Introducing – Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Open Gear 35th Anniversary Editions
Chronoswiss hit a home run with the Flying Regulator Open Gear last year and it quickly became their most popular model. The design is a contemporary and almost futuristic take on the centuries-old regulator setup (a style that Chronoswiss embraces) and many variations form a broader Flying Regulator series – the Night and Day and Grand Regulator are good examples. The company out of Lucerne, Switzerland celebrated its 35thanniversary in 2018 with a limited Flying Regulator Open Gear Anniversary Edition and has added two additional models for 2019, now in Metallic Orange or bright Blue.
Back in the 18th century, Pierre Jaquet-Droz wowed the courts of Europe with his Automates – three humanoid dolls, about one-third life-sized, that could variously write, draw and play music with uncannily lifelike gestures. Intended to promote his clocks and watches, and powered by scaled-up versions of mechanical watch movements, they were a stroke of marketing genius – as well as a remarkable demonstration of his skills. Eighteen years ago, when Swatch Group revived Jaquet Droz, it harnessed that legacy – developing automata on the minuscule scale needed to fit inside contemporary watches. This meant men’s watches, as Jaquet Droz had no collection specifically for women in the first 13 years of its modern existence. Then came the Lady 8 collection. Launched in 2013, its design adopted the brand’s signature figure-of-eight but rather than confining it to the dial, expanded it to create a sculptural double loop. The watch-case itself formed the larger circle and an extension formed the smaller, upper circle of the eight. Within that smaller circle lay a pearl or a polished stone, set invisibly so that it could be rolled this way and that, under the fingers – like a very sophisticated and sensual fidget toy.…
Look, I’m going to be honest with you. Believe it or not, SIHH doesn’t have a whole lot on offer in the sub $10,000 category. It’s a sweet spot for one or two of the brands, and a handful of others have one or two watches that fit the bill. But even given the fact that there are not too many watches to choose from, I found this a hard trio to settle on. But in the end I settled on three stunners. The IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Spitfire I mean, just look at this thing. Pure, purpose-built perfection. Aside from the clean design and fabric strap, the 39mm case and new in-house movement seal the deal. The Montblanc 1858 Geosphere LE The Geosphere is already a pretty wild watch, with those twin hemispheres and that compass bezel. I think it looks even better in green, which provides a perfect complementary contrast (is that even a thing?) to the bronze case. Bravo, Montblanc. The Ulysse Nardin Diver While freaks and underwater love was all the rage at Ulysse Nardin, I found myself falling for a different kind of diver. This 42mm chunk of steel on sailcloth. It’s got just the…
In recent years, Panerai has made some lateral moves, with watches like the more land-based Due. But for SIHH 2019, one of the original dive watch brands was underwater in full force. Their collection was chock-full of Submersibles (which is now a distinct line of its own). Panerai’s Marina Militare watches pay tribute to the brand’s naval roots, and that famous dial text was back this year, and on a watch that looks, frankly, incredible. The big 47mm Carbotech dial is paired with a carbon dial and even a newly designed handset. There’s a lot to like here, but see the video for what it’s like on the wrist. Panerai Submersible Marina Militare Carbotech (PAM00979) Australian pricing Panerai Submersible Marina Militare Carbotech, $28,700
To atone for our tardy 2018 Top 10 lists, and to prove we haven’t just spent a week in Geneva looking backwards, we’re moving quickly on now to what has been the work at hand the last five days – reporting on the first major watch fair of the year, something we call SIHH, or Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. As usual, we have handled hundreds and hundreds of brand new watches. But slightly different to usual, instead of spending all of our time in Geneva bashing away on laptops in the evenings or in the 5-minute spaces between presentations, we dragged our cameraman Marcus around with us literally everywhere and – given a moment – we would quickly recap our picks. They are ordered by price (Australian dollars, by the way), because that seems to work best for you all. So, consider this a serious shout of ‘FORE!’ on the golf course. We have a veritable hail of videos of our picks incoming — it’s almost like you’re about to live the fair in its entirety, just a few days after the fact. The structure is this: Felix and I weigh in separately on our top three picks in three…
