Last week, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2014 took place in Geneva. A premier event for the fine watch community, SIHH is a platform for the world’s leading luxury watch brands from the Richemont Group to showcase their newest timepieces. Here are a few examples of some seriously elegant watches we saw at the fair.
Striking Time, with A. Lange & Söhne
Three years ago, A. Lange & Sohne debuted the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time, it’s first-ever chiming wristwatch. Premiering in Geneva, the Striking Timepiece got a contemporary makeover in pink gold, and displaying precisely jumping numerals. Three high-pitched chimes and one lower-pitched tone from the Lange Zeitwerk beauty, announces each passing quarter and each full hour. What also makes this particular wristwatch even that more desirable are the visible key chiming mechanism components integrated into the dial design.
A. Lange & Sohne debuted the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time in pink gold
Absolute Elegance at Jaeger-LeCoultre
Only at the SIHH could such a classic, elegant timepiece be born. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of this particular watch that has developed a cult following, watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre chose to return to the very origins of a legend by presenting the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931, directly inspired by the aesthetic codes of the historical model.
Since the early 1930’s when polo players sought out this very watch due to its brilliant reversible case and classic, streamlined design, distinguished gentlemen soon followed suit in seeking out their own Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece. The new model vividly evokes Art Deco design. Its slim shapes, its rich brown color of the face and rose gold case, and its fine materials are the ultimate expression of a movement that heralded the inception of industrial design while favoring hand craftsmanship executed to perfection.
Piaget introduced the Altiplano 38 mm 900P
World’s Thinnest Mechanical Case at Piaget
Piaget introduced the Altiplano 38 mm 900P, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch to date. Combining the hand-wound calibre with the case elements, it is designed as a single entity in order to achieve record-breaking thinness at just 3.65 mm. For all of you watch enthusiasts, this would be a crowning achievement in over half a century of glorious skills displayed in the realm of ultra-thin watchmaking. This particular movement is where Piaget reigns supreme: it conveys the excellence of the two integrated manufactures run by the maison (celebrating its 140th anniversary this year).
