SIHH 2011 - Around the Palexpo

Daring Dials
Sometimes, you just want to do away with the technicalities and just bask in the magnificence of great works of art. There are three that were particularly riveting for me this year.
First, the Rotonde de Cartier 42mm jumping hour with bear motif. A very ambitious project, last year’s jumping hour movement has been incorporated into a dial that features a bear. But not just any bear. This one was created out of wood. 10 species of European wood were used for the bear’s fur for precise grain and texture. The pieces are then cut and subtly darkened to create the illusion of depth. Each dial is unique and requires about 160 hours of marquetry work. The watch comes in white gold.
For lovers of fantasy and adventure, Van Cleef & Arpels presents a colourful journey which Samuel Ferguson, Dick Kennedy and their servant, Joe, took part in as heroes of the novel Five Weeks in a Balloon, written by Jules Verne in 1863. Skies of turquoise enamel and waves and clouds in mother-of-pearl provide a colourful backdrop to the retrograde movement, with hours and minutes indicated by the balloon’s anchor and a bird in flight.
Then it’s back to the 1940s for Roger Dubuis with the Chronograph La Monegasque, with its very striking, contrasting colours, and a dial design reminiscent of the casino roulette. A satin sunburst centre with a circular satin exterior incorporates a 30-minute counter at three o’clock and small seconds at nine o’clock. The 44mm case comes in steel or rose gold, and houses the manufacture RD680 automatic movement. - E.R.