Following the successful release of their Midnight Planétarium in 2014, the watch that we still talk about to date and one of the most read articles here at WCL —you can read it here—; on the occasion of the SIHH 2018, Van Cleef & Arpels has drawn new inspiration to come up with a new interpretation of the watch created in collaboration with Netherlands watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw. The new Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planétarium takes a slightly different approach not only in terms of size —measuring 38 mm instead of 44 mm like the Midnight Planétarium— but also in terms of functionality by centering the watch complication around fewer planets.
SIHH 2018: Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P. The World's Thinnest Automatic Watch.
It is very well known by watch collectors and watch scholars that when it comes to ultra-thin watches, Piaget is an authority. Defying the limits of feasibility, Piaget released three new watches —one as a concept— that continue to demonstrate their ability to succeed in the field of ultra-thin timepieces. Three years after the launch of the slimmest manual-winding watch in the world at that time, the Piaget Altiplano 900P, Piaget is once again wowing everyone, this time with the new Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Havana' Brown Dial. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Another brand new dial for the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in stainless steel, this time with an eye-catching 'Havana' brown Méga Tapisserie dial with navy blue subdials, white Arabic numerals and white chronograph hands. This new watch is exactly like all other Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm with ceramic pushers and redesigned crown guards in black. Presented as ref. 26470ST.OO.A099CR.01, this new watch will be sold with a non-hornback large square scale brown alligator strap with blue contrast stitching.
SIHH 2018: Armin Strom Pure Resonance Fire and Pure Resonance Water. The New Resonance in a More Classic Size Measuring 42 mm.
Trying to appeal to a more conservative customer that prefers smaller timepieces, Armin Strom has just presented the new Pure Resonance housed in a slimmer 42 mm case —1.4 mm smaller than the original Mirrored Force Resonance— with reduced lugs and crown and practically with no bezel, though the characteristic lip at 6 o’clock remains as an homage to the ability of Armin Strom to customize any of its watches as well as to their founder Armin Strom, who offered this space to clients for personal engraving.
SIHH 2018: Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision. The First Automatic Watch in the Freak Collection.
The first automatic watch in the Ulysse Nardin Freak Collection is the new Freak Vision. A feat of horology and a very good looking timepiece, the new Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision incorporates the revolutionary innovations unveiled in the Ulysse Nardin InnoVision 2 Concept Watch at SIHH 2017 to give birth to a brand new winding mechanism called the Grinder Automatic Winding System. T
SIHH 2018: DeWitt Academia Endless Drive. The Watch with the Helical Screw at the Center of the Dial.
A huge comeback for DeWitt after presenting at the SIHH 2018 for the very first time. The new DeWitt Academia Endless Drive reveals an original design, consistent with the strong and distinct character of DeWitt creations, with an endless screw as the dial’s signature element. This rotating endless screw is a nod to automotive mechanics, which has been the field of inspiration to the brand's founder, Count Jérôme de Witt.
SIHH 2018: Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon. Live Pictures & Pricing.
There is something very special about Cartier's Mysterious Hours watches and at the SIHH 2018 we were blown away by the new Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon with the tourbillon appearing to be suspended in mid-air with no connection to the rest of the movement —a clever optical illusion created by Cartier. This new watch cased in a 45 mm platinum case with all of its components hand-finished —including the movement bridges being chamfered, flanks drawn and screw heads polished— is simply gorgeous and one of our favorite watches at the SIHH this year.
SIHH 2018: A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split. Explaining the Watch, Live Pictures & Pricing.
The new A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split ref. 424.038F is the first mechanical split seconds chronograph in the world that allows multi-hour comparative time measurements. Additional rattrapante hands on the minute and hour totalizers make it possible to stop lap and reference times of events that last as long as twelve hours. On 17 July 2016, German triathlete Jan Frodeno achieved a new world record for the triathlon long distance. In an amazing seven hours, 35 minutes and 39 seconds, he mastered the combination of swimming 3.8 kilometers, cycling 180 kilometers and running 42.2 kilometers.
SIHH 2018: MB&F MoonMachine 2 by Sarpaneva. Live Pictures & Pricing.
After the successful release in 2012 of the first MB&F MoonMachine in partnership with Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva, comes the new MB&F MoonMachine 2. A new watch that adds up to the Performance Art Pieces Collection composed of very limited edition timepieces where MB&F had collaborated with artists they admire including Xia Hang, Alain Silberstein and Black Badger amongst others. The MoonMachine by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva was the first of the MB&F Performance Art pieces reinterpreted by a watchmaker and the first to endow a Horological Machine with a new complication.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Funky Colors ref. 15710ST. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Last week we announced the release of a new set of colorful Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Divers ref. 15710ST. Today, we bring you our live pictures of the new watches and after reviewing them in the metal, we can tell you that our favorite ones are the beige, turquoise blue and the khaki green. While the purple is not as bad a everyone thinks, it is definitely not our cup of tea and a color that maybe just a handful of ultra cool ladies out there or perhaps our friend on Instagram @TheHorophile would be able to pull off and get away with wearing it.
