Live from SIHH 2018: Day 1 highlights

SIHH 2018 is finally here—and watch lovers across the world are geeking over the most highly-anticipated new releases from some of the world’s biggest watch brands. 

Read on for #legend’s first take on some of the watches we saw on our first day at the watch fair.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Polaris

At Jaeger-LeCoultre, the brand is all about the Polaris this year, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Memovox Polaris was an iconic watch from the 1968 that Jaeger-LeCoultre hopes to build upon to create a line of sporty tool watches for every day. 

This one in particular, is issued in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, and features the special alarm function made famous in the original Memovox Polaris watch. The 50th anniversary timepiece comes with a three-crown design, one for setting the alarm, one for the inner rotating bezel, and one for setting the time. Vintage cues on the dial take reference from the original model, with vanilla SuperLumiNova, trapezoidal indices with 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock marked out in Arabic numbers. A triangle in the dial centre, with the word Memovox written underneath, serves as the alarm indicator.

Cartier Revelation D’une Panthère

There was so much to see at Cartier, including the new Revelation D’une Panthère watch that we can only describe as pure watchmaking magic. Using a new patented technology, tiny gold beads will flow from one side of the watch to the other, revealing the outline of a panther’s face in the process. 

We’re also extremely excited about Cartier’s updates to the Santos line. Available in two sizes, the Santos watches now come with a quick switch mechanism: owners can easily change between metal and leather straps without using any watch tools, all with a click of a button at the back of the strap. 

What’s more, for the first time, Cartier will be releasing a skeletonised version of the Santos in steel. 

IWC Tribute to Pallweber “150 Years”

Last but not least, we visited IWC, who’s celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. We’ve written about IWC’s Jubilee Collection, but it was incredible to see the Tribute to Pallweber “150 Years” in the metal. The new calibre, which enables the jumping time display, took five years of research and development and the watch is currently applying for three patents.

Stay tuned for more updates on SIHH 2018, and head to our Instagram stories (@hashtag_legend) to see the all the latest novelties.