SIHH 2014: First impressions and a few crushes
The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) opened on Monday, 20th January in Geneva. The event involves sixteen prestigious brands and marks the start of the watchmaking year.
By Marco Gabella
Chairman & Executive Publisher
Small sizes and ultra-thin watches
This year’s novelties follow and confirm the trend set in 2013 which revisited classical forms and finishes in smaller versions.
Cases are more and more compact and there is an obvious tendency to go ultra-thin. Proof of that is the Piaget Altipiano 900 P and the Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon by Jaeger-LeCoultre, which caught the eye of many. Both timepieces have used innovating processes to embed the housing with the movement in order to make the case as thin as possible. Other timepieces like the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine ultra-thin 1731 (world's thinnest manual minute repeater unveiled few months ago) show the trend.
New Year, New Collections
The SIHH 2014 also offered several participating brands the opportunity to introduce new collections.
First of all, it is worth mentioning the new Meisterstück Heritage collection by Montblanc. It consists of four models, including a perpetual calendar which will cost around €10,000; a very aggressive pricing for that sort of complication.
Furthermore, Roger Dubuis introduced the Hommage collection. The pieces in this collection revisit the aesthetic codes of the brand and have more classical and less unusual cases than the Excalibur. Judging by the positive feedback from some aficionados, this collection will undoubtedly gain the brand new clientele more attracted to classicism.
Moreover, the new Tonda Metro collection by Parmigiani Fleurier offers a whole new range of pieces for both men and women at very competitive prices for an Haute Horlogerie brand. This new collection is both all-encompassing and coherent. It reveals this brand’s strong visual identity, particularly through lugs with the shape of water drops. One of its most remarkable timepieces is the chronograph with embedded timers on the dial and superb, metallic straps; an original design that no other brand can match.
New Year, New Wish List
As we spent two days trying to discover the best of this 2014 SIHH and as there were countless models and developments, we couldn’t possibly say that we managed to grasp and appreciate the true value of all pieces.
Nevertheless, there were some watches which I particularly liked and therefore, on a personal note, I would like to share my first wish list of the year with you.
The Piaget Altiplano 900 P: well designed and it will go down on the brand’s history.
“Le temps d’ici et Heures d’ailleurs” by Van Cleef & Arpels: it is difficult to produce a watch with a second time zone which is both sophisticated and functional.
The Perpetual Calendar by Greubel Forsey: stunning technique and visual delight.
The Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe: its proportions are perfect and it preserves the uniqueness of the brand’s design.
The Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar Terraluna by A. Lange & Sohne: very well designed and playful orbital moon phase.
The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon by Jaeger-LeCoultre: exactly the type of product one could expect from the ‘Grande Maison’.
