2018
PREVIEWS
EVERY JANUARY WE TRAVEL TO GENEVA to attend the Salon International de la Haute
Horlogerie (SIHH). This annual event is where the many of the finest watch companies debut their
new designs and technical innovations. This year’s SIHH has again expanded. In 2018 the event
includes six new exhibitors: Hermès, Armin Strom, DeWitt, Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud,
Élégante by F.P.Journe and Romain Gauthier, raising the total number of exhibitors to thirty-five.
For the second time, the SIHH is opening its doors to the general public (following the success
of the first public day last year). This year’s Open Day is on Friday, January 19, from 11am to 6pm.
Tickets are available for purchase online for approximately $70 at sihh.org.
While most new watches don’t reach showcases for several months, many brands annually
offer a peek at their new models just ahead of the SIHH. On these pages, we’ve gathered most of
these previewed watches. Stay tuned for full SIHH 2018 coverage in the next issue of iW, as well
as at iwmagazine.com.
A. LANGE & SÖHNE
TO HONOR COMPANY FOUNDER WALTER LANGE, who passed away last January,
the company debuts this 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” that features a
jumping seconds hand, a complication initially devised 150 years ago by Ferdi-
nand Adolph Lange. A. Lange & Söhne will make the 40.5mm watch in yellow
gold, white gold and pink gold, with one single steel model made to auction off
in 2018 for charity.
The seconds subdial on the new watch features a small hand that ticks as
expected from a movement delivering a frequency of 21,600 bph, (moving
six small steps from second to second). But the longer blued seconds hand
performs the precise jumps from second to second that characterize the
watch’s ‘jump second’ complication. The hand can be allowed to run continu-
ously or can be stopped if desired by activating the pusher at 2 o’clock, which
starts and stops it.
A. Lange & Söhne will place a black enamel dial only on the one-off steel
piece, while all the gold models feature a silvered dial. The newly developed
movement has a special caliber designation: L1924, which refers to Walter
Lange’s birth year. Additionally, the first three digits of the reference number
297.078 recall his date of birth, July 29th.
A. Lange & Söhne will make the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” in three
editions: 145 watches in white gold, 90 in pink gold and 27 in yellow gold. All
three gold models will be priced at 47,000 Euros, or about $55,400.
63 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2017
WINTER 2018 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 63