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Girard-Perregaux 2009 – What a Haul
The Girard-Perregaux watchmaking house is known as one of the best and oldest in the industry. And while we definitely expect quality from this prestigious brand, we don’t really expect them to deliver excellence en masse. For Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2009, they delivered not just 1 but eighteen new pieces to the watch-loving public. Here’s a quick peek at some of them.
The Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges, Perpetual Calendar and Chronograph hearken back to the original Tourbillon Sous Trois Ponts d’Or design by Constant Girard himself. This design was so accurate that it
- Was a winner at the 1889 universal exhibition in Paris
- Won accuracy competitions for 12 straight years, which got it banned by 1901
- Carried the Girard-Perregaux brand into the 20th century
A little more contemporary is the Monte-Carlo Historic Rally, a collection of watches that commemorates the ever-popular race from the French Alps to the Riviera. This collection is comprised of the Rally Monte-Carlo 1973 and the Rally Monte-Carlo 1983.
- The 1973 edition has watches with and without a tachymeter. Both versions, however, have fly-back timers.
- The 1983 edition has a 24-hour indicator, an inner revolving bezel and an option for a steel bracelet instead of a leather strap.
- Both editions are limited to just 250 numbered pieces per release.
Much is in store for the ladies as well. The Cat’s Eye Annual and Zodiac Calendars combines the complexity of two calendars and the allure of a Cat’s Eye dial. This oblong watch is fit only for the most elegant of ladies.
- It has 68 or 315 diamonds set into the case, 40 jewels in the movement and an onyx set into the crown.
- Bracelets are available in white or pink gold, while straps can be had in fine satin.
- The mechanism for the moon phases is so accurate that correction is only required once in about 292 years.
2009 seems to be a year for Girard-Perregaux to bring itself back into the public eye as a maker of extremely accurate premium watches. Even in these tough economic times, now might just be a good time to get yourself one.
Time to Be Grand: New Watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre
In the world of premium watches, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is the gathering of the best and the most prestigious. Major horology house Jaeger-LeCoultre marks the first SIHH after their 175th anniversary in 2008 with watches and designs that bring something really new and fresh to the industry. The Master Grande Tradition upholds the tradition of fine watchmaking that the company has preserved, while at the same time exploring new ground in timekeeping technology.
The novelties in the Master Grande Tradition are few, but each one is nothing short of monumental. First of the two innovations is the world’s first minute repeater that features a regulator display. The second novelty is the first ever perpetual calendar tourbillon. These new inventions just go to show how Jaeger-LeCoultre truly deserves its status as one of the best and most highly esteemed watch brands in the world.
This new creation has quite a number of complications going on under its face. Some of the Master Grande Tradition’s complications include:
- a perpetual calendar
- a digital display for the month, day of the week, date, phase of the moon, the year and the century
- an indicator for AM/PM
Despite all the luxurious and beautiful trappings of the Master Grande Tradition, it hides some serious brawn and feats of engineering under that elegant face. An escapement made of diamond-coated silicium minimizes the friction that goes on between all the 401 components that were finished by hand. But even with all those features in there, the watch is far from bulky. The tourbillon, for example, weighs less than a third of a gram.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a watch like this one is immensely valuable. If you ever happen to come face to face with a price tag for the Master Grande Tourbillon, just remember that it has:
- a limited release of just 300 pieces (for the yellow gold version, at least)
- a strap made from crocodile leather and a buckle closure of either platinum or gold
- some of the newest technologies in the watchmaking industry to date.
The Valuable Vacheron Constantin Kallania Watch
The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie assembles some of the most prestigious and exclusive watchmakers on the planet. Because of its attendance that boasts names like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, the event is bursting full with pricy timepieces. So when one particular watch rises above the crowd because of its price tag, you know it’s really expensive. This year, that honor belongs to the Vacheron Constantin Kallania.
With its price at an affordable 5 million euros (about $6.45 million), it goes beyond the watch industry’s usual definition of expensive. The high prices of watches, however, don’t often come without good reason. In the case of the Kallania, the profusion of zeros on the price tag comes from the 186 diamonds emerald-cut diamonds weighing in at a whopping 170 carats all in all. That’s 34 grams of diamond right there.
But one really cannot wonder why Vacheron Constantin bothered to create such a conspicuously luxurious watch. It is, after all, the same company that spent 6,000 hours (all clocked in by master craftsmen) in 1979 to create, nay, sculpt a watch from a single gold ingot. That same watch – the Kallista – was then set with a total of 130 carats’ worth of diamonds. The Kallania, then, is a sequel in the grand plan of a director that specializes in premium watches instead of motion pictures.
Just because it’s a veritable jewelry piece doesn’t mean that the Kallania is without its own merits with respect to horology. It’s outfitted with the 1003 Caliber, the thinnest mechanical caliber not just for Vacheron Constaintin but in the whole world so far. It’s perhaps only appropriate that such a record-breaking watch be paired with a mechanism that’s just as noteworthy as the watch itself.
Yes, the cost of the Kallania sounds more like a national debt than a price for a watch. It is, however, the kind of item that you just talk or dream about and not really buy (unless you’ve got several million dollars to spare). This is one timepiece that’s for the record books and the record books alone.
Ralph Lauren Watches: Designers in Horology
High fashion and premium watches are both areas reserved and roped off only for the moneyed and the elite. Consequently, it’s no wonder that the two industries would merge every now and then, resulting in the creation of something truly special. That was the case when American designer brand Ralph Lauren unveiled not one but three collections of designer watches at the 2009 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in January.
Now, followers of the fashion scene would know that Ralph Lauren – both the brand and the designer himself – is no stranger to premium items. But the watch market is full of entrepreneurs and people very particular about technical details. That’s probably why the clothing brand teamed up with Richemont, the group of companies that includes some of the watch industry’s most prestigious names like Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre to help with the horology side of the business.
The new partnership resulted in the Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewellery Company (SARL), under which the new collections of Ralph Lauren-branded watches were released. With a combination like that, it’s no wonder that the new timepieces turned out the way they did. A total of three collections were released at the 2009 SIHH: the Stirrup, the Slim Classique and the Sporting lines.
So named for its equestrian equipment shape, the Stirrup line captures a true feel of Ralph Lauren, its American heritage and its close ties with the equestrian image. Luxury is obviously one of the main goals of this collection as it’s available either in 18-karat gold or platinum. Three sizes are available in this collection, and each size has its movements made by a different Manufacture. Small Stirrup watches, for example, use Piaget movements while larger units have Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Exclusivity is the key concept behind the Slim Classique collection, and it’s not just because the extremely thin movements housed in gold or platinum come from Piaget. Both dials are guilloched on a special machine that can only churn out two such dials everyday, and even the face has to go through the same process. With price tags ranging from $16,000 to $36,000, don’t expect too many other people to start wearing this on the street.
Cheapest among the three is the Sporting collection with prices ranging from just $9,000 to just over $11,000. Featuring a sub-timer, world clock or chronograph, the Sporting collection is a good mix of design, engineering and functionality. And with movements from IWC Jones, the performance you get will surely be worth the money.
