SIHH 2011, Geneva, Kicks Off - DAY 1

Watches from top flight brands including Cartier, Montblanc, Ralph Lauren, IWC, Panerai, Richard Mille and Piaget are on display in lavish surroundings, with watches routinely topping the £50,000 price mark. Meanwhile, industry giant TAG Heuer and niche players Bovet and Christophe Claret, amongst others, are holding VIP viewings at hotel suites and boutiques around town. Security is tight and luxury is definitively the name of the game.

Global concierge service Quintessentially has lined up appointments with watchmakers in Geneva this week for its members who are serious or aspiring watch collectors. For the first time at the SIHH, a mini spa, laid on by show organisers Richemont, offers retailers and journalists complimentary massages and manicures throughout the week. Gwyneth Paltrow was rumoured to be attending the Baume & Mercier party this evening, while at the dinner I attended hosted by maverick watchmaker Richard Mille, guests included Karl Lagerfeld muse and model Jean Baptiste Giabiconi, the man said to be the highest paid male model in the world today – even if he was sporting a rather puzzling new haircut.

And what about the ladies watches seen so far? Cartier’s new Délices de Cartier has a slanted ellipsis shaped dial designed to resemble sweets good enough to eat, while ladies offerings at Van Cleef & Arpels went so far as to include a mother of pearl interpretation of a polar bear on a dial.

But more than ever, watches are being presented as works of art with an enormous emphasis on the crafts involved in making them. Take Cartier’s expertise in wood marquetry, or openwork enamelling. Or its richly coloured mosaic watch with a face incorporating 1067 squares fashioned from 12 different types of stones set with the help of “various different kinds of tweezers”, according to mosaic expert Olivier Vaucher. A beautiful Cartier jewellery watch had a pure white strap and a dial depicting a hummingbird, thanks to meticulously set emeralds and diamonds. Meanwhile, Van Cleef & Arpels watches, inspired by 19th century author Jules Vernes, include a watch adorned with enamel and mother of pearl marquetry entitled Five Weeks in a Balloon.

Tomorrow I’ll be interviewing TAG Heuer CEO, Jean Christophe Babin about the brand’s latest record-breaker. At IWC I’ll be touring an exhibition of photography by Peter Lindbergh, the fashion photographer best known for his work with supermodels, and possibly seeing some of the stars who appear in his new shots taken in Portofino – Cate Blanchett, Kevin Spacey, Elle MacPherson and Lost star Matthew Fox. All this, and much more on women’s watches to follow. Stay tuned.