Métiers d’Art Copernicus celestial spheres

L.U.C XP Urushi – Year of the rooster

In keeping with an established annual tradition, Chopard is devoting a new limited series of its L.U.C XP Urushi watch to the Chinese Zodiac: the L.U.C XP Urushi – Year of the Rooster. The Chinese new year, which begins on January 28^th 2017, appears under the sign of the Yin metal rooster, the theme depicted on an exceptional lacquered dial made using the ancestral Urushi technique. Hand-crafted in Japan by a master lacquer artist, this applied arts masterpiece adorns a new interpretation of this ultra-thin and eminently refined L.U.C watch.



Chopard dedicates an annual limited series of L.U.C XP watches to the Chinese Zodiac, thereby uniting Swiss, Chinese and Japanese traditions within these timepieces. Switzerland is represented by Chopard Manufacture and its L.U.C XP model featuring an ultra-thin movement and prestigious finishing. Japan expresses its expertise in the field of precious lacquer, enriched with mother-of-pearl marquetry. And finally, China showcases its culture through the rooster symbolism picked up on the dial of the new L.U.C XP Urushi – Year of the Rooster.

The rooster is a divine messenger, heralding the dawn and crowing to chase away demons. It is considered honest and frank, two qualities that those born under this Earth sign are believed to share. These resourceful and quick-witted individuals naturally tend to work in fields which involve making diagnoses and maintaining order. Full of energy and naturally pugnacious, the rooster adopts an active and perseverant attitude. He is endowed with excellent oratory skills and loves to give advice… to the point of not listening to that given by others, whom he instinctively distrusts.

Clifton Club Shelby® Cobra Limited Edition

Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo – 47mm

The decisive character of bronze meets the blue of the sea in the Luminor Submersible 1950, bringing about a completely new combination of great appeal.

The new Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo renews Panerai’s tradition of creating iconic underwater watches with unique and distinctive characteristics, with excellent technical features and a strong historical inspiration. A few years after the original launch of the watch, when this fascinating ancient material, always associated with the sea, was first brought onto the international stage of high-quality watchmaking, Panerai presents a new watch with a bronze case, combined for the first __time with a blue dial.



The bronze used to make the case (47 mm in diameter) and the classic bridge device protecting the winding crown is an alloy of copper and pure tin, which is highly resistant to the corrosive action of sea water and atmospheric agents. As well as being structurally very strong, this material preserves its warm original tones, while acquiring an agreeably worn look from the characteristic patina which forms over time. This patina is the result of the reaction of bronze with external agents and it has no effect on the intrinsic properties of the material, but it is a visual sign of the ageing process, making every example unique and different from the rest.



Also made of bronze is the rotating bezel with a graduated scale for calculating the __time of immersion, connected to the case by a special system designed and patented by Officine Panerai to ensure the maximum precision of the clicks. In the centre of the back is a sapphire glass porthole through which the P.9010 automatic calibre, with a power reserve of three days can be admired. Completely developed and produced in the Panerai Manufacture in Neuchâtel, the movement is only 6 mm thick and it has very useful functions including the date (at 3 o’clock), the small seconds counter (at 9 o’clock), the device for stopping the balance wheel so as to synchronise the watch with a reference time signal, and the mechanism for rapidly adjusting the hour hand, which can be moved forwards or backwards in one-hour jumps without interfering with the running of the watch.

The new Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo (PAM00671) is water-resistant to 30 bar (300 metres) and it is completed by a brown leather strap with sewing of a nautical character and a titanium buckle. It is a Special Edition limited to 1,000 units.

Neo-Bridges

A futuristic extrapolation of a 19^th century movement architecture now considered to be the historical signature of the Manufacture Girard-Perregaux, the Neo-Bridges automatic titanium watch heralds a construction approach aimed at bringing a dramatic theatrical touch to tomorrow’s mechanical horology.
 
