Category: High-end Watches

De Bethune DB28 Steel Wheels (SIHH 2018)

For the last 2 years, De Bethune had to deal with a complicated financial and managerial situation. Yet, in October 2017, the company announced that an investment consortium led by Pierre Jacques, former CEO of the brand, was about to take over the capital, to put this manufacture back on track. In the middle of the SIHH 2018, here is the first watch of this “new De Bethune”, a variation on the well-known DB28 model, with a skeletonized movement. Meet the DB28 Steel Wheels.

8 years ago

A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date (SIHH 2018)

What happens when you fuse a Saxonia Automatic with a Lange 1? What happens when you fuse Lange’s most symmetrical and purest watch with their iconic signature piece, know for its original display?… Presenting the A. Lange & Söhne’s new Saxonia Outsize Date, a harmonious and symmetrical fusion of core traits with a dark soul – and in terms of concept, there’s a bit of the old Sax-O-Mat in this new watch.

8 years ago

The New Chronometre Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1R.6-1 (SIHH 2018)

For the SIHH 2018, Ferdinand Berthoud, the high-end brainchild of Karl Friedrich Scheufele (co-CEO of Chopard), enriches its growing collection with a surprising watch, a true connoisseur’s piece with a strong focus on chronometry. Its original regulator-type display and its ultra-resistant carburised stainless steel case are new, yet its tourbillon/fusée-chain movement is the same marvel we knew already. Overview.

8 years ago

Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision Automatic (Live from SIHH 2018)

Last year, at the SIHH 2017, Ulysse Nardin introduced an impressive piece, a concept watch featuring no less than 10 major innovations, as a showcase to demonstrate the brand’s savoir-faire: the InnoVision 2. Every part of this watch boasted an innovation, whether the escapement, the display, the winding system or even the hands. And while last year’s piece wasn’t meant to be commercialized, it is now time for Ulysse Nardin to deploy some of these features into serially produced pieces… Meet the Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision.

8 years ago

Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar Montre Ecole (SIHH 2018)

Laurent Ferrier presents its fifth in-house calibre, and as something unprecedented for the brand features an annual calendar complication. A natural heir to the brand’s signature design ethos of smooth, rounded surfaces, vintage-inspired themes, and minimalist dials, the Galet Annual Calendar Montre École brings user-friendliness, legibility and steady mechanical performance to one of the most useful complications in a watch.

8 years ago

A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph Now In Pink Gold (SIHH 2018)

A. Lange & Sohne has introduced another iteration of its classic 1815 Chronograph this year at SIHH, now cased in warm 18ct pink gold but still with the same iconic pulsation dial. Considered by many to be the ultimate expression of a purist chronograph, these latest versions will be sure to strike a chord with collectors, who now find themselves literally spoilt for choice. Will it be the distinctive and powerful black dial or the equally elegant yet slightly more understated argenté dial? Perhaps one of each? We can dream.

8 years ago

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2, The World’s Thinnest Self-Winding Perpetual Calendar (SIHH 2018)

As all industries, the watchmaking world is subject to trends. One that we’re not unhappy to see resurfacing is ultra-thin watches. Piaget opened the show in December with the thinnest automatic watch, followed at the SIHH 2018 by the thinnest mechanical ever created (2mm thick, no less). It is now time for Audemars Piguet to come on board and demonstrate, if ever necessary, that they know a bit about watchmaking. Here is the Royal Oak RD#2, which at a staggering 6.30mm thick is the thinnest self-winding perpetual calendar on the market today.

8 years ago

MB&F MoonMachine 2 in collaboration with Sarpaneva (SIHH 2018)

One of the basic ideas behind MB&F has always been to have “friends” involved in the creation of new pieces. We can easily remember watches made together with Alain Silberstein (on the HM1 or the LM1), Black Badger or the involvement of Kari Voutilainen in the decoration of the LM movements. Another collab that stuck in collectors’ mind was the MoonMachine. Using the HM3 as a base, Stepan Sarpaneva added its famous moon-face complication. Here we go again, as both parties join forces for the second time to create the MB&F MoonMachine 2, this time based on the HM8

8 years ago

A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split – The New Mightier Than Mighty Chronograph (SIHH 2018)

Several years ago I had the pleasure of reviewing the A. Lange & Söhne Double Split and called it the über-chrono. To be clear, this has nothing to do with its functions but is entirely due to its spectacularly beautiful movement. Of course, the Double Split is the only mechanical double split-second chronograph, so that certainly demands some respect, but the movement’s architecture and finishing show a breath-taking beauty that no watch lover can ignore. And now there’s a Triple Split! Does that mean that the über-chrono has been surpassed? Yep, it does, and… it’s limited to only 100 pieces!

8 years ago