Recent developments have enabled watchmakers to overcome some of the difficulties inherent to working with sapphire and use its transparency to ever more spectacular effect. However, the greatest challenges aren't always where one might think. The proof with MB&F.

Brands imagine their watches as objects of desire, intended to appeal to our emotions. When adding method to these emotions, they have two means at their disposal: the addition of complications and words that sell.

For the third time, Phillips put independents front and centre of its sale, headlined by George Daniels. Connoisseurs packed the saleroom for the British auction house's May date, with the hammer coming down on several record-breaking lots.

If there could only be one, chances are this would be it. Among the smaller crop of complications at Baselworld, the tourbillon still reigns supreme. A delight to observe, technical, scientific even, this type of regulator continues to offer brands an excellent means to demonstrate their expertise.

These previews of what brands will be serving up in Basel, or in Swatch Group's case, Zurich, make for tasty viewing. Mechanisms are laid bare or clad in unusual materials. Let's get this party started!

Mechanical watchmaking is a world of unbridled creativity, as SIHH 2019 once again demonstrates. Whether in the field of traditional complications or in the "new horology" playground, after a quieter period these extraordinary creations again have an audience. Here is our selection of the ten most outstanding of all.

Two schools have emerged in Fine Watchmaking in recent years, one traditional and one unconventional. In 2019, it would appear that the second category has the upper hand. Take the example of these complicated timepieces, all making their debut at SIHH and all characteristic of a new way of thinking.

Greubel Forsey doesn't make watches. It crafts timepieces which, one by one, rebuild the expertise that fell by the wayside of the quartz crisis. We visited the brand in Le Crêt-du-Locle.