“Easter on the balcony, watches galore.” Although modified and readjusted, the famous saying evoking meteorology during the Easter period proves to be appropriate. If the Geneva Watches show
Louis Erard Excellence Marquetry watch. Polished steel case. Diameter 42mm. Dial in wood marquetry (willow burl and tulip tree). Sellita SW261-1 caliber automatic movement. Power reserve 38 hours. Blued steel tree-shaped hands. Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Transparent background. Water resistance 50 m. Blue grained leather strap. Limited series 99 copies. Around €4,000. © DR
When we talk about the artistic crafts that watchmaking likes to use to enhance certain prestige models, we think first of all of setting, enamelling, guillochage, engraving, miniature painting, but more rarely in marquetry. Louis Erard nevertheless made this ambitious choice to design a new timepiece whose dial is adorned with a pattern of cubes. It was Bastien Chevalier, a trained cabinetmaker based in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, who was commissioned to draw a painting made up of some 70 fragments of wood in willow burl or tulipwood, dyed in four different colours. To respect the nobility of the project, the work was obviously done by hand using a traditional technique. “Our objective, always the same, is to make the delights and frenzies so exclusive of the crafts of very high-end watchmaking accessible. Not only in terms of price, also in terms of culture, in a contemporary spirit. The checkerboard expresses this spirit of the times, aesthetic, playful, and catches the eye, in a trompe-l’oeil that bulges and hollows out under the light”, we explain nicely at Louis Erard. Born in an artisanal way, each watch thus becomes unique, but 99 copies will be made as part of a limited series called Excellence Marquetry. Important precision, fashioned in steel with a diameter of 42 mm and powered by a Sellita automatic movement, this watch, which looks like an art object, is affordable thanks to a price of around €4,000.
Rado True Square Skeleton watch. Case, bracelet and crown in high-tech ceramic, in plasma, white or black colour. Dimensions 38 x 44.2mm. Caliber R808 automatic movement with 80-hour power reserve. Anti-reflective sapphire crystal, transparent back. Water resistance 50 m. €3,000. © DR
With the True Square watch launched in 2020, Rado imposed the square shape in its ceramic collections, a material in which the Swiss house has become an undisputed specialist since 1986. After the original version, we discovered a True Square Open Heart revealing its mechanism through a partially hollowed-out dial. Today, designers are going even further with the new True Square Skeleton, which no longer hides any of its inner workings. “The three new references in monobloc high-tech ceramic, the brand’s signature, in black, plasma or white, have a two-level dial with an openworked top plate offering a view of the skeletonized automatic R808 caliber”, explains one. at Rado. In fact, the upper part draws the eye to the beating heart of the watch, the balance wheel and its hairspring fashioned in Nivachron. The central part, on the other hand, gives pride of place to the hands, the bridge of the minute wheel and the rubies. Finally, the lower part reveals the mainspring. The fascination of a stripped-down movement thus blends beautifully with the minimalism of the square case with rounded corners.
Mauron Musy MU06 UniX watch. Grade 5 titanium case (available in red gold or black DLC). Diameter 41mm. Caliber MM02 automatic movement with micro-rotor. Power reserve 48 hours. Matt opaline peripheral dial, central guilloché, mother-of-pearl or “craftsmanship” dial. Anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Transparent background. Water resistance 100m. Comes with two interchangeable straps in leather or rubber. Price not disclosed. © DR
You don’t know Mauron Musy? This watchmaking house was launched ten years ago near Fribourg, in western Switzerland. From the outset, its two founders, Éric Mauron and Christophe Musy, emphasized a new concept of mechanical sealing developed in-house. Called nO-Ring, this patented system dispenses with any traditional seal and is based on a revolutionary tightening method: an assembly flange and two satellite compression springs (up to 390 newtons of vertical pressure) hold the sapphire crystal and the transparent back in place, guaranteeing the total waterproofness of the watch. All the brand’s creations benefit from this device, in particular the new MU06 UniX, which is intended to be unisex as its name suggests. Its 41 mm case, made of titanium, red gold or black DLC treatment, houses a highly architectural in-house automatic caliber. “From the micro-rotor to the balance, one has the feeling of taking a spiral staircase and plunging into the heart of the movement,” say Éric Mauron and Christophe Musy, who add that particular attention has been paid to the dial in order to allow its personalization: “Mother of pearl, lacquered or snailed, it gives a unique and exclusive character to each timepiece”, they conclude.
Mauron Musy HPM1 watch. Grade 5 titanium case. Diameter 44 mm. Weight 120g. Automatic movement caliber MM01 (Frédéric Jouvenot mechanism). Power reserve 55 hours. Indication of the hour by rotating pallets, central minute. Anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Transparent background. Water resistance 300 m, nO-Ring technology. Rubber strap. Limited series 18 copies. Available in blue, white, purple or turquoise. Price not disclosed. © DR
For fans of disruptive watchmaking, let’s finish this quick presentation of Mauron Musy by specifying that the brand has also just lifted the veil on an HPM1 model born in collaboration with watchmaker Frédéric Jouvenot. A central hand indicates the minutes and twelve small titanium paddles pivot instantly with each passing hour. “Completely black at midnight, they take on color as the day breaks”, add the designers of this HPM1 with a titanium case 44 mm in diameter. Offered in a limited edition of 18 pieces in four different tones, blue, white, purple or turquoise, the watch obviously benefits from the nO-Ring water resistance concept.
