January is one of the watchmaking world peak times and over 12,000 executives, retailers and guests disturb the imperturbable calm of the Swiss watchmakers to be part of the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva. During the 2012 edition it will be even more interesting to watch the new creations, considering that the salon takes place during a very uncertain period for the world economy. Although the Swiss watchmaking industry announced that November was a new record for exports of watches, which exceeded for the first time in history the two billion Swiss francs level, one can not overlook the grey clouds that threaten the future of the European Union and the warnings of an economic downturn in China.
The previews for SIHH look very promising though for an audience that pretends every year more and more from the watchmakers’ creativity.
 

As every year, one of the finest performances is expected to be provided by the Jaeger-LeCoultre booth, a company famous for innovation and the performance of reinventing the wheel every year. If 2011 was the Reverso year (the legendary model has reached the venerable age of 80 years), the company announced that in 2012 will focus on the Duomètre line and Master Control 1000 Hours. Arranged on the elegant and easily readable dial, the hours, minutes, seconds and moon-phase displays appear to make the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire a classic watch model. But inside the case and partially hidden from view beats Calibre 381, a prodigious movement boasting unprecedented precision based on the Dual-Wing concept.
 

IWC proclaims 2012 the year of the Pilot’s watch. With five new models, the Top Gun collection establishes itself as an independent formation within the IWC Pilot’s watch family. The year’s high flyer is TOP GUN Miramar, a tribute to the place in California where the myth of the elite pilots was born. And two Pilot’s Watches featuring high complications prepare for take off: the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN and the Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month. Like the other Big Pilot’s Watch, the Big Pilot’sWatch TOP GUN Miramar is equipped with the largest automatic movement made by IWC, with a power reserve of 168 hours. The Schaffhausen-based watch manufacturer IWC has been making timepieces for pilots and their passengers since the mid-1930s.
 

When it was first presented in 1999, the A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH already attracted global attention, soon becoming one of the most wanted watches from the portfolio of the company. The new DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN embodies all the features of the first edition and additionally, Lange’s engineers and product designers worked intensely to refine it further. What meets the eye first is the larger case. With a diameter increased to 41 millimetres, this timepiece gains extra prominence on the wrist. Rhodiumed gold baton hour markers on the dial – they also replace the former Roman numerals II, VI, and X – emphasize its clear design and identify the watch as a member of the SAXONIA family that was just revised last year. A small detail is typical of the perfectionism pursued at Lange: The aperture of the date display was adjusted to match the bigger size of the case. It was enlarged by four percent to preserve the balanced proportions of the dial architecture.
 

The Girard-Perregaux 1966 collection has been enriched by a new model - GIRARD-PERREGAUX 1966 ANNUAL CALENDAR AND EQUATION OF TIME. This timepiece possesses all the assets of beautiful watchmaking, including its movement, the GP033M0. Composed of 287 parts, this calibre features remarkable finishes and was entirely developed and produced by the Girard-Perregaux Manufacture.
The annual calendar presenting the date and month automatically takes the length of the month into account, requiring only the occasional correction every 28th February of non-leap years. With its hand at 4.30, the equation of time indicates the difference between the real solar time and the mean or civil time. The Girard-Perregaux Manufacture's classic elegance and tradition are reflected in the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Small second limited and numbered edition. At the heart of this creation lies a calibre manufactured with great finesse: the GP3300 calibre.
The slightly curved case-back is adorned with delicate engraving commemorating two important dates: In 1889, Girard-Perregaux won the Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for its pocket watch later known as "La Esmeralda", the most famous example of Tourbillon with three gold Bridges. In 1900, this technical masterpiece with its highly original architecture was judged to be without equal. Thus Girard-Perregaux did not participate in the contest and was nominated as member of the jury at the Universal Exhibition. Produced in a numbered, limited edition of 100 pieces, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Small second loudly proclaims the noble heritage of its name.