Fundamentally retro-futurist in terms of its aesthetic approach, the Neo-Bridges automatic titanium adopts a certain vision of forward-looking horology, while remaining entirely in harmony with the history of the brand founded in 1791.
 

Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon

The round case of the Rotonde de Cartier collection presents the ideal platform for a perfect dialogue between the iconic signatures of Cartier Fine Watchmaking.

The Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Hour watch showcases the mysterious movement of the Maison within the incomparable architecture of the Cartier skeleton. In the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon watch, another mysterious movement encounters the rhythmic spectacle of the Maison’s open-work minute repeater.

Cartier brings the aesthetic of its mysterious movement to one of the most demanding complications in the watchmaker’s repertoire: the minute repeater.

The Rotonde de Cartier watch combines the mysterious movement and this particular complication for the very first time, with impressive effect. In addition to the technical feat of assembling 448 parts in a case measuring a mere 11.15 mm, the timepiece is aesthetically stunning. The open- work mechanism and contrasting black rhodium plating expose the transparency of the mysterious double tourbillon, and reveal the steady rhythm of the minute repeater on demand.

InnoVision 2

Without Rolf W. Schnyder in the early 1980s, who knows what would have become of Ulysse Nardin ? Following the quartz crisis, which also had serious repercussions for our competitors, there were difficult times for the traditional brand. A visionary entrepreneur, Schnyder’s purchase of the Ulysse Nardin brand heralded a new sense of innovation which pervaded Ulysse Nardin after 1983. Clear evidence of this can be seen in the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei in 1985, the Planetarium Nicolaus Copernicus 1988, the Tellurium Johannes Kepler 1992 or the Perpetual Ludwig 1996, a hitherto unparalleled perpetual calendar. These pieces are accepted as milestones in watchmaking.



Ludwig Oechslin was the driving force behind this and other exceptional timepieces which put Ulysse Nardin back at the very center of the horological world following long years of absence. At the start of the 21^st century, he was also the decisive influence behind the first use of a material which had only been known for its use in electronic components up to then: silicium. This was not the only reason why “Freak”, launched in 2001, was the embodiment of a real revolution. Its innovative “Dual Direct escapement” made anchors and escapement wheels as unnecessary as rubies for friction reduction or oil for lubrication. Energy is transferred directly to the balance wheel by two drive wheels made of hard but highly flexible and entirely non-magnetic silicium with extremely smooth surfaces. There is no other way of saying it: this watch heralded an unprecedented new era in mechanical watchmaking. Ulysse Nardin was subsequently the first watch manufacturer in the world to use thermally stabilized silicium for the core of all its conventionally ticking watches. By this we mean the tiny but absolutely essential balance spring. This made Ulysse Nadin the silicon pioneer of mechanical watchmaking.



Of course, the research did not stop with the introduction of the legendary “Freak”. Quite the opposite. The development team felt particularly invigorated by the challenge and went on to discover the benefits of using diamonds in watch movements. 2005 saw the launch of the “Freak Diamond heart” and with it the first components made from the hardest material currently known to man. Because of the immense costs this entailed, the significantly more affordable “DIAMonSIL” was brought out in 2007. In this watch, the silicium escapement parts are covered in a synthetic nanocrystalline diamond film which has the same hardness and consistency as pure diamond.



In the same year, Ulysse Nardin made a splash again with the “InnoVision 1”. Ten different features in total, this watch was made to stand out. For several hundred years, brass, steel and artificial rubies had played a crucial role in the manufacture of mechanical movements. But now Ulysse Nardin has demonstrated that the __time was right for a whole new range of materials and production technologies to be used in watchmaking. Selective photolithography technology had a large role to play in the manufacturer’s innovations. This features “DRIE” (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) and LIGA (the German acronym for Lithography, Electroplating and Molding). This was the first __time that these had been combined in one technique, with each technology offering unforeseen possibilities for the design of movement components. This signaled the start of a long road towards new horizons in timekeeping for Ulysse Nardin. At the Geneva Watch Fair SIHH 2017, under the aegis of CEO Patrik Hoffmann, the “InnoVision 2” marks an important milestone for the watch manufacturer, with its ten unrivaled, sensational innovations.

