Historic Pink Diamond And 25-Carat Cartier Ruby Could Each Fetch $18 Million At Sotheby’s Geneva

The Historic Pink Diamond

Sotheby’s auction of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva will likely serves as a test of the strength of the auction market for jewelry, which has had some lackluster sales recently. The May 12 sale at the Hôtel Beau-Rivage includes an historic pink diamond, an important ruby, several significant Cartier pieces and five bejeweled tiaras. 

The sale is led by two gems. The first is the 8.72-carat “Historic Pink,” which the auction house describes as an “extremely rare and highly important” Fancy Vivid Pink diamond. According to the Gemological Institute of America, it’s believed to have been part of the collection of Princess Mathilde, the niece of Napoleon Bonaparte. The stone, which has VS2 clarity, is also distinguished by its classic non-modified cushion cut, unusual in a pink diamond, Sotheby’s said. 

The pre-sale estimate is $14 to $18 million. 

The Sunrise Ruby by Cartier

The 25.59-carat “Sunrise Ruby” by Cartier is described as a “unique treasure of nature” by the Swiss Gemmological Institute. The ruby has not received any heat treatment and the color is described by that famous auction moniker for exceptional rubies, “pigeon’s blood” red: the rarest and most sought-after of hues.

Its estimate is $12 million to $18 million.

Diamond necklace by Cartier 

It is one of four jewels by Cartier from the same private collection. The other statement piece is a diamond necklace of more than 190 carats. Custom-made for the owner, it is designed as a cascade of diamonds, the front accented with a floral motif and suspending a fringe of nine pear-shaped stones. Its estimate is $6 to $10 million. 

Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch, Cartier

The other pieces are a brooch set with a 30.23-carat Kashmir sapphire (estimate: $3.5 million - $6 million); and sapphire and diamond earrings, made with two Burmese Mogok sapphires of 15.77 and 16.90 carats (estimate: $800,000 - $1.2 million). 

Diamond Cartier tiara, 1930s 

Provenance is a constant theme of this sale and one of the most important items of Noble ownership is a collection of jewels that includes three tiaras from the Estate of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe. They are led by a piece created by Cartier in the 1930s (estimate: $300,000 – $500,000); and intricate tiara/necklace composed of fleurs de lys and confronting scroll motifs, swing-set with a graduated row of twenty superb pear-shaped diamonds (estimate: $300,000 – $500,000); and a delicate ruby and diamond creation (estimate: $80,000 – 100,000).

Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe is the granddaughter of Rothschild heiress Hannah and British Prime Minister the Earl of Rosebery, whose wedding to the Duke of Roxburghe brought together two of Britain’s great aristocratic families, according to the auction house. 

In addition to the three tiaras from the Roxburghe Estate, the auction will offer a two other tiaras for a total of five very fine pieces in a single sale, which is extremely rare, according to the auction house.

Diamond tiara necklace, 1880s

From the Collection of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, a diamond tiara/necklace, designed in the style of a “tiare russe,” dating back to the 1880s and drawing inspiration from the Russian kokoshniks—traditional fan- shaped head ornaments inspired by the cockscomb. This tiara was worn by the 12th Countess of Mar at the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 (estimate: $150,000 – $295,000).

The fifth tiara is one made of emeralds and diamonds dating to the early 20th century. The piece is designed as two lines of circular-cut diamonds, surmounted with scroll and fleur de lys motifs, the scrolls topped with drop-shaped emeralds (estimate: $40,000 - $60,000).

No auction is complete these days without at least one signature natural pearl necklace. In this case the jewel is composed of two graduated rows strung with 78 natural pearls ($3 million - $5 million).

There was a noted decline in the number of lots being sold along with their value during auctions in April. For example, Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite sale saw nearly a third of its lots go unsold—unheard of in recent years. Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale fared a little better with 77 percent of the items sold by (meaning nearly a quarter of the lots went unsold) and 77 percent sold by value, compared with estimates.

