Geneva Watch Days 2023: episode #3
It was a promise from Frank Sans C, the third and last episode of our series dedicated to the Geneva Watch Days 2023 is here! And each watch is crazier than the last. Greubel Forsey, Czapek, Artya and Reservoir all present their new models, which make an explosive duo of technique and aesthetics. Follow the guide…
RESERVOIR, Airfight Chronograph
Dedicated to the aeronautics industry, the Airfight collection by Reservoir expands, with its first chronograph with a bi-retrograde display, and it was introduced during the Geneva Watch Days 2023. The Airfight Chronograph pays tribute to the P-51 Mustang. This 43 mm watch is available in 316L steel or in black PVD, and it stands out thanks to its intense black dial whose elements are inspired by the legendary fighter plane.
The hours hand is endowed with a wide white triangle on its tip, inspired by the shape of the instrument panel’s counters of the “warbirds”: the ‘Badin’ an airspeed indicator; the variometer, a vertical speed indicator measuring ‘up’ and ‘down’ variations in feet per minute; or the engine speed indicator etc.
Notice also the three sectors in three different colours, respectively corresponding to different status: green means “normal”, orange means “danger” and red means “prohibited”. Pilots especially will recognize the references to rpm, stalling speed, and carburettor temperatures.
This may confuse some people, but from a watchmaking point of view, the arc on the left indicates retrograde seconds – a characteristic Reservoir complication. On the right, the date, which is also retrograde. Despite the presence of all these indicators, the chronograph is still perfectly visible thanks to the vertical counters.
Ready for take-off, the watch has a manufacture movement with a bi-retrograde automatic chronograph equipped with a column wheel. The whole thing has a 60-hour power reserve. Last detail: the crown is a nod to the potentiometers and switches in the cockpits of the warbirds.
€5 750
Click here to read the Reservoir Airfight Chronograph steel and Reservoir Airfight black PVD full technical sheet.
CZAPEK, Place Vendôme Complicité
As we know, the Geneva Watch Days is the event extraordinary watches afficionados do not want to miss. And for the occasion, Czapek delivered with the release of two new editions of its Place Vendôme Complicité watch. First, “Stardust” is a white gold timepiece with an anthracite grey leather strap. Then, the pink gold “Harmony Blue” stands out by its navy-blue leather strap. Both 41,8 mm wide, the two watches hypnotize you with their skeleton dial letting you see the cogs of the manual-winding manufacture calibre – which offers a 72-hour power reserve.
As a reinterpretation of the double escapement fabricated in 1930 by the watchmaking maison, the Place Vendôme Complicité offers a stunning view of the two independent oscillators, which are respectively placed at the 7:30 and 4:30 positions on the dial. At 12 o’clock, they are connected by a differential to balance and compensate their irregularity, which creates a perfect harmony.
€105 400 – edition limited to 100 copies
ARTYA – Tiny Purity Tourbillon, NanoSaphir Chameleon
A UWO among UWOs (Unidentified Watchmaking Object), this 39 mm watch comes straight from outer space. It has a case carved in a NanoSaphir bloc and its colour shifts depending on the variations of the light. The amber orange becomes a vivid green in a split second, as this high-tech synthetic sapphire went through specific treatments to enhance its optical properties. This is a spectacular show, magical even. Is it the work of a watchmaker or that of an alchemist? You just cannot tell.
A display of Artya’s expertise in NanoSaphir, the “Chameleon” edition pushes the traditional watchmaking limits with a 7 mm diameter reduction, while keeping the flying tourbillon movement with double barrel. How come? This is simple – to put it mildly. The skeleton dial at 3 o’clock was just moved sideways. On the other hand, placed alongside the dial, the double barrel is still the same size and is visible underneath the dial. In the same way, the tourbillon cage kept its over-sized proportions – 17 mm – which offer a stunning view of the mechanism. The quite avant-garde instrument is associated to a modest kaki leather strap.
€162 000
Click here to read the Artya Tiny Purity Tourbillon, NanoSpahir Chameleon full technical sheet.
GREUBEL FORSEY, Balancier Convexe S² and Double Balancier Convexe Carbon
It earned a reputation for its exceptional fine watchmaking pieces, Greubel Forsey was founded in 2004 by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. Today, the maison reveals the Balancier Convexe S², a small diameter – 41,5 mm – machined for the first time with carbon.
A watchmaking feat on its own, the convex shape of the case forced the material to adapt, a first in the watchmaking sphere. Each piece is the unique result of many superimposed carbon layers, which form completely random moiré patterns. Unique and limited to only 22 copies, the instrument perfectly fits the wrist and offers a stunning view of the dial and its balanced wheel inclined at 30°, situated at 6 o’clock. Small seconds and power reserve share the stage in this remarkable setting where the matt and satin finishes are all made fully by hand. Patented in 2019, the openwork “arch” double bridge makes sure that each and every gear is visible. The manual-winding movement is remarkable in more ways than one, as it consists of 303 parts and has a 72-hour power reserve.
As for the 42,5 mm Double Balancier Convexe Carbon edition, it follows the same procedure. As its name implies, it does not have one balanced wheel but two of them, proudly inclined at 30° on an intense black dial. But this hypnotic show will be for the eyes of 22 proud owners only.
Balancier Convexe S² – €263 500
Double Balancier Convexe Carbon – €356 500
Click here to read the Balancier Convexe S² and the Double Balancier Convexe Carbon full technical sheet.
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