Every year at SIHH the 12,500 retailers and journalists enter a special world where time becomes creative, technical, inspired or uninspired, depending on the creator. A total of 18 brands exhibit in generously sized booths (even impressive if we consider the size of the Cartier booth). Despite a record November, when the Swiss watch exports exceeded CHF 2 billion, officials are still cautious. Naturally this attitude was also obvious in the launches, but luckily for the public, the marketing campaigns revitalized the atmosphere. So we traveled several times in different worlds, thanks to brands like IWC, Baume & Mercier and Roger Dubuis that imagined stimulating and exciting marketing campaigns.
 

Jaeger-LeCoultre is as usual the most technical and innovative watchmaker and presented a wide range of novelties in every collection. One of the most amazing is the new Duomètre à Sphérotourbillon, based on the Dual-Wing concept, featuring two separate and independent mechanisms housed within a single case - one of them responsible for powering the time indications, and the other for driving an additional function.
 

2012 is the 100th anniversary of the first tonneau-shaped watch (1912) created by Vacheron Constantin and to mark the occasion the manufacture has revisited the tonneau shape of its Malte collection and developed a new tonneau-shaped movement to match, the Caliber 2795.
 

Georges Kern, the CEO of IWC and Roger Dubuis, certainly deserves the award for the most creative and energetic leader at SIHH, if we think about the Roger Dubuis miracle or the integrated marketing concept of IWC. Judging from the facts, Kern definitely agrees “there is no business like the show-business” so stars like Cate Blanchett, Rosamund Pike, Zinedine Zidane or Luis Figo read time using IWC watches.
 

In terms of novelties, for 2012 IWC decided to focus on the Pilot watches and prepared five new models in the Top Gun collection.
 

Roger Dubuis began the year with a new marketing campaign, developed entirely in house. A combination of steampunk, Swiss private club with a bit of mystery from the world of Sherlock Holmes, the Roger Dubuis universe seems interesting enough to captivate even a person who, in the past, didn’t think highly of the brand. In the meantime, the watchmaker increased the reliability of the calibers (by reducing its number to half) and launched two new collections, Velvet and Pulsion, new models for La Monegasque and our personal favorite the Excalibur Double Flying Tourbillon.
 

Baume & Mercier was one of the refreshing experiences at SIHH this year and decided it is time to innovate also with bracelets. Thanks to a patented system that allows the easy change of the bracelet, one can choose them according to mood and fashion, made of leather, metal or satin in bright or classic colours.
 

Van Cleef & Arpels was again the most poetic watch brand in Geneva and continued the story that started in 2007 with Lady Arpels Feerie. The Poetry of Time includes now two new special editions for him and for her, where the two lovers sent love messages from two of Paris landmarks – Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral.
 

Piaget continues to develop the ultra-thin concept and presents a watch that beats two world records in the field. Piaget Altiplano Ultra-Thin Skeleton is the slimmest automatic skeleton model in the world (5.34 mm) equipped with the thinnest skeleton mechanism in the world (2.40 mm).
 

Panerai has been, like every year, one of the most popular brands in Geneva. The Italian DNA manufacture presented no less that 12 new models inspired by the historical pieces in the archives. For the lovers of great complications, there is a new Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Ceramica 48mm watch (PAM 00396), with the innovative tourbillon regulator, but one of the most interesting novelties is the first ceramic watch in the collection, Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic, a limited edition of 1.000 pieces.
 

Richard Mille held a 3D presentation, so the journalist could see from every angle the six new models from this year. We have noticed especially the RM 52 Skull Tourbillon equipped with a new caliber.
 

Audemars Piguet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Royal Oak, an icon for the brand launched in 1972, with eight new versions, that vary from ultra-thin to classic, automatic or quartz. The new additions include a limited edition Royal Oak Openworked Extra-Thin and Extra Thin Tourbillon Royal Oak Tourbillon 41 mm.