By Santiago Tejedor
June 11-14, 2015, saw the Salón Internacional de Alta Relojería (SIAR) opening its doors once again, this year in Spain, as a sister event to SIAR Mexico City. SIAR Madrid is really a spin-off event (run by most of the same people) from the long-standing salon held in México that aBlogtoWatch founder Ariel covered for its 2014 event here. This was the second edition and, for what I hear from the exhibiting brands, the outcome was pretty decent, which augurs a third edition.
The preamble was not very promising, though: after days of scorching heat, Madrid was hit by a monsoon, a freak downpour which flooded the city. It proved two things: Swiss watches are water-resistant, but provisional outdoor tents are not to be trusted in heavy rain. Following the deluge, exhibitors (some of them at least) raced to the scene at 3am to get things ready to fall in – which they did, for the most part.
SIAR Madrid 2015 was held in a nineteenth century mansion with a certain opulent decadence, an appropriate venue for the thirteen luxury Swiss watch brands in attendance. The main garden led to the Audemars Piguet stand, located in what was originally an indoor pool. The atmosphere was really agreeable. It was a bit like the SIHH but far more relaxed, with all the exhibitors willing to show and allow you to film and photograph the pieces for as long as you want. Two days were set aside for the press, and the last two days the doors were opened to the public, offering a unique opportunity to appreciate the watches that we would otherwise only see in press releases. The brand representatives actually encouraged conversations with professionals, collectors, and aficionados in a relaxed mood.
In addition to the exhibiting brands, SIAR hosts press conferences. I personally attended conferences by Cartier’s Carole Forrestier, Bell & Ross’ Carlos Rosillo, and Bartomeu Gomila – the Spanish Master Horloger who created the Time Writer II for Minerva-Montblanc back in 2012.
Some brands had watchmakers on show assembling calibres to give visitors an idea of the nearly – and sometimes downright – microscopic world they deal with. It is amazing how with all the noise, they can still concentrate and manage parts that often are less than a millimeter long.
Another activity at SIAR Madrid 2015 was the Master Class workshops – organized by IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre – in which attendees were invited to assemble a real caliber. I was lucky enough to attend the one by Jaeger-LeCoultre and confront the caliber 986 which is inside the Grande Reverso Duoface. The concentration required to manage the tweezers, the screwdrivers, and the eye loupe is so demanding that at times you wonder why you are spending more time on your hands and knees than at the bench – especially when one of the tiny parts springs out of control and gets lost somewhere. But in the end, with some help from the master watchmaker on hand, the balance wheel miraculously started to move, and I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment.
But I guess what everybody wants to know are which watches were shown at the SIAR Madrid 2015. It is not all of them, of course, because the brands came with quite a repertoire, but let’s point out the most important ones.
A really good sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating can sometimes seem to even “sharpen” the dial components, to my eyes. The Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver has a 2.85mm-thick horizontal crystal with fantastic AR coating offering a crystal clear view of the dial that’s designed to be legible to start with. The applied hour markers, sloped chapter ring, and date window at 4:30 using a black date wheel to match the dial colour all help lend a sense of interest and depth that I constantly appreciate.Clearly, I am bullish on the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. It was one of the funnest recent watches I’ve had the opportunity to wear for an elongated period of time, and I can’t really say I can discover any actual complaints relating to it. There are two or three things that I can think about, however, that Bell & Ross can do to further sweeten the deal. To begin with, ceramic bezel inserts are more scratch-resistant, and are getting to be practically standard nowadays, making aluminum inserts start to feel less superior. Second, it is likely to possess 300m water immunity on a watch with a screen caseback, and that would raise the value, attention, and consumer experience for the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver. The good caseback, though, is probably also helpful for protecting the movement from magnetic fields. Last, including something in the motion department, like COSC certificate, for instance, would farther kick up it a notch. Every one of these things would probably also be grounds to increase the purchase price, of course.The Swiss automatic movement indoors is the absolutely appropriate, reliable, and common Sellita SW300-1 (“BR-CAL.302”). Power reserve of 42 hours, working at 4Hz… you know the specs. The screw-down crown has been coated with rubberized and easy to grip with a solid and smooth-as-butter twisting feel. I like the rubber on the crown, but I wonder how rubber components such as this on watches will hold up over time. The strap can be rubber, is comfortable and soft, and includes a suitably giant steel buckle.
