WORLDTEMPUS - 15 June 2012
Roberta Naas
At the recently held Couture and JCK Las Vegas shows, several important themes took center stage. Among them: the emergence of smaller women's watches in the 26-30 mm size; the concept of classic or vintage inspired men's single-complication watches; and military and armed force-inspired pieces. It is expected that these directions, while seen earlier this year at Baselworld and the S.I.H.H., will be the trendsetters in the American market this year.
A strong number of watch brands exhibited this year, with Couture leading the way at the Wynn hotel with more than 60 brands and the JCK Las Vegas piling hundreds more into the Mandalay Bay Convention show floor and Swiss Watch by JCK suites. This mixed presentation of brands – with companies showing in suites in three to four different hotels and on show floors in hotels at extreme opposite ends of The Strip – did not make reconnaissance easy. Still, determined watch buyers were savvy enough to don comfortable walking shoes and take full advantage of the Glam-Rock-sponsored, Couture-arranged shuttles between the shows so they could peruse the offerings at both ends.
Many brands were releasing smaller-sized women's watches, often in two-tone cases and bracelets – perhaps in answer to the Asian demand for smaller watches that brand execs hope will catch on in America, or perhaps in answer to the need for more affordable timepieces. Either way, the two-tone look and small, round watches were ever present. Raymond Weil, for instance, released an entire repertoire of elegant, classically-styled mini timepieces with two-tone cases and bracelets in its Jasmine collection and its ladies' Maestro series. Similarly, Charriol unveiled alluring Parisi and St. Tropez collections chocked with many splendid models.
Dior also made a strong statement with its La D Mini watches – including models with gemstone dials and bright, colorful straps. Dior also brought its stunning artistic-dial masterpieces stateside for this exhibition – showing U.S. retailers its feather dial collections and the incredible one-of-a-kind couture watches that blend mixed gemstone dials with diamonds and gems for magnificent luxury appeal. Similarly, DeLaneau brought its creative line of artistic enamel-dialed watches back to the U.S.A. under the distribution arm of Maîtres du Temps. This series showcases enamel birds in flight and exceptional enamel and mother-of-pearl floral motifs on dials surrounded by diamond and gemstone bezels, cases and case-to-bracelet attachments.
Men's watches made a prevailing statement throughout the show with emphasis clearly on vintage classic looks, single complications and military themes. In the complicated realm, Louis Moinet, particularly proud of just having won its fourth Red Dot Best of Best 2012 award (this time for the Rainforest Geograph), brought several pieces to the U.S.A. for the first time, including the Tempograph and the new Stardance for women.
Similarly, Girard-Perregaux made a strong showing with a comprehensive exhibit of its repeaters and Opera 1, 2 and 3 watches, as well as with its famed Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges and its vintage 1966 series. In addition to showing its 1966 Equation of Time watch to an American audience, the brand also released the Dark Night ww.tc and unveiled the Big Blue Seahawk, created in a limited edition of 15 pieces and introduced at the Rockefeller World Oceans event held last week at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Graham London surprised retailers (and some press) with its incredible new Silverstone Tourbillograph, which won the Couture Time award for Technical Excellence. Executives in the Graham suite were actually seen throwing the tourbillon timepiece onto the marble coffee table and floors to demonstrate its extreme resilience. This watch, which warranted two patents, features a tourbillon integrated into its complex chronograph movement. It is made exclusively for Graham by La Joux-Perret, and is the result of four years of research and development.
Bell & Ross, while showcasing its strong military and aviation expertise, also exhibited its alluring new Argentium (a high-tech silver alloy) watches as well as two Jumping Hours timepieces created by the brand in cooperation with independent watchmaker Vincent Calabrese.
Philip Stein showed off its Round Prestige Kudoke skeletonized watch. This watch is not only equipped with Philip Stein's Natural Frequency Technology, but also features a manually wound movement completely skeletonized by German engraver and watchmaker Stefan Kudoke housed in a 45 mm stainless steel case – offering technology, complexity and affordability in one aesthetic package. It is limited to 25 pieces only.
In the military watch arena, Ball Watch surprised and delighted retailers with its unveiling of the Engineer Hydrocarbon NEDU military watch. The U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit is responsible for operational diving and decompression rules for the U.S. Armed Forces, and Ball has dedicated this watch to that NEDU unit. This new timepiece is the first diving watch with a helium release valve incorporated into the crown. Water resistant to 600 meters, the ruggedly constructed watch case is 17.3 mm at its thickest point – making it strong enough for such depths. The automatic helium release valve incorporated into the crown is a patented Ball innovation. The watch boasts many more extreme-diving capabilities and features, thereby making an impression on Ball retailers and enthusiasts at the Couture show.
Similarly, Bremont reinforced its aviation and military ties with the new Bremont C17 and ALT1-WR world timer watch with Roto-Click bezel that enables the user to work out the global time zones using the international landing location in 24 zones. The ALT1-WT model won the People's Choice award at the Couture Time Contest.
Other brands had great news to share, including Ulysse Nardin's announcement of bringing baseball legend Randy Johnson on board as a brand ambassador, and TAG Heuer's grand American launch of the relationship with the Lady Link and Cameron Diaz.
