Usually, we would be in Geneva right now, visiting Watches & Wonders, the former SIHH. Unfortunately, very little is normal these days. The COVID-19 pandemic is making its marks around the world, and for the watch world, it meant that many prestigious, international events, had to be canceled. As it sometimes feels that the world has come to a standstill, it is also important that some things do continue, and we have to be creative about how to achieve this. The Foundation de la Haute Horlogerie, who organizes Watches & Wonders, therefore took the decision to take the show into the digital space and has created in record time a platform on which all the thirty exhibiting brands can present their latest products.

Last week the first major watch fair of the year took place, as LVMH organized the very first edition of their 'Watch Week' in Dubai. It is taking the position of the 'Geneva Days,' an event in which the watch brands of LVMH used to launch their first batch of novelties of the year and which took place in Geneva at the same time as the SIHH. As this event is now renamed 'Watches & Wonders Geneva' and takes place adjacent to Baselworld at the end of April. While the LVMH watch brand still participates in Baselworld, they have, for years, been following a strategy of launching the majority of their novelties in two batches throughout the year. The 'Geneva Days' and now 'LVMH Watch Week' allows them to get a head start on the rest, but also to receive feedback from retailers and press to fine-tune their second batch of offerings.

When a couple of years ago the first bronze cased watches entered the mainstream watch scene, it seemed to be a trend. However, over the years these type of watches have proved their staying power, as a charismatic alternative to steel. Initially, bronze cases where mainly applied to dive watches as their non-corrosive qualities offer an added advantage there. However, this edition of the SIHH we saw that the trend of using this material into other categories of watches also continues.

With the introduction of the new Santos de Cartier, in 2018, it was to be expected that the collection would soon be expanded beyond the time-only and skeleton versions it was launched in. It is not surprising that Cartier picked for this extension a chronograph, as this is still one of the most popular complications. However, the way that they went about to integrate this in Santos is surprising!

We already suspected it from the quality of the pre-releases this year, but all our doubts where further taken away at the first day of the 2019 edition of SIHH: the watch industry is thriving! It showed this not only by many new creations but also by the beautiful different interpretation of familiar models.

Time flies when having fun, and that was most certainly the case in 2018. It was an amazing year in watches, in which many new highlights were introduced. Innovation was running high, not only in regards to movements but also in terms of design and materials used. Although a near impossibility to do justice to all the great watches that we handled this year, here is a selection of Haute Time's best photos of them!

They keep on coming! Cartier just announced four amazing limited editions that will join their collection in 2019. They not only highlight La Maison's exceptional finesse when it comes to the shape of watch cases but also their heritage as one of the world's leading jewelers is perfectly showcased.

While many people are gearing up for the holidays, the watchworld is already preparing for the first big event of 2019; the SIHH. While only insiders of the participating brands know exactly what new products will be launched, by now, we can already tell what kind of year it is going to be. We can base this on two things: the pre-released watches, and the ones we already have all the details of, but cannot share yet due to an embargo.

When 2019 has barely started, SIHH is scheduled to open its doors. From January 14th to 18th the exhibiting brands will delight us with the most mesmerizing new creations. Traditionally many of those brands also launch a few new watches before the show. While impressive, they usually keep the real fireworks until the fair itself. Given the very high level of the watches that they have already introduced, 2019 is bound to going to be an amazing year in watches!

Earlier this year Cartier had quite a few surprises for us in store: not only did they release an updated version of the Santos de Cartier, but they also introduced a skeleton version which was not only available in pink gold but also in stainless steel.

IWC celebrated their 150th anniversary in style, with a special 'Jubilee Collection' of which this Portugieser Perpetual Calendar is also a member. In the history of IWC, this is an important complication, revolutionized by their very own Kurt Klaus, who was the brand's Head of Development and Research when the legendary Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar took the watch world by force.

Anniversaries are there to be celebrated, and when you are a watch brand the best way to do so is by introducing new watches! That is exactly what Jaeger-LeCoultre did earlier this year when it celebrated the 50th anniversary of the famed Memovox Polaris. Of course, does the line-up include a modern version of this iconic alarm watch, but Jaeger-LeCoultre let it accompanied by a world-time chronograph and a time-only model, as well as this chronograph version.

IWC celebrated its 150th jubilee by welcoming actor Bradley Copper as a brand ambassador and unveiling a limited collection of 27 timepieces.

A flying tourbillon is often the cherry on top of what is already a great watch, and this goes for sure Laureato Flying Tourbillon Skeleton, which Girard-Perregaux launched earlier this year at the SIHH in Geneva. Created in 1975, the Laureato was Girard-Perregaux’s contribution to what would become the golden age of the premium stainless steel sports watch.

We sit down to chat about the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie with its Chairwoman, Fabienne Lupo, during Watches & Wonders Miami.

The Salon Internationale de Haute Horlogerie, or SIHH, featured this year again a stunning line-up of the most beautiful watches. More then recent years.