ENGLISH EDITION YOUR GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF WATCHES #039 SWISS MADE WINTER 2014 Baume & Mercier Bell & Ross Blancpain Breguet Breitling Girard-Perregaux H. Moser & Cie Hamilton Hautlence Hermès Jaquet Droz Longines Louis Vuitton Montblanc Oris Panerai Patek Philippe Piaget Raymond Weil Vacheron Constantin Zenith GUESTS Jean-Claude Biver PATEK PHILIPPE Aldo Magada Thierry Stern "Four generations of passion" Thierry Stern SUISSE: 10 FRANCS FRANCE MÉTRO: 7 EUROS - BEL/LUX/POLAND: 8 EUROS - UK: £8 - A/D/GR//PORT.CONT: 8,40 EUROS - CAN: 11,95 $CAN - USA: 14,99 $US Breguet, the innovator. Extra-Thin Self-Winding Tourbillon 5377 The complexity of an extra-thin movement is equalled only by the elegance and slenderness of the watch itself. The Extra-Thin Self-Winding Tourbillon 5377, a complex yet delightfully uncluttered creation, is endowed with an 80-hour power reserve thanks to a patented high-energy barrel. It is a true testament to the daring and creative spirit of Abraham-Louis Breguet, inventor of the tourbillon. History is still being written... ABU DHABI BAL HARBOUR BEIJING CANNES DUBAI EKATERINBURG GENEVA GSTAAD HONG KONG KUALA LUMPUR LAS VEGAS LONDON LOS ANGELES MACAO MILAN MOSCOW NEW YORK NINGBO PARIS SEOUL SHANGHAI SINGAPORE TAIPEI TOKYO VIENNA ZURICH – WWW.BREGUET.COM T5377-Watches 4langues_460x297 .indd 5-6 29.10.14 08:52 Breguet, the innovator. Extra-Thin Self-Winding Tourbillon 5377 The complexity of an extra-thin movement is equalled only by the elegance and slenderness of the watch itself. The Extra-Thin Self-Winding Tourbillon 5377, a complex yet delightfully uncluttered creation, is endowed with an 80-hour power reserve thanks to a patented high-energy barrel. It is a true testament to the daring and creative spirit of Abraham-Louis Breguet, inventor of the tourbillon. History is still being written... ABU DHABI BAL HARBOUR BEIJING CANNES DUBAI EKATERINBURG GENEVA GSTAAD HONG KONG KUALA LUMPUR LAS VEGAS LONDON LOS ANGELES MACAO MILAN MOSCOW NEW YORK NINGBO PARIS SEOUL SHANGHAI SINGAPORE TAIPEI TOKYO VIENNA ZURICH – WWW.BREGUET.COM T5377-Watches 4langues_460x297 .indd 5-6 29.10.14 08:52 www.chanel.com THE CHANEL MOMENT 460x297 The Watches Magazine_Fei Fei_12H01_First_SUI (EN).indd 1 25/09/2014 16:24 www.chanel.com THE CHANEL MOMENT 460x297 The Watches Magazine_Fei Fei_12H01_First_SUI (EN).indd 1 25/09/2014 16:24 www.chanel.com THE CHANEL MOMENT 460x297 The Watches Magazine_La Victoire_Premiere Diamant_12H10_SECOND_SUI (EN).indd 1 25/09/2014 16:23 www.chanel.com THE CHANEL MOMENT 460x297 The Watches Magazine_La Victoire_Premiere Diamant_12H10_SECOND_SUI (EN).indd 1 25/09/2014 16:23 - e City, London - Piaget Altiplano 900P The world thinnest mechanical watch: 3.65 mm, a total case and movement fusion. Piaget, the Master of ultra-thin. piaget.com 460x297_G0A39111.indd 1 04.11.14 14:51 - e City, London - Piaget Altiplano 900P The world thinnest mechanical watch: 3.65 mm, a total case and movement fusion. Piaget, the Master of ultra-thin. piaget.com 460x297_G0A39111.indd 1 04.11.14 14:51 010 COVER WATCH Thierry Brandt Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime référence 5175 o describe this anniversary watch as complications showcased by an entirely hand- long-awaited is an understatement. engraved dual dial 47mm rose gold case. Among It’s only natural that Patek Philippe the many wonders, we simply have to mention T th does something special to celebrate the 175 that the manual wind movement has five different anniversary of its foundation. The Geneva gongs: grande and petite sonnerie, minute company has certainly lived up to its reputation repeater, hourly chime and even date repeater. with the model named Grandmaster Chime. This timepiece doesn’t set out to beat any records; it’s all about embodying the brand’s expertise in both its mechanism and its design. It’s hard to sum up what’s gone into Patek Philippe’s most complicated wristwatch ever with its 20 THE WATCHES MAGAZINE - WINTER 2014 www.patekphilippe.com BOUTIQUE RICHARD MILLE GRAND HOTEL KEMPINSKY GENEVA EMBASSY Lucerne KIRCHHOFER HAUTE HORLOGERIE Interlaken MONTRES PRESTIGE S.A. Geneva 1958 THEY SAILED BENEATH THE NORTH POLE. THEIR WATCH HAS SAILED ACROSS TIME. Geophysic® 1958. Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 898/1. Limited series of 800. On August 3rd 1958, the submarine Nautilus achieved the extraordinary feat of crossing the North Pole by sailing beneath the ice fl oe – a challenge taken up within the context of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). As a reward for this achievement, Captain Anderson received a watch worthy of such an impressive accomplishment: the Geophysic® Chronometer by Jaeger-LeCoultre, a paragon of reliability and precision that has now become a legend. Through the new Geophysic® 1958 watch, Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to the inventive spirit that defi ned the year of 1958, and that has consistently defi ned the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre for over 180 years. YOU DESERVE A LEGENDARY WATCH. www.jaeger-lecoultre.com EDITORIAL 013 Only time will tell also discusses the future of this issue. He clearly says that you shouldn’t see the market as a soufflé which will just keep growing despite the potential for growth in several parts of the world. He says that in the long-term, brands will have no choice but to steal crumbs from their neighbours. Jean-Claude Biver believes that whatever happens, double-figured growth is well and truly over. We’re far from at crisis stage he says but this must be taken into account as should connected devices which could lead to fierce competition for our wrists. Last but not least, © Marc Ninghetto one thing is for sure: in modern society, timekeeping is universal Thierry Brandt and vital to all human activities be they professional or personal. Editor in Chief You can’t have timekeeping without watchmaking. n this issue we have dwelt on the debate about the future of Swiss watchmaking sparked by tax lawyer Philippe I Kenel. We gave him the opportunity to explain the reasoning behind his rather provocative pessimism. As you’ll recall, he believes the sector has peaked and should prepare for the inevitable fall if it doesn’t innovate. We think his opinion is more interesting than we would have thought but there is one major flaw to his argument: it is based solely on his intuition and not on an in-depth analysis of the market. We can honestly and objectively say that the watch sector is on healthy ground at the moment. But how about in ten, twenty or thirty years? This type of perspective may make you feel dizzy but we are allowed to ask the question. Of course, nobody has a definitive answer, not Philippe Kenel and not yours truly. Forecasters specialise in making mistakes! But we can always test the waters. When we put the question to Director of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern, he said he was certain that in twenty years’ time watches would be made and sold just like in 2014. This is how he reasons and invests in his company in any case. So be it. But is the very unique case of Patek Philippe comparable? The big boss of the LVMH group’s watch department, Jean-Claude Biver, THE WATCHES MAGAZINE - WINTER 2014 MOOD 015 Modern hermaphroditism eople who have been following me on social networks have witnessed my recent raging and ranting about a P watch brand. The brand in question posted a "wristshot" (a photo of a watch on a wrist) on its Instagram page with an overtly sexual naked young woman in the background. Two things annoyed me about it: 1. The watch meets porn aspect & 2. The macho aspect whereby a woman is just an object or accessory like a wannabe’s car or a collection of small leather goods. I already have an issue with the number of wristshots and mood boards plaguing watch brands’ social networks so I see red when a photo of a naked girl is used to push sales for a 1000 Franc watch… How pathetically chauvinistic. This sort of degrading photography only encourages the sexist pro-male image of watches and fuels has-been ideas © Marc Ninghetto like "Only men can sell watches properly" or "Only men can Sharmila Bertin truly understand watchmaking" because women don’t know Deputy Editor anything about mechanics and are only good for suggestive poses. My hair’s standing on end just writing this...This is exactly what I’ve been fighting against since I fell into the world of watches nearly a decade ago. Know this my little macho men: watches are genderless (or else are hermaphrodite), watches are a universal democracy, watches have no ideological, social or professional barriers, watches are a beautiful means to tell the time and watches are what you wear on your wrist to see what time it is. The watchmaking sector is far too noble to be damaged by sexist fuddy-duddies and their sexist fuddy-duddy photos. One last word about the aforementioned picture: after my public outburst and the reaction it got proving I was right, the brand deleted it. Isn’t that strange? THE WATCHES MAGAZINE -WINTER 2014 016 GUEST SIHH’s 25th anniversary A celebration of dreams, magic and wonder rather vague notion or maybe even an empty and pretentious idea. Now I’ve noticed that most major brands claim it as their own. Why? Because it encapsulates the spirit of Swiss culture and expertise in the sector. It’s more than just watch engineering and its current developments; it encompasses every kind of craft involved in watchmaking. The stars of the SIHH are the products: the watches. They are showcased at their best.