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To get to GP all we had to do was walk across the exhibition hall, but first, a stop for lunch, and let me tell you that the food was really good this year :) GIRARD PERREGAUX Girard Perregaux this year was presenting past models with new dials. Vintage 1945:
  Big date moonphase with white dial:  WWTC Pepsi bezel :)
  Richeville big date moonphase:
  a special set with Lavender dial for the French market (Sea Hawk and WWTC):
  Vintage 1945 chronograph in homage to Ferrari's victory in F1 racing:
 New Ferrari chronograph:
   Laureato Evolution 3:    However, horological Nirvana was reached when we were taken to the "Haute Horlogerie" room!! If heaven exists it probably looks like this!! And we could actually play around with the watches: The skeletonized three-bridges tourbillon with an automatic movement. I am not a fan of skeleton watches but due to the automatic movement there was more "matter" in the watch and therefore more depth. Gorgeous piece.
  The Vintage 1945 in the XL case featuring perpetual calendar and chronograph.
 The prototype of the Tourbillon Magistral, in a Vintage 1945 case, beautiful slate grey dial, tourbillon and hour striker! Fascinating watch.
  The 3 bridge tourbillon in the XL Vintage 1945 case:
  Lady's skeleton model (gorgeous engravings):
   Finally we got to see the Opera 3, a musical hour striker. You can select between 2 airs: Mozart and Tchaikovski, pushers on the side of the case enable you to choose silence, hour striker (at every hour the watch will play the air you have chosen) or you can hear the music by pressing a push piece. The design of the watch is excellent, the case beautiful and the sound absolutely perfect, a truly stunning piece, a tribute to GP watchmakers.
  Movement developed in collaboration with Christophe Claret:
  IWC The highlight at IWC and maybe one of the most awaited watches of the fair was certainly the Portugieser with perpetual calendar. The press photos did not do justice to this watch, it is breathtaking in the metal!
 I didn't like the yellow gold version very much but the limited edition platinum (250 pieces) has a very Teutonic, cold and no nonsense look to it and the rose gold model is the exact contrary - a very warm Latin look to it. These could be two different watches! However at 44mm in diameter and 15mm in thickness the watch is very, very big but for those like me who find it too massive, IWC may be introducing a smaller version of this perpetual calendar with a different movement.
  Let's note finally that the beautiful Pellaton cal 5011 7-day movement powers this watch, and that for the first time a perpetual calendar displays the moonphase in the northern and southern hemispheres. Furthermore, it is also the most precise moonphase display in current production which is accurate for the next 577 years.
   The other new models were basically new dials for the Grande Complication, Aviator and Portugieser models and a bigger cased Portofino. Aviator models:
     Portugieser split second chronograph in rose gold and black dial:
 Portugieser split second chronograph in yellow gold and opaline dial:
 Limited edition DaVinci perpetual calendar split seconds chronograph in platinum (500 pieces):
 Larger cased Portofinos:
  For those who want to make a statement: :)
  PARMIGIANI The brand which had impressed me the most last year was my biggest disappointment of the fair, but then again Mr. Parmigiani has habituated us to such interesting models that we have come to expect more and more each year. There were basically 2 new models: The Forma Grande with date
   The Toric Chronograph with different dials and hands
   ROGER DUBUIS A brand which I used to think very highly of but which in the past years has been walking too much on the "fashion watch" road (but then again if they do what they do it's because they have clients for it so....) Golden Square with big date, power reserve display and tourbillon
 PANERAI Panerai, here is a brand with hard core followers! Panerai Radomir chronograph, 44 mm case and Valjoux 234 movement:
  Panerai Radomir Split Seconds chronograph:
 Panerai Luminor chronograph, 44mm case:
 Panerai Luminor GMT with 40mm case:
  PIAGET The problem with Piaget is that they are a true manufacture with the reputation of a jewellery brand! The new Emperador tourbillon looks quite good.
 We really needed to see something new before leaving the 2003 edition of the SIHH so off to Jaeger LeCoultre who was probably the brand with the most novelties. Jaeger LeCoultre We had a wonderful welcome from Mrs. Dupassage. The craftsmen having worked on them presented the watches: simple, complicated jewellery or enameled... Mr. Philippe Vandel, JLC's master watchmaker, explaining the new movement designs:
 Master Compressor Geographique:
 Reverso Septantieme with 8 day power reserve:
  The Master Antoine LeCoultre (limited to 200 pieces in platinum but exists in gold in regular production) with big date and day/night indicator was what surprised me most. The Master series really didn't have much personality but JLC have nonetheless done a great job with the case and dial design. The movement is absolutely gorgeous, beautifully finished with "sun stripe" finish on the plates.
     The new tourbillon movement in the XGT case, one of the nicest tourbillon cages I've seen :
    The different parts of the tourbillon cage:
 A new enamel set inspired by the works of Tamara Lempicka, sublime:
    The hour of departure arrived (always too soon), after 3 days of sheer pleasure it was time to get back to real life. The 2003 edition of SIHH brought some very interesting pieces: the Lange Luna Mundi, Vacheron Toledo 1952, new automatic and manual wind movements from AP and the gorgeous high horology pieces from GP and the IWC perpetual calendar Portugiesers. However, the Swiss fairs are not only the occasion of seeing some fascinating watches but also meeting up with old friends, making new ones and putting a face on Purists with which we had exchanged posts or emails. I had to leave, but the "professionalism" of Alberto to cover the maximum number of brands was truly stunning! AlexG
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