Autumn’s new releases
With the economy back in business and exports on the rise again, brands are newly inclined to show off their capacity for innovation and imagination. Here are some of the watches from the stream of recent releases.
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China’s push for “common prosperity”
Xi Jinping’s call for “common prosperity” sent shudders through the stock market. This new policy, which portends a drop in purchasing power for the wealthiest Chinese, pushed down luxury share prices, which includes watch brands. What implications does this have?
Up, up and away with Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin's Les Métiers d’Art Les Aérostiers collection is a tribute to the adventurers who, at the end of the eighteenth century, dared to defy the laws of gravity. Copied from historic drawings, the dials beautifully render five hot-air balloons that took to the skies in France between 1783 and 1785.
And Cartier created the Panthère
At Cartier, the panther takes endless forms. This year, the feline appears in three dimensions as the gem-laden Panthère Lovée, and on the Rencontre de Panthères watch whose oscillating weight,positioned dial-side, throws out darts of light.
Hermès, elegant illusion
The back of the Arceau Pocket is sheathed in alligator leather. This same pattern of scales is reproduced on the crystal dial using the Millefiori technique. Hermès is the master of illusion.
Jewellery watches come into bloom at Van Cleef & Arpels
Flowers are the stars of Van Cleef & Arpels' newest High Jewelry watches. True to its vision of the Poetry of Time, it presents eight dazzling floral creations, including forget-me-nots and daisies.
Accuracy to one-fifth of a second for the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph
A. Lange & Söhne is adding two pink-gold models to the successful 1815 Chronograph family. Endowed with column-wheel control, a flyback function and a pulsometer scale, they are available with black- or argenté-coloured dials.