A large diamond at Christie’s New York in April was pulled halfway through the auction and several other items didn’t make the reserve price.

Most recently, Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale bucked the negative trend with 80 percent of items sold by lot and nearly 85 percent sold by value with 10 jewels selling for more than $1 million. In a nod to the modern way of doing business, four of the top 10 items were sold to online bidders.

The Geneva jewelry auctions are often the most highly anticipated sales on the calendar and Sotheby’s and Christie’s are presenting highly sought after pieces in all categories. So next month will determine whether the slowdown was a temporary occurrence or here to stay. 

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Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Ruby Jewels Among Highlights of Christie’s Geneva Auction

Van Cleef & Arpels ruby and diamond ear pendants and a matching ring from the property of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis will be one of the signature items at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale on May 13. 

The jewels were presented as a wedding gift by Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Its estimate is $250,000 – $350,000.

A piece with even more historical significance and a higher price tag is the Maria Christina Royal Devant-de-Corsage brooch. Another item that was presented as a wedding gift in November 1879 from King Alfonso XII of Spain to his wife, the Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, soon to be Queen Consort and then Queen Regent of Spain. The brooch, currently in the collection of Baroness Thyssen-Bornemizsa, is expected to fetch $1.5 to $2 million, according to the auction house.

Maria Christina wearing the Royal Devant-de-Corsage brooch

While these two items have historical significance, they are by no means the most expensive of the auction of 351 jewels and gems that is expected to achieve more than $80 million.

The sale includes a number of statement diamonds and gems led by a 55.52-carat pear shaped D-color, Flawless diamond that has an estimate of $8.5 million to $10.5 million (pictured above); a 5.18-carat rectangular-cut Fancy Vivid Pink diamond (estimate $9.5 million – $12.5 million) (pictured below); and a 21.75-carat Ashoka-cut D-color Flawless diamond ring (estimate: $2.8 million – $3.5 million).

Gemstone highlights include “The Pride of Burma,” a 6.25-carat cushion shaped Burmese ruby and diamond ring (estimate: $1.8 million – $2.5 million), a pair of antique emerald Indian bangles (estimate: $1.5 million – $2 million) (both pictured below), and a 35.09-carat, cushion shaped Kashmir sapphire (estimate: $3 million to $4.2 million).

Another highlight includes a large single-strand natural saltwater pearl necklace with an estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million (pictured below).

Among signature jewels is an early example of JAR’s work: a pair of tourmaline and agate camellia brooches, circa 1985 with an estimate of $140,000 – $170,000 (pictured below).

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16 Luxury Watches from 16 Luxury Brands: The Best of SIHH 2015

The 25th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) was held about a month ago in Geneva. It is the first major watch tradeshow of the year and it is also considered by many to be the most exclusive and luxurious of them all. A total of 16 brands exhibit in which 11 are owned by Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company, Compagnie Financière Richemont.

There is an astonishing amount of creative, technological and innovative diversity in the Swiss watch industry and the products below represent the broad range of what’s available. I only focused on a single product from each brand so to be sure there will be more to write over the course of a year.

A Lange & Söhne
This year the company focused on sound with its Zeitwerk Minute Repeater (top photo). The Zeitwerk is a decimal minute repeater, which means it strikes at ten-minute intervals and at each minute.

The striking mechanism is triggered with a pusher. The time is sounded with a low-pitched chime for each hour, an offset double tone for each ten-minute period, and a high-pitched tone for each minute. For example, on the photograph of the watch the time is 7:52. When the pusher is triggered there are seven low sounding chimes for the hour. For the “five,” both hammers strike in an offset fashion five times. For the “two,” the high-pitched chime strikes twice.

A pusher is used—instead of a slide, typical for a minute repeater, because that is where the power typically derives. For the Zeitwerk the barrel of the caliber L043.5 mechanical movement provides the power.

If the minute repeater is going through its process at the same time a new minute is suppose to appear in the aperture, the jumping mechanism will pause until the minute repeater is finished.

