Pictured Cartier watch selection from SIHH 2012
Last week I was welcomed into the rarified and exclusive world of Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Geneve (SIHH). Now in its 22nd year, SIHH is the most prestigious annual fine-watch exhibition in the world, attracting selective press, buyers and aficionados to Geneva for five days of events and presentations.
Only 18 brands take part, the lion’s share of which belonging to the luxury goods group Richemont, ensuring that the undeniably elitist and invite-only event is a true celebration of tradition, innovation and technical excellence. And this year there was a lot to be jubilant about as, despite the global recession, the Swiss watch industry had a record-breaking 2011, with sales in excess of US$18billion.
For someone more used to the hustle and bustle of fashion weeks, the air of tranquility that enveloped me upon entering SIHH was a refreshing change. Palexpo conference centre had been decked out in neutral tones, plush carpets, billowing curtains, a spa, and open-plan restaurants every few paces where one could rest one’s not at all tired feet while enjoying complimentary cuisine.
No expense was spared as each brand designed its booth to reflect the mood of its new timepieces. Baume & Mercier recreated a Hampton’s beach house while Ralph Lauren’s dark interior transported visitors back to the art-deco era and had a 1930s sports car on display. Roger Dubuis conjured up a scene from Mission Impossible with lasers guarding its precious watches in a library setting. And IWC Schaffhausen turned every man’s childhood fantasy into a reality with its US Aircraft carrier and fighter jet flight simulator.
By far the largest exhibition space, though, was taken over by Cartier, which forsook gimmickry in favour of relying on the heritage of the house. A wall-mounted display charted the long history of the Tank watch, which was designed by Louis Cartier in wartime 1917 to reflect the lines of the Allied tank. Since then various incarnations have been worn by such luminaries as Rudolph Valentino, Duke Ellington, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Lucy Liu and Michelle Obama. Cartier’s latest model, the Tank Angalise, maintains all of its classic features – a square face, roman numerals, chemin-de-fer chapter ring and sword-shaped hands – while offering three sizes and a range of flawless finishes.
New models in Cartier's Fine Watchmaking collection focus on the innovative movements within, such as the Annual Calendar, Flying Tourbillion, Minute Repeater, Perpetual Calendar and Grand Complication Skeleton Pocket watch, which is limited to 10 pieces, costing €500,000 each.
The High Jewellery and Artistic Crafts ranges meanwhile were more about surface beauty, using beads, stones, gems, diamonds, mother of pearl, enamel and engraving techniques to create wearable works of art. Most fabulous of all was the Promenade d’une Panthére, which featured Cartier’s signature beast prowling around the dial almost completely obscuring the face. What time is? Quarter to paw.
Whether you’re the type to wear a luxury watch as a fashion statement, a status symbol, for the love of its internal complications, for extreme sports, or god forbid, simply to tell the time, SIHH had something deliciously expensive for you. If Santa is reading this, and I’ve been a good girl come Christmas time, please may I have a large Tank in pink gold.
Helen Jennings | ARISE Magazine, editor