Close to SIHH

Every year there are two main watch fairs where most brands shos their watches to their customers and the worldpress. One of those fairs is in Basel and all brands united in the Swatch Group and a lot of other (independent) brands expose their new products. The Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) is the equivalent where the brands of the Richemont Group show their new products. The SIHH is very early this year so rumors already go around on the watch forums 🙂

The SIHH starts january 19th and lasts untill the 23th and is like every year in Geneve. So starting the 3rd week of january brands like IWC, Panerai, Jaeger LeCoultre, Cartier, Girard Perregaux, Dunhill, Audemars Piguet and A.Lange und Sohne will proudly present new wathes and i must admit i can’t wait to see what they will present. Lots of my favorite brands are part of the Richemont Group so the good thing is that i won’t have to wait untill the Basel watch fair in April 😉

Last year IWC brought us (among others) a beautiful re-issue of the Aquatimer and the Ingenieur. Both really beautiful watches and true homages to their ancestors. Panerai brought us the PAM26 which has the true Panerai genes in my opinion. And Jaeger LeCoultre came with the long awaited re-issue of the Polaris. At The Purist Pro you can read a great article about the dive watch legacy of Jaeger LeCoultre. I can really recommend this article written by JLC moderator Amanico.

Most of my favorites of last year are more or less homages to their own vintage models. I haven’t seen some many re-issues or watches that are inspired by a vintage model released in one year, but you won’t hear me complain 😉

Like i already posted last week one of my personal favorite of last year was the Girard Perregaux Vintage 1945 Off-centered hour and minute in white gold. As soon as i know more about new models being released i will post about it of course. The first brand to show something new was A. Lange und Sohne. Their new Richard Lange “pour le merite” is maybe not the most spectacular innovation when you look at the desing of the case or dial, but don’t be fooled. The movement is really spectacular. Do read all about this in Jaw’s post on Horomundi!

Like all movement that come from A.Lange und Sohne this is of course finished to perfection. It’s a pleasure to look at the movement, but this one has some special features. It has a chain transmission that you can see on the next photo.