Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planetarium – The World At Your Fingertips (Or At Least Your Wrist)
There is no denying that when it comes to women’s watches (and jewelry), the famed house of Van Cleef & Arpels pretty much always gets it right. This year, at the SIHH 2018, the brand proved itself yet again – with a host of new feminine watches that could almost have women drooling. However, one watch set itself apart from all the others for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it brings the world to the wrist in stunning fashion. The Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planetarium Poetic Complication watch is an actual planetarium – a mechanical solar system model – on the wrist, the result of yet another collaboration with specialist Christiaan van der Klaauw.
When you think of H. Moser, a select handful of words come to mind: classic, traditional and, of course, fumé. There’s also the other side of the business that loves taking potshots at the industry with its polarising marketing tactics (as we all saw once again during SIHH), but in the halls of SIHH our focus was set on the brand’s latest creation: the new Endeavour Flying Hours. Looking solely at its sleek case and the blue hue of its dial, the piece still oozes H. Moser design DNA; however, its time indication is something entirely different. Using a unique satellite-style time indication — one very reminiscent of the Urwerk UR-103, to be fair—this latest release came as a bit of a surprise. From a static first glance, it’s hard not to draw the Urwerk parallel, but seeing the caliber in action reveals a few significant (and needed) differences. Unlike UR calibers where the satellites orbit around the centre of the dial, the satellites of the Endeavour Flying Hours are fixed. Mounted on a round central bridge finished in black DLC, three funky blue discs are used to display the current hour. On a clear sapphire disc resting above its…
Think of Lange’s colour palette and the word ‘sober’ probably springs to mind. Or restrained. Limited. Calm. Muted. Subdued. Discreet. Anything but vivid and daring. Now, let’s for a moment think not of A. Lange & Söhne but only of the colours: white, black, grey (dials); black again, brown, (straps); pink gold, white gold (platinum looking more or less the same), a rare dash of yellow gold. Yes, there are some exceptions (we’ll come to those later), but put Lange’s entire catalogue of the past 20-plus years into a flip-book and that’s pretty much what you get. Based on those limited ingredients, if it were a cookery book you could be looking at the plainest meat-and-potatoes menu this side of a 1960s boarding school dinner. If it were another watch company … Well, sadly, the world is swamped with insipid, play-safe watches that are about as easy to distinguish from each other as boiled potatoes. But give those restricted ingredients to Lange and we get watches with richness and liveliness, with immediately recognisable character and great presence. It’s a remarkable trick. How does Lange do it? Let’s look back at the ‘famous four’ watches that announced the rebirth of the…
If you had said to me, on the eve of SIHH 2018, that the one brand I would be most surprised by at SIHH would be Panerai, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you. Panerai have gotten to where they are today by following the sort of slow and steady product development path that luxury and timeless style is built upon. Next thing you know, I’m in the Panerai press presentation, quietly losing my mind (and not because of the incredible Lo Scienziato). No, I’m losing it because Panerai’s 2018 line-up is dominated not by the big, bold 45mm watches I’ve come to expect, but instead by more delicate 38 and 42mm cases — the latest members of the Luminor Due family. While the significant expansion of the Due line included some 45mm options, including the mesmerisingly handsome GMT, it was the smaller 42 and 38mm options that really got people talking. And not just because the 38mm is the smallest PAM to date, but because these watches make Panerai a viable option for people who might not before have considered them an option. Don’t be fooled by the small case sizes though, these watches pack just as much of a…
With aeronautical instruments remaining a main source of inspiration for Bell & Ross, it’s fair to say they’re passionate about aviation. And while we’ve come to expect flight-ready four-sided designs from the Parisian brand, last year’s third-generation Vintage collection not only evoked the look of instrument panels from aircraft of the 1960s but also featured a more classically styled round case. This year, as a preview to Baselworld, the collection has been given an update and an even stronger vintage feel with the release of two new Steel Heritage versions of the BR V2. They’re designed to meet modern military specs while also paying tribute to the best of days gone by. The three-handed BR V2-92 and the BR V2-94 chronograph now feature sand-coloured luminous hour markers and hands – a look we’ve seen in other collections from Bell & Ross – that recall the patina of aged tritium and add to the new-old charm of the collection. A red line of text for the printed 100m depth rating also replaces a previously white one on the dial. And the vintage theme is continued elsewhere with both versions now available on an old school-style tropic rubber strap – as well…