How could independent masters surprise us this year? Let's take a look at our review.
F.P. Journe Vagabondage I Gold Caliber 1504.2
There's a very good reason why François-Paul Journe is now a firm favorite among collectors and investors. It might be why he decided to unveil an improved version of the first Vagabondage.
We could have never seen this coming, as Journe was expected to come up with something more advanced to follow up Vagabondage II with digital jumping hours and minutes complemented by a traditional small seconds hand and Vagabondage III where everything was already digitized.
However, Journe deliberately chose to perfect the first model, which still uses the same manually wound 1504.2 movement with a 50-hour power reserve. While the first movement was made of traditional brass, the new version now comes in rose gold.
There have already been more than enough orders placed for the new watch but the watch series in rose-gold cases measuring 45.2 × 37.5 × 7.6 mm is limited to 68 pieces. Journe will give first preference to owners of Vagabondage II and III watches.
The price will also depend on how the watchmaker’s personal proximity to the potential client. Given the current inflation and the use of gold for the movement, it'll fluctuate in and around the region of USD 100,000.
And thirdly, the Caliber 1300.3 he's presented has been seriously reworked. Suffice to say, the power reserve has been extended to almost 7 days (160 hours), and Journe guarantees optimal torque power and chronometric accuracy for the first five days (120 hours).
He's achieved this while preserving all the functions: hours, minutes, seconds, calendar, big date and power reserve indication. This meant the automatic winding mechanism had to be optimized. The watch will only be made for personal advance order. For example, you can choose between 40 mm and 42 mm case sizes. The price is accordingly upon request.
H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton
Edouard Meylan is CEO of a young company which bears the name of the original watchmaker with a big history. He's managed to delight fans yet again with another of his eccentric creations. Meylan launched the model in the very young Pioneer sports collection, made to house the cylindrical tourbillon he'd already created two years ago in a joint project with Maximilian Büsser.
The cylindrical tourbillon gets its name from its hairspring, which evolves the invention for marine chronometers by the famous 18th-century British watchmaker John Arnold. It'd be downright sinful to conceal the cylindrical hairspring behind the watch's dial or caseback, which is why the automatic manufacture HMC 811 movement was skeletonized.
It beats at a frequency of 3 Hz and has a 74-hour power reserve. Its bridges and gold rotor for automatic winding have been pared down to such an extent that they're reminiscent of spindly tentacles. The small eccentric dial has been shifted upwards so that nothing can get in the way of admiring the tourbillion.
Some of the model's other highlights are its indexes for the hours and hands, which have inserts made of the latest light-absorbing nanomaterial called Globolight (far brighter than traditional SuperLuminova). Even with the cylindrical tourbillion, the steel 42.8 mm case has been kept to just 11.7 mm in height. It's not a limited edition, but the annual release will clearly be limited by the complexity of the watch.
Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Blue
Laurent Ferrier has also decided to go back to the roots of his creativity. He debuted thirteen years ago with the Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral watch, which was beautiful in every sense of the word. It was nominated for the Men's Watch Prize at Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in 2010, and Ferrier gained prominance in close circles of collectors.
He's since won three prizes at the GPHG and is now one of the auction favorites. Many dream of owning his watches but only a handful can afford them. And now in response to numerous requests, Mr. Ferrier has launched a relatively affordable watch which almost has the same 40 mm case as the Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral, but this time in titanium.
The manually wound Caliber LF116.01 with its 80-hour power reserve has the usual balance spring without any tourbillion cage. The price of the novelty has come down to CHF 31,000. Coupled with the tight limit, this will make Classic Origin Blue one of the most sought-after models for the coming years.
Urwerk UR-100V Time and Culture I
Another favorite watchmaker among investors and players on the pre-owned watch market kicked in Geneva with a series of watches dedicated to the perception of time and timekeeping traditions observed by different people throughout history.
The first model in this family of watches is dedicated to the Aztec “Sun Stone” — an iconic monolithic sculpted disc measuring 3.6 m which displays the Aztec calendar. The patterns on this stone are replicated on the engraved cover of the UR-100V Time and Culture I.
This watch holds a wealth of secrets, encoded in a multitude of references. New functions have been added to the trademark satellite time display. The minute hand disappears when it passes the sixtieth minute mark and reappears as a kilometer counter.
It counts 524.89 kilometers, which is the distance traveled by anyone located in Mexico every 20 minutes. This is actually the average speed the Earth rotates at, as calculated for the latitude and longitude of Mexico City.
The opposite side shows how many kilometers the Earth travels on its orbit around the Sun in 20 minutes (35.742 km). The case measuring 49.7 × 41.0 × 14.0 mm is made of steel, titanium and bronze. Its limit is set at 20 pieces priced at CHF 68,000 a pop.