The 29th edition of the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) located in Geneva, Switzerland, opened the doors to worldwide retailers and press yesterday morning. Here is The Eye of Jewelry’s recap on Day 1!
Amongst the existing brands from the Richemont Group including (Piaget, Cartier or Vacheron Constantin) a few outsiders like Hermes, Greubel Forsey or the independent brands such as MB&F or Romain Gautier located in the Carré des Horlogers unveiled their latest collections. As announced at the end of last year, Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet are exhibiting for the very last time here at the fair.
Our 2019 edition of the SIHH started with four major brands introducing their new launches.Audemars Piguet unveiled Code 11.59, their first and new round collection comprised of 13 references, 6 calibres and 5 complications. We were able to get our hands on new pieces from the collaboration between AP and Florentine Jewelry Designer Carolina Bucci with the Royal Oak frosted gold collection. Last but not least, Sapphire Orbe, reminiscing the river passing by the Brassus Manufacture, is their latest high jewelry watch set with more than 12’000 stones including 6 shades of blue sapphires and 6 shades of orange sapphires topped with diamonds. Another outstanding piece !
Moving on to Cartier who, this year introduced 76 new references in which the focus was about Santos, Panthère and Métiers d’Art pieces. The Chinese tank is back in the game with two versions : one set with tsavorites and sapphires and another one with rubis and diamonds. A retro look almost art-deco to contrast with our 2019 avant-garde looks. Paying tribute to the iconic Baignoire first introduced in 1912, Cartier reedited two versions of the model as a symbol of femininity and French Elegance. The simple yet super elegant classic baignoire with a gold case deprived of any stones is the epitome of simplicity. The second version is the elongated version of the Baignoire set with diamonds, paraiba tourmalines stones or even set with a perlée case. Icon of the brand for years, the Panther has been and remains an on-going inspiration. As a matter of fact, the Ronde Louis Cartier Regard de Panthère showcases the mosaic of a panther hand-painted on the dial where the SuperLuminova highlight the eyes of the feline glowing in the dark ! If we remember last year’s Revelation of a Panther in which a liquid inside the dial revealed the face of panther made of golden micro-beads has been replaced this year by diamonds to reach a more dazzling effect.
Girard- Perregaux unveiled their updated Laureato, a must of the brand yet- for the fairer sex. On the feminine side, the Cat’s Eye collection which has been a pillar for the brand when it comes to adorn women’s wrists unveiled 3 versions: one fully paved with diamonds, one with a blue sky aventurine dial and one with a mother of pearl dial. All three have an off-centered cherry blossom flower whose function is the power reserve.
To be continued ….