Audemars Piguet
The Diamond Punk is a bold, tough looking timepiece that sneers at traditional, delicate jewelry watches.

A total of 56 white gold pyramids are faceted to create a spiky look reminiscent of the punk rock era. The pyramids are covered in 7,848 snow-set diamonds. A sliding cover reveals the 18k white gold dial, snow-set with 300 diamonds. It can be worn as a bracelet or timepiece.

More than 1,400 hours of work by designers, jewelers and gem-setters went into creating this watch.

Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier is using its Classima watch collection for men and women to introduce the world of luxury watches to young people. It’s positioning the watch as a way for young people to celebrate their first success, such as graduating college or landing that first job. This is a classic Swiss watch has a low enough price to get them interested and enough detail to keep their interests.

The 40 mm Classima Men’s in steel or two-tone versions has a redesigned dial with a date aperture at 3 o’clock and the center in line guilloche décor. The hours, minutes and seconds hands are in blued steel or gilt. It’s powered by a modified automatic Sellita movement.

The 36.5 mm-diameter size Classima Women collection of six watches is available in a quartz or automatic movement. The white or mother-of-pearl dial is centered with sunray guilloché.

Cartier
The French luxury house introduced a new watch shape, a new crown and new movement into one watch collection for men and women called Clé de Cartier.

Clé means “key” in French. The crown isn’t round. Instead it’s long with a cabochon sapphire in middle. You don’t pull the crown to wind the watch. You turn it like a key in a lock and it sort of locks into place after each revolution.

The new shape is a round case surrounded by a rounded cushion shape. The 1847 MC movement was made in house. There are five models in this collection, two for men and three for women.

Greubel Forsey
The young, independent company introduced its seventh “invention” at SIHH: The Mechanical Computer and its first application of it: The QP à Équation.

Described as a “sub-assembly” of 25 parts, it is being used to measure the Equation of Time. This is the difference throughout the year between solar time and mean time (conventionally fixed at 24 hours per day throughout the year). The length of a day in solar time varies according to the position of the earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.

The Mechanical Computer in the QP à Équation automatically displays the indications of the perpetual calendar through to the equation of time: the seasons, the equinoxes, the solstices, the equation of time, and the date, day, month and the four-digit year. The eight indications are controlled by a single selector in the movement's winding crown. Turning it in either direction adjusts all indications with no risk of damaging the mechanism.

The equation of time is displayed by two sapphire crystal discs driven by the Mechanical Computer which rotates them independently to show the time difference as it changes throughout the year.

IWC
The Portugieser Hand-Wound Eight Days Edition 75th Anniversary is reminiscent of the original Portugieser from the 1930s. The in-house 59215-caliber has an eight-day power reserve. The red gold reference is limited to 175 watches, while the steel case, ardoise (grayish purple) dial variant is limited to 750 pieces.

It has all the esthetic attributes of the Portugieser: Arabic numerals, slim feuille hands, railway-track-style chapter ring and small seconds at 6 o’clock. However, the inner chapter ring, hour indices and Arabic numerals are in gold-brown with black edging. The 18k red gold with silver-plated dial inherited the color scheme and company logo of its forebear almost without change. Light green dial elements on the stainless steel version contrast against the matte black dial. A new feature is the date display on the subdial at 6 o’clock.

Jaeger-LeCoultre
The dial of the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication depicts the starry Northern Hemisphere sky. The timepiece is dedicated to astronomical time measurement.

The sidereal orbital tourbillion in its titanium cage whirls around the dial in a counter-clockwise revolution in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds (reflecting sidereal time, which astronomers use to track stars and other heavenly bodies in the night sky). The 24-hour day (the “civil” time) is measured by a small sun on the outer part of the dial that rotates around the dial. The sky-chart and rotation is also used as a calendar that indicates the Zodiac and month.

Finally, there’s a minute-repeater that chimes the hours, quarters and minutes on demand. This is all powered by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 945 mechanical hand-wound movement.

