Watch Blog

Re-wind! Spring sees an about-turn from the excessive proportions of previous seasons with bags, shoes and yes, even watches reduced to mini dimensions. Taking a cue from the Louis Vuitton SS12 show – a lesson in sugarcoated daintiness – it’s all about discreet heels, micro bags and delicate watches that whisper rather than shout.

Animal-print and reptile skins have been unavoidable on the catwalks in recent seasons and their influence is now tipping into accessories and watches. I like my animal prints subtle and expensive-looking so of course I’m all for a minimalist watch in traditional croc-print.  

If you think that a watch beating at 7.2 million beats per hour sounds fast, then you'd be right. This is the pulse rate of the TAG Heuer Mikrogirder 2000, a new concept watch unveiled at TAG Heuer's pre-Basel event held in Geneva last week.

To put this into context, the Mikrogirder beats twice as fast at the previous record-holder, the TAG Heuer Mikrotimer, and 250-times as fast as a regular watch. There is of course of a purpose to this ultra-high frequency, and that's to allow for a more accurate chronograph - the party trick of the Mikrogirder is its ability to record minute fractions of time, being the first watch able to time events to an accuracy of 5/ 10,000th of a second.

While large men’s watches stole the show for me at SIHH 2012 in Geneva this year, the show was not without its significant attention to women. If men’s watches were about sportiness, women’s watches were about decadence and luxury.

On scene here at the SIHH 2012 watch show in Geneva, I am happy to report that the modern men’s watch is the focus of the event. It was not a revolutionary year in terms of style of technical complications, but the message is clear “the contemporary men’s watch is coming back.”

The last few years saw too much vintage, too much down-sizing (literally in size), and the proliferation of the unisex watch. The reasons are varied but of little importance now because watch brands are finally again focusing on the global men’s market – where size matters.

TAG Heuer this week announced a new Formula 1 series at a launch event in Geneva. The new Formula 1 is an evolution of today's series, with a focus on upgraded components and finishing, as well as introducing ceramic for the first time in a TAG Heuer men's series. But the key attraction of the Formula 1 has always been bold designs and sportiness, and the new watches deliver these qualities through both the core range and the introduction of two "high performance models".

Blancpain has announced it will unveil X Fathoms (the most extreme watch ever produced by the brand) at SIHH 2012 in Geneva.

Debuting at the SIHH 2012 watch show - Roger Dubuis will surprise watch lovers with a new piece for women. Watches in this new collection will be simply called the “Velvet.” A romantic name, but ironic given that the watch neither contains velvet or any fabric to speak of. It is possible that there will be versions with straps however.

A few years ago Montblanc acquired the historic chronograph watch manufacturer named Minerva in Switzerland. Montblanc incorporated the famous watch maker into the brand as the place where their highest-end watches would be made.

Even though Minerva itself no longer exists, Montblanc is keen to pay tribute to the origins of their high-quality Montblanc Villeret 1858 collection of watches. On this watch for example if you look at the very bottom of the dial, there is a small label which reads “Minerva 1858.”