LAB-ID™ Luminor 1950 Carbotech™ 3 Days – 49mm

A revolutionary watch demonstrates the ability of Panerai’s laboratorio di idee to innovate. thanks to a brilliant development tapping into the infinite potential of carbon, the new creation is a case with exceptional characteristics, a completely new deep black dial and a movement needing no lubrication, guaranteed for 50 years*



The past and the future come together in this extraordinary new demonstration of high quality contemporary watchmaking created by the Panerai Laboratorio di Idee: the PANERAI LAB-ID™. This new Special Edition, consisting of only 50 units, is notable for the timeless design of the Luminor 1950 collection, but it also presents a series of technological innovations which are evidence of the ability of the Florentine brand to draw inspiration from its own past as it writes the future of high quality watchmaking.

El Primero 36'000 VPH

The legendary El Primero by Zenith appears attired in striking black and white variations. An intense black ceramicised case, chiaroscuro three-counter dial and sporty perforated rubber strap reveal a fascinating take on a watchmaking legend born in 1969. The Manufacture’s iconic El Primero 36’000 VpH epitomises high mechanical precision endowed with enduring charm. These contrasting twin timepieces - black on white, white on black – are a new couple, exuding a seductive aura characterised by natural balance.

RM 50-03 McLAREN-F1

Relentless technical innovation, the quest for perfection, and a perpetual hunger for progress are the common factors that link McLaren-Honda and Richard Mille.

Produced in collaboration with the famed Formula 1 constructor, the new Richard Mille calibre is a technical masterpiece offering off-the-chart mechanical performance.
The RM 50-03 tourbillon split seconds chronograph ultralight McLaren F1 weighs less than 40 grams – including the new strap – which makes it the lightest mechanical chronograph ever made.

This landmark has been achieved through the use of cutting-edge technical materials. The design not only incorporates Titanium and Carbon TPT™, but also introduces an entirely new material into the world of watchmaking: Graph TPT™, more commonly known as graphene.



These new applications for the material emerged through research at the National Graphene Institute, established in 2015 at The University of Manchester. It’s where graphene was first isolated by Professor Andre Geim of the School of Physics and Astronomy, back in 2004. Six years later, the discovery earned its author the prestigious 2010 Nobel Prize in physics, alongside his colleague, Professor Konstantin Novoselov.

Thanks to the collaborative work between The University of Manchester, McLaren Applied Technologies and North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT®), Richard Mille has succeeded in producing a watch case machined in an improved form of Carbon TPT™.

The carbon’s physical properties were significantly enhanced by the introduction of graphene, a revolutionary nano-material which is six times lighter than steel, and 200 times stronger. McLaren Technology Group and McLaren-Honda, which are currently working on integrating graphene into their Grand Prix cars, made it possible for us to consider this material as a means to significantly low the density of our carbon composite while increasing its resistance.

Tri-Axial Planetarium

The majestic high-speed Tri-Axial tourbillon by Girard-Perregaux welcomes two captivating, delicately miniature-painted complications: a rotating globe with day/night indication and a precision moon-phase display. The watches in this Fine Watchmaking bear the technical and aesthetic signature of the Swiss Manufacture. A complex structure revealed by an iconic and luminous design.



Girard-Perregaux has been defying gravity for 150 years and once again demonstrates its mastery of high-precision movements. The three-dimensional Planetarium watch combines a Tri-Axial tourbillon, a globe performing one full turn in 24 hours and an astronomical moon phase. Cleverly combining technical expertise, iconic design and traditional craftsmanship, it distils the essence of the Girard-Perregaux DNA: arrow-shaped gold bridges, a lyre-shaped tourbillon carriage, sapphire domes and a side opening enabling light to flood into this supserbly refined mechanism.

