SIHH 2015 - Day 4: Vibrating diamonds, geospheres and an automotive skeleton
We have already featured a number of new Cartier watches on the site this week but the brand always keeps a show-stopper in reserve to be revealed only during the SIHH. This year it was the Ballon Bleu Serti Vibrant model. This fully paved model has the ability to catch the eye from a distance with its patented diamond-set dial, on which the stones are set into springs and are thus set in motion at the slightest of movements. Cartier claims that even the beat of your heart through the wrist can set off the dazzling sparkle of stones that appear to be vibrating.
As our new correspondent Rafael Fernandez reports on WorldTempus today, Montblanc has launched an entire new collection dedicated to the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who discovered the southern ocean route to India from Europe.
Like Cartier, however, Montblanc kept the highlight of this collection under wraps until the SIHH. It is the Tourbillon Cylindrique Geospheres Vasco da Gama, which beneath the curved bridges of the tourbillon features two hemispheres on the dial representing the world time in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Ralph Lauren presented six new models in its Automotive collection at the show, continuing the use of rare hardwoods on the dial and bezel to emulate the Bugatti dashboard. Three of the new timepieces feature wooden bezels in amboyna burl, while three have elm burl wood on the dial. The highlight is the brand's first skeletonised watch, the RL Automotive Skeleton, whose hand-wound calibre RL1967 with its black finish is based on a famous IWC pocket watch calibre. Although the new piece has the familiar shot-blasted stainless-steel case and is framed by an amboyna burl bezel that is characteristic of the collection, it also bears a prominent new RL logo on the dial.
Amboyna burl, which must be expertly cut and finished to expose its richly detailed swirling grain patterns, has a long history of use in luxury automotive interiors. It forms a b bridge between the automotive and horological worlds, and highlights the RL Automotive Skeleton as a true celebration of Ralph Lauren's love of beautiful machines.
As the show drew to a close, Baume & Mercier CEO Alain Zimmerman summed up the mood, at least as far as his brand is concerned. "I'm quite surprised at the level of serenity here over the week, given the events of last week. People have been willing to look ahead with optimism, which we have seen in meetings, where we have broached the currency subject to get it out of the way but then moved straight on to the new products."
The SIHH may have opened against the background of the Swiss National Bank's decision to stop propping up the euro's value against the b Swiss franc, but the intervening week has allowed some time for reflection. Reactions have been mixed and some interesting arguments have developed. We will undoubtedly come back to them next week as the dust settles.
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