SpotlightThe Best Of Baume & Mercier And IWC Watches At SIHH 2018

The array of timepieces unveiled at the 2018 edition of the most prestigious annual watch fair, SIHH, has given us some high-complication watches and limited editions. However, there was also emphasis  on wristwatches that will be available to a wider audience, and cater to simpler tastes, to those who would like to wear their watches for various occasions, without having to pick and choose. ‘Heritage’ has been a key word in focus at the fair this year, but it’s a word that means different things to different brands.

For queries on any of these watches, please call +91 8725028890 or +91 8725028893

Baume & Mercier’s Growing Portfolio

The fair has been quite a ride, and Baume & Mercier gave an all-new meaning to that. The biggest story this year is the continuation of Baume & Mercier’s association with the world of automobiles, coming from the brand that gave us the Clifton Club Shelby Cobra.  This time, they have partnered with Indian Motorcycle, the American manufacturers of high-end two-wheeler motor vehicles. In our preview to SIHH 2018, we spoke about their tribute to New Zealander motorcyclist Burt Munro, which is also the flagship piece of the series.

At the fair, we realised that the other two watches from the series have garnered and created just as much buzz as the flagship, if not more. The one that most have responded to with great enthusiasm is the Clifton Club Scout. With its gorgeous and soft brown calfskin strap, this generously-sized, 44mm, steel watch features a dial design inspired by the Scout motorcycle’s speedometer. What’s most fascinating is that the grey dial is split, somewhere along a line from one o’clock to five o’clock, to reveal a part of the automatic movement beating inside. The movement offers a chronograph feature.

The third watch in the series is the Chief, which is a more conventional-looking chronograph timepiece, with a steel bracelet and a black dial. Both watches, like the Burt Munro Edition, feature an element of the Indian Motorcycle logo on the counterweight of the central chronograph hand.

Another major accomplishment for Baume & Mercier this year is their first in-house manufactured movement, seen in the Clifton Baumatic, which offers an impressive five-day power reserve and comes in an admirably thin case. This watch comes in several variations, giving you plenty to chose from. The classical design of this men’s timepiece makes it suitable for women also.

IWC’s Sesquicentennial

The Schaffhausen-based International Watch Company is all about their 150th jubilee celebrations this year. In an effort to do justice to most of their brand pillars, IWC have threaded together their Portofino, Portugieser, Da Vinci and Pilot’s Watch collections, in one solid and unified series called the Jubilee Edition. The look is simple, with the dial with white on blue or blue on white, each dial lacquered in 10 layers to give a pristine enamel finish. This is true for all the Jubilee Edition watches, including the extremely special Tribute To Pallweber pocket watch, and its wristwatch versions.

The Pallweber watch features a mechanical movement, but with a digital display. It is based on a movement created by watchmaker Josef Pallweber in 1884. We were lucky to see the original pocket watch, restored by IWC’s master watchmakers. The new version, of course, features a different movement operating the hour and minute discs, in order to make the case thinner. The gold case, with its openable caseback is perfect to house the magnificent white lacquered dial.

The watch that we were most impressed by was the Pallweber wristwatch with a blue dial, which was not revealed pre-SIHH. In fact, the blue lacquered dials looks absolutely gorgeous. The rich, deep hue, from the 10 layers of lacquer, looks stunning. Even the best images don’t do justice to them. From the high-complication pieces, we were most impressed by the Constant Force Tourbillon, which has a baffling tourbillon cage which is also the backdrop to the small seconds sub-dial.

For queries on any of the above watches, please call +91 8725028890 or +91 8725028893