London, our city of choice, has always been the ideal melting pot of new trends, global culture and luxury through modernity and tradition, sometimes both at the same time. In this particular case, London reached a new height in watchmaking, as we owe to the excellent English watch magazine QP, the very first
SalonQP: a gathering of the top watch brands and watch enthusiasts for the first time in London.
A few lands away from the watch industry's not to be missed events of
Basel and
Geneva, right into the very central One Marylebone in London, I could encounter some of the greatest names in watchmaking including
Jaeger-LeCoultre,
Blancpain,
Vacheron Constantin and
Parmigiani along with some newly established brands such as
Linde Werdelin and their skiing and diving watches and instruments.
The event gathered the teams from the brand's offices, UK and worldwide, a lot of our friends at SQUA.RE were there, along with teams from the brand stores as well as auction experts, writers and renowned creators such as Michel Parmigiani, Romain Gauthier and Peter Speake-Marin. Many brands such as
Montblanc had there own workshop in the Salon showcasing their craftsmanship live.
As expected, a series of outstanding new pieces were presented in the show including the Opus series from
Harry Winston and masterpieces from Blancpain, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin. Also presented were new watches such as the long-awaited
TAG Heuer V4 and the latest Spidolite from Linde Werdelin.
Overall we were presented with a truly exceptional array of contemporary watches ranging from the sleek design of
Bell & Ross, which we love at SQUA.RE, to the incredible dazzle of
Backes & Strauss’ Prince Regent and
Bonhams' preview of their forthcoming sale, which included 18th Century pocket watches and some great 1970’s Heuer designs.
With guests coming from all across the UK and many from overseas including collectors and visitors from Chicago and Hong Kong, SalonQP has placed itself on the map of the watchmaking calendar, further placing London as a focal point for innovation in luxury. We certainly expect it to keep growing over the years to come.
A few lands away from the watch industry's not to be missed events of Basel and Geneva, right into the very central One Marylebone in London, I could encounter some of the greatest names in watchmaking including Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin and Parmigiani along with some newly established brands such as Linde Werdelin and their skiing and diving watches and instruments.