By Mike Espindle
Life should be sweet as sugar, DeGrisogono’s Sugar watch, that is. This ladies’ timepiece comes in four versions-white diamonds, emeralds, orange sapphires and blue sapphires-with the stones towards the bottom right of the case set on invisible hooks so they slide around the case area and appear to spill out of the watch, like dropping sugar cubes into an espresso.
The timeless elegance of H. Moser watches cannot be denied. Fit for Don Draper’s wrist to the the boardrooms of today, the company’s exacting, sober craftsmanship shines through, especially in this new Nomad Dual Time in platinum with a shimmering gray dial.
The artisans led by watchmaker Max Busser at MB&F have revisited the company’s best-selling Horological Machine No.3 (or HM3). Legibility on the two time-indictor domes has been improved and the movement window and rotor area has been increased–hence the nickname “MegaWind.”
Elite golfers may be familiar with the products of Jaermann & Stubi, a Swiss watchmaker that features timepieces with a unique score tallying complication that logs hole, strokes and total (and accounts for your handicap, as well). New for Basel is this striking Nick Faldo Limited Edition with a case made from the melted set of clubs the PGA champion used during his last tour victory.
www.jaermann-stuebi.com
Artisan watch studio Rudis Sylva garnered attention during the show not only for the fine, authentic craftsmanship their small run of products evidence (the company utilizes the considerable horological skills of the residents of Les Bois, Switzerland). The company also uses a unique complication called a Harmonious Oscillator, two interlaced balance wheels spinning in opposed unison and in constant rotation, to counteract gravitational effects; better than a tourbillon, they claim.
www.rudissylva.com
“Classic” defines the horological vibe at Geneva watchmaker Frederique Constant, and this new edition of its Worldtimer evokes the heyday of elite travel. Alpina, the company’s sport watch brand, showed exciting new iterations of its pilot Startimer watch launched last year, and the haute horological sibling of Ateliers deMonaco offered an impressive Quantieme Perpetual calendar timepiece that was both horologically fine and luxuriously modern in design.
www.frederiqueconstant.com
Based on its legendary El Primero in-house movement, the Zenith Doublematic Pilot Watch, which debuted at the show, includes both world time and alarm functions, with a dedicated barrel just for powering the alarm. Add in a chronograph and big date and you have an impressive technical watch that is as sharp as it is functional.
www.zenith-watches.com
The addition of a traditional moon phase indicator adorns Vulcain’s iconic 50s Presidents’ Watch. It is actually the 60th Anniversary of the company’s 1953 creation of its complete calendar and moonphase, and this example is loyal to the historical model, with the night sky displayed at 6 o’clock.
www.vulcain-watches.com
In honor of the Royal Society of London, which master watchmaker John Ellicot was invited to join in 1738, the Ellicot company shows a little horological elan with the release of the RS 38 Master Complication. According to the company, this is the world’s thinnest minute repeater with a perpetual calendar. Yet, with so much history, this masterpiece has an undeniably modern and very appealing look.
www.ellicot.ch