Curiouser and curiouser at SIHH
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Michel Jeannot
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Hippologia © Parmigiani
There are no fewer than 2,200 components in the Hippologia table clock and automaton, an exceptional object that comes to life when a mare and her foal break into a canter.
There are no fewer than 2,200 components in the Hippologia table clock and automaton, an exceptional object that comes to life when a mare and her foal break into a canter.
Among the hundreds of new products presented each year at the SIHH, some can grab the attention more than others. And not necessarily because of a particularly complex mechanism. Pace the aisles of the Geneva watch fair and you’ll come across a mechanical fountain pen that costs more than a car, a Lalique clock that is beyond compare, a watch that mechanically generates light, another that monitors its own precision, and a robot that has no particular talent (well, almost none). Join us for a tour of this cabinet of curiosities.
Anyone who thinks one watch fair is very much like another only need visit the SIHH 2016 to realise they have been labouring under a false impression. Always there where least expected, Richard Mille has come up with the RMS 5, a mechanical fountain pen or more specifically a fountain pen with a mechanical movement that retracts the nib. It was brought into being by the brand’s movement creators and, according to Richard Mille, “took almost four years to research and develop before emerging as an exceptional, highly technological, one-of-a-kind product.” The movement is based on a skeletonised baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium. It powers mechanised kinetics that release the white gold nib of the pen. The outside is machined from NPTP Carbon. Unsurprisingly, such an original and complex object comes at a price: CHF 106,500.
In terms of price and exception, the extraordinary table clock that Parmigiani Fleurier has made in collaboration with Lalique stands its ground. It is quite simply the most imposing clock ever made by the crystal specialist. A unique piece – proposed at CHF 2.4 million – Hippologia shows two Arabian thoroughbreds, a mare and her foal, crafted in solid gold. The pair move on an oval crystal cabinet created by Lalique to represent the desert and dunes. While this isn’t the first piece by the watchmaker and the crystal specialist working in concert, it is the most complex and the most demanding in expertise. The clock features no fewer than 2,200 components. Its base houses two mechanisms side by side, one connected to the mare and foal automaton and the other to the time display. Combining the expertise and talent of the designer, the watchmaker, the automaton-maker and the crystal specialist, Hippologia represents the ultimate in fine craftsmanship.
Magic is also in the air at Van Cleef & Arpels, as the dial of the Midnight Nuit Lumineuse watch can be made to light up on demand using mechanical means. It achieves this watchmaking first thanks to piezoelectricity, a phenomenon by which certain materials become electrically charged when subjected to mechanical stress. In this instance, a strip of ceramic is caused to vibrate by the movement and thus mechanically generates electricity. This is then used to power six electroluminescent diodes which back-light six diamonds – shining stars on the dial – to stunning effect.
Energy – and a crank handle! – are also central to the second-generation EMC watch from Urwerk, the watch that monitors its own precision at the touch of a button. The new EMC Time Hunter not only indicates its variations in rate on a scale of +/- 15 seconds per day, it also measures the amplitude of its balance using an optical sensor. The energy needed to perform these two functions is generated by a crank handle which the wearer turns. Precision can be adjusted by the wearer; any modification of amplitude, on the other hand, must be done by a qualified watchmaker. We’re relieved to hear it.
At MB&F, Maximilian Büsser has a new friend: a robot conceived and developed by MB&F, engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839. “It gives us great pleasure to introduce Sherman,” says the brand. “He’s quite a cute little robot, but to be frank, Sherman doesn’t do very much. He doesn’t do very much at all.” Truth be told, Sherman does nothing except… give the exact time, which at a watch fair is pretty much par for the course. Maybe, though, he has another superpower? Because if you find Sherman fun, he’ll have achieved a second exploit which is to make you smile! And in this day and age, what more do we need?
