Our editor in chief has covered his top 5 watches from Baselworld 2015. So presenting today, Baselworld 2015: Nick’s Top 5 Picks. These are in no particular order, just the pieces that caught my eye for various reasons.
Sarpaneva Korona Northen Lights
The awesome glow from the Northern Lights. The first watch for Baselworld 2015: Nick’s Top 5 Picks
The Sarpaneva Korona Northern Lights is the first watch of my Top 5. There are a couple of reasons why I chose this piece. I love the curves of the Korona case and the “Moonface” moonphase, which are both signatures of Stepan Sarpaneva. Throw in the skills of James Thompson from Black Badger Advanced Composites into the mix and you get one special timepiece. The watch looks great in normal light with its patterned dial. At night it really shines, with its fantastic lume! The luminous material adds an additional layer of depth to the moonphase which gives the Moonface another look.
The Northern Lights on your wrist! I definitely think so!
Patek Philippe Ref 5524 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
The Patek Philippe Ref 5524 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
This watch was chosen for the sheer buzz it created. Patek Philippe has made pilot watches before, but has not done so in a very long time. When pictures became available before the fair started, there were whispers saying “surely not”. When the covers came off, it was confirmed. Compared to the rest of the Patek Philippe collection, this certainly sticks out.
At 42mm it still is a fairly reasonable size. Its dial is vintage inspired and the Arabic numerals and hands are covered in SuperLuminova. It also allows for a second time zone to be tracked. Not sure about the white gold case, stainless steel would have been a better choice. As for the design, I can’t help but think it looks like another Pilot watch from another brand. As they say any publicity is good publicity. Would I purchase one? There is a small part of me that says yes, since it is so left field of normal Pateks.
Romain Jerome Subcraft
The great case shape of the Romain Jerome Subcraft
Seeing the new Romain Jerome Subcraft for the first time, I liked it immediately. There is something about the case shape that draws you to the watch. The smoothness of the case is very aesthetically pleasing. Alain Silberstein worked with Romain Jerome on the Subcraft and it was his idea to give the watch a smooth case. You can see his reflection in the photo 🙂
The minutes appear on the top of the watch encompassed by a smooth black circle. The retrograde jumping hour indicator is located at the front of the watch viewable through a elongated circular window. It really does standout from its older brother the Spacecraft. This was a great collaboration between Alain Silberstein & Romain Jerome. Bravo!
HYT H3
The awesome HYT H3
HYT were the first brand to use liquid in a wristwatch to indicate the time. It opened the eyes of many, since it was a world first. The new HYT H3 will definitely be a conversation starter.
The green liquid on the new HYT H3 indicates the hours, and a small hand indicates the minutes. Its party piece is shown every six hours. The liquid for the hour display is retrograde and will reset at the end of every six hours. HYT utilized the energy created from the liquid been withdrawn to power the rotation of the hour bar to rollover to the next six hours. A great piece of engineering and the use of liquid is captivating. The video below puts the whole experience into perspective! After you watch the video, you will want the watch even more!
Tudor Pelagos
The stunning blue Tudor Pelagos with new in-house movement
Tudor has done a remarkable job recently of creating vintage inspired timepieces with great build quality. The last watch in my top 5 is the Tudor Pelagos. I love a blue dialed watch, and when I saw the photos of the Pelagos, I was impressed. The shade of blue stands out, but not in a loud manner. It just works. Apart from the great dial and bezel colour, the Pelagos received one other major upgrade.
This year it received the new Tudor in-house movement MT5612 with silicon hairspring. This a variation of the same movement found in the new Tudor North Flag sans the power reserve indicator. This movement is certified by the COSC and with the words officially certified chronometer added to the dial, Tudor now has its first 5 liner watch! it is one of the best value proposition watches out there, especially for the build quality, titanium case and in house movement. Great work from Tudor!
That concludes my Top 5 for Baselworld 2015. Hope you have enjoyed my thoughts!
