SIHH 2017 Report: Day 1

Cartier

Panthère de Cartier

Cartier brings back the Panthère de Cartier watch collection, a previously discontinued truly feminine and stylish must-have at its time. Featuring a square case and bearing details that are signature to the maison, the new models have been updated and feature bracelets that are more supple and soft. Available in 14 references, in two sizes and offered in steel, pink gold, yellow gold or bicolour, our favourite is the diamond encrusted one with black lacquered spots.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Hybris Artistica Mysterieuse Ladies

Combining high watchmaking with traditional métiers d’art, the two new Hybris Artistica Mysterieuse watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre show the time accurately without the need for any hour and minute hands. Offered in a masculine and feminine variant, both watches feature a suspended orbital flying tourbillon that indicates the hours as it makes one revolution around the dial in 12 hours; the minutes are indicated on the flange disc. Vastly different in their designs, we love the ladies’ version for its dazzling veneer of diamonds: Some 73 individually snow-set ivy leaves make up the case, while the mother-of-pearl dial is ornamented in diamond studded leaves. On the dial side, the eye is immediately drawn to the architecturally shaped orbital flying tourbillon that has been specifically designed to look like a snowflake, in line with the frosted look of the watch. Turning the watch reveals a case back with an entirely hand-engraved full disc winding rotor that shows off a hammered ivy leaf design. 

Roger Dubuis

Excalibur Spider Pirelli

As Chief Executive Jean-Marc Pontroué hinted to us late last year, Roger Dubuis embarked on a new partnership – this time with racing tyre maker Pirelli. Two watches were introduced, with the Excalibur Spider Pirelli with double flying tourbillon (calibre RD105SQ) being the more exclusive version that is offered in just eight pieces. Both watches feature inlaid Pirelli tyres in their straps; and not just any ordinary tyre – those of the winning cars from official F1 races. The blue accents on the watch pay tribute to the 2016 Monaco F1 race from which sprung the first fruits of this collaboration. Adorned with tread motifs reproducing the profile of a Pirelli Cinturato intermediate tyre, each strap also features a barcode that certifies the tyre’s origins.

Van Cleef & Arpels

Automate Fee Ondine

It took one year just to manufacture Van Cleef & Arpels’ first extraordinary object. A collaboration with automaton maker François Junod, this incredible feat of craftsmanship also brought together the savoir-faire of some 20 craftsmen who have taken part in its creation. From the undulating lotus leaf that appears to move according to the ripples of an invisible body of water, to the blooming lotus flower that exposes an animated butterfly, every movement on this tableau is a fascinating discovery that can be enjoyed for 90 seconds at the quarter of every hour. Although time plays a secondary role here, it is still displayed poetically, on a retrograde display featuring a Mystery-set ladybug that points to the time.