Latest news with #ChristianSelmoni
South China Morning Post
11-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
The key trends at Watches and Wonders 2025: form, fit and function rule, with new concepts from Rolex and Vacheron Constantin, cool wearability from A. Lange & Söhne and Panerai, and bold new colours
When more than 60 brands showcased new releases at Watches and Wonders this year , innovation and bold design leap to mind as the main stand-outs. Some brands focused on new mechanics under the bonnet, some chose to focus on increasing durability and function, while others concentrated on rethinking aesthetics in terms of colour use and watch size. Montblanc 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen Mount Vinson. Photo: Handout Vacheron Constantin veered heavily in one direction as it released Les Cabinotiers Solaria, breaking the record for most complications in a single wristwatch at 41. 'Usually for these grand complication [pieces],' Vacheron Constantin heritage and style director Christian Selmoni told us in a round-table chat, 'you'll see that there is engraving or gem setting to emphasise the complexity of the watch and the value of the timepiece. [To contrast with that] we wanted to do a very simple design […] because if you look at the dial, which is technical, we wanted to have this readability and the case is almost brutal. We wanted to anchor this timepiece in modernity, which is something I think unexpected but that people will appreciate, [especially] since we are already breaking with tradition.' Advertisement While Selmoni refers to the Solaria specifically, the desire to develop bold and exciting yet relevant and wearable pieces is a key undercurrent in all the disparate and wonderful ways brands approached their releases this year. New movements, new borders A view of the Calibre L122.2 in the A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual. Photo: Handout Vacheron Constantin and Bulgari are certainly not the only names pushing boundaries in 2025, and nor was Rolex the only brand that debuted a stunning new movement . Grand Seiko made waves as it released Spring Drive UFA (meaning Ultra-Fine Accuracy) with the new 9RB2 calibre inside. It combines quartz oscillation with traditional mechanical powering to achieve an accuracy of plus/minus 20 seconds a year. A. Lange & Söhne introduced two new movements with wearability in mind. The Minute Repeater Perpetual contains the new L122.2 calibre and combines big date, perpetual calendar and minute repeater complications in a case thickness of just 12.1mm. Meanwhile, the brand released the smallest version of the 1815 yet with a 34mm case courtesy of the calibre L152.1 allowing for a smaller watch, which also has a whopping 72 hours of power reserve. Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar GMT Platinumtech. Photo: Handout Movements aren't the only spaces for upgrades – brands also focused on functionality. Panerai's Luminor Perpetual Calendar GMT Platinumtech allows you to set the perpetual calendar using the crown only, with no need to fiddle with separate pushers or correctors. Complicated yet functional
CNN
01-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
World's ‘most complicated' wristwatch unveiled
It tracks the sun's position in the sky. It chimes with the sound of hammers hitting four miniature gongs. It even tells the wearer when certain stars will be visible from Earth. Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin's latest timepiece is not just packed with novel features — it is, officially, the most complicated mechanical wristwatch ever produced. In horology, a 'complication' refers to any function that goes beyond standard time-telling, such as a Gregorian calendar or moon phase display. And Vacheron Constantin's new Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication contains a record-breaking 41 of them. The one-off design, which went on show at the Watches and Wonders trade fair in Switzerland on Tuesday, comprises 1,521 separate components. The watchmaker is seeking to protect its new creation through 13 patent applications, seven of which relate to the chiming mechanism. Seen by CNN during a fair preview, the watch presents three different measures of time: A conventional 24-hour-day, the sidereal time (the time taken for Earth to spin on its axis, which is around four minutes shorter than a calendar day) and the solar day (which is adjusted for the Earth's elliptical orbit). Among the dozens of other complications are astronomical functions tracking the sun's position, height, trajectory and angle relative to Earth's equator. A rotating display featuring the zodiac's 13 constellations can meanwhile be adjusted to show when those stars will next be visible in the sky. The watchmaker said its record-breaking wristwatch was eight years in the making, describing it as a 'masterpiece of innovation.' The single-model watch's case is made from 18-karat white gold and contains over 200 jewels, including several sapphire discs. Founded in 1755 and now owned by luxury conglomerate Richemont, Vacheron Constantin also holds the record for the most complicated pocket watch. The brand's Berkley Grand Complication, unveiled last year, features 63 horological complications including a Chinese perpetual calendar displaying the complex lunisolar cycle. But while this represents 22 more complications than those boasted by its latest creation, pocket watches can be considerably larger than wristwatches. At 45 millimeters (1.8 inches), the new Solaria Ultra Grand Complication's case is less than half the diameter of the Berkley's. As such, the design challenge was also about fitting the watch's functions into a case small enough to be comfortably worn on the wrist, according to Vacheron Constantin's style and heritage director, Christian Selmoni. In a press release describing the wristwatch as a 'feat of miniaturization,' Selmoni said the brand's horologists had arranged tiny components in the 'most logical and compact way possible.' 'The main objective was to bring together all the main complications, timekeeping, calendar, chronograph and chiming, on a single base plate and to concentrate the astronomical functions on an additional plate,' he is quoted saying. 'Thanks to this construction, it was possible to create a wristwatch with harmonious proportions.'
CNN
01-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
World's ‘most complicated' wristwatch unveiled
It tracks the sun's position in the sky. It chimes with the sound of hammers hitting four miniature gongs. It even tells the wearer when certain stars will be visible from Earth. Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin's latest timepiece is not just packed with novel features — it is, officially, the most complicated mechanical wristwatch ever produced. In horology, a 'complication' refers to any function that goes beyond standard time-telling, such as a Gregorian calendar or moon phase display. And Vacheron Constantin's new Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication contains a record-breaking 41 of them. The one-off design, which went on show at the Watches and Wonders trade fair in Switzerland on Tuesday, comprises 1,521 separate components. The watchmaker is seeking to protect its new creation through 13 patent applications, seven of which relate to the chiming mechanism. Seen by CNN during a fair preview, the watch presents three different measures of time: A conventional 24-hour-day, the sidereal time (the time taken for Earth to spin on its axis, which is around four minutes shorter than a calendar day) and the solar day (which is adjusted for the Earth's elliptical orbit). Among the dozens of other complications are astronomical functions tracking the sun's position, height, trajectory and angle relative to Earth's equator. A rotating display featuring the zodiac's 13 constellations can meanwhile be adjusted to show when those stars will next be visible in the sky. The watchmaker said its record-breaking wristwatch was eight years in the making, describing it as a 'masterpiece of innovation.' The single-model watch's case is made from 18-karat white gold and contains over 200 jewels, including several sapphire discs. Founded in 1755 and now owned by luxury conglomerate Richemont, Vacheron Constantin also holds the record for the most complicated pocket watch. The brand's Berkley Grand Complication, unveiled last year, features 63 horological complications including a Chinese perpetual calendar displaying the complex lunisolar cycle. But while this represents 22 more complications than those boasted by its latest creation, pocket watches can be considerably larger than wristwatches. At 45 millimeters (1.8 inches), the new Solaria Ultra Grand Complication's case is less than half the diameter of the Berkley's. As such, the design challenge was also about fitting the watch's functions into a case small enough to be comfortably worn on the wrist, according to Vacheron Constantin's style and heritage director, Christian Selmoni. In a press release describing the wristwatch as a 'feat of miniaturization,' Selmoni said the brand's horologists had arranged tiny components in the 'most logical and compact way possible.' 'The main objective was to bring together all the main complications, timekeeping, calendar, chronograph and chiming, on a single base plate and to concentrate the astronomical functions on an additional plate,' he is quoted saying. 'Thanks to this construction, it was possible to create a wristwatch with harmonious proportions.'
