Or two different lights! The French/English version is dominated by the blue of the H2 and the German/English version by the red version of this hydromechanical piece. This ultra-contemporary front cover about the “HYT journey of an iconic watch”, as the editor-in-chief puts it, is the best example of the extreme hybridisation of high-end watchmaking in its quest for innovation and challenge. When the new materials in a watch are liquid, what comes next?
The diversity within this micromechanical universe is also shown rather strikingly by two expert articles on two centennial brands that are a lot more traditional but have planetary charisma. Written jointly by the architect Alex Leuzinger and the specialist journalist Marie de Pimodan- Bugnon, the analysis of the Nautilus Travel Time chronograph by Patek Philippe takes readers on a journey to the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum in Brazil. What are the links between this architectural work and the horological monument?*
Watchmaker Christophe Persoz devoted his Test Bench in this issue to the Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day-Date by Vacheron Constantin, which comes under his expert eye. Since both aesthetics and technology are intrinsically part of GMT’s DNA, journalist David Chokron continues to pen the Innovation column, this time taking an in-depth look at the detent escapement. Not for the technology shy!
Leaders and the 12th Art
Without a visionary leader, the story of some of the great watch brands would not have been written with the same precision. Their input is therefore determinant. Among the most dynamic CEOs in the industry, Jean-Christophe Babin at the helm of Bvlgari and Michele Sofisti steering Girard-Perregaux tell us about their objectives and the means at their disposal to strengthen their brands. Still with the insider’s view, Indian watch specialist Anita Khatri outlines the stakes and the winners in this strategic market.
Besides some forty new watches presented individually across different themes, two features offer a playful and highly visual approach to some of the watches that were seen at the shows at the start of the year. Marie de Pimodan-Bugnon offers her selection of the indispensable watches for the summer (which will also be the subject of a new weekly column on the website worldtempus.com), while specialist Marie Le Berre looks at how the 12th Art (the art of measuring time) takes inspiration from the classical arts as outlined by the philosopher Hegel. The football world cup even has the brands all emotional, although they are not all capitalising on it in the same way.
As an official media partner of the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, GMT reveals what’s new this year and opens up the race for submissions. Its autumn edition will include the official catalogue with the presentation of the 72 watches selected for the GPHG 2014. In the meantime, GMT will be published in July in its XXL format in Switzerland and in September as XXL World, which is distributed in 80 countries.
The June issue of GMT is available at newsstands now in Switzerland, as well as on Relay.com and Magzter in German, English and French.
*View all the archives in the GMT Architecture column on gmtmag.com
