Gearheads love watches, watch nerds love cars. It's a simple equation, and grounds enough for watchmakers and car manufacturers to hit the road together.

The Geneva brand is showing no signs of slowing in 2017, with the opening of a boutique inside Harrods, London's temple of luxury, a partnership with Pirelli and another with Italdesign. Roger Dubuis is playing the "disruptive" card to full effect, with customer experience now part of the deal.

The curtain has come down on the 27th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, marked by a record number of exhibitors that proved themselves well able to adapt their products to a mixed environment.

The entry-level segment has become a recurring theme among Fine Watch brands, and while efforts are clearly being made in this department, one unknown factor remains: the customer, preferably young and less inclined towards luxury.

Roger Dubuis begins 2017 at full throttle with the powerful Excalibur Spider Pirelli Double Flying Tourbillon. Almost all eight pieces in this limited edition were sold on the very first day of SIHH.

Living up to its reputation as a "laboratory of ideas", Panerai came to SIHH 2017 with BMG-TECH™, a metallic glass new to watchmaking, and the LAB-ID™ Luminor 1950 Carbotech™ 3 Days – 49mm which requires no lubrication and is guaranteed for 50 years. How do they compare to other innovations?

Artistic crafts tinged with poetry, sensual guilloché curves. For some, the iridescence of a hard stone dial. For others, diamonds, gold and mother-of-pearl. Not forgetting mechanical movements that have nothing to envy the calibres inside men's watches. A closer look at the new styles for women on show at SIHH.

Ingenious or extravagant, brands unleash their creativity to equip their timepieces with straps whose technical and aesthetic prowess has nothing to envy that of the movement. A closer look at recent innovations and what's new this year.

In the final countdown before Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the lowdown, in pictures, on ten watches that will be making news in 2017, and a preview of the trends to expect…