Big Bang Unico GMT

The Hublot Unico manufacture movement is equipped with a new patented proprietary module which enables the second __time zone to be updated instantly by a push-button, allowing the local __time to be read easily via the conventional main hand of the watch. The time at home is indicated using a second arrow-shaped hour hand, which integrates a day/night indicator and is set using the crown. Today, we board an aircraft like we were getting in a car, travelling constantly back and forth between time zones. GMT has proven to be one of the most useful and frequently used complications, hence the need to simplify its operation and make it easier to read.

"Every complex problem has a simple solution. It simply depends on how we look at it. I travel so much that, as often as not, my watch is the only way I can keep track of what time it is at home, and where I am landing. And, I must admit, I have never found a GMT model which is simple enough to really be useful, and that I can use as intended. Thanks to the ingenuity of our R&D team, this is now possible and, believe me, the Big Bang Unico GMT is sure to inspire imitators".

Heritage 146

Zenith is presenting a new vintage series: the Heritage 146 chronograph inspired by a 1960s watch and now equipped with an El Primero movement. It features a retro look, a tropical brown or blue dial, a 38 mm-diameter steel case and a column-wheel El Primero movement chronometer. Subtly reinterpreting an historical model, the Heritage 146 is a unique offering combining the best of the Manufacture’s past: design, history and true rarity.

As one of the first historical watchmakers to be organised as a full-fledged Manufacture, Zenith has a legacy of more than 150 years upon which to draw. It naturally celebrates this heritage by periodically relaunching some of its iconic vintage models.

Carrera Calibre 16 Day-Date Chronograph Black Titanium

To celebrate its 10^th anniversary, the celebrated Chronograph Carrera Calibre 16 has been given a major face-lift: now available in a lighter version thanks to the use of titanium, it is contemporary and elegant in matte black with beige detailing, and paired with a distressed brown leather strap that is sure to please the modern hipster.

10 years! This sporty watch, 43 mm in diameter and launched in 2007, is TAG Heuer’s best seller and one of the brand’s iconic models. In 2017, the renowned chronograph has been updated in celebration of its anniversary. Firstly, it is now available in titanium, a decidedly modern and lightweight material, appearing here in Grade 2 micro-blasted black PVD titanium, giving the case an elegant and modern look, framed with a black ceramic bezel and beige tachymeter scale.



Various details echo the style of the 60s Carrera: the wide dial opening and its fine bezel, the two chronograph counters located at 6 and 12 o’clock with their applied rings, and finally the faceted lugs that featured on the original Carrera models. Other distinctive features: the minute counter with Arabic numerals in applied black gold with beige SuperLuminova™, the clearly visible Day and Date window at 3 o’clock and the small seconds counter that balances the dial’s overall appearance at 9 o’clock.

On the back, the sapphire case back displays the beautiful mechanics of the automatic Calibre 16 movement as well as the weight, decorated with a Côtes de Genève pattern. The watch is finished with an on-trend distressed calfskin strap that will age beautifully. This watch is bound to appeal to the modern hipster.

Venturer Swiss Mad

In response to new legislation on the Swiss Made ordinance for watches, H. Moser & Cie. launched the Swiss Mad Watch on January 12th, 2017. More than a watch, the Swiss Mad Watch is a symbol: it is 100% Swiss, it embodies the greatest strength of Swiss Haute Horlogerie and all that is truly of value, encapsulated in a label worthy of this name. The Venturer Swiss Mad model shares in the spirit of the Swiss Mad Watch. It features the same design, with the exception of its white gold case, one of the exceptional component parts in an H. Moser & Cie. watch which does not originate from but is nevertheless produced in Switzerland.

Hublot presents the Classic Fusion “La Grande Odyssée 2017”

Megève, 11^th January 2017 – At the end of a breathtaking ice show performed by Stéphane Lambiel, the renowned Swiss figure skater and Hublot ambassador, the Swiss watch Manufacture unveiled a stunning new model on the ice of the Megève ice rink to mark the start of the year: the Classic Fusion "La Grande Odyssée 2017". This limited edition of 100 numbered pieces pays a spirited tribute to La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc, an epic sled dog race through the fairytale landscapes of Haute-Savoie, which Hublot is proud to partner for the third consecutive year.



