Watches and Wonders fair opens its doors to the public after 5 private days for buyers and stars. With its 48 exhibiting brand this is the largest watchmaking event of the year, with surprisingly large and strong collections from leading French luxury brands like Cartier and Chanel, while Louis Vuitton is completely absent at the fair.
The stars came and left one by one, including Julia Roberts, Roger Federer, Ronaldinho, David Beckham and Asian superstars. From today the Watches and Wonders fair is open to the public - but there are not that many watches to see either. There are also 5,000 tickets for the main exhibition available to the public on the final two days of the show.
Éveil de Cyclamen automaton all material courtesy of W&W. The Éveil du Cyclamen automaton showcases a bouquet of flowers that open to reveal a bejeweled butterfly. Lacquered cyclamens emerge from a purple jade bowl and come to life to reveal the delicate winged creature. The butterfly’s strikingly realistic enamel wings flutter at a natural pace as it rises above the object. The hours are indicated by a rotating ring on the green aventurine base. Produced in partnership with the François Junod workshop, the animation is accompanied by a crystal-clear melody to complete this truly spellbinding moment.
Like a protective muse, a fairy watches over the sky at sunset in her pink sapphire and diamond dress. Her wings made of pink plique-à-jour enamel echo the nuances of the backdrop, crafted in guilloché mother-of-pearl and set with diamonds. Delicately sitting on a cloud, she ticks away the minutes with her magic wand thanks to a retrograde movement. The sun indicates the hours in a mother-of-pearl aperture, magnified by a soothing halo. Lady Féerie in rose gold by Van Cleef & Arpels.
Planétarium automaton is distinguished by its impressive dimensions, the Planétarium automaton presents the Sun and many of the planets of its system visible from the Earth: Mercury, Venus, the Earth – accompanied by its satellite, the Moon –, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Thanks to a mechanical movement of great complexity, each heavenly body moves at its genuine speed of rotation. When the animation starts, a shooting star appears from a small door and circles the dial to indicate the hours. It sweeps the planets along in a veritable ballet – accompanied by a cristalline melody. 3D rendering - Planétarium © Van Cleef & Arpels.
J12 DIAMOND TOURBILLON WATCH CALIBER 5, 38MM
A bespoke solitaire diamond that rotates to the rhythm of the Flying Tourbillon movement developed by the #CHANEL Manufacture. The subtle contrast between the smooth finish of the ceramic and the sparkle of the diamonds. The dial resembles Perlée and Alhambra watches by #VanCleefArpels.
Culminating on the wrist or hanging from the neck, Van Cleef & Arpels precious watches combine jewelry know-how and watchmaking expertise to offer time an elegant setting. The pieces reinterpret the emblematic aesthetics of the Perlée™ and #Alhambra® collections in a bold and contemporary way, giving rise to new combinations of materials, carefully chosen for their color and quality. Depending on the creations, precious or ornamental stones and diamonds interact with gold, worked in delicate beads or radiant guilloché.
Baignoire by #Cartier explores the oval of the dial, the watch's hallmark, and transposes it into a bezel to be slipped as close to the wrist as possible. The birth of a hybrid, precious object: a watch that is also a piece of jewellery.
#Hermès H08 Chronograph may be less spectacular to look at but is combining sporty spirit and urban allure, the plural nature of the Hermès H08 watch is expressed in a new chronograph with contrasting shades and materials. Sculpted from a block of multi-layer composite combining carbon fibre and graphene powder, the cushion-shaped case is adorned with a black dial enhanced by two counters. A single pusher controls the start, stop and zero-reset functions of the swiftly moving hands. (c)Scheltens-and-Abbenes
The public can buy access to see new watch models, but this year the brands present modest collections and there are not that many patented mechanisms or other wonders to see, with each brand presenting 5-6 new #watch models on average, often in limited editions of a dozen or 20 pieces the year 2023 may not be another record year for the industry. The 2023 Geneva edition began on March 27 and will last until April 2.
While the first two days were reserved for professionals, the Salon is now available to the general public on April 1 and 2. Additionally, it is occupying Geneva's streets all throughout the week with a unique In the City program that is watchmaking's biggest event of the year in Geneva.
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