Our Favorites From SIHH 2017
SIHH Favorites 2017
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The 27th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) may have come and gone, but it’s safe to say that the watch world saw a pretty intense week of enticing releases along with a profound meeting of horological minds. It was the first time that SIHH featured a handful of independents in addition to the usual Richemont suspects such as Audemars Piguet, F.P. Journe, Panerai and Richard Mille that resulted in a vastly diverse range of watch releases.
On top of it all, the event was even opened to the public on its final day for the first time ever. So with the dust settling, it’s interesting to see which watches are still being talked about and we thought we’d have some fun by compiling some of our favorite watches announced at the event.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in Full Black Ceramic
As if the Royal Oak wasn’t already the watch world’s own special freak of nature, Audemars Piguet has just announced what could be the hottest version yet. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ref. 26579CE features full black ceramic construction that moves beyond the case and into the classic Royal Oak bracelet. In full ceramic, the bracelet alone takes about thirty hours to hand assemble and the all black look brings aggressive styling to an otherwise traditionally elegant perpetual calendar design. While it may not seem like a highly complex innovation from Audemars Piguet, it certainly moves the Royal Oak line into new and youthful visual territory.
F.P. Journe Vagabondage III
At SIHH 2017, F.P. Journe announced a watch that I think nobody saw coming. After a bit of a hiatus, the Vagabondage line returned with one of the most breathtaking advancements in watchmaking – the world’s first digital jumping seconds display integrated within a fully-mechanical timepiece. It’s something that just has to be seen in order to really appreciate the engineering that went into it. The constant force escapement developed by Journe powers a fluid and accurate seconds display that centers around the use of bold disks to display the time. Additionally, F.P. Journe has announced that this is to be the final watch release for the Vagabondage collection.
Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic 42mm
Panerai has just announced the addition of six new Luminor Submersible 1950 models to their catalog. Perhaps the most talked about variant so far is the 42mm model, which brings a more easy-wearing aesthetic to the Submersible collection. Since the Submersibles are usually sized much larger than other models, the designs tend to be quite polarizing and even unwearable for some. With an in-house caliber P.9010 movement, this 42mm Submersible brings everything you’d want out of a high-end Panerai in the form of a timepiece that can be worn comfortably every day.
Richard Mille RM 50-03
This is it. The big one. The Richard Mille RM 50-03 is the world’s lightest split second chronograph. In an effort to push the boundaries of material development, the watch was manufactured with Graph TPT, a composite developed with graphene-like resin injected into carbon fiber layers. The result? A racing inspired, high performance split second chronograph that weighs in at only 40 grams. The watch is also limited to 75 pieces and although it’s light, the price tag is massive. The Richard Mille RM 50-03 is priced at $980,000.
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