SpotlightA Heightened Sense Of Horology: Trends In Timekeeping From SIHH 2019
With a strengthened focus on material innovation and fine mechanical watchmaking, SIHH 2019 presented some incredible new novelties, displaying distinctive trends in timekeeping, including bronze, titanium, carbon, and the perpetual calendar
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It seems to have become increasingly clear that high-end mechanical watchmaking is not going anywhere, despite the advent and growth of the smartwatch. Probably been seen by many as a threat in recent times, it has only driven luxury watch manufacturers to bolster that which only they can offer—mastery in mechanical and material innovation. This is evident from the main features of most key releases in the world of luxury watches. The recently concluded 29th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) reinforced just that. One of two largest global watch events, the annually held SIHH is where 35 of the world’s most exclusive watch brands showcase their new products. These are often a good indicator of the kind of watches we’ll see throughout the year ahead, whether in boutiques, on high-street billboards, in magazines, on social media, or on platforms such as The Watch Guide.
Vintage Goes Mainstream
We’ve already had a lot of vintage-inspired watches in the last couple of years. From heritage pieces and commemorative editions to anniversary watches or re-editions of classics, we’ve seen it all. Emerging out of that—and probably out of the perception of the true values of traditional watchmaking that the above represent—is a kind of aesthetic that leans strongly towards vintage elements in very contemporary watches as well. In more classically inclined watches, even some of the newest features have a hint of the past, as seen in the new salmon-coloured dials of the 2019 Montblanc Heritage range. They are exquisite up-close, and they have such a fresh hue, but are still reminiscent of a kind of aged look. It is this nuance that really strikes a chord.
Then there’s the more obvious kind of vintage look, such as that which is realised by the use of bronze—an alloy that literally ages with time, enhancing that vintage appearance. Last year, we saw bronze in a few isolated pieces, but it was clear that the number of bronze watches we would see would only grow. This year, there are multiple editions from certain manufacturers that are in bronze. Take for instance Montblanc itself. The new Montblanc 1858 series is full of bronze versions—whether it’s the Automatic, the Chronograph, or the buzzier Geosphere. With their green dials especially, the vintage look becomes rather distinctive. IWC has done quite a few of those as well. With a focus on the Pilot’s Watch collection, inspiration from vintage aviation has been taken a step further with a couple of bronze editions with green dials, including the Spitfire Automatic and Chronograph versions.
Materially Stronger
IWC’s vast new Pilot’s Watch range also included several other materials, such as the new Ceratanium seen in the latest Double Chronograph Top Gun. Combining the lightweight properties of titanium and the hardness of ceramic, Ceratanium is an ideal new material for wearable comfort and sturdiness. Chanel first did this ceramic-titanium combination in 2011 with their J12 Chromatic, but IWC’s similar innovation gives this combination wider appeal. More impressive though is the Top Gun ‘Mojave Desert’ named after the desert that is home to the US Navy’s largest land-area station. Made of ceramic in a very distinctive beige or sand colour that is realised by a combination of zirconium oxide and other metallic oxides, this watch reflects the colours of the US Navy’s pilot uniforms. After Hublot’s vivid red ceramic of 2018, this watch continues the innovation in coloured ceramic. IWC also used ‘hard gold’ in the new Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition ‘Le Petit Prince’. A more wear-resistant red gold, the hard gold alloy is notches higher in durability in fine watches.
The Dark Side Of Innovation
More on the darker side of material innovations is the new Carbonium used by Ulysse Nardin in certain editions of their latest Freak X and Skeleton X watches. A super-light and sustainable aeronautic-grade carbon composite, Carbonium is used in the fuselage and wings of latest-generation aircraft. The highly resistant yet lightweight material has a far lesser impact on the environment than regular carbon composites and even looks beautiful owing to the subtle pattern created by the fine carbon fibres it is composed of. Adding nuanced detail to Carbonium are the swirling gold highlights seen in the Skeleton X Carbonium-gold edition. Another swirling stunner is the carbon glass used by Girard-Perregaux in a special edition of the new Laureato Absolute. The gorgeous blue accents of the glass fibres associated with the carbon used in this special edition almost have incandescence, even as they are the reason for the material’s ultra-resistant and lightweight properties, which are lent to the watch. Carbon innovation continues with Panerai’s carbotech. Based on carbon fibre, carbotech is lighter than steel and titanium, while it’s also highly resistant to external shocks and corrosion. Used in new Submersible editions, carbotech lends these pieces a varied matte-black appearance—another one for nuanced beauty. With such interesting and superior materials used in darker watches, PVD and DLC treatment on metal almost seems too ordinary.
Practically Relevant
Panerai takes greater leaps in material innovation, with the impressive BMG-Tech and EcoTitanium editions of the Submersible. The former is built of BMG-Tech, a bulk metallic glass obtained from an alloy composed of zirconium, copper, aluminium, titanium and nickel. This alloy is subjected to high pressure, and a rapid change in temperature, affecting its atomic structure, which embodies greater strength, resistance to corrosion, shocks and magnetic fields. On the other hand, inspired by a friend of the brand and explorer Mike Horn and exemplifying innovation more for sustainability and the environment, the EcoTitanium is built from recycled titanium scraps, with a strap made of recycled plastic bottles. Adding to the resilience factor in watchmaking was the new Nanograph by TAG Heuer, presented off-site from SIHH, at the LVMH Group’s Geneva Days. Incorporating a hairspring made from a carbon composite for the first time, the movement of the Nanograph becomes even more resilient than movements with metallic or even silicon hairsprings, owing to the carbon composite’s unresponsiveness to magnetic fields, gravity and shock. Other internal components that used exceptional materials were the rotors of Baume & Mercier’s Baumatic watches, made of tungsten, and Parmigiani’s Toric perpetual calendar and Kalpagraphe chronometer, in 22-karat red gold and in platinum respectively.
