A question mark remained over whether each of this year's watch shows would go ahead right up until the last minute. Events which can still be held offline these days are becoming even more famous. One of them was the 15th Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR) in Mexico.
This events have traditionally offered a platform for presenting models exclusively created for the Latin American market. From 20–22 October at the St. Regis Hotel, 36 luxury watch brands showcased their novelties, which included Mexican-inspired pieces.
One of the pieces which stood out was the De Bethune DW5 Cempazúchil, with Día de Muertos motifs, the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. Inspired by José Guadalupe Posada's late 19th century and early 20th century drawings, Swiss expert engraver Michèle Rothen embellished the futuristic case with marigolds, also called Flor de Muerto, which adorn the alter during the festival, and calavera, or decorated skulls. The colorful gold alloys on the case's plain titanium base give the impression that a painting has been created on the surface.
Christophe Claret has also decorated his X-TREM-1 with the iconic skulls. The symbol of the celebration is a diamond-set skull with pigeon's blood ruby eye sockets, and the tourbillon is decorated with emeralds. In this way, the watchmaker has worked the colors of the Mexican flag into the design.
Ulysse Nardin drew enough inspiration from Mexico for an entire series of 20 Classico collection watches designed by artist Jorge Aviña, who put a face on the watches by transferring portraits of some of the most outstanding people in Mexican history onto their dials.
Leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 Emiliano Zapata appears on one of the classic two-hand faces of the watches in 40 mm rose-gold cases, which also feature national hero Benito Juárez, the Niños Héroes (trans. "heroic children") and historic president Porfirio Díaz, as well as scenes from the Battle of Puebla. Revolutionary general Pancho Villa has not been forgotten either.
Pancho Villa has found a place on the dial of the Opera Íconos de México Pancho Villa by Jacob & Co. Gen. Pancho Villa is depicted between the tri-axial tourbillon and a music-box mechanism which plays the Mexican National Anthem. Gen. Villa watches over the rotating tri-axial tourbillon, each axis of which rotates every 8, 24 and 72 seconds.
Franck Muller's Vanguard Racing Crazy Hours Rally Maya Limited Edition 2020 moves away from the themes of history and Día de Muertos. The watch dedicated to the Rally Maya Mexico classic car race is equipped with the Crazy Hours complication, where the numbers have all been shuffled and thrown in different places.
The hands of the watch need to adjust to this insane system by jumping to the right place every hour, while the minute hand keeps moving as usual. A symbol of the event can be found at 12 o'clock in the form of the feathered serpent Kukulkan from Mayan mythology.