What is the SIHH impact on a premium brand such as yours in the Middle East?

 

We consider our relationship with our retailers to be a very important pillar for our continual success. The SIHH 2014 offers a valuable opportunity for us to enhance this relationship and create tighter bonds with our partners.

 

What are your expectations at SIHH 2014?

 

We’ve had a great year 2013, we know our partners have adhered to the changes that were made with regards to the brand’s different facets – products, marketing, etc… So we are now looking forward to presenting them with the plan for 2014 and getting their continued support. Audemars Piguet has always valued its relationships with its partners, and this is the time of the year when we can share our vision with them.

 

What are the foreseen trends and directions in Watches in 2014? Any particular trends that your brand is keen on in terms of movement and or designs?

 

2014 is a transition year for the industry and even more so for Audemars Piguet. We don’t forecast any major changes at this stage, most brands will keep focusing on their core messages while we will be consolidating our strategy.

 

What are your “star” novelties for the SIHH? Please provide us with high res photos and technical specs.

 

The Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon in white ceramic:

“Bright, white, sleek and powerful, the Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon to be presented for the first time at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2014 (SIHH) in Geneva, is a watch for avant-garde collectors and connoisseurs that brooks no compromise in either technical or aesthetic terms.” (Ref. Pre-SIHH Novelty PR, copy enclosed).

 

When would you expect the SIHH novelties to be available at boutiques and POS in the Middle East?

 

Novelties are delivered simultaneously worldwide in our network of boutiques.

 

Which of your watch models is the most popular in the Middle East? And Why?

 

The Royal Oak Offshore line is the most popular model in the Middle-East because of its recognizable unique design, virile look, and surely reliable movement.

 

 

What are the challenges that you are facing as watch makers/ retailers under the global and regional economical circumstances?

 

The Haute Horology industry is evolving daily and one of our main challenges as a watchmaker in the region is to become the manufacture of reference where people want to come and work. We are passionate about developing young talents and our partnership with the Ecole Technique de la Vallée de Joux and our own internal training program, are key factors in achieving this objective.

 

Symbolizing the cultural bridge between the arts, engineering and creative genius, Vacheron Constantin’s Malte tourbillon high jewellery brings together the magic of watchmaking and the mystery of gem-setting. This exceptional piece is a vibrant dedication to the Métiers d’Art, which here border on the sublime. With the invisible settings all entirely hand-crafted, it is dressed in 418 baguette diamonds (totalling approximately 19.6 carats), creating a supreme illumination of time. Such an exceptional watch deserved an equally exceptional movement, and this model is duly equipped with mechanical hand-wound Calibre 2795, comprising 169 parts and endowed with an almost two-day power reserve. This new tonneau-shaped movement – making a perfect fit with the case – is entirely developed and crafted within the Manufacture. 

The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon stems from research on two iconic horological complications. It is indeed the slimmest minute repeater in its category at just 7.9 mm thin. This watch capitalises on seven separate patents, six of which are entirely new. Its entire development process was governed by two watchwords – ingenuity and performance. Its quintessence lies in a successful bid to achieve extreme slenderness while making no compromises on reliability. Hybris Mechanica Eleven is equipped with an original tourbillon, a high-performance new balance-spring, a peripheral automatic winding system, a retractable single pushbutton, as well as a new minute repeater equipped with a silent-timelapse reduction system. As the latest addition to an illustrious and fertile saga of Jaeger-LeCoultre striking watches, this model consolidates the brand’s leadership in this field.

The new GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE gives the moon-phase display, which, by the way, is designed to remain accurate for 122.6 years, distinctive prominence on the dial. A patented coating process for the lunar disc endows this astronomical complication with a remarkably lifelike appearance.  Since its restart, the manufactory in Saxony has presented twelve models with this complication. But never before has the moon phase been as prominently showcased as in the new GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE. A spacious stage has been reserved for the popular astronomical indication on the dial. It provides vividly realistic proof of how closely the moon-phase display tracks the actual orbit of our planet’s companion. This is because the display is connected with the hour-wheel continuum. As a result, it is constantly in motion, just like the moon itself. The increments are so small they cannot be detected by the naked eye.

 

This masterpiece of the Hommage collection highlights the traditional art of guilloché bearing the unmistakable Roger Dubuis imprint of sophisticated modern elegance. In this instance, the RD100, a new movement composed of 452 individually hand-finished parts and endowed with a 50-hour power reserve, called for 1,200 hours of manufacturing and six full weeks of controls. Such an accomplished mechanism naturally deserved to be showcased to its full advantage. The new Hommage Double Flying Tourbillon with Hand-made Guilloché achieves exactly that in a spectacular new demonstration of Roger Dubuis’ equally intense concern for the inner and outer beauty of its models. Endowed with historical design codes including long slender lugs, a concave bezel, large Roman numerals, a fluted crown and a distinctive folding clasp, it also features a range of subtle new touches.