Held from the utilitarian case, which itself features a good caseback and miniaturized crown, is a vintage-inspired, curved sapphire crystal which resembles the acrylic crystals of yesteryear. Under this is the view’s detail-packed dial with a B-Uhr pilot-style triangle at the 12 o’clock position, a red inscription toward 6 o’clock standing for “Army Form,” and artificial patina beams throughout. The timepiece comes with an outer second track with large printed indices and Arabic numerals rising in increments of 5 in every hour mark, with a subtle, round date window at the 4:30 position hiding in plain sight. Powering the watch’s different hand configuration is your automatic Caliber BR-CAL. 302, which relies on the Sellita SW-200, also stores a 38-hour power reserve. The piece is currently available on the internet and through boutiques worldwide, priced from the newest at $1,990. Among the clearest historically derived particulars, you will observe the stainless steel case using simple satin-finishing, sized at 38.5-mm — that is at least 5 mm larger than the WWII-era watches it seems to be paying homage to, but still a dimension relatively restrained in contrast with the typically large watches produced by the brandnew You will also observe the pilot’s-watch-style 12 o’clock hour marker, a feature first developed in the late 1930s on German B-Uhr bits and which find their contemporary descendants in the Big Pilot and Mark XVIII by IWC, the Stowa Flieger Klassik, and many other watches. The final important vintage-inspired feature is in the tiny red inscription toward the base of the dial, a detail which was more prevalent in afterwards, postwar army watches like the Heuer-developed Bundeswehr 1550 SG (image above, through FratelloWatches) discussed within our policy of this 1950s-derived Junghans Meister Pilot. In all, the modern watch looks like borrowing key attributes from ancient pilots watches like the B-Uhr and Mark 11 (image below), while also taking on other military watch influences like those from the “Dirty Dozen” WWII bits and later military chronographs.
Audemars Piguet
Apart from around 20 historic pieces from Audemars Piguet’s museum, the manufacture showed its two concept watches. One was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD 1, a minute repeater with a surprisingly loud sound. I was skeptical when it was first announced, but I must admit, I was very wrong. To give you an idea of the exceptional sonority of this watch, Claudio Cavaliere, AP’s Global Brand Ambassador, took ten steps away from my position at the bar. When he activated the repeater, the barman had the brilliant idea of pouring ice cubes into a bucket, but I could still hear it! Outstanding.
There was also the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher (article here), which is hands down the most complicated chronograph out there. While there is a detailed explanation in the linked article, I have done a video explaining it (in Spanish) to help understanding the complex functioning of the chronograph.
Bell & Ross
Bell & Ross displayed around 50 of its models, including its latest chronographs such as the Bell & Ross BR 03 94 Rafale and the BR 126 Carbon Orange. Incidentally, I saw Carlos Rosillo with his Bell & Ross WW 1 Edición Limitada – his cigar-themed watch – smoking a cigar with a band that included his family coat of arms. Not bad, huh?
Cartier
The powerful maison invaded SIAR Madrid 2015 with its creations, dedicating one whole room to the new Clé de Cartier. We were also shown the mighty Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon Skeleton (read more about the Astrotourbillon here), with its ethereal but at the same time blunt presence.
Considering that many dive watches are mainly used now to tell the time on dry land, I have often felt that the deemphasized hour palms found on several are sort of a sacrifice of real-life usability for the sake of being taken seriously as a “genuine” diver. Section of these ISO standards, however, stipulate that the second hand should be more legible than the hour hand since the minutes are somewhat more crucial when diving. For the Bell & Ross Watch Catalogue Replica BR 03-92 Diver, legibility isn’t hampered from the orange lume for the hour hand, but it is indeed deemphasized in the dark with a (much) fainter glow while every thing else (hands and markers) glows brightly green with Super-LumiNova. Also recognizable — and demanded for dip watch specifications — would be the unidirectional rotating bezel. It is a 60-click one in the case of this Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver with an aluminum insert, and it is slightly stiff to turn but with a solid sound and texture. Bell & Ross also notes the BR 03-92 Diver’s shock resistance to professional specs, and the thicker caseback and soft iron cage help make the watch anti-magnetic to ISO 764 standards. The angular crown guards are another durability-emphasizing feature. While Bell & Ross has not provided the official dimensions, as a dive watch, this will be considerably thicker than other BR 03 cases with the prominent bezel, thicker caseback, and thicker sapphire crystalclear. And it’s about as significant as it looks. There is no sensible reason that the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Diver case needs to be square, but because it works so nicely in the end, there is also no reason it shouldn’t be, right?
The maison’s favourite cat was also in Spain with the Cartier Rêves de Panthères watch, one of the hits of the year, as well as the spectacular Rotonde de Cartier Double Tourbillon Mystérieux, with two tourbillons floating on each side.
Chopard
The Scheufele family’s manufacture also brought a good representation of the many things they do. It was great to see the new Chopard Mille Miglia Race Edition (hands-on here), a special edition created for the race with a red dial that makes the power reserve indicator look – at last – really good. Chopard also exhibited all its different models with moon phases, one of them being the Chopard L.U.C 150 All in One, a real tour de force with 14 complications that makes you want to wear the watch upside down. The Chopard L.U.C Regulator – my favorite Chopard watch – was also on show.
De Bethune
I was really pleased to know that De Bethune was attending the show because I love the brand. Plus, I got to meet David Zanetta’s son, Alessandro, who happens to be their Sales Director. Very nice guy indeed. Anyway, apart from the classics, they had the Quetzacoatl, the De Bethune DB 25 T Zodiac with its dead second caliber, a dramatic De Bethune DB 25 RM in red gold and black dial, and the prize-winning De Bethune DB 29 Maxichrono Tourbillon (hands-on here).
