High End SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Replica Watches Online Safe

Are we pumped for SIHH 2018 yet? Just like the “holiday shopping season” and beginning around the same time, it seems like the new-product announcements get earlier every year. With still more than a month to go, the 2018 models that we will get to see in Geneva in January have already started coming in. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch industry trade show, just like its organizing body the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), has continued to grow and evolve each year, adding more brands as well as a day where the show is open to the public for the first time in 2017 – this time around, it will be Friday, January 19th, 2018. Now with a total of 35 brands, SIHH 2018 promises even more variety than in previous years.

The UN-118 was an important milestone for Ulysse Nardin as it was designed in house with a special material for the escapement – DIAMonSIL. A mix of artificial and silicon diamond, the use of DIAMonSIL removed the need for lubrication of the escapement. In theory, this ought to help keep pace keeping stable for a much longer period. The logic is that over time, the viscosity of a conventional lubricant increases and the total amount of friction using it – with DIAMonSIL this is no longer a problem. The primary motivation behind the evolution of the UN-118 was to decrease reliance on ETA ébauches, but the technical chops that Ulysse Nardin made accessible at the price point were certainly a welcome bonus as well.In addition, the UN-118 comes with a silicon hairspring and offers 60 hours of power reserve. Considering that the ‘Chronometer’ from the name, the watch comes with COSC certification as well as the brand’s own Ulysse Nardin Performance Certificate. We’re told that the movement is decorated and visible via a sapphire crystal case back, but sadly, no images were supplied, so it’s difficult to comment on what finishing will seem like.As I mentioned before, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur is placed in a 42mm situation that’s offered in stainless steel or 18k rose gold and, unlike its larger sibling, has more conventional lugs and no overhead guard. The lugs are brief and curve downwards quite appreciably, which should assist the watch sit comfortably on most wrists. An interesting design feature of this Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur is that the bezel’s coin-like border that’s reminiscent of rotating bezels with textures for better grip. However that is a lean, fixed bezel, so the finish is just to add visual interest and is not functional. Given the capabilities of contemporary watchmaking techniques, the marine association of this watch and the presence of a screw-down crown, the watch offers a disappointing 50m of water resistance. This can look like a small detail, but I feel like they should have offered 100m.

You already know that SIHH is one of the two most important events for the watch industry, as its exhibitors – while much fewer than at the biggest industry trade show, Baselworld – represent many major and influential brands, and this is the time of year when they introduce their most important new products. Vis-à-vis Baselworld – where around 300 brands represent the breadth of the watch industry from high-end and mainstream to obscure startups – SIHH has always carefully maintained an image of exclusivity and “prestige.”

So, while a few brands do introduce models in the “mid-level luxury” range that the average person might be able to consider saving up for and possibly actually wearing… you can expect a lot of skeletonization, avant-garde designs, artisanal techniques and haute horology finishing, “high complications,” precious materials, and stratospheric prices. Haute horlogerie is in the name, after all. It has largely been a spectator’s show for fans of high-end watchmaking, but with recent industry trends emphasizing more “down-to-earth” (it’s all relative) models, some balance and variety can at least be hoped for.

The Richemont Group along with some independent brands long represented the handful of SIHH exhibitors. However, the show’s 2016 edition added a “Carré des Horlogers” section with nine “artisan-creators and independent workshops” and expanded that number in 2017. This year, the Carré des Horlogers brands are up to no fewer than 17, with the primary exhibitors (referred to as “Historic Maisons”) at 18 for a total, again, of 35. The primary exhibitors are joined by Hermes, and the Carré des Horlogers adds five brands with Armin Strom, DeWitt, Ferdinand Berthoud, Élégante by F.P.Journe, and Romain Gauthier. See the full list of exhibitors in the image above.

From a media perspective, Baselworld has tended to spread our resources very thinly in past years with simply too much to cover at once, so with some prominent brands having moved from Baselworld to SIHH, we can hope for some balance between the shows. Around 20,000 visitors are expected this year, and the FHH promises improved facilities and connectivity in order to make our job of bringing you high quality content more efficient – so we’ll see what that’s like in January. That’s just a glimpse into our point of view in preparing for the show.

We’ll continue providing news of new products ahead of the show – if mostly only renders and official product images from the brands with basic information before being able to see the watches in person to photograph and evaluate them in their glorious and gritty reality. SIHH 2018 runs from January 15th to the 19th, and again, the last day is open to the public with tickets on sale at the SIHH website. sihh.org