La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc is no ordinary sled dog race. Its technical difficulty, and the astounding natural setting it traverses, push the participants to the limits of human endeavour, with mushers and their dogs working as one to complete this sporting challenge.



As Official Timekeeper of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc, Hublot is reaffirming the unique commitment of a traditional watch Manufacture: the measurement of time. This measurement is critical to the mushers from around the world, for whom the passage of __time is both their worst enemy and closest ally. Between 7^th and 18^th January 2017, seeking both adventure and victory, the participants will take part in a modern-day saga through the snow-covered peaks of France's Savoie region, completing 10 stages over a distance of 1000 gruelling kilometres.



Shortly after the presentation of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc Mushers on Wednesday, an enthusiastic crowd gathered around the ice rink in the centre of the resort where Stéphane Lambiel, friend of the Hublot brand, figure skating double world champion and Olympic silver medallist, took to the ice to demonstrate his talent. At the end of the second short programme, the skater's final pirouette allowed the Classic Fusion "La Grande Odyssée" to be revealed by Benoit Lecigne, Hublot Brand Director for France, Benelux, UK, Ireland and Eastern Europe.



This watch pays tribute to a unique race, a voyage outside of time... The combination of the blue of the dial and the titanium case evokes the striking contrast of the immaculate white of virgin snow against the blue of the sky. This shade of blue also matches the eyes of the sled dogs who loyally accompany their mushers.



The satin finish of the dial echoes the way the sun's rays reflect off the powder snow. The wind rose at three o'clock, the precursor to the compass, symbolises the spirit of adventure and authenticity so dear to Hublot. The "vintage" treatment of its strap evokes the harshness of such a trek, where the mushers are constantly pushed to the limits, drawing on immense mental strength.



The presentation of this limited edition was followed by cocktails outdoors, and dinner in a traditional tepee. "Hublot is proud to partner La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc, with which it shares values such as the respect for tradition, a love of nature, and a quest for excellence and for the limits of human endeavour," declared Benoit Lecigne.

Slim d'Hermès Quantième Perpétuel Platine

Slender, pared-down, minimalist: the Slim d’Hermès welcomes a new entirely in-house-crafted model in platinum.

TimeHunter X-Ray

The unorthodox EMC TimeHunter is a watch in the subversive URWERK tradition. This unique concept combines a precision mechanical movement with an electronic module that monitors its rate. Simply by pressing a button you discover whether your watch is running fast or slow and the amplitude of its balance. Furthermore, you can adjust it accordingly for optimum timekeeping.

The EMC concept, introduced in 2013, has won watchmaking’s most prestigious awards, but how well do you know the EMC TimeHunter? Can you describe its inner workings or the play of wheels and pinions that ensure its chronometric performance? To give you an idea, URWERK presents the TimeHunter X-Ray, a limited edition of 15 watches that delivers a conceptual and stylistic knockout.



“We have perfected one of the most reliable way of regulating a 100% mechanical watch by making mechanics intelligent,” explains watchmaker Felix Baumgartner, co-founder of URWERK. The intelligence comes from the interactive dialogue that links the watch to its owner. “In the EMC TimeHunter we have conceived and developed a purposefully accurate movement with an unusual balance-wheel and twin mainspring barrels for a constant power output,” he adds. “We then grafted on to this mechanism an electric monitor that tells the owner how his watch is performing. With this information, he can effectively control his EMC, adjusting it to the second. Our EMC TimeHunter relies on the mechanical movement that we have designed and built in our workshops; the function of the electronic module is to challenge its performance in real __time and provide the most accurate information possible.”