The Emerging Metal And Hue
The Parmigiani Kalpagraphe Chronomètre was presented in a titanium case—an impressive new sporty edition of the Kalpagraphe. However, titanium was not just seen in this timepiece. Used extensively in major new editions of several collections, titanium was almost as common as gold this year at SIHH. Roger Dubuis used it in the Excalibur Huracán, which helped make this chunky watch quite light and comfortable on the wrist. The lightweight property of the metal is also likely the reason why it was used by Girard-Perregaux in their flagship talking piece—the Bridges Cosmos—and by Ulysse Nardin in the new Freak X, adding to the wearable factor of this latest edition. Apart from the Submersible EcoTitanium, Panerai also used titanium in the Guillaume Néry edition—inspired by the freediver and friend of the brand—with a DLC treatment. Dark-treated titanium was also the metal of choice for Girard-Perregaux’s new Laureato Absolute Automatic, Chronograph and WW.TC watches. With so much titanium in the mix, it looks like the metal is going the ceramic way—more of a mainstream material than a passing trend.
Akin to the hues of titanium, grey is looking like the next big colour in timekeeping, seen in several new dials. Maurice Lacroix, presenting off-site from the fair, released a new Eliros edition with interesting brushed grey dials. The texture was key even for Panerai in two Submersible editions that had dials in what they called a ‘stealth grey’, inspired by the colour of the shark, the king of the ocean—where the Submersible diver’s watches would feel right at home. Parmigiani’s dial of choice for the latest edition of their Toric collection was, in fact, a textured slate grey. “It’s the common factor seen through the new edition,” stated Luca Castellani, the brand’s chief commercial officer, who spoke about their new products.
It’s Certainly Complicated
Among the new Toric watches that Parmigiani showcased was the Parmigiani Toric Quantième Perpétuel Rétrograde. “This is the first time we’ve done a perpetual calendar in a Toric case,” informed Castellani. While this perpetual calendar feature includes a retrograde date display, it was definitely not the only perpetual calendar seen this year. In fact, the perpetual calendar has proved to be even more common than the GMT or world time feature. IWC even combined the complication with a chronograph for the first time in a Pilot’s Watch, in a ‘Le Petit Prince’ edition. And then there was Jaeger-LeCoultre, the maison that presented their Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel. This high-complication watch combined a gyrotourbillon with a perpetual calendar, along with a moon phase indicator and a minute repeater with a two-gong chiming mechanism developed to sound like the Big Ben in Westminster, London. Jaeger-LeCoultre also had a simpler perpetual calendar as part of the new Master Ultra Thin Enamel series.
Even Baume & Mercier presented a special complication edition of their second-generation Baumatic watch, with a perpetual calendar and a moon phase indicator. Another complication not uncommon this year, the poetic moon phase display was seen in almost all of the above mentioned perpetual calendar watches, and even in others such as the Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Ultra Thin Moon Enamel and Rendez-Vous Moon Phase.
And then there was the tourbillon. For a while now, the talk has been about simpler watches, devoid of complications such as the tourbillon, which offers more prestige value than functional value. However, this year, one can’t quite say that. There were quite a few new releases that have the tourbillon feature—even the advanced kind, such as Jaeger-LeCoultre’s gyrotourbillon or Roger Dubuis’ Double Tourbillon in their Excalibur One-Off extravaganza. Other unique-piece watches featuring a tourbillon included H. Moser’s Venturer Tourbillon Sapphire, set in a sapphire crystal case, and the much-talked-about Swiss Alps Minute Repeater without any timekeeping hands—meant for the user to hear the time rather than read it. H. Moser did, however, also include the tourbillon in two of their more widely produced watches—presenting the Pioneer Tourbillon and the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Cosmic Green. Among other tourbillon watches showcased were the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon from the enamel dial series, as well as Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur Shooting Star for ladies.
It was somewhat surprising to see so many complication watches, including grand complication novelties, considering how conservative the watch industry has been lately. However, with the impressive new developments in material innovation, the only thing that would best complement the offering of new products at SIHH was a heightened sense of horology, which a lot of brands did showcase. This truly indicates that watchmaker brands are treading the path that they are meant to be on, aware of what they’re here for—the art of watchmaking with handcrafted details and artistic finesse.
Which new watch is your favourite from among the SIHH 2019 releases? Scroll down and share your views in our comments below.
Shop The Story
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IWC Pilot’s Watches
IW387902
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Parmigiani Kalpa
PFC193-3040200-XO1442
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Roger Dubuis Excalibur
RDDBEX0748
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Master
Q13035E1
Please send me the pictures of watches
Hello Suman,
We’re happy to know of your interest in the new SIHH 2019 watches. There are quite a few pictures in the article itself. To explore all our stories on SIHH 2019, and to see more images, you can click here: https://www.ethoswatches.com/the-watch-guide/tag/sihh-2019/.
Thank you for reading
The Watch Guide