Twelve watches ahead of Baselworld 2018
close
Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal
CLOSE
To help pad out the wait, and build excitement, the brands exhibiting at Baselworld traditionally reveal one watch ahead of the show, scheduled March 22 to 27. Here’s our pick of twelve of this year’s new releases.
Blancpain Villeret Quantième Complet GMT
This complete calendar with GMT has become a mainstay of Blancpain’s collections since its launch in 2002, inspiring several reissues. It returns this year, still with day and month indications in apertures, central hands showing the date and the second time zone, and moon phases, but with the addition of Blancpain’s patented under-lug correctors for the calendar functions.
Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367
Until now, Breguet’s Grandes Complications collection was missing a Grand Feu enamel dial – a gap now filled by this Classique 5367. The power-reserve indication has been removed, so that the eye is irresistibly drawn towards the tourbillon and its hand-bevelled bar, topped with a spinel. At 3mm high, the movement is one of the thinnest of its generation.
Breitling Navitimer 8 B01
Breitling presents the first indication of the direction it is taking under Georges Kern’s stewardship with the new face of the Navitimer – now the Navitimer 8 pilot’s watch. The 8 refers to the brand’s Huit Aviation department (huit being eight in French) – set up in 1938 to produce military watches and cockpit instruments. The highlight of the new collection is this Navitimer 8 B01 which is driven by the in-house Breitling Calibre 01.
Bulgari Diva Finissima Minute Repeater
This Diva boasts the slimmest silhouette of any ladies’ minute repeater on the market, courtesy of the in-house BVL 362 Finissimo manual-wind movement: the thinnest to date at 1.95mm high (and delivering 52 hours of power reserve). As a fitting complement for such technical expertise, the dial is embellished with Urushi lacquer with flecks of gold, while the bezel and lugs of the 37mm 18k pink gold case are covered with brilliant-cut diamonds in a snow setting.
Chanel Boy∙Friend Skeleton Calibre 3
The Boy∙Friend watch, introduced in 2015, makes its first ever appearance with a Haute Horlogerie skeleton movement. Three years in development, this Calibre 3 – so-called as it is Chanel’s third in-house movement – is designed to be equally beautiful front and back. It takes the form of vertically interlocking circles that appear to float inside the octagonal beige gold case. Mirror-polished bevels accentuate the movement’s depth, while the bridges are at the back for an unobstructed view of the watch’s beating heart.
Chopard Mille Miglia Racing Colours
Rosso Corsa, Speed Silver, British Racing Green, Vintage Blue and Speed Yellow: each nation has its livery when competing in international motor races. For the 30th anniversary of its partnership with the Mille Miglia race, Chopard is offering a collection of five watches, the Mille Miglia Racing Colours, a reissue of a historic chronograph in a 42mm diameter. The movement is COSC-certified. Each unique dial colour is made as a 300-piece limited edition.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite
The Senator Cosmopolite appears this year in a 44mm steel case with a minimalist dial – but the same array of functions. Two of the world’s 36 time zones are displayed in separate apertures at 8 o’clock, represented not by cities but by major airports, designated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) code. A system of three colours indicates when a zone is offset from Greenwich Mean Time by 60 (black), 45 (red) or 30 (blue) minutes.
Harry Winston Emerald
Two years after its debut, in 2016, the Emerald collection is joined by a new gem-set model in soft pink tones, worn on a double tour satin strap. The dainty white gold case, set with 53 brilliant-cut diamonds, has an octagonal shape that suggests both Art Deco and the emerald cut of precious stones – a favourite of Mr Harry Winston who founded the brand in 1932. The mother-of-pearl dial is accentuated with a further 44 diamonds and four pink sapphires as an extra feminine touch. The movement is quartz.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Magic
For Hublot to propose such a vivid shade of red for the case of this Big Bang Unico, it first had to develop the means of producing such a vibrantly coloured ceramic – which is also, a consequence of the production method, harder than conventional ceramics. Hublot invested four years of research into developing production and machining techniques for this new material. The key to the innovation is a combination of pressure and heat that sinters the ceramic without burning the pigments.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Mystérieuse Flying Tourbillon
Mystery clocks and watches have never ceased to fascinate, ever since their invention in the nineteenth century by the French magician Robert-Houdin. Now it’s Louis Vuitton’s turn to work its magic with the Tambour Moon Mystérieuse Flying Tourbillon. This is a particularly daring exploit, as the entire LV 110 calibre appears to float inside the case, with no connection between the crown and the twin barrel.
TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 02
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the TAG Heuer Carrera. This legendary watch, which began its career as a sports timer, has accompanied the brand’s many technical innovations. For this special anniversary year, it returns with the new in-house 02 chronograph movement inside a 43mm modular case. There is a tachymeter scale around the bezel and a 3-6-9 layout for the counters on the skeleton dial.
Zenith Pilot Cronometro Tipo CP-2 Flyback
The brand with the star is reviving its Cairelli, a chronograph commissioned for the Italian army; Zenith supplied 2,500 of this chrono over the course of the 1960s. This Cronometro Tipo CP-2 Flyback joins the Pilot range, already well-known for its vintage flavour. The movement, on the other hand, is bang up-to-date, namely an automatic El Primero 405B. It sits inside a case in either bronze or aged stainless steel.