Montblanc
The Tourbillon Cylindrique Geosphères Vasco da Gama traces the route from Europe to India by sea made by the Portuguese explorer. The 47 mm red gold case surrounds a three-dimensional dial. The 281-part, hand-wound tourbillon caliber MB M68.40, made at Montblanc’s Villeret manufacturing unit (which specializes in hand-made movements) features a one-minute tourbillon mechanism with a cylindrical hairspring.

The movement supports numerous functions, including: a triple time zone with local time displayed in hours and minutes; the home time presented on a three-dimensional 12-hour compass rose at 6 o’clock; and a pair of globes depicting the World´s 24 time zones in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, along with the passage of day and night.

Engravings and miniature paintings on the two halved globes indicate in relief the outlines of the continents, their borders and the oceans that separate them, recalling, on a daily basis, the sea route through the Earth’s two hemispheres that da Gama sailed in 1497.

The globes illustrate the day and night in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere along with latitude and longitude.

Panerai
Radiomir Firenze is a watch that honors its roots in the city of Florence. The AISI 316L stainless steel case is completely hand-engraved with motifs inspired by Florentine iconography. Each case requires more than a week of work by one engraver.

The 47 mm case has the same dimensions of the first watch created by the company in 1936. The watch is powered by the mechanical P.3000 caliber.

It’s limited to 99 units and will only be sold at Panerai’s historic Florence boutique in Piazza San Giovanni, where the company was founded. Since the case is hand-engraved, no two are identical.

Parmigiani
Honoring the 10th anniversary of a partnership between Parmigiani and luxury car maker Bugatti, the luxury watch brand unveiled two new timepieces: Bugatti Révélation and Bugatti Victoire. They are modeled after the Bugatti type 370 movement, which was the first watch produced by the partnership. The tubular shaped movement resembles an engine block. It was introduced to mark the partnership in 2004 and created a bit of a stir due to its unusual shape.

A third watch in the 10th anniversary line, Bugatti Mythe, was introduced in August 2014.

The motif of the Bugatti Victoire (pictured) is formed of concentric Vs, evoking the skid marks left on the track by a racing car. The geometric shapes were produced by engraving work on the white gold that makes it looks darker. The artisan who engraved this watch is the same one who worked on the Bugatti Centenaire in 2004, one of the first pieces in the collection. The side sections are set with diamonds. The leather strap was cut in the same V pattern.

Piaget
The company released the Emperador Coussin 1270S, the world’s thinnest ultra-thin tourbillon automatic skeleton watch, with a case measuring 8.85 mm thick. The cushion-shaped, ultra-thin (5.05 mm) tourbillon automatic skeleton caliber 1270S was designed and developed specifically for the 46.5 mm cushion-shaped case housing it. The caliber consists of 225 parts and took more than three years to develop.

The inverted architecture of this movement provides a view of the platinum oscillating weight and bridges. The off-centered micro-rotor and the tourbillion, topped with a P for Piaget, form a figure 8, providing a clear view of the main functional elements of this watch.

The watch is available in white and pink gold.

Ralph Lauren
The 867 collection, named after the New York flagship store at 867 Madison Avenue, reflects the style of the Art Deco era.

The Ralph Lauren 867 Petite Diamond timepiece has a 21.50mm 18k white gold case set with 289 round, brilliant-cut diamonds as well as 12 baguette-cut diamonds and attached to a black suede strap. It houses a Swiss quartz movement, decorated with Côtes de Genève.

Richard Mille
The centerpiece of the RM 19-02 Fleur lady’s timepiece is a tourbillon topped with a magnolia made of painted white gold leaves. Once per hour or on command with the push of a button, pink leaves of the magnolia opens to reveal the tourbillion. The center of the tourbillion extends up 1 mm imitating the stamen of the flower.

To make this happen, the grade 5 titanium tourbillon caliber uses 5 levers that surround the underside of the petals, with another system that uses a long pinion to raise the flying tourbillon and “stamen” upwards within the flower’s circumference. The energy for this action is supplied by a separate winding barrel.

