Most new watches, in Baselworld, will have three hands. Most. But not all of them. Some UFOs will appear in Baselworld’s corridors. Beat Haldimann will drive one of them. The man – a real master watchmaker – has already created what stands as the most beautiful timepieces that tell eveything but the time, a kind of tourbillon watch with no hands, so that the focus is at 100% on the beauty of the complication.
Today, the H3 brings with it a world-first, being the only wristwatch ever to possess a central flying tourbillon and a minute repeater. Truly a work of art, this mechanical sculpture chimes the magical melody of watchmaking’s two most highly prized complications. Carrying on a family tradition of innovation since 1642, master watchmaker Beat Haldimann has created this watch to keep horological complications firmly at the centre of our attention. Seemingly weightless, the elegant flying tourbillon appears to float in the centre of the dial, completing one revolution per minute. The gentle sound of the minute repeater underscores the poetry of this mechanical masterpiece, which has been entirely imagined and crafted in the Haldimann family workshops in the Alpine city of Thun, thus continuing the tradition of this remarkable dynasty of watchmakers.
De Bethune, as well, will go on a handsfree road. The brand delivers its contemporary vision of this period’s aesthetic in the new DB28 Digitale, whose hand-guilloché dial is the backdrop for three types of display: spherical for moon phases, digital for jumping hours, and analogue for minutes on a rotating disc. Visual balance is achieved by the patented spherical moon in the centre of the dial. Its two polished hemispheres, one in palladium, the other in flame-blued steel, show the moon’s phases with a precision of one lunar day every 1,112 years. The case, which is crafted from mirror-polished titanium, benefits from a patented system of spring-mounted floating lugs for millimetric adjustment to the wrist and its movements.
Some other vendors will just not display watches, but accessories. TF Est. 1968 is part of that family. In a short space of time, TF Est. 1968 cufflinks, along with other accessories such as coordinating pens, key holders, even watches, have carved out a place at over 500 points of sale worldwide, not least at watch and jewellery retailers. The man behind this story is Freddy Tschumi, a firm believer in Swiss craftsmanship. Of German quality, the clip closure is stable with a reassuringly frank click. The flowing, polished curves respect the most luxurious fabrics, whether a man’s shirt or a woman’s blouse.
TF Est. 1968 is defined by movement and a fun spirit. True to form, it puts a new twist on its famous watch-inspired cufflinks. This time all is revealed thanks to a tube in PPMA glass with sapphire treatment, made to withstand scratching and any other form of aggression. It reveals fragments of an authentic watch movement, vertically-mounted inside the tube. In steel, pink-gold plated and black PVD