From tomorrow, the new issue of L'Orologio will be on newsstands all over Italy, with the usual feature on the previews of the SIHH, the Salon de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva (although frequenters of our Blog and our fans on Facebook have already been able to admire them almost 'live').
As many as 19 brands attended SIHH 2010 and provided us with photos of their preview models: A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Baumer & Mercier, Cartier, Dunhill, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsay, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, JeanRichard, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Ralph Lauren, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Another great glimpse of the Geneva Show lies in the fabulous cover story devoted to the most appetising new A. Lange & Söhne: the premiere of the Lange 1, Lange's signature watch with an automatic movement. For the occasion, here is a new name, Daymatic, and a new calibre combined with a dial that cannot fail to puzzle. All the secrets of this watch are revealed in the article on page 34, with an interview with its creator, Anthony De Haas.
Another interesting topic is the interview with Zenith's new CEO, Jean-Frédéric Dufour, who takes up the difficult legacy of the histrionic Thierry Nataf and tells us what 'his' Zenith will be like. Closing the trio of the most appetising features in this issue is an accurate presentation of the first hand-wound mechanical movement designed and built in-house by Patek Philippe: to be precise, the legitimate successor to the Lemania 2310, which is the basis of Patek Philippe's best-loved and most desired complicated calibre, the 27-70 Q, a chronograph with perpetual calendar. For now, the new chronograph is only being used on a ladies' watch, but it won't be long before the Basel Show (18 to 25 March)...
For those who do not succumb to the allure of firsts, however, but with their feet firmly on the ground want to know what the market has to offer today and have all the information they need for an informed purchase, we could not miss what is becoming a regular feature of our magazine: the buying guide. This time we have set our sights high, looking for potential competitors to Patek Philippe's Calatrava: the classic par excellence. In a price range of 14,000 to 16,000 euros, 22 models compete for the prize of the most elegant: the choice is yours.