Roger Dubuis
This year, the brand declared 2015 as the year of the “Astral Skeleton,” unveiling several skeleton interpretations. For its “creative” skeleton, the brand released the Excalibur Brocéliande. Decorative jewelry elements are entwined with the skeleton flying tourbillon movement and the dial.

The decorative elements of 18k gold vines include white round diamonds with touches of colored ivy leaves produced from precision cut gems in autumn colors of pink, yellow, and orange. They are added to the tourbillion movement without disturbing its operation.

The watch is available in a limited edition of 28-pieces.

Vacheron Constantin
For its 260th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin unveiled two timepieces in its Métiers d’Art collection distinguished by hand-engraved movements that keep with classic ornamental watchmaking traditions. The plates and bridges of the hand-wound calibers are adorned with delicate floral motifs, reminiscent of the engravings of the first pocket watches created by Vacheron Constantin.

The caliber 4400 hand-engraved movement of the Métiers d’Art Mécaniques Gravées is housed in a 950 platinum, 39 mm-diameter round case. There is no dial covering the movement in order to fully display the subtle floral motifs. It takes more than 10 days to craft the movement.

It is available only at Vacheron Constantin boutiques.

Van Cleef & Arpels
Successful luxury brands are exceptional storytellers, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any company that does it better than Van Cleef & Arpels.

The two newest releases in the “Poetic Complications” collection express the watchmaker’s art and the constant renewal of time. Both in white gold with a bezel set in round diamonds, these 38 mm timepieces combine the technical prowess of a quality movement with various hand-crafted techniques that display a gradual story over a 24-hour period.

For the Lady Arpels Jour Nuit Oiseaux de Paradis (Day Night Bird of Paradise), a bird of paradise sets its plume of feathers down upon a bird of paradise flower. As the day moves on, the feathers gradually recede making way for a diamond moon. The artistic scene was created with various hand-crafted techniques including cloisonné enamel and engraved gold.

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The Nixie Machine at MB&F’s MAD Gallery

The Nixie Machine

MB&F is a company that has built its reputation on radically challenging traditional watchmaking in appearance and function. 

The small, lean young firm, founded by Maximilian Büsser, is equally known for its partnerships (the “F” in the name stands for “friends”) as much as for its innovative products. The company teams with independent horological professionals, artists, craftsmen, retailers, jewelers, established companies and others to create their limited editions timepieces, known as “horological machines.”

Extending the limits of watchmaking even further, the brand produced a table clock inspired from Star Trek and a music box in the shape of a futuristic spaceship that plays modern rock songs and the theme from the Star Wars movie. In both cases the company teamed with long-established makers of these items. In the former it was table clock manufacturer, L’Epée 1839, and the latter it was luxury music box maker, Reuge. 

In 2011, the company took the next logical step and opened a commercial gallery in Geneva near its headquarters that specializes in contemporary kinetic art, named the M.A.D. Gallery (mechanical art devices). I recently received a tour of the place from Juliette Duru, the gallery’s new communications manager, and Charris Yadigaroglou, MB&F chief communications officer. It’s not a large space but one could easily spend hours studying and even playing with the exhibits.

The item of the moment is the Nixie Machine by German artist Frank Buchwald (above and top photo). It’s a sculptural clock that tells the time using six glowing 1960s Nixie tubes. A Nixie tube is an electronic device that is a variant of a neon lamp, which displays numbers and other information. It also is known as a cold cathode display. 

The six tubes are presented as three pairs for hours, minutes and seconds; or day, month and year. They rest atop a long burnished steel and brushed brass structure with four extended legs. The clock consists of no fewer than 350 components hand-made by Buchwald. It is a available in a limited edition of 12. How it keeps accurate time is a mystery to me. 

