Each spring, some 1800 companies from the watch, jewellery and precious-stone industries showcase their latest developments and innovations in Basel.
About 100,000 visitors from the specialist retail and wholesale trade make their way to Basel from all over the world to
discover the current trends and view the latest creations from the watch and jewellery sectors.
BREITLING Chronomat 44 GMT watch
In addition to its slightly smaller size, this new BREITLING Chronomat version stands out for the rotating bezel which displays a third time zone over 24 hours. The Breitling 04 calibre – COSC-certified and developed and manufactured entirely by Breitling – ensures unprecedented ease of use. Breitling achieves what travellers everywhere have dreamed of: to move instantly to the time and date of their destination, and continue to keep time in their home city over 24 hours, with no loss of precision in the minute display.
BULGARI Daniel Roth Papillon Voyageur watch
The new Daniel Roth Papillon Voyageur is an exclusive Haute Horlogerie timepiece with an essential feature for inveterate travellers: a second time zone. Graduated over 24 hours, the local hour appears in a vertical window at 12 o’clock by means of a jumping display. The second time zone is indicated by a central, openwork hand that sweeps a guilloché disc, also graduated over 24 hours. Minutes are read from the Papillon mechanism. Positioned in the centre of the dial, it counts the minutes on a bearing disc. Two independent and pivoting lozenge-shaped hands move across two 180° segments in turn. One measures the 60 minutes in the hour while the other counts ten-minute increments. 99-piece limited series.
BLANCPAIN Villeret Collection watch
A demonstration of subtle balance that is the epitome of Blancpain’s savoir-faire. Blancpain brings an original note to its Villeret Collection in 2012, with a retrograde small seconds to whet the appetite! This most classic of the brand’s collections welcomes its first model to feature a flinqué lacquered dial while preserving its pure lines. Multiple layers of translucent blue lacquer are applied to the dial to create an impression of incomparable depth.
Housed inside the 40-mm white gold case, the ultra-slim 7663Q calibre offers a 3-day power reserve. This new automatic movement displays hours, minutes and date, shown by a central serpentine pointer, with retrograde seconds at 6 o’clock. Fast date adjustment is by the under-horn corrector at 5 o’clock.
FRANC VILA FVt N°1 Planetary Tourbillon watch (proposed as an ultra-limited series of eight pieces)
Franc Vila has risen to the challenge of creating a Haute Horlogerie collection for women who know what they want with the FVt N°1 Planetary Tourbillon, the first of its kind in the Franc Vila portfolio. Its uncompromising character is served by an exceptional mechanism, namely a flying tourbillon with spherical differential gear and inertia control mechanism inside an “Esprit Unique” case.
HUBLOT Big Bang Boa Bang watch (4 versions in limited editions of 250 each)
Sexy, glamorous, graphic and ultra-feminine appeal.
After the phenomenal success of the Leopard Bang, Hublot chooses to highlight the snake print. Like all Hublot collections, the Big Bang Boa Bang associates a powerful and dynamic design with unique expression of the jungle touch. Available in 18K red gold or steel versions and in green or chestnut brown shades, the Big Bang Boa Bang, with its fine automatic movement, looks set to establish itself among the hardiest fashionistas.
ANTOINE MARTIN Quantième Perpétuel QP01 watch
By establishing the Antoine Martin watch manufactory at Alpnach, in the heart of Switzerland, master watchmaker Martin Braun realised his dream of manufacturing a contemporary movement and creating unique, state-of-the-art modern timepieces. Two years of work were needed to envisage, create and produce this extraordinary watch, with its high aesthetic and technical standards.
Among many other surprises are an oversized grade 5 titanium balance and a high-tech silicone escapement requiring no lubricant for extreme efficiency. As well as the talent displayed by the artist-watchmaker, the watch is an aesthetic joy to behold, with the case specifically designed to house the large movement.
AZZARO Legend Round Line watch
Azzaro’s Legend collection is entering a third phase of its evolution since being launched in 2008: the haute couture brand is now exploring classic round lines. But nothing is ever completely traditional at Azzaro. Picking up the aesthetic codes of fashion, Legend Round Line is a charismatic chronograph on which the two pushers and the crown – formerly daringly placed on the left – have now become a single screw-lock pusher at 3 o’clock on a steel or yellow PVD-coated case. The highly fashionable dial comes in black, white, grey or brown, bearing equally varied counters. Its symmetrical layout accentuates its sporting yet traditional design, the harmony of its colours and its quality of execution. Because the name Azzaro inevitably evokes the iconic three-ring dress, the brand logo is echoed on the dial at 12 o’clock.
MANUFACTURE RODOLPHE CATTIN Witness One watch
The Manufacture Rodolphe Cattin introduces Witness One. The openworked Tourbillon movement heights the depth effect created by the gear wheels and the pure mechanics of the movement, already dictated by the absence of a dial. The finely sandblasted surfaces, bevelled and diamond-polished hands, black gold-treated bridges are exactly the kind of finishes that forge the character of MRC timepieces.
PETER TANISMAN Carrousel Black Attitude watch
Immediately identifiable by its sheer volume as well as by its fine curving line and unique cylinder, the Carrousel by Peter Tanisman is an authentic work or art. In this “Black Attitude” version, black sets the tone from case to strap, while the monochrome dial is enlivened by the hours and minutes indicated by silver-toned hands. The even more luminous carrousel at 6 o’clock is adorned with a sunburst guilloché motif and set with two diamonds.
