Gearing up For SIHH 2011

The beginning of the New Year hails in one of the most exclusive watch shows, the 21st SIHH. Commencing on January 17th and running until January 21st, the SIHH will be exhibiting 19 brands participating in 30,000 sq miles of tastefully decorated exhibition space. Attendance is by invitation only granted to 12,500 guests such as international retailers, journalists and brand representatives.

SIHH promotes luxury timepieces with exceptional craftsmanship,cutting edge technologically, aesthetic brilliance and the quest for perfection while nurturing the deep tradition of watch making.

Last year, the show was slightly muted due to the global recession; however, this year the atmosphere will be far more positive as spending in the watch industry is picking up.

This year participating brands are Baume & Mercier, Greubel Forsey, Piaget, JeanRichard, Panerai, Van Cleef & Arpels, Audemars Piguet, Roger Dubuis, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, Panerai, A. Lange & Söhne, Dunhill, Montblanc, Ralph Lauren & Richard Mille.

Piaget has allowed the watch world a glimpse of one of its stars of the show. The Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra Thin (46.5mm to be exact), which is equipped with a micro rotor and an incredibly streamlined new manufacture Caliber 1270p. Available in white or pink gold.

Another masterpiece is the Girard Perregaux 1966 small seconds watch. Featuring a new GP03300-50 automatic movement powered by a gold rotor and housed in either a 18k rose gold or white gold case. The Distinctive features are the blued steel hands and sub dial with a red 60 on a pure white enamel dial face. The look is sealed with an alligator strap and matching buckle.

These luxury watches are just a taste of what will be on display at the Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie 2011 in Geneva Switzerland.

SIHH 2009 opens in two weeks.

The 19th Salon International de la Haute Horogerie opens in Geneva from Monday January 19th to Friday January 23rd, but don't pack your bags just yet, the SIHH is reserved for guests of the exhibiting brands and professionals- by invitation only. The rest of us will have to be patient eagerly anticipating the new Timepieces crafted by exceptional Watch Brands.
Look out for new models from:
A.Lange and Sohne, Alfred Dunhill. Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, JeanRichard, Montblanc, Officine Panerei, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewerly Co., Roger Dubois, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Cartier is unveiling the Cartier Baignoire Grand Modele Watch a poetic addition to its Baignoire line first introduced in 1913. This Watch is in sync with its counterparts in Cartier Baignoire Collection with its oval face and pleasantly distorted numbers. This newer model has a larger sized case with a ultra-thin manually wound Piaget 430C movement. The Case is crafted from the increasingly popular rose gold with a silver dial. This luxurious timepiece is accentuated with Cartier's trademark in style: the blued hands, Roman numeral hands and a sapphire jewel cabochon set in the crown.

Amongst the Masters, a brand caught my eye - the Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewerly Co., a new joint venture between the Richemont Group (owns several of the world's leading companies in the field of luxury such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc) and Polo Ralph Lauren who will join the brands showing at the SIHH and introduce its very first collection of Haute Horlogerie timepieces.

Another first at this years SIHH will be a cultural area displaying the achievements of the Fondation del la Haute Horlogerie. The FHH was established in 2005 in Geneva because of the rapid increase in watch making brands as well as the products that are created. Countless brands are releasing fine watch creations. FHH has taken on the role of providing information and guidance from the watch making specialists to the press as there has been an increasing interest from the media and the public.
The FHH is a modern Foundation which for the most part utilizes the Internet for the release of information.
In addition the FHH recognizes Luxury Watches have evolved from a "social aspiration" into a "cultural aspiration"
The FHH focuses its primary attention on information and training in Horology.

For the first time the SIHH will be held a full two months prior to BaselWorld 2009. Usually BaselWorld and SIHH overlapped making it easier for participants and the guests. BaselWorld 2009 will be held from March 26 to April 2, 2009 in Basel, Switzerland.