It is by no means the only item to see at the gallery. There are many more art pieces of interest, including fingers made of iron that move at the flick of a switch, hand-made motorcycles that are both a work of art and riding machines, and a futuristic looking electric guitar that is considered by some to be the finest in the world. Of course there’s also an extensive collection of MB&F timepieces.

 
Among my favorites was the A.W.E. (Automated Winding Engine) by Martin Smith with Laikingland, a creative label based in the UK and The Netherlands. It’s a mechanical watch winder that is a large robotic arm powered by cam driven motors, gearboxes and safety sensors. It goes through a long elaborate series of playful movements to wind the watch. 3D printing was used to create the elbow joint and the sculptured forearm and fingers.

 
Also there was a disk made of watch components that was spinning and floating over a teak table. It is called the Apesanteur II by Quentin Carnaille. The artist describes the piece as “an invisible link between astronomy and mechanical watchmaking.” Magnets are used inside the disk and the teak base to allow the disk to levitate. 

In 2014, MB&F opened its second M.A.D. Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. The concept seems to be ready-made for further expansion. 

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The Savelli Jewelry Smartphone

The Savelli Emerald Iguana phone uses a mix of polished stainless steel and 18-carat red gold with Iguana leather

A smartphone that is a luxury jewel. That is what the Savelli phone is being billed as and it seems to be the proper way to describe this device that merges technology and luxury craftsmanship.

Marketed exclusively to women, it sources precious gems and metals, exotic leathers and many of the same hand-crafted artisan techniques that are used for luxury jewelry and watches. It also commands a price that cements it as a luxury purchase.  

18k rose gold set with 395 white and cognac diamonds in a snow setting (4.68 carats)

The cost for the phone runs from $8,625 to $112,500 with the most expensive phone being a limited edition piece made of 75 baguette-cut emeralds (4.5 cts.) and 900 brilliant-cut diamonds (12.5 cts.) with a retail price of $167,500.

The Savelli contains a proprietary operating system based on a Google Android platform. It is not the first company to try to enter the luxury market for smartphones (Vertu is the largest player) but it is arguably the first to associate fine jewelry and watchmaking artisan techniques to such an extreme level. 

The back of the Python phone is made of Python leather with a stainless steel top

Alessandro Savelli co-founded the company in 2011 at Columbia University with luxury expert, Ketty Maisonrouge, who heads an MBA luxury business program at the school. The Italian native is a former investment banker whose family is in the jewelry business in Italy. The business is based in Geneva and the smartphones are crafted in Switzerland, utilizing artisans associated with the country’s dynamic watch industry. The first phones were unveiled in 2013. 

Savelli has spent a great deal of time finding investors, developing the proprietary operating system, finding craftspeople, developing a retail network and marketing the product. The shape of the watch alone was a two-year project. 

The top of the Ruby Passion is set with 395 brilliant-cut Gemfields rubies and the 18k yellow gold is set with 144 brilliant-cut diamonds in a ‘rain setting’ technique. Limited to eight pieces.

There are at least 13 variations of the Savelli smartphone. The most recent is the Ruby Limited Edition, the second phone created in collaboration with Gemfields, an emerald and ruby supplier that often partners with jewelry designers. The company also does bespoke models.

Each smartphone begins with a single dome of sapphire glass fashioned and polished to a curved shape. The 18k gold or steel and ceramic surrounding is sculpted and curved to give the phone the feel and appearance of a single, smooth piece. The leather (whether alligator, ostrich, python or another exotic animal) that covers the back of the phone is handled by a French atelier. 

18k rose gold with white ceramic and "Caramel Nappa" leather

The top of the phone—whether made of smooth ceramic, diamonds or gems—provides a different look when viewed from the top or front of the phone. The slender Savelli “S” shape logo is used as highlights on the volume buttons, the phone’s back and other areas. 

One has to remember it is a phone that runs on a customized Google android operating system with 32GBs of internal storage, a high-resolution 3.2-inch display and a front and back camera. It also comes with it comes with UBER, SwiftKey and Whatsapp apps.

