SIHH 2013: Tourbillons from Montblanc

Montblanc is a brand made famous by the wonderful writing instruments with the stylized snow cap. But they do make interesting watches too. Expecially since they took over the remainder of what was Minerva, and incorporated the movement manufacturing capability with the marketing juggernaut of Richmont.

Two tourbillons caught my eye in this year's crop of watches shown by Montblanc.

First, the Montblanc Collection Villeret 1858 Tourbillon ExoTourbillon Chronographe

The exo tourbillon moniker is Montblanc speak for a tourbillon design where the cage is separated and oscillates on a different plane from the balance spring.

The other Montblanc tourbillon which was interesting to me, was the Grande Tourbillon Heure Mysterious...

While the display of time: hours and minutes are done a la mysterious...that is, the hands seem to be floating in space, seemmingly disconnected from anything, it is already a known way how the mysterious is accomplished...by the use of transparent sapphire glass discs, which carry the hands, where the discs are driven from outside the aperture open for viewing the time.

But it is the bridge of the tourbillon, and the actual tourbillon itself which mesmerised me more....

SIHH 2013: JLC Perpetual Calendar with Cylindrical Tourbillon

Jaeger LeCoultre's offerings this SIHH produced some of the interesting highlights of the show for me. The latest Gyrotourbillon 2 was unveilled...but only 2 pieces were made...one on the showcase, and the other on CEO Jerome Lambert's wrists.

So, interestingly similar in strategy to ALS, no photography of the Gyrotourbillon 3. I only got to see the piece in the window, as this time, I did not have a private audience with Jerome.

So, its a series of facelifts which drew the attention. The most complicated amongst these is the Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Cylindrique à Quantième Perpétuel Jubilee.

180 piece limited edition. Quite a magnificent timepiece. With a full perpetual calendar, multi layer dial, and a cylindrical tourbillon.

The dial is a full perpetual calendar, with the usual indications

I love the way the dial is made...multi layer, with a nail head finish on the main surface, polished subdials, and a step to highlight the tourbillon. Notel also the 4 year display, and the little cutouts on the hands to allow the leap year indicator to be visible.

The tourbillon is flying, two axis, first developed for the Spherotourbillon of 2012, though this one is only single axis, it is also flying and features the same cylindrical hairspring. I find the tourbillon mesmerising to gaze at.

The automatic movement from the display case back shows the rotor, engraved with the medallion which JLC won in the universal exposition in 1889.

SIHH 2013: Lange's Grande Complication

The iconic piece Lange showed this SIHH2013 is the Grande Complication. Modelled after and inspired by the 42500 Grande Complication Pocket watch, this magnificent piece is the lastest salvo fired by the little manufacture in Glashutte.

The giant model of the Grand Complication which greets visitors to the Lange booth. The model displays the correct time, and even strikes en passant, though the sound of the strikes are recorded from an old pocket watch rather than the actual Grande Complication. The recorded watch exhibits a rather loud buzzing governer, while the actual GC is rather quiet.

A Grand Complication...typically this is a concoction of 4 or more complications...in the case of the Lange GC, its 7...pepetual calendar, chronograph, split seconds, fourdroyante, minute repeater, petite sonnerie, grande sonnerie. Quite a long list. All this packed in a case 50mm in diameter, some 20.3mm in height...I did not get to try it...afterall, Lange had intended this to be a teaser...a watch as significant as this should not be announced and showed in a crowded show like SIHH. It deserves total and global press and collector attention with its own show.

The giant model of the Grand Complication, movement side. Here a projected image, likely computer generated shows a small video introducing the GC. The movement looks deliciously complicated. As such, though there was a working prototype, and because there was only one, Lange took the decision to only show to selected press and customers, and declined photography and handling of this fine watch.

Tony briefing the brand managers and showing them (and me) the watch. We listened intently to the striking. Loud, crisp, beautiful tone, nice resonance. Very quiet regulator sound. In a word, magnificent and beautiful.

So why is this significant? Well, it is possibly the first grande complication to be manufactured in Glashutte. The older pocket watches were all built in Glashutte from base ebauches which were Swiss made. Indeed the venerable 42500 was probably a Piguet base movement, though many of the complications were added in Germany.

Drawing to explain the workings of the watch.

Second, it was the only Grande and Petite Sonnerie amongst the top tear manufacturers with the exception of Audemars Piguet and Franck Muller. Patek Philippe does not offer one, and neither does Vacheron Constantin. The heritage of the wrist watch Grande Sonnerie traces back to Grandmaster Philippe Dufour, who shocked the horology world with the first Grande et Petite Sonnerie wristwatch. He made a total of 6, and in a conversation I had with him in Geneva, he just completed...or about to complete no 7. The Grande and Petite Sonnerie in a wristwatch is rarified territory, but when you add the other complications...well it becomes almost unique.

