2016 looks set to be full of new departures for Le Locle company Christophe Claret. As we discovered at the SIHH, some of the brand’s flagship timepieces have been given a new look.
Marguerite
One for the ladies. Christophe Claret is playing the incurable romantic once again with the Marguerite, the successor to the company’s very first ladies’ watch, the Margot. Like its elder sister, the poetic Marguerite is a declaration of love.
In addition to the hours and minutes, indicated by two butterflies, a second display is hidden within the timepiece. At the push of a button at 2 o’clock the figures disappear, to be replaced by a secret, personal message: “Il m’aime passionément” (He loves me passionately).
And Christophe Claret is now offering the possibility of customising the message. Give free rein to your imagination and your heart, and tell the one you love exactly how you feel.
Soprano
Christophe Claret launched its first Soprano four years ago. The watchmaker has now unveiled three new variants, each in a limited series of eight pieces. The new Soprano has two complications – a 60-second tourbillon and a minute repeater – and features a manually-wound movement, which draws its energy from a single barrel, ensuring a power reserve of 72 hours. The heart of the timepiece beats at 3 Hz or 21,600 vph.
The new versions come in three different combinations of colours and materials: the first model has a case and crown made of 5N pink gold and chocolate-brown PVD-treated grade 5 titanium, with hands in orange lacquered sapphire and anthracite-grey titanium; the second features case and crown in white gold and black titanium, with hands in black sapphire and anthracite-grey titanium; and the third is made of white gold and slate-blue titanium, with blue lacquered sapphire and black titanium hands. These new Sopranos are all priced at CHF 468,000.
Allegro
The Allegro is Christophe Claret’s most musical timepiece, combining a minute repeater with GMT function, day/night indicator, big date and small seconds. A window in the sapphire dial reveals the striking mechanism. The novelty, again, lies in the watch’s composition.
The case in white gold and anthracite-grey titanium is set with baguette-cut diamonds. The dial is in opaque anthracite-grey sapphire, and the raised indices are rhodiumised. The hands are made of black lacquered sapphire and anthracite-grey PVD-treated titanium, with Superluminova®-filled tips. This unique piece which, like its predecessors, is fitted with a black alligator strap, can be yours for CHF 368,000.
