Among the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 crisis was the postponement of the mega watch show Watches and Wonders – the successor of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie exhibition – from this year to 2021.
But the show’s organisers have since rebounded from the initial upset over extended lockdowns to find an online solution. Hence, the launch on Apr 25 of watchesandwonders.com, which saw new timepieces rolled out by 30 leading watch brands, mostly owned by the Swiss Richemont luxury group.
These are the most memorable timepieces.
”La Musique du Temp” Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication Split Seconds Chronograph has a long name, with multiple complications to match. This double-sided watch packs 24 functions that qualify it as the world’s most complicated wristwatch. The previous record holder, Patek Philippe’s Grandmaster Chime, features 20 complications.
Housed unsurprisingly in a big 50mm wide pink gold case, Vacheron’s Grand Complication has time and calendar functions, including a perpetual calendar and split seconds chronograph, displayed on one side of the watch. The other side shows a tourbillon regulator and astronomical indications. The unique piece is also a minute repeater that boasts a ”unique sound print recorded and certified” by Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles made most of their records.
The Engraved Santos-Dumont Limited Edition is a set of four reworked timepieces from its Santos line, each watch engraved with the original plan of a flying machine which represents different milestones in the career of a man who is said to have helped create the modern wrist watch – from his first balloon, the Bresil of 1898 to his greatest feat, the La Demoiselle plane of 1908.
The last is etched on the ”La Demoiselle” 30-piece limited edition (US$43,600), which features an extra big (46.6 x 33.9mm) platinum case.
The other three watches are in a smaller case (43.5 x 31.4mm), in yellow gold and steel (US$7250, 500 pieces), yellow gold (US$14,300, 300 pieces) and platinum (US$18,700, 100 pieces).
After five years, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is still the world’s only watch which combines a mechanical jumping numerals display and a decimal minute repeater that sounds in 10-minute intervals, instead of 15 minutes as in most chiming timepieces. The watch, first rolled out in 2005 in platinum, is Lange’s first striking timepiece. The new version is in white gold in a limited edition of 30 pieces.
Price: 449,000 euros (S$691,460).
After introducing its ultra-slim Altiplano Ultimate Concept in 2018, Piaget announced that the concept timepiece, which is the world’s thinnest, is now available for sale. The 2.0 mm thick timepiece, its slenderness achieved by collapsing the movement, case and bezel into one, comes in 10,000 variations, with the option of customisation.
Price: 410,000 Swiss francs (S$598,600).
The 1858 Geosphere worldtime watch turns blue, with icy white, in its latest guise – a nod to glaciers and snowy mountains. Housed this time in a titanium case, the timepiece, which is defined by two domed turning hemisphere globes, is an homage to the Seven Summits – the holy grail of mountain climbing adventurers.
Price: US$5,800 with strap; US$6,200 with bracelet.
This article was first published in The Business Times.