By Victoria Townsend When Maximilian Büsser founded MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends) in Geneva in 2005, he did it with the support of 6 farseeing watch retailers from four corners of the globe who believed in his concept and helped it to grow. One of them was Dubai-based Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, whose business begun in the 1950s has developed to become one of the largest in the world today. Ever supportive, the Seddiqi family even went so far as to open an MB&F M.A.D.Gallery in Dubai in January this year, and so it seemed only natural for MB&F to show its gratitude with a special 13 pieces limited edition of the Legacy Machine No.1 – the LM1 M.A.D. Dubai.

By Roberta Naas In an exclusive preview today, we had the opportunity for an up-close and personal look at the watches in the new Tiffany & Co. 2016 Blue Book. Every year, Tiffany & Co. puts together special pieces that highlight the evolution of the brand’s legendary jewelry and watches. This year’s theme explores nature in the concept of The Art of Transformation. The storied Tiffany Blue Book is an annual presentation of one-of-a-kind creations for the brand’s special clients. This year, in addition to stunning sea creatures bedecked in shimmering diamonds and gemstones, Tiffany & Co is unveiling a host of specially made high-jewelry watches. Easily one of the most romantic watches to be revealed this year, there are four Art-Deco inspired pieces -- influenced by Tiffany & Co. designs from the Roaring Twenties -- re-imagined with rectangular cases, mesh bracelets, diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. There is also a series of three different oval bejeweled cocktail watches that feature colored stones set into the top of the case and the dial in graduated colors from dark to light – to give a scintillating waterfall effect.

By Victoria Townsend Swiss high watchmaker Girard-Perregaux is celebrating 225 years of history with exceptional limited editions, anniversary versions of iconic collections, and sublime exclusive timepieces. Holder of 80+ patents since its founding in 1791, renowned for its gold prize-winning “Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges” in 1889, Gyromatic HF of 1966, and “Constant Force Escapement” in 2008, the Manufacture from La Chaux-de-Fonds brings us new creations that are both technically and aesthetically stunning.

Montblanc is celebrating 110 years of fine craftsmanship with the release of a limited edition of three timepieces, The Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Bi-Cylindrique 110 Years Anniversary Limited Edition.

By Victoria Townsend “It’s classic with a twist“, smiled Vacheron Constantin Artistic Director Christian Selmoni, in Paris last Thursday for the unveiling of ‘Elégance Sartoriale’ - the watchbrand’s latest collection from the series of Métiers d’Art. Vacheron Constantin knows all about sartorial elegance. The high watchmaker from Geneva has been dressing the pockets and wrists of gentlemen for over 260 years, and even went so far as to launch its own customizable watch collection with the ‘Quai de l’Ile’ in 2008. So when it met up with Vitale Barberis Canonico, the oldest textile manufacturer in the world that has been supplying the finest fabrics to the best of tailors since it was founded in Pratrivero Italy in 1663, a shared project of sartorial elegance was developed, resulting in 5 new watch dials inspired by the noblest of fabrics and motifs.

By Pooja Agarwal The Happy Diamonds by Chopard got even happier this year. The new version of the precious gems are prong-set to shine even brighter, and still whirl around as playfully as ever. At Baselworld, Chopard revisited the iconic timepiece in which the Happy Diamonds were first introduced in 1976.

By Pooja Agarwal Conscious of the needs of their female collectors, Breguet has launched the Tradition Dame 7038 timepiece at Baselworld. Finally, women can enjoy a piece from the technical Tradition collection by the Swiss watchmaker, which proudly exhibits almost all the movement's components on both sides of the mainplate. The watch case has diamonds, of course, to further win hearts. Breguet’s Tradition collection has surely been enhanced with the introduction of this new self-winding Tradition Dame 7038 model.

By Victoria Townsend When Graff Luxury Watches presented the manual-winding GyroGraff timepiece with a double-axis tourbillon and innovative moon-phase indictor at its very first Baselworld in 2014, surprise was enormous and success was immense. Two years later, the family-owned company goes one step further with the unveiling of the GyroGraff World.

