Baselworld, looking back in wonder

Baselworld – the world watch and jewellery show whose 1,500 exhibitors from 40 countries pull in some 150,000 visitors each year – is under starter’s orders, although the running may be tough as exports tumble, down 7.9% in January and even more on certain markets (-33.1% in Hong Kong), inventory builds up, and staff face a new round of redundancies. After five heady years, brands’ first concern now is to bolster their position. As already observed at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva in January, these are sobering times. Not that brands should be putting their creativity on hold if they intend to salvage something from 2016, and divert attention away from the watches piling up behind retailers’ counters.

Two anniversaries for Chopard

Three brands have something to celebrate at least, beginning with Chopard which has not one but two milestones this year: the twentieth anniversary of Chopard Manufacture in Fleurier (Neuchâtel) and the fortieth anniversary of the Happy Diamonds watch, already an icon with its precious gems skimming the dial. The first Happy Diamonds was a large, cushion-shaped watch for men, mounted on an 18k white gold bracelet and with a black dial to provide contrast for the stones. A paean to this first Happy Diamonds, Chopard has taken the original cushion shape and transformed it into a deliciously vintage, jewelled version for women, with diamonds darting across a textured white mother-of-pearl background in complete liberty.

Put back into context, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s decision to set up Chopard Manufacture in the early 1990s, when the Swiss watch industry was still stinging from the quartz crisis, seems nothing short of visionary today. “I believe that for a brand to legitimately belong to the fine watchmaking sphere, it must control every stage in the manufacture of its timepieces: concept, development, production and assembly. This implies movements as well as external parts,” comments Chopard’s co-president, as though stating the obvious. Anniversary celebrations are already under way with a L.U.C Perpetual Chrono. It comes equipped with the new L.U.C 03.10-L calibre, an unusual combination of perpetual calendar plus chronograph, and is certified not once but twice: timekeeping precision is guaranteed by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC), while the Poinçon de Genève upholds the tradition of excellence that originated with Geneva’s master-watchmakers. As a further distinction, this twenty-piece limited edition is crafted in Fairmined white gold.

Patek Philippe celebrates the Nautilus

Different brand, and another milestone as the Nautilus makes it to forty. Gérald Genta, who designed the watch for Patek Philippe, turned the canons of watchmaking on their head with the hefty 42-mm size, “television” shape and stainless steel case, unheard-of for a luxury watch back then. The very first Nautilus was affectionately known as the Jumbo. Manufactured between 1976 and 1990, this Reference 3700/1A in steel is any collector’s grail watch. So far, most of the anniversary pieces have been kept under wraps. Only one has broken the Genevan brand’s vow of silence, namely Reference 5711/1R, a three-hands and date Nautilus that is also the first to come entirely in pink gold, paired with a brown-black gradient dial. Additionally, Patek Philippe has redesigned the bracelet links for greater comfort and to cut down on weight. As a complement to this “simple” model, the brand is revisiting one of its most emblematic complications with an annual calendar for women that sports a pink gold case, 374 diamonds and a Balinese white mother-of-pearl dial.

Girard-Perregaux has nothing to envy in the longevity stakes, as it celebrates its 225th anniversary this year. Commemorating the occasion, it returns to the Laureato in the form of two limited editions of 225 pieces. Like the original design from 1975, both feature a small Clou de Paris checkerboard pattern, one on a blue dial and the other on a silver-grey dial. Both series are driven by an in-house calibre, the automatic GP03300-0030. The Laureato is another iconic luxury sports watch of the 1970s, also in stainless steel and recognisable by its hexagonal bezel. It’s said to owe its name to the brand’s Italian distributor, a big fan of The Graduate (Il Laureato in Italian), a story of suburban scandal that Girard-Perregaux management happily let rub off as good publicity for their rule-breaking design.

Not forgetting Zenith, Tudor, Seiko…

The vintage trend that emerged from January’s SIHH, including at Vacheron Constantin with its revamped Overseas collection, looks set for the long haul. Brands have hinted at several big reveals, not least Zenith which is unveiling the Aeronef Type 20 chronograph with a “lived-in” steel dial as part of the Pilot line. Driven by the El Primero 4069 automatic calibre, it takes its cue from the Café Racer single-seater motorbikes with low-mounted handlebars that hit the highway in the 1950s. The same vintage vein is in evidence at Tudor, whose Heritage range welcomes a Black Bay Bronze. The in-house MT5601 movement is contained inside a high-performance, copper-aluminium alloy case, i.e. bronze, a metal whose associations with diving and the sea go back to Ancient times. Equally noteworthy is Seiko’s line-up of mechanical watches, inspired by the Japanese firm’s first ever wristwatch, the Laurel from 1913. It provides the starting-point for this year’s Presage collection.

Other themes to look out for are skeleton watches and the charm offensives brands are directing towards women customers. This is hardly surprising, given women’s hold on the industry’s future. According to Euromonitor, global sales of women’s luxury watches have increased 60% since 2005 to reach US$ 10.3 billion last year. The elephant in the room is, of course, the smartwatch. Several Swiss brands have already entered the fray. Will Baselworld 2016 produce anything more than an update? Let’s hope so.