F.P. Journe
Another treat of the salon. One of the best watchmakers out there, each F.P. Journe piece is an exercise in exquisiteness. Take, for example, the F.P. Journe Octa Automatic Réserve, in which the dial is a block of stamped gold that is then sanded down and applied with a layer of silver – except for the numerals, which appear to be applied when they are in fact part of the solid face.
The F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance sports a double balance wheel that synchronizes by proximity and starts beating in opposite directions. As a side effect, you can naturally have double time in the same dial. However, one of everybody’s favorites was the well-known F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu with its infinite array of different blue notes. The perfect dress watch.
IWC
IWC showcased its Portugieser collection as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, and the top hit Annual Calendar was on show in all its different flavors. Also shown: the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar, a really beautiful execution, and this other IWC Perpetual Calendar Double Moonphase, with a really nice blue.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Let’s start first with the ladies’ watches, because JLC has bet on watches for women that are really created for them, and not just watches for men in a smaller size – all with have complications. And that is paying off. For instance, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater, or the Montre Extraordinaire La Rose which – unlike most jewellery watches – has a manual caliber inside.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication (hands-on here) was also on display with a flying tourbillon that goes around the Northern Hemisphere signaling sidereal time and the corresponding zodiac sign – plus a minute repeater. And it is beautiful to look at. Not much more you can ask for here.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètres were all there as well. Particularly of interest was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Unique Travel Time – which is the watch I want if I am going to be traveling around the world… and also if I’m not. And of course, the Reverso family was well represented, for instance, by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 1931 Seconde Centrale.
MB&F
This was the first time MB&F has approached Spain, and it did so with its brand new MB&F HMX (debuted here) which is the anniversary edition derived from the well-known HM5. This version is lighter and cheaper, and has a neat resemblance to the sports cars – and watches – of the 1970s. I especially like the detail of the two oil tanks which actually serve as oil tanks for the caliber. You can even open the cap.
MB&F also presented the already known MB&F Legacy 101 Frost and the Space Pirate.
Montblanc
Montblanc is creating quite a buzz in the watch industry and did so at the SIAR Madrid 2015 with a very animated booth and lots of watches. We could see, for instance, the Montblanc Heritage Chronométrie Dual Time (hands-on here), or the always impressive Montblanc Metamorphosis II.
Panerai
Panerai presented all its novelties, something really appreciated by their fans which in Spain are legions. Everybody wanted to see the Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech 3 Days Automatic with its carbon case (hands-on here).
…Or the new Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Ceramica and its iconic SLC on the dial. And, personally, I got to try again my favorite Panerai watch right now, the Panerai Radiomir GMT Red Gold, with its beautiful blue dial.
Piaget
Piaget showcased its Altiplanos, of course, including the Chronograph and the Gold Bracelet. I also heard (and recorded) the chiming Piaget Emperador Coussin Ultra-Thin Minute Repeater (hands-on here), which I happen to like very much – even though reading the time sometimes can consume too much of it.
Also on show was the Piaget Gouverneur, which I have always liked as a dress watch because of how it plays with the oval and round shapes on the case and dial.
Vacheron Constantin
Another of my great great loves. Historic pieces as well as true classics like the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionelle Tourbillon 14 Days (hands-on here), the Patrimony Traditionelle World Time, and the Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date were all on display, as well as the new Vacheron Constantin Harmony line.
And that’s all for now, folks. If you plan to visit Madrid next year – which you should – don’t miss out on the SIAR. I will keep you informed of the dates and the weather forecast, just in case.
This article has been translated from Spanish to English by its original author Santiago Tejedor for aBlogtoWatch. The original article can be found here on his website Horas y Minutos.
The dial of this Bell & Ross Vintage V1-92 Bellytanker is easy and quite legible, with applied metal hour mark such as Arabic markers at 12, 6, 3, and 9. The hands are stainless steel and filled with Super-LumiNova for legibility in reduced light. A popular feature of mine present in both watches is the counter-weight of the seconds hand, which is a very simple triangle and appears to be designed to resemble a delta-wing plane. Both the watches have a date window at 4:30 which, to be honest, I am not fond of and believe could’ve been excluded. Nonetheless, this really is a personal preference and so much as date windows go, this is nicely done and the date wheel is at precisely the exact same gilt copper color as the dial — no cutting corners with a black date wheel here. A finishing touch is a shameful second chapter ring which adds some pop and contrast to the dial of this Bell & Ross Vintage V1-92 Bellytanker.The Bell & Ross Vintage V2-94 Bellytanker chronograph shares a lot of the very same features such as the hands, the second chapter ring, and date window. The main enhancements here are both brightly, black sub-dials at 3 and 9 o’clock. Like the chapter ring, the sub-dials include some very nice visual comparison and also help legibility. The sub-dials replace both 3 and 9 hour markers, but the 12 and 6 Arabic markers remain and assist fill in and balance out the dial visually.