Gear Patrol

Nothing helps shake off the doldrums of mid-winter like a visit to Geneva for the annual Salon International Haute Horlogerie. For the uninformed, SIHH is the watch trade show put on by the watch brands under the Richemont Group umbrella and some of their friends. Familiar names like IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Panerai set up shop next to lesser known watchmakers like Parmigiani and Gruebel-Forsey in the grand confines of the Palexpo convention center. We asked Gear Patrol’s Timekeeping writers to weigh in on what impressed them the most from this year’s crop of timepieces. Their picks vary from the classic to the outrageous (see the Tourbillon Yohan Blake, below), and together they represent a great range of SIHH 2013.

Earlier this year, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced its retro-tastic Deep Sea Vintage Chronograph at the annual Salon International de Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. The watch made just about everyone’s “Best Of” list (including ours) with its creamy “aged” luminescent markers, textured dial and old-school pump-style chronograph pushers. The watch was homage to a watch JLC never produced…

The concrete canyons of Manhattan are pretty far away from the wooded alpine serenity of Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, but it was on Park Avenue that Swiss watch company, Audemars Piguet, decided to kick off a celebration tour for its mightiest creation: the Royal Oak. Appearing in 1972 with a price ten times that of…

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of their iconic Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet is presenting a multi-city exhibit that showcases 100 examples of this historic timepiece in conjunction with the creative talents of three of today’s leading contemporary artists, Sebastien Leon Agneessens, Quayola and Dan Holdsworth. The exhibit, ROYAL OAK 40 YEARS: From Avant-Garde to Icon,…

The Gérald Genta-designed Nautilus from Patek Philippe is a bona fide icon in the watch industry, and much like its counterpart from Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak, which was also penned by Genta, it has seen minimal changes during its nearly 40 years in production. In fact, to the untrained eye, the ref. 3700 would…

Every year, 18 of the major Swiss watch manufacturers pack up their suitcases, shut down their ateliers and head to Geneva to participate in one of their biggest events of the year, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). Part trade show, part intimate soiree and all business, SIHH has, for the past 20…

No, that’s not a misprint. That’s the model of the Audemars Piguet timepiece pictured to the right, code: 26050PT.OO.D002CR.01 for you horophiles. Not that $369,300 is that outrageous for a watch of this caliber, but then again I’m not an oil baron. The Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Tourbillon isn’t for the casual dress watch wearer….