Forget New Year’s Day. The Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie represents pretty much, the first day in the watch world’s calendar. AUGUSTMAN was there on site to suss out what Geneva had to offer and we must say, we’re thoroughly impressed. New collections, innovative novelties, great partnerships – something for everyone. Here are some of our favourite watches for men with pictures in the flesh.
Cartier
Our pick from Cartier’s range this year would have to be the new Drive de Cartier Moonphase Automatic. An extension of last year’s highly successful collection, it’s a watch that sums Cartier up perfectly well. An ingenious shape? Check. An in-house movement? Check. Perfect design language? Definitely check. It’s a genuinely handsome watch that while not half as complicated as the maison’s Fine Watchmaking pieces (that we delve into in future issues of AUGUSTMAN), balances what a man should want in a dress watch at an affordable price. For the gents who were waiting for the re-release of a new Tank collection, the wait continues unfortunately. Not to worry; representatives from the brand confirmed that an anniversary will be celebrated later on this year.
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Jaeger-LeCoultre
If you’re a gent looking for your next functional timepiece to add in your rotation, Jaeger-LeCoultre might just have your number. Taking inspiration from its timepieces in the 1930’s and ’50s, the maison unveiled the new Master Control range, a trio of simple yet useful watches that look great. Our pick from the lot is the Master Control Geographic (not to be confused with the Master Geographic), a dual time zone watch that lets you keep an eye on where as well as the when thanks to a world disc at six o’clock. We’re loving the blue and silver colour scheme as well as the fact that the watches all come in steel.
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Baume & Mercier
We’re big fans of Baume & Mercier’s partnership with the legendary Shelby Cobra and were eagerly waiting for the third installment of the collaboration and it was clearly worth the wait. Working alongside Peter Brock, the man who designed the first Cobra Coupe, Baume & Mercier unveiled the Clifton Club Shelby Cobra range. The star of the three was the dual-coloured beauty boasting a flyback chronograph mechanism. Along the tachymeter scale, 196mph is highlighted, a nod to the top speed that the Shelby Cobra hit at Le Mans in 1964.
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Roger Dubuis
The most exciting news from Roger Dubuis comes from the brand’s partnership with tire makers Pirelli. As it happened, the manufacture had been looking outside the watch industry for new and innovative materials to use in its timepieces and made contact at the Formula One Monaco race. Pirelli, if you didn’t know, is the sole supplier of tires in many racing championships worldwide including the entire Formula One series. Roger Dubuis has adapted this into its timepieces by means of a rubber strap. And not just any rubber. Rubber taken from the tires of race winners.
Each rubber strap will be engraved with the serial numbers of the tires (yes, each tire has its own number) so watch owners get to revel in the fact that the strap around their wrists has seen some real action. The partnership has been realised on the Excalibur Spider Pirelli and will be limited to 88 pieces. Here however, is the even more so limited Excalibur Spider Pirelli Double Flying Tourbillon.
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