Long before Zenith’s ambassador Felix Baumgartner used a not-so-simple hot air balloon, a high-tech astronaut-style suit and an inordinate amount of courage to break the speed of sound in his free-fall last year, mankind has known that the sky is not the limit. It merely marks the boundary between our earthly realm and the infinite confines of outer space, which the greatest minds (teamed up with the deepest pockets) have always been intent on exploring. But the analogy fits well with the watch industry, which never ceases to innovate at numerous levels, for the movements that power the timepieces or the materials used in the cases to house them. In this article, we take a look at just a few of the trends at BaselWorld this year in ladies’ watches, one of which is the welcome idea of launching exciting developments especially for ladies.

 Vintage inspirations

It may surprise you to learn that I only noticed Bulgari’s new BaselWorld stand after several days. For those who know that Bulgari had the first stand on the left as soon as you entered Hall 1.0 and that this new stand covered no less than 1,800 square metres of space, my admission may appear all the more remarkable. But after several days of making a beeline through the main avenue of Hall 1.0 to my first appointment of the day, it was only once the crowds subsided that I was able to admire the new stand in all its glory, with its outer façade mirroring the techniques used in the brand’s jewellery. Inside, the stand offered a large display area, with a welcoming lounge bar where one could wait before being dispatched to one of the meeting rooms to discover the brand’s new products, marvelling in passing at the serpentine main staircase enveloping the stand and the Murano chandeliers illuminating the central showcases.

It was in these opulent surroundings that I viewed Bulgari’s 2013 collection for ladies, which incorporates an item of jewellery that has been around since long before the common era—the gold chain—into a wrist-watch with the new Bulgari Catene. Its double-wrap bracelet is inspired by a sautoir necklace produced by the brand in the 1970s, which in turn was no doubt inspired by the gold chains from history that have been used for ornament and even for currency. The two versions, one with 72 diamonds set into the chain and one without, both use 170 grams of 18-carat pink gold, which at the time of writing puts the value of the gold alone in each piece at over 5,000 Swiss francs. This makes it a safe haven for your money before you even consider the classic styling of the piece, with a plain pink-gold bezel engraved with the familiar “BVLGARI BVLGARI” inscription and a simple mother-of-pearl dial set with 12 diamond hour markers.

Bulgari’s Giardino Tropicale piece shows off the brand’s prowess in the artisanal crafts with a champlevé enamel dial using miniature painting techniques that require anything from three to eight coats of paint for the individual motifs on the dial. In the colourful tropical garden paradise of the dial, a parrot perches on the opening at 6 o’clock that reveals the tourbillon in the BVL 263 calibre in-house movement, which has a 22-carat gold oscillating weight and offers a power reserve of 64 hours. An accomplished piece for Bulgari’s first jewellery watch with a complication, which is available as a limited edition of 50 pieces.

Century has also taken inspiration from the past by launching refreshed models in its Prime Time collection, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. They are characterised by the contrast between the rigid geometry of the 12 facets of the sapphire bezel and the subtle curves of the polished stainless-steel mesh bracelet. A new gold mesh bracelet is also available in the Prima Donna collection. But it was the unusually named Leela Blossom model that stole the limelight in Basel, with its bold purple colours and extravagant case design in the shape of a flower. A total of 294 diamonds, from the 12 diamond hour markers on the mother-of-pearl dial to the fully-paved bezel and flower petals, act as a frame for the 48 sparkling facets of the Century sapphire in lilac.

The mesh bracelet features in the new Ebel 100 models but in a different, all-black PVD formula. The brand is in the process of rolling out a new strategy after a two-year study revealed that its slogan “The architects of time” didn’t really appeal to its target audience, who associated the brand with the now rather dated Wave watch. But the fact that the focus groups also found that the name “Ebel” sounded feminine will do nothing to harm sales of the trendy new ladies’ models presented at BaselWorld, inspired by green—the colour of preference for 2013—notably in the talking piece Onde model with a malachite dial, green-gold bezel and green alligator leather strap.

ONDE by Ebel

 Fashions from cosy to brash

Danish brand Skagen, which was snapped up by the Fossil Group last year for 300 million US dollars, is also working on a new retail concept to be rolled out later this year. Its distribution has been transferred to the subsidiaries of the Fossil Group but the brand retains 60 distributors of its own. Its new ladies’ watch models mirror the trend for the brand’s jewellery in 2013, which is all about reflections. The ultra-minimalist dials and cases of the latest ladies’ models in the Perspektiv collection therefore have a mirror polished effect and use autumnal colours that give a welcome warmth to what can sometimes be a quite cold Danish design. The new designs are meant to convey the Danish concept of “hygge”, which involves relaxing in a cosy environment with friends or loved ones.

