SIHH 2019 Day 2: To The Moon And Back

At any watch fair, there is always the risk that you start at a high and then it is all downwards from there. With the balanced additions to the Pilot-collection of IWC, the super sweet Richard Mille’s and Jaeger-LeCoultre who showed once again their prowess when it comes to highly complicated watches with a fine finish, that danger is very real. However, this edition of SIHH that fear is misplaced as on the second day, things continued at a very high level.

Vacheron Constantin dazzled this year with the complex and refined Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, but also expanded their current collection with a wide range of blue dial varieties. The beauty of them is that each hue is tailored to the watch that they are fitted in. With the FiftySix this gives the watch another dimension, while Vacheron Constantin also used a blue dial to introduce the very first tourbillon in the steel Overseas. This was not the only news regarding this collection, as the Perpetual Calendar is now also available with a pink gold bracelet, making it even more precious than it already was.

With a name like Arceau L’Heure De La Lune, a watch has to be beautiful, and this Hermès does not disappoint in that matter. The brand once again shows that beauty and technical complexity can go hand in hand. The dial shows two realistic, and large, moons, over which two subdials travel. These subdials indicate both the time as well as the date while at the same time doing their part in displaying the current moon phase on both the Northern as well as the Southern hemisphere. There are two choices in dials; aventurine with white subdials, or meteorite with black subdials, both equally stunning, yet with subtle differences in character.

Ulysse Nardin also had something big in store, or actually, something smaller. With the new Freak X, one of their signature models shrinks from 45mm to 43mm. Thanks to a revised movement it now features a crown. This makes the watch more accessible in every way, also because as a result of these changes the titanium model is now available for US$ 21.000,-. Next, to this material, they also offer the newly designed case in Carbonium and rose gold. These changes allow a whole new customer group to enjoy one of Ulysse Nardin’s landmark pieces and was the perfect ending of our second day at SIHH 2019.