A journey through haute horlogerie between innovation and tradition.
Last year Watches and Wonders, the world’s leading luxury watchmakers event, attracted more than 50.000 visitors: professionals, press and watch-lovers gathered to discover the latest innovations, timeless designs, and exclusive unveilings, transforming the city into the global epicenter of haute horlogerie. With the record participation of 60 brands, it highlighted a line-up of new products combining tradition and innovation.
Many celebrities attended the event bringing glamour, global attention, and star power to a week dedicated to the finest in watchmaking: Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Simone Ashley, Didier Deschamps and Lara Gut, to name a few. We visited the event together with Valeria Verga, the second-born daughter of Valerio Verga and granddaughter of Luigi Verga, founder of one of the most renowned Italian players in the haute horlogerie sector and a major reference among watch enthusiasts and collectors. Valeria Verga, who helms the shop located in Milan’s central Corso Vercelli, took us on a journey through some of the new releases of the year. Here is her selection.
Rolex
Imagination in perpetual motion: one of the most highly awaited novelties is the new Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller, a watch with an integrated five-piece link Flat Jubilee bracelet, a dial with a honeycomb motif, open numerals, luminescent hands and index hour markers, and an angled flange. A revolutionary calibre (7135) and a movement designed to beat at a frequency of 5 hertz enables the watch to display the time to one-tenth of a second.
Tudor
New additions to the Tudor collection include a brand new 43 mm diameter Black Bay: the Black Bay 68, offered in two new colour configurations, sun brushed silver or ‘TUDOR blue’, with a three-link bracelet with smooth steel sides, a polished and satin finish, and a TUDOR ‘T-fit’ clasp with a quick-adjust system. The watch is also certified Master Chronometer by METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology.
Parmigiani Fleurier
A whispered luxury, evoking intense emotions, such as those of the Toric Quantieme Perpetuel: a rare piece, available in two editions – Platinum Morning Blue and Rose Gold Golden Hour – of only 50 pieces each. The dial is minimalist and features an intelligent coaxial display.
Baume Et Mercier
Four new chronographs enrich the Riviera collection, a true icon born in 1973, which masterfully combines form, functionality and heritage. The Riviera 10827 model is synonymous with precision and style, thanks to its 41 mm white wave-pattern dial with black blued flange and counters and its stainless steel bracelet with satin finish. At its heart is an automatic movement with a 48-hour power reserve.
Franck Muller
A majestic manor facing Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. Franck Muller is distinguished not only by the exceptional nature of its models, but also by the creation of its own watchmaking salon: the WPHH – World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie, where it displays its pioneering vision in addition to its novelties. Among the new models, the Curvex CX Crazy Hours Colors, a playful reinterpretation of one of the brand’s most iconic complications, which celebrates the fluidity of time through bold colours, graphic contrasts and fearless creativity.
Frederique Constant
Striking a constant balance between tradition and innovation, Frederique Constant has unveiled the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture with a new design and a new movement: the dial sports one of collectors’ favourite colours, salmon, in a steel case with a diameter of 40 millimetres. The new Classic case houses the new Manufacture FC-776 calibre, the 34th developed in-house by the Geneva-based watchmaker, which boasts a three-day power reserve. Devoid of hour and minute numerals, the watch’s dial is simple and minimalist, leaving ample space for the three perpetual calendar indications on its broad sunburst background.
NORQAIN
NORQAIN, an independent, Swiss-born, family-run manufacture, has unveiled two new editions of the Independence Skeleton Chrono 42mm in Grade 5 Titanium: one with purple detailing and the other in a vibrant Jade green, the latter limited to 500 pieces. Both watches are powered by the manufacture’s exclusive chronograph movement, the NORQAIN Manufacture Calibre 8K – a skeleton flyback chronograph designed for modern adventurers. The NORQAIN stand faithfully reproduced a ski station, which was also visited by #norqainer Gianluigi Buffon.
Maurizio Cavezzali
