Baselworld is always a place full of surprizes, some large and some small. One of those big surprises is the Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Heure Sautante Minute Rétrograde. This watch combines a jumping hour with retrograde minutes and a unique flying tourbillon.

This month Baselworld will open its doors again, and it will be different from previous years. While the fair will not only be a few days shorter, it will also be smaller, as some brands have either moved to the SIHH or forgo the Swiss fairs at all in favour of more targeted, local events. The independents will, however, solidify their position further, and become a more prominent, and integrated part of Baselworld.

It was one of the highlights of last year’s Baselworld: the Zenith Defy El Primero 21. While the El Primero itself has already set the standard of its chronograph to 5Hz/36.000 bpm in 1969, allowing you to measure with a 1/10th of a second accuracy, the El Primero 21 exceeds this tenfold. Running at a staggering 50Hz, the chronograph measures up to 1/100th of a second, and does so with a central seconds hand, which makes this accomplishment all the more tangible.

While the SIHH takes place in the Palexpo halls of Geneva, this is not the only place in the city where you can find the latest and greatest watches. In the downtown area, brands that are not officially part of the SIHH setup shop on boats and in the exclusives hotels near the lake. For them, Baselworld is often the main fair to introduce their new models, but that didn’t stop them to bring a few novelties to Geneva as well!

2017 was a good year when it comes to watches. As we already discovered a few of Haute Time's favorite watches of this year in Part I, there were simply too many to put all in one article. That's, why in part II we showcase a few other favorites that have been released this year!

Luxury watchmaker Zenith teamed up with recording artist and producer, Swizz Beats to throw a memorable launch party for its new Defy collection.

We are currently in an era in watchmaking in which there is significant innovation regarding the materials of which watch cases are made. Sapphire, scratch resistant gold, carbon fibers, and high tech plastics now play a significant role in the world of Haute Horlogerie, but surprisingly also a more ancient alloy: Bronze.

Zenith has created a novel oscillator that guides the exceptional precision of Defy Lab, a watch the exhibits masterful mechanical performance.

With the Heritage Cronometro TIPO CP-2 Zenith created a homage to one of the most desirable pilot chronographs ever created.

Blue, black and silver are by far the most common dial colors when it comes to watches. In the past gold has also been a favorite, but changing times, and the death of two-tone watches has pushed those into becoming more of a rarity as well.

Ceramic might be the new steel as brands are continuing to explore the possibilities of this unique material.

Creating elegance is all about proportion, and that's one of the things that makes the Zenith Elite Lady Moonphase such a successful design.

We Will Rock You! When it isn't the music, then it is the (life)style of the world's most famous rockers that is grabbing headlines. Watches are an intricate part of this, as these three examples show.

Continuing where we left off in Part I, these are the last of our ten favorite watches from this year's Baselworld watch fair!

In yachting, it is the most coveted price and the dream of many sailors: winning the America's Cup. However, only the best will ever have a chance, as is the same for the watches they are wearing.

At this year’s Baselworld, ‘The Big Dance’ of all watch fairs, a select few novelties stood out as favorites. But rather than one trend dominating, the belles of the ball represented a wide variety of styles. So whether you prefer large sports watches, diminutive ladies timepieces, or cutting- edge tourbillons, you will soon find one of these exciting new watches at a Westime boutique in Southern California.