Picture of a photograph or computer generated graphic hanging on the wall of the GC room.

Other specialities? The dial is a multi piece enamel dial...made in Glashutte. The works were completed by now Master enameler Romy Zimmerman...a young lady, I first met when she was an apprentice experimenting with enamel in the engraving department many years ago. The dial is magnificent.

Showing the select Lange Owners Group the GC...if you look close enough, the watch is right in the center. The group was impressed with the visual impact of the GC and the sonics.

It will take one full year to manufacture one of these complicated beauties. So only 6 will be offered worldwide. Delivery is expected from 2014 to 2020. The price...a cool €1.95 million German retail. You'd think it will be difficult to sell such an expensive watch, but I personally know of at least 2 persons who are in contention to get one, and Wilhelm Schmidt, CEO of Lange told me they have serious enquires numbering upwards of a dozen.

Drawing showing the striking works. Completely new design from ground up.

SIHH 2010: Some portraits

Arnd Einhorn



Tino Bobe



Ainie and Tian Bey.




Alan Soong



Dmitry Sabirov



Francois Xavier Overstake



John Kelmanson



Michael Hickcox



Oliver Meindl



Peter Conrad



Rob Gan



Stefan Weeber



Stephen Luk



Terry Opdendyk

SIHH 2010: ALS The Annual Calendar, Double Split, 1815 Chrono, and Little Saxonia

The Lange Annual Calendar...the first Lange watch to bear this complication is shown below:



The annual calendar offers a lower cost alternative to the perpetual calendar...and also a cleaner, easier to read dial layout.



Very handsome watch, clean dial layout, very legible.



Movement again in characteristic Lange finish. The annual calendar movement is under the dial (like the perpetual calendar) and from the back, the watch looks like a regular Langematic movement.

Next up, the Double Split in gold



One of my favourite watches, the Double Split...known as the secret watch of watchmakers...this is a special watch, known and appreciated for its technical virtuosity, and loved by the techies...



Absolute drop dead movement design and layout, following the cues from the magnificent Datograph, the Double split adds another layer on top of the already beautiful, layered look of the Datograph.



Detail of the movement. Showing the incredible design and finish of all the parts. Exquisite and truly a mark of true beauty.

The 1818 Chronograph was discontinued with the prior 1815 line, and when the 1815 line made its return last year, the chronograph returns in 2010.



The redesigned watch has a cleaner dial...the railway track is now gone, removing the clutter.



The same gorgeous movement adorns the new 1815 Chronograph.

And finally something for the ladies...the Little Saxonia.



Many mourn the loss of the original, small handwound watch, introduced with the revival of the ALS brand in 1994. Now it returns as a beautiful ladies piece. The bezel is set with 52 brilliant cut diamonds, weighing approx 1.3 carats. This is a beautiful piece to grace a feminine wrist.



The original L941.2 adorns the new watch. Case also remains unchanged at 34mm.

SIHH 2010: ALS ReferenzUhr

The Richard Lange Referenzuhr...reference time. A simple complication to the Richard Lange series of chronometers.



Two significant changes to the regular Richard Lange: move from central seconds hand to a large subsidiary seconds hand. And the provision of the ability to reset this seconds hand at will, without having to stop the movement.



This feature is useful for timesetting...making reference to the name Referenzuhr (reference watch)...also indicating to the historically important clock made by Richard Lange which was used to signal time throughout the land in the early days. The clock was connected electrically to the time signal on the top of the hour broadcasted by radio.



The zero reset mechanism - a complicated system allows the hand to be reset...similar to the flyback mechanism in the Datograph. This type of reset mechanism were common in the early days in pocket watches, and were known as Doctor's watches, as the doctor could reset the second hands when taking a patient's pulse at will, rather to have to wait for it to come to a reference point.



Again, typical very high standard of finish throughout. Beautiful anglages, and here a detail of the barrel wheel, showing skeleton finish.

SIHH 2010: ALS Zeitwerk Phantom

The Zeitwerk created a sensation in horology when it was released in Berlin in May 2009. Originally code-named Semper, as the time display reminds one of the display on the great clock in the opera house, but released as Zeitwerk, this year's innovation in 100 pieces executed in only platinum, is the Luminous Zeitwerk, also christened The Phantom (reference to The Phantom of the Opera)...



The timebridge is now anodized in black finish, to match rather than contrast the darkened sapphire crystal dial. The watch looks dark, brooding, and menacing...I just love the peek-a-boo disks below the dark dial.



The sapphire dial is an ingenious solution to allow the superluminova paint of the numerals to charge up while waiting for their turn to show up under the dial cutout.



The time is clear, very legible, and the glow is quite strong.



Movement is standard Zeitwerk, and shows characteristic finish.