magnetism into watches, but also as a symbol of the industrial power of the Swatch Group.”
TAG Mikropendulum S – “Magnetism again, but this time desired and used into the watch. Thanks to Guy Sémon, VP of the brand and Head of R&D, and his team, TAG Heuer launched the first models – one prototype and one model for the current collection – of watches with magnetic escapement. Named pendulum, the system has no more spring in the balance wheel. Instead the balance wheel axis is divided into two magnetized zones and is surround by a ring, also divided into two magnetized areas. Functional, resistant to magnetism and temperature variations, the pendulum is the first escapement with no physical connection between the oscillator and the escapement.”
Robert-Jan Broer (Fratellowatches)
As mentioned already in Part 1 of this article, this year’s Baselworld was quite interesting. Although I love independent watchmaking and really can appreciate the high-end watches from prestigious manufacturers, I have a weak spot for interesting affordable timepieces. My Basel-favorite this year is the Speedmaster Caliber 9300 “Dark side of the Moon” model from OMEGA. I remember a discussion I had with their Head of Product Development Jean-Claude Monachon in 2011, about creating a black Speedmaster using DLC or PVD treatment. He told me he was working on that for a while and did not want to get into details. This year however, he showed me the all-ceramic Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon” timepiece. OMEGA dedicated a special taskforce to get the job done. Their solution has been presented to us during Baselworld, a Speedmaster created from a single block of ceramics, a ceramic dial and the wonderful caliber 9300 chronograph column-wheel movement.
You can debate the fact whether 10.000 Swiss Francs is affordable, but you get one hell-of-a-watch for that money from one of the big brands. Another watch that definitely falls into the affordable category is the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver. Introduced in March already, I didn’t see it in the flesh yet. The S Diver is new to the Pontos collection and has been attractively priced at approx. 2500 Euro. The case is beautifully finished and the nice NATO style leather strap, matt black dial and compressor construction shows that Maurice Lacroix is carefully listening to the demands from the market. I firmly believe that – besides their Pontos S Chronograph – this will be one of their best sellers coming years.
Another brand that I should have paid more attention to in the past is Armin Strom with their Gravity collection. This Baselworld, they showed us the Gravity collection with its in-house manufactured automatic movement that has been engraved and skeletonized just beautifully. I don’t particularly fancy skeletonized dials, movements, cases and so on, but Armin Strom has done it in such way that makes the watch still up-to-date (or modern) and very wearable for someone younger than 50 years old. Also this watch is quite friendly priced (approx. 13K CHF) for a limited watch (100 pieces only) with a manufacture movement and this type of craftsmanship.
Anish Bhatt (Watch-Anish)
With over 800 brands exhibiting at the World’s largest watch show this year, picking just 5 models wasn’t that easy. For me, these were the standout new creations!
Arnold and Son Perpetual Moon
Aesthetically this was one of the most beautiful watches at the show! Amazingly detailed moon disc, in house movement and all for a very good price (approx 15,000 CHF). Rosé gold and blue version is my favourite but to be honest I’d wear any of them proudly!
Breva Genie 01
At times when this industry fails to inspire you it takes a newcomer like Breva to step in with a brilliant new complication! Mechanical altimeter and barometer combine to actually predict the weather in a world first for a wristwatch!
Chopard 1937 Classic
I’m a man of varied taste, and for formal wear the new 1937 in rosé gold from Chopard is amazing. Clear and concise dial with manufacture LUC movement housed in a beautiful rosé gold case. Yes please!!
Konstantin Chaykin Cinema
Almost unreal how Mr Chaykin managed to squeeze in a mechanical photostream to show an animated horse into such a small aperture in the dial! One of the finest independent watchmakers in my opinion makes another jaw dropping piece!
De Bethune DB28 Black
Your favourite brand’s favourite brand, De Bethune take their beautiful DB28 and treat it to a black coating which even though it is played out manages to look unreal on their Star Trek inspired horological wrist wear.
