Day 1: Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie (SIHH 2011)
Today was the opening day of the Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie 2011 (SIHH). The lines to get in were unusually long, hopefully an indicator that attendance is up from last year. Generally, when attendance is up, retail watch sales will follow, as the SIHH watch show is an important gauge of what to expect in the upcoming year.
There are a number of hot trends this year, but none more apparent than thin and ultra thin watches. In fact, almost every brand I met with today showed me at least one new thin or ultra-thin timepiece in their 2011 collection.
I was able to preview around 75 new timepieces today, from the world's best watchmakers, many of which I'll be covering over the next couple of weeks. So far, though, of all the pieces I've seen, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Deep Sea Tribute timepiece is one that stands out the most (pictured above). This remake of the original vintage Memovox alarm watch was done very well. Not every detail is identical to the original, but aesthetically speaking it is very close. Even the plexiglass crystal is true to the original 1959 version. (Later this month, I'll publish my 10Best picks from the 2011 SIHH show.)
Please check back later this week for more up-to-date coverage of SIHH 2011.
(Click image for gallery - 12 photos)