Four models guaranteed to interest collectors.
Once at the forefront of haute horlogerie and held every January, the SIHH (Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie) as we knew it faded into the background a few years ago. Important gatherings were postponed until the end of August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the SIHH was canceled, dozens of other companies decided to partner with LVMH brands. That was actually how the Geneva Watch Days were born, which brought together around 40 brands from August 29 to September 1 this year.
And while it may have been decentralized with brands organizing exhibitions in various hotels on the shores of Lake Geneva, it turned out to be a prominent event.
Greubel Forsey GMT Balancier Convexe
The luxury watch brand Greubel Forsey has had a fair degree of success developing the sports watch genre since the experienced Antonio Calce and former head of Corum and Girard-Perregaux took over the reins.
In 2020, the brand introduced the coolest watch in the sport de luxe category made of non-precious metals: Greubel Forsey Balancier S with its balance wheel tilted to a 30 degree angle in a titanium case (retail price: CHF 195,000).
Another Balancier has been unveiled in 2022, but this time it takes cues from the GMT Quadruple Tourbillon. The novelty did away with the four signature tourbillons, although the tilted balance wheel stayed put.
The case for the novelty measuring 46.5 mm in diameter at the bezel is made of titanium like the earlier version. It's also expensive like the GMT Quadruple Tourbillon at CHF 445,000. But here's where it gets interesting.
Sure, the GTM model by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey is impressive – it's worth it if only for the visible hemisphere of the rotating planet Earth! Yet it's still fairly simple, inspired by Louis Cottier’s first worldtimer. The rotating scales with the 24 reference cities and hours are on the caseback.
It really isn't any more complicated than two double tourbillons! However, the most expensive series of sports watches has certainly now arrived. The watchmakers gave it the most expensive bracelet while they were at it. The version with a rubber strap costs USD 400,000, while the one with a bracelet is exactly USD 45,000 more expensive. Availability will be limited to 66 pieces.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack
The company H. Moser & Cie. headed by Edouard Meylan tried its luck in the luxury sports watch segment. They appealed to the public's taste with remarkable manufacture movements, and above all, their stylish and comfortable integrated bracelets.
All three Streamliner models became the watchmaker's bestsellers: Center Seconds, Flyback Chronograph Automatic and Perpetual Calendar. The chronograph priced at USD 39,900 even won the Chronograph Watch Prize at the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).
The sporty family welcomed a tourbillon this year. The mechanism created to combat the effects of gravity on timekeeping precision is accompanied by more signature know-how from H. Moser & Cie. — a dial made of the most color-devoid material, Vantablack.
Declared the blackest black on Earth, the substance absorbs over 90% of sunlight that falls on its surface. The watch houses the automatic manufacture caliber НМС 804 with the brand's patented double hairspring, which oscillates at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vph) and has a three-day power reserve.
The bracelet and case measuring 40 mm in diameter are made of red gold. The future is bright for the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, thanks to the immense popularity of gold watches, the watchmaker's performance in a dozen high-demand auctions and its price tag of USD 109 000.
Konstantin Chaykin Joker Five
The famous Russian watchmaker marked the fifth anniversary of his sensational Joker model in Geneva, whose timepieces regularly go under the hammer for multiples of their pre-auction estimates. The Joker laid the foundation for a new watch collection dubbed "Wristmons" (monsters on the wrist) and was awarded the Audacity Prize at the 2018 GPHG.
The first thing that catches your eye is of course the bright palette of five colors on the dial (red, black, green, white and silver). Especially now that it's matched with the signature Joker bow-tie strap in purple, yellow and emerald tones.
However, you can clearly notice the Joker's grin has gotten much wider. The smile is wider because a new indication has been put there — a day-of-the-week sector. It's a fascinating innovation, as the watchmaker has decided to reveal how the module is constructed by skeletonizing the dial. The entire 38-piece series has already been snapped up in pre-orders.
Grönefeld 1969 DeltaWorks
The Dutch "Horological Brothers" Bart and Tim Grönefeld prepared a rather unconventional watch for the Geneva Watch Days called 1969 DeltaWorks. The siblings themselves who are repeat GPHG prizewinners refer to the novelty as a "double-spoke design" watch.
It's all down to the fact that the piece has the appearance of a classic three-hand watch with sporty specs, a beautifully decorated self-winding G-06 movement developed in-house and a steel case that's water resistant up to 100 meters. It has an openworked oscillating weight for automatic winding.
The rotor has four stainless-steel arms connected to a curved gold mass, which is decorated with a wave motif. This configuration prevents the rotor from striking the movement's bridges in the event of a shock. Moreover, the rotor turns on ceramic ball bearings which don't need any lubrication.
The plate of the movement is also partially skeletonized, and each of its bridges have been given the best decoration in good faith with stylish anthracite micro-blasted segments framed with hand-beveled edges. The balance wheel is of simply massive proportions, measuring 10 mm in diameter.
Its moment of inertia is regulated by four white-gold timing screws. It oscillates at a typical frequency of 3 Hz and has a power reserve of 56 hours. The dial color options of black, salmon and khaki (beige-salmon) are complemented by straps in five different colors made of extra-durable FKM-rubber. Each strap is paired with optional protective color-coordinated inserts in FKM rubber along the caseband and lugs.
These shielding inserts mean the model's case size fluctuates between 43.3 mm in diameter across the bezel and 44.5 mm with inserts. Each dial option has five rubber-clad variations as a result. The watch will be available for pre-order. Its price of EUR 49,800 may be off-putting for the average person, but not for connoisseurs.