BASELWORLD BRAND BOOK 2013

BASELWORLDBRAND BOOK2013BRILLIANCE MEETS

UNLIMITEDAPPEALWhy watch design is becominga complicated businessIby Christian SmithSpurred by a pressing need to show theirworth, and inspired by new design,manufacturing and materials technology,watchmakers are turning out créations that aremore innovative and Imaginative than ever.Grand complications, traditionally théhighest form of horological craft, are becomingever more ambitious, with thé number offunctions steadily creeping upwards. Behindclosed doors at BASELWORLD two years ago,Breguet quietly showed its Hommage à NicolasG. Hayek Réf. 7887, a work in progress withno less than 35 différent complications. That'stwo more than record-holder Patek Philippe'smighty Calibre 89, in a substantially smallerpackage - demonstrating thé pace of changeover thé past 20 years.It's a challenge not only to construct andcontain, but also to display that number offunctions and, like thé Calibre 89, Breguet'sHommage uses two faces to show them ail.Two complications that hâve becomefashionable of late are thé tourbillon and théminute repeater - possibly for thé simple reasonthat they're held to be thé most challengingto create. It is said that in thé two centuriesor so since Breguet introduced thé tourbillonmovement, only 250 watchmakers hâvemastered thé art of making one.While a tourbillon has a kind of steampunkfuturism about it, a repeater is resolutely,charmingly old school. Minute repeaters hâvelong been thé passion of Patek Philippe, somuch so that brand président Thierry Sternpersonally checks thé acoustics of every onemade. When thé brand introduced two grandcomplications for women recently, one ofthem was a minute repeater.Now emerging as a trend in thé widerwatchmaking world, a minute repeater makesa literally striking counterpoint to an otherwisemodem design, such as Christophe Claret'sextraordinary Soprano, which also has atourbillon, but no dial: that would impedethé acoustics of its Westminster chime,sounded by four patented cathedral gongs.An absent dial also reveals thé Soprano'sstunning mechanics, including sapphirecomponents and Charles X-style bridges.Such open working significantly increasesthé watchmaker's workioad because of théextra finishing required - something tobear in mind when considering thé récentprolifération of skeleton watches.MINUTEREPEATERSThe birth of thé minute repeater datesback to thé days before electricity.when knowing thé time, especiallyin thé dead of night. was answeredwith thé gentle réverbération of arepeater's tiny chimes. Fast forward totoday and. while thé minute repeater islargely a redundant complication in ourincreasingly tech-led world, repeaterscontinue to give brands a chance toshow off their watchmaking prowess.The resuit is a wealth of unusualtimepieces from brands such asChristophe Claret, Bell & Ross,Patek Philippe and Jaquet Droz thatcombine modern-day manufacturingwith thé most traditional ofwatchmaking techniques, kbIT'S COMPLICATEDEver-more innovative timepieces arebeing created, inspired both by newdesign and materials technology and thédemandfor complications such as thétourbillon and thé minute repeaterOpposite page:Top: Sweet Drops collection.Ole Lynggaard CopenhagenBelow: Enchantment Suite. GarrardTop: Christophe Claret SopranoAbove: Patek Philippe 7000RLadies Grand Complications