The back of this phone is made of blue ostrich leather

Savelli, says there are about 20 points of sale, almost all in Europe, including Harrods in London and Kronometry 1999 in Paris. He wants to expand further into the Middle East, and into the Asia, and the US. 

Even though it’s being marketed as a jewel he says the most likely outlets are luxury watch retailers. 

75 baguette-cut white diamonds (7.88 cts.) cover the top design element in the "Black Insane" phone.

This leads to the question, is it jewel? A phone? Or even a wearable? 

Or does it really matter?

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Out of the Gate, 10 Luxury Watches for 2015

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Squelette Ladies Watch

The new year isn’t even a month old and the Swiss watch industry started issuing releases of its new watches. In fact, the parade of new 2015 products began before 2014 ended. 

Out of the many new releases, I am going to focus on some of the brands that will be exhibiting at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, better known as SIHH, being held January 19 till 23. It’s also known as the Richemont show because the majority of the luxury brands exhibiting are owned by Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company, Compagnie Financière Richemont. It is the first major watch tradeshow of the year and it is also considered by many to be the most exclusive and luxurious of them all. 

A total of 16 brands will be exhibiting and out of that group are introductions from 10 of the companies. 

A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia, Saxonia Automatic and Saxonia Dual Time
The German watch brand is introducing three new models to its popular Saxonia collection. The solid-gold applied hour markers have been moved toward the periphery of the dial and are executed as double baton appliqués at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock; along with slightly extended black graduations of the minute scale. For the Automatic and Dual Time models, the seconds subdial is marked by numerals every 10 seconds. The company said all modifications were made in the interest of improved legibility. The new design resulted in a slightly smaller case for the two models. The Saxonia is powered with the in-house manual wind caliber L941.1, the Automatic uses the in-house L086.1 caliber, and the Dual Time uses the in-house automatic L086.2 caliber.

Greubel Forsey Black GMT
The 43.5 mm case is made of titanium treated with vacuum deposited amorphous diamond-like carbon (ADLC), a black coating that displays some of the properties of diamond. It is harder than natural titanium. The movement's main plate and bridges also have a black finish. Greubel Forsey says this helps to bring out the contrast between the different textures and surface finishes of each component. The case houses a GF05 in house movement with a 24-second tourbillon inclined at a 25 degree angle GMT function, three-dimensional globe for day and night indication, a rotating disc with 24 different time zones, daylight savings indication and a 72 hour power reserve. The watch is limited to a production of 22.

IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar
Located at 12 o’clock on the dial, the annual calendar shows the month, date and day in three separate, semicircular windows. The switching mechanism automatically takes into account the differing lengths of individual months. However, unlike a perpetual calendar, the annual calendar cannot factor the differing lengths of the month of February or the leap years. So once a year, at the end of February, it requires manual adjustment with a built-in “corrector.” Its 44.2mm case, grooved bezel, classic railway-track-style chapter ring, slim feuille hands and Arabic numerals, the Portugieser Annual Calendar resembles the original Portugieser of 1939. The small seconds subdial is positioned at 9 o’clock. The subdial on the opposite side serves as the power reserve display. The automatic in-house 52850 caliber movement has a seven-day power reserve. 

Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum
The name Orbis Terrarum, is the Latin term for “globe,” “earth,” and “world.” The in-house complication of the MB29.20 automatic caliber displays 24 time zones in a practical and intuitive way. The dial, constructed in multi-layers, displays the continents and oceans as viewed from the North Pole. Under the main dial is a disc showing day and night, which rotates with the movement of the 24-hour mechanism on the outermost layer on the dial. The names of 24 cities circle the central image surrounded by their respective time zones on the 24-hour mechanism. The disc with the cities can rotate separately from the 24-hour disc with the aid of the pusher located at 8 o’clock. To adjust the time the desired home city needs to be positioned with its corresponding time at 6 o’clock. 