The TimeHunter X-Ray comes across as a timepiece that is easy to read with a central dial for black hours and minutes hands coated with white SuperLuminova for enhanced contrast. A rotating disc showing the seconds at 1 o'clock is balanced at 7 o'clock by a power-reserve indicator. The EMC TimeHunter’s performance indicator showing its rate (± 15 seconds a day) and balance amplitude on demand are at 10 o'clock. On the back of the watch the movement can be seen through the sapphire crystal. Also on the back is the rate-adjustment screw, one of the nerve centres of this watch. For Martin Frei, co-founder and artistic director of URWERK “the back of the watch reveals two opposing worlds sharing the same case: electronic circuits and the finest mechanical movement. They invite you to find out more — specifically how this unusual timepiece works. The same goes for the face of the watch, for the TimeHunter X-Ray as its name says it, hides nothing. The mechanism, wheel-train, electronic circuits, indeed all the secret operations of the watch are displayed for its owner.”

What are the EMC TimeHunter’s benefits for its owner?
“If it’s not properly adjusted, even the most expensive movement remains a useless mechanism.” This is the premise on which the URWERK team got to work on the EMC TimeHunter.



The rate of a mechanical watch depends on its position in space as well as its temperature. Before selling a precision watch, therefore, the manufacturer usually tests it by placing it on a continuously rotating arm in a room where the temperature is relatively stable. The watch thus spends the same amount of __time in each position. However, in real conditions, the time spent in each position varies according to the working or leisure activities of its owner and for how long the watch is actually on the wrist. Thus two identical watches with different owners might show a different weekly gain or loss.

Simply by pressing a button the owner of an EMC TimeHunter watch can find out the rate of his watch — how much it is gaining or losing. He can then adjust it accordingly. This interactive feature enables the owner to adapt his watch to his lifestyle and the changing environment.

Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Hour

For the first __time by Cartier, skeleton work and a mysterious movement–two of the Maison’s iconic Fine Watchmaking signatures – come together in the same watch. Cartier is launching this exceptional union of aesthetics and technical prowess with the Rotonde de Cartier watch and its calibre 9983 MC.

Asymmetrical and structured, this two-sided movement exploits the visible and invisible with a stylistic audacity which is an essential component of Cartier’s design tradition.

Carrera Heuer-01

Totally black and totally matt, TAG Heuer is unveiling its very first proprietary men's chronograph made entirely from ceramic, including the bracelet.

Presented for the first __time two years ago at Baselworld, the Carrera HEUER-01 is THE signature Chrono model from the TAG Heuer manufacture. In 2015, the watch formed the cornerstone of a burgeoning new collection, with a new design, a new HEUER-01 in-house calibre, and a new modular case design with 12 different elements enabling multiple combinations of materials and colours.



For this 2017 version, the sleek chronograph — the brand's current best-seller — has been entirely produced using matt black ceramic. The case, bezel, lugs and case middle (all the parts exposed to friction) are made from black ceramic. This material offers unparalleled scratch-resistance. It presents a micro-blasted finish for a flawless deep black design. Technically, to guarantee perfect water resistance to 100 metres, steel is always present on all the functional parts of the watch (inner box section, screw-down case back, push-pieces etc.) to enable the gaskets (crystal gasket, case-back gaskets, push-piece gaskets and crown tube) to fulfil their function.



The watch is sleeker than ever, with a more contemporary look, and the ceramic bracelet with its H-shaped links and matt finishes is a pleasure to wear. In fact ceramic seems the perfect material for the watch industry. It is incredibly hard — yet soft to the touch — and highly scratch- resistant (a key quality in a watch). It keeps its original colour, fresh as the day it was made, and does not oxidise. It is hypoallergenic (also very important if you wear your watch for 10 to 12 hours a day) and is lighter than steel.



Having benefited from five years of continuous improvement and optimisation, the HEUER-01 calibre has attained a very high level of quality while its production costs have been carefully managed, making it the only 45 mm Manufacture-made Chronograph using this type of material available for between 5000 and 7000 CHF, depending on the version.