SIHH 2018: IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition “150 Years” ref. IW5050. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Celebrating its 150th Anniversary, IWC released 27 new timepieces during the SIHH 2018 —Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie— last week. With new watches within the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot's and Da Vinci collections, IWC marks this occasion, also launching its first-ever wristwatch to feature the original digital hours and minute display as it appeared on the Pallweber pocket watches back in 1884.
SIHH 2018: Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox 50th Anniversary Limited Edition. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Inspired by the iconic Memovox Polaris watch from 1968, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released a new collection that is not just a single homage to a historical reference. The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris collection includes five different models: the Polaris Automatic, Polaris Chronograph —in stainless steel or 18K rose gold—, Polaris Chronograph WT —World Time—, Polaris Date and the Polaris Memovox.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42 mm with Ceramic Bezel a.k.a 'Dark Knight' ref. 26470SO. Live Pictures & Pricing.
After the release of the new generation of Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm at the SIHH 2014, when the watches were fitted with a display case back, ceramic crown and pushers, new dials, beefier crown guards and new straps, two new models made their appearance at the SIHH 2018. This time, two 42 mm Royal Oak Offshores have been fitted with ceramic bezels. The two new models are reference 26470IO.OO.A006CA.01 in titanium with grey ceramic bezel that here at WCL we have nicknamed the 'Monochrome' and a...
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 18K Pink Gold Case and Titanium Bezel ref. 15711IO. Live Pictures & Pricing.
After the success of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba Bartorelli that combined a black PVD case with a bronze bezel and the Royal Oak Offshore Diver QEII Cup 2014 Limited Edition that featured a tantalum case with 18K pink gold bezel —featured here—, it was about time that AP launched a similar combination in one of our favorite metals. The new AP Royal Oak Offshore Diver is fitted with an 18K pink gold case and a titanium bezel, titanium plots, a very light grey dial and a matching grey rubber strap
SIHH 2018: Richard Mille RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Six years after releasing his first polo watch, Richard Mille returns to one of his favorite playing fields with the sporty and dynamic RM 53-01 Pablo Mac Donough. The second timepiece created in partnership with champion polo player Pablo Mac Donough is the new RM 53-01 Tourbillon Pablo Mac Donough. Like its predecessor —the RM 053 from 2012—, the new timepiece is created to withstand the violent shocks endured during a polo match, from falls to collisions to mallet strikes.
SIHH 2018: Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day & Night. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Two months ahead of the SIHH 2018 —Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie—, Cartier presented the new Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day & Night Watch. Today, we were finally able to check the watch out in person. The new Rotonde de Cartier watch lends its generous dial to two historic Cartier complications: the mysterious movement and a Day/Night indicator. These two complications are part of Cartier’s watchmaking heritage both dating from 1912.
SIHH 2018: Vacheron Constantin FiftySix Day-Date Power Reserve ref. 4400E. Live Pictures & Pricing.
The new Vacheron Constantin collection inspired by the iconic reference 6073 —launched in 1956— is one of our favorite watch releases at the SIHH 2018. Available in stainless steel or 18K 5N pink gold, the three new watches have been very well received by the press community, authorized dealers and our readers. Yesterday, we brought you the live pictures on the new FiftySix Self-Winding here and today, we bring you live pictures of our favorite model among the three new watches that were just released.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Indigo Blue Dial. Live Pictures & Pricing.
A brand new dial for the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in stainless steel, this time with an eye-catching Indigo Blue Méga Tapisserie dial with red chronograph accented hands. This new watch is exactly like all other Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm with ceramic pushers and redesigned crown guards but this time the pushers match the Indigo Blue color of the dial. Presented as ref. 26470ST.OO.A030CA.01 this new watch will be sold with a color matching rubber strap with pin buckle.
SIHH 2018: Vacheron Constantin FiftySix Self-Winding ref. 4600E. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Today, a new collection makes its way to the Vacheron Constantin lineup. The new collection named FiftySix is inspired by a historical Vacheron Constantin watch from 1956. With a retro-contemporary style the new FiftySix is a modern interpretation of the iconic reference 6073, launched in 1956. Available in stainless steel or 18K 5N pink gold, there are three new watches that are part of this new collection and which are distinguished their shape and lugs, each representing a branch of the Maltese cross which has become an emblem of the Manufacture.
SIHH 2018: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar ref. 4300V. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Finally here are our live pictures of the new Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar ref. 4300V/000R-B064 with a slender case in 18K 5N pink gold case measuring just 8.1 mm thick and powered by a new calibre 1120 QP/1. This new Overseas Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar is simply stunning in the metal and is powered by one of the slimmest movements on the market.
