We’re less than a week away from January’s Salon Internationale de Haute Horlogerie and the excitement is building. Ahead of the fair, some brands have chosen to send over teasers for the latest releases but of course, saving the best for the week ahead itself. We highlight some men’s pieces that should get your watch lust tingling. 

A. Lange & Söhne

As we wait with bated breath for A. Lange & Söhne to unveil its next masterpiece at SIHH, the manufacture has issued a pre-release to satiate its expanding pool of fans. The rework to the Lange 1 Moon Phase comes 15 years after its introduction. While it may look similar, the true evolution of the piece lies in the new combination of the moonphase display with a day/night indicator. Unlike the majority of moonphase displays that feature the moon against a perpetual night sky, Lange has made it such that the background of the moonphase display should accurately reflect the sky outside your window (sans clouds for now, at least). Behind the gold moons that orbit the display, a celestial disc performs a single revolution once a day, displaying varying hues to reflect the stages of the day. The celebrated movement sees a slight increase in size to accommodate the additional 70 parts of the updated moonphase display. 

Baume & Mercier

Form and function continue to drive design at Baume & Mercier, which has been consistent in its endeavour to achieve affordable luxury. Its pre-SIHH release, the Clifton GMT Power Reserve, is a fine example. While the pairing of complications makes the watch a practical option for regional business trips, it’s the aesthetic qualities that will resonate with many men. On the dial, the contrast of the red numerals and counters against the blue satin sunray finishing is starkly handsome. The appealing flushed straps push this piece from the “like” to “must-have” category for 2017.

Cartier

Cartier basically dropped the hammer this year by showing off three new pieces for its pre-release offering. Its new Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon, technically a triple complication, sees a futuristic repeater housed in a titanium case with a hollowed-out interior for better resonance. It forgoes the dial for a complete view of the exquisite rhodium-coated and plated movement. The watch is topped off with a double-axis tourbillon on the left. Another piece from this year’s pre-release is the Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Hour (pictured, right), an open-worked version of the manufacture’s famous sapphire disc-ed watches. Do note that it is the 100th anniversary of the Tank, so expect plenty of re-editions and redesigns of the iconic watch. 

Girard-Perregaux

We’re naturally big fans of world timer watches, perhaps from having to engage with colleagues, clients and family across the world. Sure, we could mentally work out the time differences but where’s the fun in that? Girard-Perregaux’s WW.TC (World Wide Time Control) complication is probably one of the best when it comes to setting and reading off world times, but a WW.TC that’s not accompanied by chronograph function is something we haven’t seen in a long time. While a world timer chronograph looks great on a watch, we also believe that simplicity should sometimes be allowed to rule. And this year, the exclusion of the chronograph function and inclusion of the WW.TC complication into our favourite Girard-Perregaux range aptly demonstrates this point beautifully. We present, the best-looking world timer dress watch for 2017 (for now), the Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC at 40mm in stainless steel or
18k pink gold.

Montblanc

Some timepieces just trigger lust in your brain the moment you lay eyes on them. Montblanc’s new 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter Limited Edition in bronze is prime example. Building on the success of the blue 1858 this year, and taking a leaf from Davide Cerrato’s book at Tudor, the manufacture redefines the look and feel for “modern vintage”. The mix of copper and aluminium gives a uniform patina (sans the green gunk). Pairing the bronze case with a champagne dial makes the watch look like it came from the past and not merely inspired by it. Inside lies the Minerva Calibre MB M16.29, a traditional manual monopusher chronograph movement, featuring red and gold components to match the bronze of the case. We bet we’ll be seeing this one at the GPHG. 

Check out the second part with more from the pre-SIHH releases here.