Savour International

Here we present the most exciting Swiss watch industry innovations from this year’s trade shows in Geneva and Basel.

 

Less is more

01 | Glashütte original Senator Sixties with panorama date function. The 42 millimetre in diameter and 12.4 millimetre thick casing accommodates the company’s automatic 39-47 calibre movement. The panorama date feature makes this watch a highly desirable item if you’re in the market for a thin timepiece with a large date display. Price: CHF 10,350.

02 | Piaget Altiplano. Piaget has specialised in ultra-thin watches and movements for half a century. The company’s new proprietary 1208P calibre movement is only 2.35 millimetres thick, for which a likewise thin casing (only 43 millimetres) is available in either white or red gold. Price: CHF 19,900.

03 | IWC Portugieser hand-wound watch. Thin and elegant, but by no means a midget, since a 44 millimetre diameter and 10 millimetre thickness are the ideal dimensions for today’s watches. The balance spring of the company’s hand-wound 98295 calibre movement oscillates at a leisurely – and likewise ideal – 18,000 half-oscillations per hour. Price: CHF 8,950.

04 | Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle. The company’s new hand-wound 4400 model, which features a white-gold casing, is 38 millimetres in diameter. Vacheron prides itself on the outstanding workmanship that goes into its watches. The new 4400 model is about as streamlined and elegant as they come. Price: CHF 18,100.

 

Chronographs

05 | Bulgari Diagono Calibro 303. This watch’s 42 millimetre stainless steel casing with a striking steadyrest accommodates a classic among chronograph calibres – namely the old reliable Piguet 1180, whose balance spring oscillates at a rate of 21,600 half-oscillations per hour. Price: CHF 11,800.

06 | Girard-Perregaux 1966 chronograph. Made in 1966, this 40 millimetre somewhat enlarged chronograph cuts a fine figure – a genuinely timeless design. Under the watch’s faceplate, which integrates a tachymeter scale, ticks a Girard-Perregaux automatic calibre GP030C0 movement. Price: CHF 25,900.

07 | Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Silicon Escapement. What’s in a name? In this case quite a lot. The rotor and escape wheel of this proprietary MB R120 calibre chronograph are made of moncrystalline silicon. The large faceplate opening reveals the watch’s complex movement. Price: CHF 43,400.

08 | Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronographe. This sublimely subtle watch features a 42 millimetre white-gold casing. Under the faceplate is a 1141 calibre movement whose balance spring oscillates at a leisurely 18,000 half-oscillations per hour. Price: CHF 51,100.

09 | Zenith El Primero Foudroyante 1/10 of a Second. The central second hand of the El Primero 4052B, whose balance spring oscillates at a rate of 36,000 half-oscillations per hour, rotates once every ten seconds and thus traverses the faceplate in 3.6-gradient steps. Although this doesn’t exactly live up to the product’s “foudroyante” (lighting-fast) designation, the watch does allow its owner to read off the time in exact tenth of a second intervals. Price: CHF 10,900.

10 | Patek Philippe Referenz 5170J. The ladies’ version of this new CH 29-535 PS calibre hand-wound chronograph made its debut last fall, and the arrival of the merely 39 mm male variant is awaited with great anticipation.

Price: CHF 65,000.