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There is some kind of "culture shock" each time I go from Basel to the SIHH held in Geneva. Where Basel has some kind of buzz Geneva is very calm, no one speaks loud and as a British friend of mine, put it "this place is civilized"! :) I would like to start with someone who does not exhibit at the SIHH but at his own work shops: FP Journe. Mr. Journe had the kindness to accept us in his ateliers on Monday where he was in full preparation of his exhibition that was only to open two days later. F.P. JOURNE INVENIT ET FECIT Now this man is a genius. It's just such a pleasure to hear him talk but seeing his works is a great horological moment! When we first walked in, a huge wooden box was on the table. When asked what was in it, with a sly smile he opened the lid and on felt tissue were placed 4 pocket jewel-encrusted watches. They were not all completely finished but they were musical watches with 3 airs each specially composed for the watches and were played with no less than 8 hammers. The icing on the cake was that the backside had automata birds flying through a beautifully enameled background. Only one watch was complete and the other three would have different automata and backgrounds. These 4 one-of-a-kind pieces were a special order by a client and unfortunately we were unable to shoot them. We then saw the new Octa moonphase that, like all Journe watches, looks good! Now where every other brand would have taken a short cut, Mr. Journe, faithful to his philosophy of not wanting any kind of push piece or "hole" on the case, has designed the moonphase display complication in a way that it is set through the crown! The dial layout is even more attractive with some colour added to it due to the moonphase which also lends the dial some equilibrium.
   The beautifully finished Octa movement:
 The last piece we got to see (but unfortunately not shoot) was the prototype of the dead seconds tourbillon which should be available early next year and replace the current Tourbillon Souverain. All I can say is that the watch is stunning, very different from the current tourbillon with a symmetric dial layout where the present one is rather asymmetric, but more on this model later. Now getting back to the SIHH we started off with Lange. A. LANGE & SÖHNEThis year Lange was presenting one true novelty: the Luna Mundi (I will do a more thorough presentation of this watch in a separate review). The Luna Mundi comes in the new Grand Lange 1 41.9 mm case and depicts the exact moonphase in the northern and southern hemispheres. The watch comes in a set of 101 pieces in rose and white gold. Just why is it that practically every thing they do, is always done with class?
 The first time I had seen this watch in the press kits I hated it right away, but "in the metal" it is truly beautiful, with a very balanced dial which reminds me of an 18th century English pocket watch.
  The other pieces presented were variations of past pieces, but where with other brands its just "a dial change," with Lange its done with taste and always with such high quality that it truly becomes a new watch! Lange 1 with new dials: The luminous: I love this watch, the dial is very sexy and makes a statement!
   Lange 1 Grand A bit too big for my taste but the new 41.9mm case Lange 1 Grand comes with a new two-tone dial set out. Where the original Lange 1 had 4 different indicators that did not overlap, here the philosophy has been completely modified and all features do overlap and... it looks good! Rose gold:
 Yellow gold:
 Platinum:
 The Langematic is enlarged by three millimetres passing from 37 to 40 millimeters.   The real surprise that came from Lange was the nearly-mythic Datograph but in rose gold. This was a piece awaited by many aficionados of the brand, the fantastic Datograph movement in a gold case will enable many to have access to the watch at a much lower price than that of the platinum version. Stunning!
   Finally my favourite Lange was presented with a new dial: the Cabaret Romana, very ugly in my opinion. :(
  I just want to point out how friendly every one at Lange is and each time we are greeted as family. That's why Lange fans are so attached to this brand. It was our first day and we were already running late so off we went to Audemars Piguet. AUDEMARS PIGUETMany exciting and new things from AP this year - mainly 2 new movements!! The first beautifully conceived in-house cal 3120 automatic movement which will be housed in the new Jules Audemars models with great dials, some inspired by the Metropolis dial, very nice!
   There is also a new ultra thin manual wind movement that can be found in the ultra flat Jules Audemars models - very elegant.
 A new dial for the Edward Piguet
 The big buzz came from the T3 model which Arnold Schwarzenegger will be wearing in Terminator 3. The watch is crafted in titanium and is MASSIVE, you probably wouldn't be allowed on board when flying with that watch on your wrist!! It's interesting but just not to my taste.
      In the Offshore line a model co-designed by Schwartzy himself was presented in gold case and chocolate-coloured dial.
 With his signature on the back:
 There was also the tourbillon chronograph, I really like the idea of putting high horological complications into sports cases:
  Let's not forget the dual time zone limited edition created especially following the victory of the Alinghi team in the America's Cup.
  A few meters from the AP booth was Vacheron Constantin where a huge surprise awaited us. VACHERON CONSTANTINMr. Claude Daniel Proellochs, the CEO of Vacheron Constantin, had the kindness to take out an hour from his busy schedule to discuss the new timepieces with us. Mr. Proellochs is a fascinating gentleman. He is passionate about Vacheron and really knows what he is talking about!
 Let's start with the Toledo 1952 (I will do a write up of this piece in a separate review). This piece from the Patrimony collection is an homage to Vacheron Constantin's history. It is inspired by a model created in 1952 featuring triple date and moonphase function in a big carré cambre case. One might think that Vacheron was following the big case trend, but let's not forget that we're talking about Vacheron Constantin here and they don't follow trends!! The watch is the exact same size as the 1952 model which shows how avant garde and timeless VC designs are. The Original model from 1952:
 Yellow gold:
 White gold :
 Platinum (limited to 100 pieces):
  The watch looks gorgeous on the wrist, and probably one of the nicest watches presented at SIHH. It comes in yellow and white gold and a limited edition of 100 pieces in platinum with a blue/grey dial.
 But that was not it, a new demi-plate model with the in-house 1400 caliber will be produced. These watches in yellow and white gold are gorgeous. The 2 tone dials, leaf hands and pyramid shaped indices make this model just absolutely gorgeous. The perfect dress watch! In white gold:
   In yellow gold:
 Vacheron Constantin is generally considered on the market as having the best skeletonized watches. When VC open works a movement, they not only remove metal, they take into consideration the entire aesthetic results of the open working in the context of the entire movement design. This year Vacheron is also introducing a beautiful skeletonized automatic watch in the Malte case:
    Note the purity of the engravings:
    The Royal Eagle models were introduced in a pink gold case and new dials. You may remember that I have always said that I never understood what Vacheron Constantin were doing when they introduced this line, but I publicly claim that the new designs look really good! The guilloché dial with applied markers on the rose gold chronograph or the 2 tone grey dial with the applied markers give the watch a very appealing look which has nothing to do with the previous bland (in my opinion) versions.
 The Malte 2 time zone regulator in rose gold case:
 Finally, the lady's Egerie model housing the cal 1400 (also available in quartz) in a beautiful curvex case and delicately engine turned dials is a true tribute to femininity.
  Vacheron Constantin was the only brand of which ALL new models were appealing: elegant and classic, yet modern. Mr. Proellochs also let us into some secrets: the brand is developing a new automatic calibre, an in-house chronograph movement, and once the new manufacture located in Plan le Ouates is ready, Vacheron will be walking in the same steps as its founders by setting up an atelier for custom made watches! The next 2 years will see VC introducing many, many interesting and fascinating watches.
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