This is it, the 2018 edition of the GPHG, known as the “Oscars of the watchmaking industry”, has come to a close and the prize for the best watch of the year, also known as the “Aiguille d’Or”, has been awarded. Once again this year, complications, creativity and Haute Horlogerie have been rewarded. Meet the best […]
Creative, daring, highly technical or crafted to a level that you simply cannot achieve in mass production – there are many reasons why independent watchmaking has been on the rise over the past twenty years. “Indies” are passionate about watchmaking and are often just a little bit crazy. Without massive marketing budgets or product committees, their creations are simply born from dreams, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit. Their ingenuity, vision, diversity or simply their smaller size give watchmaking fans a wealth of unique creations. Today, we take a look at some of the best 2018 creations of the independent watchmaking scene.
Laurent Ferrier is known to be on the simple side of things. Well, at least, when it comes to the design. Indeed, when your 3-hand watches are fitted with a tourbillon double hairspring or a natural escapement (direct double impulse) and a micro-rotor, you can’t be named “simple” anymore. With its latest creation, the most complex in the collection so far, Laurent Ferrier doesn’t break his habits. Meet the impressively clean Laurent Ferrier Galet Minute Repeater.
With this new watch, Laurent Ferrier presents the compilation of its best features: the combination of red gold with a black dial dear to the founder, the regulator display that has been introduced a year ago, the in-house micro-rotor movement and the elegant, stylish Galet Square case. Yet, for the first time, all of them are reunited in a single watch, giving a desirable and well-balanced watch. Meet the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Regulateur Black.
When thinking of yellow gold, the first thing that may come to your mind is your parents’ or grandparents’ watch. Well, if you feel yellow gold is outdated, it might be time for a change. The status symbol of the 1960s to 1980s is making a comeback. As trends come and go, it fits perfectly in the current vintage craze – just like the unexpected comeback of the 1980s spirit in fashion and music. And interestingly, the way watchmakers use it today makes it look super chic and trendy. Here are 6 of the most notable yellow gold watches introduced recently.
As we’ve already told you several times – and we even discussed this topic in a cool video here – watchmaking is not the only passion of Laurent Ferrier. He loves cars too. So much that he even raced at the 24h of Le Mans and finished 3rd in 1979. No surprise then to see some of his watches infused with motorsport inspiration. Celebrating the London Craft Week 2018, the brand introduces the Galet Micro-Rotor “Montre Ecole” with a great British Racing Green dial.
Following the intense teamwork and understanding that developed between Laurent Ferrier and Urwerk’s dynamic duo – Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner – to create the Arpal One timepiece for the Only Watch Auction of 2017, the sale of the watch left them with an empty nest syndrome. To counter the blues they were experiencing, they decided to go for an encore and have created four signed watches named LR-UR 2, which, like the Arpal One, will “be sold for the benefit of medical research”. While the shape of the case and the movement are the same as the Arpal 1, the material of the case and finishes are light years apart. The only problem with these four watches is that their parents don’t want to give them a name because they “merely represent the lap of honour of an outstanding team.”
Laurent Ferrier watches are all about classicism. The brand is one of the rare examples to practice super-traditional watchmaking on the “indy scene”. After the tourbillon, the annual calendar or the dual-time, Laurent Ferrier explores one of the most desirable complications you can think of: the minute repeater. Meet the new and very exclusive Laurent Ferrier Galet Minute Repeater School Piece.
For the SIHH 2018, Laurent Ferrier had quite a lot of novelties up his sleeve and his latest watch features a new movement and an unprecedented complication for the brand: an annual calendar. Housed in the sleek, round Montre Ecole (School Piece) case, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar already impressed us just by looking at photos… And then came the surprise of Ferrier’s new movement housed in a great looking new gold alloy. Clearly, one of the most elegant and desirable watches of the SIHH 2018.
On the last day of SIHH 2018, Brice, Xavier and I sat down to list the best watches of this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. It’s been a good week, tiring though with 4-hour nights, however, the overall feel of this year’s SIHH was more positive than last years. Has the industry recovered from the crisis? If I have to judge based on the feeling of the fair, I’d say yes, but let’s await the numbers that will be published in half a year from now. First… we listed the best watches of SIHH 2018 for you in the video above.