Top 10 Most-Anticipated Watches at SIHH 2016

When the 26th annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) opens in Geneva on January 18, visitors will discover a streamlined layout “designed to promote a spirit of conviviality,” according to the show’s organizers. They will also find a slew of new exhibitors: The fair’s 15 prestige brands—with Cartier, IWC, and Panerai chief among them—will welcome nine independent watchmakers into their midst. This means the five-day event—considered the world’s finest showcase of high watchmaking—just got even more intriguing. Here are the 10 timepieces RobbReport.com is most looking forward to seeing at the fair.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar

When the iconic Royal Oak came out in 1972, Audemars Piguet caused a sensation by encasing the piece in an everyday material, stainless steel. Now, nearly 45 years later, the watchmaker embraces its luxury roots with a complicated variation housed in a 41 mm yellow-gold case, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (pricing as yet to be announced). The subtly textured blue dial features a leap-year indication at 12 o’clock, an astronomical moon phase at 6 o’clock, and the week of the year on the outer chapter ring.

Cartier Clé de Cartier Automatic Skeleton

Unveiled in 2015, the Clé de Cartier collection (named after the model’s signature key-shaped winding crown) expands this year with the introduction of the new Clé de Cartier Automatic Skeleton (about $56,000), which is powered by the in-house Calibre 9621 MC. Boasting a dramatic open-work design in which the bridges of the movement are formed in the shape of roman numerals, the piece gives new meaning to the principle that form follows function.

Christophe Claret Marguerite

Talk about poetry in motion—the gem-studded Marguerite (about $72,000), independent watchmaker Christophe Claret’s newest timepiece for women, features two butterflies flitting around the white lacquered petals of a daisy in a coquettish game of time-telling. The darker female butterfly indicates the hours, while the lighter male butterfly points to the minutes. A follow-up to Claret’s first women’s piece, Margot—a complicated marvel that earned the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in the ladies high mechanical category—this sweet “little sister,” Claret is convinced, “will have a very promising future as well.”

IWC Big Pilot’s Heritage 55

The Swiss-German watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen evokes the spirit of its original Big Pilot’s Watch, introduced in 1940, with the new Big Pilot’s Heritage 55 (about $14,800), a behemoth of a timepiece intended for collectors—or attention-seekers. The 55 mm model is deceptively light; housed in a titanium case, it weighs 150 grams (compared to the 183-gram original). Adorned with a minimalist black dial and beige numerals for enhanced legibility, the watch—available in a limited edition of 100 pieces—is part of a larger reboot of IWC’s vast Pilot’s Watch collection.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Calendar

Last month, Jaeger-LeCoultre rolled out a simplified Reverso collection that includes a subset of watches, dubbed Reverso Tribute, designed with horology connoisseurs in mind. Chief among these watches is the Reverso Tribute Calendar (pricing as yet to be announced), a double-sided timepiece featuring a complete calendar (distinguished by a hammered moon-phase display) on one side, and a day/night indicator set against a stark anthracite backdrop on the reverse.

Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller Globe Night Blue

After spending nearly four decades at Patek Philippe, the watchmaker Laurent Ferrier struck out on his own in 2012, earning great acclaim for his award-winning horological innovation and fine Swiss craftsmanship. At SIHH, his 3-year-old Galet Traveller collection welcomes a new addition, the Galet Traveller Globe Night Blue (about 75,000 CHF, or about $75,358). The dual-time model’s most remarkable feature is its three-dimensional convex dial depicting the five continents in 18-karat white gold, adrift upon a blue enamel sea.

MB&F Legacy Machine 101

The new Legacy Machine 101 (about $72,000) from independent watchmaker MB&F bears the same blue face, flying balance wheel, and stretched lacquer subdials as its LM predecessors. But this model’s beauty is much more than skin deep. Inside the 40 mm satin-finished platinum case beats the LM101 calibre, the first MB&F movement completed entirely in-house (with some input from watchmaking luminary and friend Kari Voutilainen). But admirers must act fast; the model is limited to just 33 pieces.

Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Acciaio

Hardcore Panerai fans will instantly recognize what is different about the new Radiomir 1940 3 Days Automatic Acciaio (about $10,000): Unlike every other model in the Radiomir 1940 collection, it boasts a white dial. The 42 mm watch (shown here with a polished steel case) is powered by an automatic P.4000 movement made entirely at the Officine Panerai manufacture in Neuchâtel. Come SIHH, the in-house movement promises to be a big story for the brand, and big news for watch collectors.

Richard Mille RM 67-01 Automatic Extra Flat

Although the price of the new RM 67-01 Automatic Extra Flat from avant-garde watchmaker Richard Mille won’t be revealed until the start of the fair, it is being positioned as the brand’s new entry-level timepiece. At 3.6 mm, the slender movement, sheathed in a skeletonized case, displays an extraordinary amount of depth. Take note of the numerals: Each one has been sculpted from metal and filled with phosphorescent Luminova to increase the sensation of depth, as well as enhance nighttime viewing.

Roger Dubuis Velvet Secret Heart

Having proclaimed 2016 the “Year of the Roger Dubuis Diva,” the Geneva-based watchmaker is set to make SIHH a platform for its revamped Velvet collection of feminine complications. One of five new models, the Velvet Secret Heart (about $80,300) combines both arabic and roman numerals in a bold diamond-lined display designed to lead the eye to the tonneau shape at the center of the blue dial. Meanwhile, a double retrograde jumping-date mechanism subtly ticks down the passage of time.

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