Colour featured heavily in the 2013 watch and jewellery collections presented by De Grisogono. For the timepieces, there was a small cull in the trendy Tondo by Night collection, with the glow-in-the-dark yellow, pink and light green models being replaced by bolder blue, dark green and coral models. The fully-paved Instrumentino, on the other hand, with its dual-time display, is refreshed with new pastel hues on two new models featuring orange sapphires and amethysts.

Although cold, hard figures are always hard to come by for individual brands, Europa Star heard on good authority that Swarovski had ploughed a cool two million Swiss francs into its huge stand at BaselWorld this year. It was shaped like a giant ring, which is appropriate for a company whose name is inextricably linked with the world of jewellery (some 20 per cent of the company’s turnover is generated by business-to-business sales of its Swarovski Elements crystals). While the brand’s jewellery launches for ladies and gentlemen are split into seasonal collections, the 2013 model year watches for both genders are intended to last the whole year. Swarovski launched two new collections for ladies: the Octea Classica and the Indira. As the name suggests, the new Octea Classic models exude a classic elegance, with a 39mm stainless-steel case and a bezel made up of faceted crystals available in different colours. The new Indira bridges perfectly the gap between jewellery and timepiece with an airy design in which watch case and bracelet merge into one and are accentuated by 36 clear crystals set into the outer edge.

 Technological developments for her

For ladies looking for the grandest of grande complications, the Swatch Group’s flagship brand Breguet introduced the Reine de Naples “Day/Night” (reference 8998). A diamond-set gold case and hand guilloché dial provide a fitting frame for the brand’s patented day/night complication, which turns a lapis lazuli disc featuring an engraved titanium moon and mother-of-pearl clouds once every twenty-four hours. The sun, symbolised by the balance wheel of the calibre 78CS self-winding movement, is housed inside the disc and rotates with it.

In another development from within the Swatch Group especially for ladies, Rado presented the first ceramic watch to use the group’s proprietary tactile technology. The oval case of the Rado Esenza Ceramic Touch has no crown, since the hours and minutes can be set simply and logically by sliding a finger up and down either side of the case. The system is a little more complicated than that used for the tactile Swatch models, since the finger must be pressed on the case at 8 o’clock, then immediately slid along the opposite side of the case. Only then can the hours and minutes be set. All this must be done with the watch on the wrist, since the stainless-steel case back “connects” the watch to the body, acting as a reference for the electronic circuit.

Interchangeability is what French brand Michel Herbelin offers with its Antarès model for ladies. Using the company’s patented system, the straps (and metal bracelets) on this piece are fully interchangeable. A separate box of leather straps, double-wrap leather straps and bracelets is also available to ensure that Antarès owners are always in step with the latest trends.

ANTARES by Michel Herbelin

 The battle of the slogans

Rodania promises to allow ladies to “(Re)take time” with the new GEN-1 model in full ceramic. Available in classic all-white and all-black versions, as well as a more adventurous chocolate colour, the brand has all the classic bases covered. Greece-based Folli Follie, on the other hand, addresses aspiring “IT” girls with rules to follow to achieve the coveted “it” status, which has nothing to do with information technology and everything to do with being stylish, fashionable and the centre of attention. Folli Follie naturally has an entire range of timepieces available to help girls achieve “it” status, such as the ceramic Heart4Heart Twin watch with its range of colours and double-wrap straps.

“Sky is not the limit, it’s only the view,” is the strange sound-bite provided by the intriguingly-named Swiss Beatz, co-owner and member of the Monster Advisory Board, on Hublot’s latest venture. As Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe points out, “Hublot symbolises much more than watches,” with the brand counting skis, bikes, sledges and now headphones among its diversified offering. The limited-edition Inspiration^TM Hublot Monster headphones are a clear response to the growing demand for premium headphones, which often cost upwards of several hundred dollars. Following Hublot’s fusion philosophy, with carbon fibre ear cups and a rubber and leather headband, the headphones—imbued with a splash of colour for the ladies’ models—each have their own matching Big Bang timepiece.

But for ladies who wish to really treat themselves, nothing beats the sparkle of real diamonds, especially when they are set in a discreet way as part of a timeless design. Perhaps the best example of this art of understatement seen at BaselWorld this year is the Grande Classique de Longines 100 Diamonds, whose name really says it all. The 29mm diameter piece is perfect for the Chinese market that Longines dominates and, thanks to a patented case-back design that incorporates the lugs for the bracelet, is a very slender 4.6mm in thickness. Longines, at least, knows how to live up to its slogan “Elegance is an attitude”.

Source: Europa Star June - July 2013 Magazine Issue