Baselworld 2013, Day Four: Rolex, TAG Heuer, Cuervo y Sobrinos, Ulysse Nardin


UN_MarineChrono_front_150My fourth day of reporting from the Baselworld watch fair, I got a look at new watches from a variety of brands, from boutique producers like Cuervo y Sobrinos and Ulysse Nardin to industry giants Rolex and TAG Heuer.

If you’ve been following our Baselworld coverage on WatchTime.com, you’ve probably already seen many of the new Rolexes on our contributor Alexander Linz’s blog, Watch-Insider.com. Here I’ve included another shot of Rolex’s headliner timepiece for 2013, the 50th anniversary year for the Rolex Daytona. It is the first Daytona in a platinum case and it features a distinctive color scheme of what Rolex calls an “ice blue” dial and “chestnut brown” bezel. While the U.S. price has yet to be determined, Rolex says the watch will retail for about $75,000.

Rolex_Daytona_560

Interestingly, another famous sports watch, TAG Heuer’s Carrera, also turns 50 this year, and the company is launching various new models of the Carrera to commemorate the occasion. Linz has numerous shots of the new Carrera models on his blog, along with an interview with TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. Here I’m trying on my personal favorite of the lot — continuing with the “blue” theme of I’ve seen across the board this year — a Carrera Calibre 1887 chronograph with a shiny blue dial. For more on the new TAG Heuer models, click here.

TAG_Heuer_Carrera_560

The “Swiss brand with Cuban heritage.” Cuervo y Sobrinos, outdid itself with its new booth this year, a tropical-themed hacienda reminiscent of Old Havana, easily the most eye-catching destination in the new Baselworld Hall 2. Product-wise, the focus was on the new CYS Racing Collection, launched to coincide with the brand’s sponsorship of a vintage car rally in Bormio, Italy. All of the watches have a sporty red-and-black color scheme and incorporate carbon fiber into their design. Most have subdials with a rotating hubcap-style “spinner” for the small seconds. The most intriguing is the Robusto Chronometta (in keeping with its Cuban theme, most of CYS’s families are named after cigar sizes), a chronograph that tallies both the chronograph seconds (in red) and minutes (in yellow) via center-mounted hands. Below is a shot of the Racing Collection watches in their natural Cuban habitat. The Chronometta is on the far right.

CYS_Racing_Collection_560

Cuervo also showed me one unique piece, the first tourbillon in its oversized Pirata collection. It’s got a rose gold/white gold two-tone case, a handsome perlage mainplate/dial, and is priced at $115,000.

CYS_Pirata-Tourbillon_560
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  1. Brian Pritchard

    I love looking at all of these fantastic watches from the top echelons of watch making. unfortunately looking is all I will ever manage when it comes to these makers. While looking around the various stands, have you looked at any of the mainstream makers, as I for one would love to hear what is happening in the more affordable end of the market. Surely with so many Swiss owned or Swiss made watches there must be innovation happening in this sector also.

    Reply
  2. Debashish

    Fabulous pictures and report! Especially, loved the picture of my most favourite watch Rolex!

    Just great and keep it up!

    Reply
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