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Squelette - Men
The bridge and main plate of the automatic PF705 caliber skeleton watch for men and ladies (ladies watch pictured in top photo) features a hand-crafted openwork display. The revealed skeleton movement compliments the extra-thin construction (7.8mm for me and 8.4mm for ladies). The platinum micro-rotor is visible on the surface of the watch. The pattern consists of the company’s iconic lugs. The dial is made of sapphire, giving it the impression of being invisible. Only the rim is metalized, which hides the points of attachment between the movement and the case. The dial on the men’s model is polished and transparent, while the ladies’ model features a subtly frosted dial that resembles a veil. 

Piaget Black Tie Vintage Inspiration

Piaget Black Tie Traditional Oval

Piaget Black Tie 'Vintage Inspiration' and ‘Traditional Oval’
The new models reflect the heritage of Piaget’s unusual-shaped watches. The cushion-shaped Black Tie Vintage Inspiration has a slimmer profile thanks to the automatic Piaget 534P movement. The white gold bezel creates a contrast with the intense blackness of the onyx dial for a contemporary masculine look. The Black Tie Traditional Oval for ladies features an oval case housing a silver dial with the bezel and bracelet in white gold or yellow gold. In addition, the bezel is topped with 24 brilliant cut diamonds. It’s powered by P56 quartz movement.

Ralph Lauren Automotive Chronograph
Inspired by the instrument panel of Ralph Lauren’s 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe, its curved case horns and chronograph pushers echo the lines of the automobile’s body. The handmade wooden dial element—crafted from loupe d’orme, or elm burl wood—reflects the interior trim of the Type 57 SC’s cockpit. In order to give the dial the same visual detail and impact as the automobile’s instrument panel, only veneers with the right concentration of knots and grains were chosen. Ralph Lauren partnered with Jaeger-LeCoultre to create the RL751A/1 automatic caliber, with a 65-hour power reserve. 

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon
The company has taken the skeleton theme beyond the movement, extending it to encompass the 45mm skeletonized titanium case, flange and hands to resemble a spider’s web. It has the signature features of Roger Dubuis skeleton watches, such as the star-shaped design, the tourbillon carriage shaped like a Celtic cross and the high-end finishes—including a circular-grained plate. It is powered by the mechanical hand-wound RD505SQ caliber, which features a flying tourbillon at 7:30 (one rotation per minute) and a 60-hour power-reserve.

Richard Mille RM 33-01 Automatic
The skeletonized RMXP3 caliber that powers the RM 33-01 has an off-center platinum micro rotor. This architecture reveals the grade 5 titanium movement, which is wet sandblasted and electroplasmatreated, the surfaces microblasted, drawn and satin-finished with the anglage entirely worked by hand. The taut lines of the sport-inspired design combine the curvature of the brand’s tonneau cases with the construction characteristic of its round watches. The graphic style of the numerals with their outsized dimensions provides better readability. The tripartite case, with a diameter of 45.70 mm and a thickness of 9.20 mm, is mounted on a rubber strap secured with a folding clasp in grade 5 titanium. The result, according to Richard Mille, is a chic design with a sporty feel.

Van Cleef & Arpels Cadenas
The luxury house is reintroducing the Cadenas watch, first created in 1935, said to have been inspired by the zip necklace worn by the Duchess of Windsor. It’s known for its unashamedly modern design with large double hoop-shaped curves attached to a straight-lined watch case. The new collection consists of nine models, powered by a quartz movement. The Cadenas is available in unadorned yellow or white gold. The Cadenas Sertie, also in yellow or white gold, has touches of diamonds on the upper surface of the case and the alligator strap attachment. The Cadenas Pavée highlights the jewelry aspect of the watch with princess cut diamonds on the upper surface of the case and round diamonds on the case, clasp and dial; paired with a white-gold snake chain bracelet. The Cadenas Pavée is in pink gold with pink sapphires and diamonds. Diamonds and a gradation of pink sapphires adorn the case and the clasp of the Cadenas Pavée Saphirs Roses.

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