By Victoria Townsend The concept is clear, sapphire crystal clear. We were expecting to (re)see the white version – the ‘Big Bang Unico Sapphire’- presented just a few weeks ago, but ten years after the launch of the “All Black” collection, Hublot surprises us and brings it all together with the introduction of the ‘Big Bang Unico Sapphire All Black’.

By Roberta Naas We know there are Corum Bubble lovers out there. In fact, there is an entire sect of what could be called "Bubble-risti" (a term only those familiar with the "Paneristi" will understand). Since the wildly outrageous Bubble watch was launched in the year 2000, the watch has achieved an almost cult-like status. Over time, the line slowly devolved -- to the chagrin of many. Then, at last year's Baselworld, Corum marked the return of the Bubble in honor of its 15th anniversary. A clamor of joy could be heard around the world and the brand knew bringing the collection back was a genius move. Since then, there have been several important new editions -but this year's may top them all.

By Victoria Townsend From racer spirit to classic, from moonphase to tourbillon with fusée and chain transmission system, Zenith brings us five new timepieces as varied and distinctive as the wrists that will wear them. The luxury watch brand that makes all its movements in-house, winner of 2,333 chronometry prizes since its founding in 1865, is creative with competitive pricing.

Once again, The Rolling Stones have partnered up with Zenith for an exclusive watch.

By Roberta Naas It isn’t every day that we get to put our hands on more than 40 carats of diamonds and gemstones meticulously set in a timepiece. This year at Baselworld, though, we have had several such opportunities and one of the standout experiences has been getting up close and personal with the amazing new Chanel high-jewelry Les E’ternelles De Chanel secret watches. Developed as a capsule collection, these incredible high-jeweled masterpieces deftly demonstrate the Parisian brand’s savoir-faire when it comes to jewelry and watches. The timepieces pay tribute to the iconic quilting motif for which the brand is known. In fact, the quilting is a motif Mademoiselle Chanel developed and carried through on haute couture and leather goods such as handbags and clutches. The pattern has become a flagship for the brand.

By Victoria Townsend Blancpain presents its Annual Calendar GMT from the Villeret collection with a new, modern look, fitted for the first time with a stainless steel case. This new material for the 40 mm x 11.04 mm thick case is a perfect match for the easy-to-read white dial with stainless steel hands and hour-markers Day, date, and month are read in a rapid eye movement from 2 to 4 o’clock, while a small 24-hour counter at 8 o’clock indicates home time with GMT local time provided by the central hours hand. The self-winding 6054F caliber requires adjustment once per year, between February and March, easily made with Blancpain’s patented under-lug correctors – one at 1 o’clock to change the day, and the other at 5 o’clock to adjust the month. Fast GMT and date corrections, along with time setting, are made with the crown.

By Roberta Naas It’s another bang-up year for Jacob & Co., the brand that has been offering daring extremes in watches for years. This year, the brand continues to stretch the imagination and bring the incredible to fruition in two new timepieces that will have you lusting to see the watches in person. Taking the already well-known and much-loved Astronomia to new heights, Jacob & Co unveils a new realm in three-dimensional glory with the Astronomia Sky watch. While this timepiece may be a third generation of the original Astronomia Tourbillon that was first introduced in 2014, it is a totally new rendition – a reconfigured movement and a new complication. In fact, the Astronomia Sky Triple Axis Gravitational Tourbillon offers astronomical sidereal time display (tracking solar time and calendar time), a celestial sky dial, a three-dimensional moon and a center globe of the Earth.

By Roberta Naas It is a big year for Ulysse Nardin. The brand that has regularly been on the cutting edge of technology and innovation once again wows us with its technical prowess. At this year’s BaselWorld, Ulysse Nardin takes a bold leap forward – combining its marine heritage roots dating back to the 1800’s with a visionary look forward. For the first time ever, the brand introduces two new haute horology complexities into the Marine Chronometer line. Now, before you have the chance to say it, we will acknowledge it: building a COSC-certified Marine Chronometer is already a horological accomplishment. However, this year Ulysse Nardin takes the line to all new heights.