Over the years and through its different guises, Longines has constantly striven to complement its quest for precision with exacting aesthetics. These aspects still characterise its production today. The 185 years of know-how have been shaped by tradition, elegance and performance. As such heritage deserves to be honored and perpetuated, the brand has continually worked to preserve its legacy. 

Little did I know when I penned my Monday editorial on the links between watch brands and the history and future of space exploration that an entire project team (researchers, engineers, historians, watchmakers – you name it) had been working under the secret codename Alaska 11 over the past two years to bring the legendary Omega calibre 321 back to life. After writing the editorial I concluded that, when it came to space exploration, watch brands had their attention focused on the past. In a way, Omega has proved my point, but they have done so in a brilliantly revolutionary way.

On 24th of October 1994, A. Lange & Söhne’s founder Walter Lange and his partner Günter Blümlein presented the first four new-era wristwatches at the Dresden Palace, including the Lange 1. The asymmetric arrangement of its dial, its technical facets – such as the outsize date, the twin mainspring barrel and a lavishly finished mechanical calibre  – triggered discussions. This was deemed a provocation by many people. But the unusual design attracted considerable attention and made A. Lange & Söhne famous again overnight.

JD Watch made its official introduction to the watch industry a year ago as main sponsor of the GMT cocktail during the SIHH ; what have the major steps been since then ?
We continuously partner with more new brands, with Oris and Carl F. Bucherer having recently opened flagship stores on JD. Brands always rely on us because of our commitment to product authenticity and protecting their brand images. In October, we signed a strategic partnership with international watch retailer Xinyu Group, aiming to provide better integrated shopping experiences designed for our over 300 million customers. We have also strengthened our cooperation with our existing partners. This year in Basel, TAG Heuer launched its Explore the Moon special edition on JD.com, in cooperation with the China National Space Administration. A year into its successful partnership with JD, Chopard’s exclusive concept store, whose launch last August marked the brand’s e-commerce debut in China, has now become an official flagship store. We will continue to leverage our resources in e-commerce, marketing and logistics to help brands build greater awareness in China. We have expanded our presence in Europe, including an office in Paris, through which we are deepening our partnerships with brands and working with them on their China strategy. 

The HyperChrome collection by Rado is famous for its watches of timeless style, which marry modern yet classic design. The production process behind Rado’s plasma high-tech ceramic is akin to modern-day alchemy. The warm metallic colour is made possible by the plasma high-tech ceramic. To produce this material, high-tech ceramic is heated in a plasma oven, where a temperature of 20,000°C causes gases to form that change the molecular structure of the ceramic components and gives them their characteristic metallic shine. Thanks to the high-tech ceramic case with a monobloc structure, this watch offers what Rado stands for: lightness, scratch resistance and wearer comfort. 

Ever since it was launched in 2015 de Grisogono’s New Retro has appealed to me. From the initial versions in gold to the tourbillon and power reserve models and the more recent “Double Jeu”, it is a watch that has always flied in the face of horological conventions in the typical de Grisogono spirit. Few luxury watches are rectangular, so the brand opted for this shape, but with the longer side on the horizontal. Few watches have their crown at 12 o’clock, so this was the natural position for the New Retro, which also neatly avoids an extra protruberance on a case that is already 50mm wide. And few brands are bold enough to use just two hands on the dial, especially when using a self-winding mechanical movement. de Grisogono does just that, creating a timepiece that shuns comparison.

Baume & Mercier caused a stir at the SIHH last year when it presented its new Baumatic collection featuring its in-house movement of the same name. This movement had been developed in accordance with technical specifications that established the principles for an anti-magnetic movement that offered greater precision (some models are available with COSC certification), a greater power reserve and needed less servicing. Another esssential point: an affordable price.

Richard Mille is certainly a very resourceful brand, with a seemingly inexhaustible capacity to surprise. Nothing is off-limits. After exploring the domains of motor sport, golf and polo, adding precious gems in the shape of spiders, dragons and skulls, venturing into extreme complications and survival watches – and that’s not even the half of it – we now have watch designs based on sweets. The Bonbons collection may be a whimsical, quirky, confident and entertaining project, but it is anything but a joke. Creating a watch is a bit like baking a cake. It works because it’s based on science. 

The HYT H0 was the first pure expression of HYT’s philosophy and design under the leadership of CEO Grégory Dourde and designer François Nunez. It aimed to highlight what HYT stood for, taking a less testosterone-fuelled, mechanical-driven approach in favour of more organic lines and a more fluid design that shows what HYT is all about with its unique way of displaying the hours. The two bellows were still visible as the key elements moving the two immiscible liquids around the tiny capillary, but all other mechanical components were hidden. The case was completely revised to achieve the look of a pebble that many watchmakers like to use as an analogy for smoothness, but few with so much success as HYT, since a pebble has been smoothed over millennia by the primeval force of water – a liquid.

Twin Beat: this is one of the words that will be remembered from the SIHH 2019 and, possibly, make it into the watch history books. A revolution? Hardly. And yet it’s the result of an exercise that is even more difficult: using existing techniques to invent something new, based on common sense and with a genuine added value for the customer. 

As is so often the case, everything began with a meeting – a meeting of two different worlds. The encounter was between Ini Archibong, a Los Angeles native of Nigerian origin who had recently graduated from the ECAL [Lausanne Cantonal School of Art], and Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger. This collaboration, which began three years ago on the shores of Lake Geneva, led to the genesis of a vibrant new women’s line that retains the company’s indissoluble link with the equestrian world, through its shapes and through its name – Galop.

The Code 11.59 collection includes the Code 11.50 Selfwinding, Selfwinding Chronograph, Perpetuel Calendar, Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon, Tourbillon Openworked and Minute Repeater Supersonnerie.

Swatch Group now controls the entire gold processing chain internally. Its own foundry, which has just been granted a Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) Code of Practices (COP) certificate, is now able to manage all of the gold requirements within the Group. Swatch Group has thus taken a new step forward in traceability.