Horological Meandering

The watches that shouldn't be missed at SalonQP 2018

Dec 02, 2018,11:56 AM

The last edition of SalonQP has just taken place in its usual place at the Saatchi Gallery in London. This edition marked a turning point for the event: new owner (Telegraph Media Group having sold its shares to Hearst UK), new dates (the show was postponed by 3 weeks), a general context which is currently rather unfavorable (the brands are wandering about the relevance of their participation in this type of event), the real question was whether SalonQP would regain a new lease of life.

In fact, I expected the worst by going to London given the set of exhibitors that seemed very difficult to build. And finally, I didn't regret my visit. Admittedly, the Salon doesn't have its impact or its luster of the past years: I remember that it occupied a few years ago the 3 floors of the Saatchi Gallery. In 2018, the ground floor is not even fully used. But this edition still revealed some good surprises.

First of all, the quality of the set has improved considerably during the last few days before the event. Beautiful independent brands were present and I even noted the come-back of some big actors like JLC or Panerai. Then, the public answered present on Friday and Saturday. The exhibitors I spoke with even expressed their satisfaction about the quality of the contacts. Finally, the conferences have also attracted the public through interesting themes and well-chosen speakers.

Obviously, I regretted the absence of some regular SalonQP exhibitors but the essential was preserved: the plateau was representative of the diversity of the watch offering as my selection below proves it. I propose you to browse it, without any particular order.

The Bovet Grand Recital was the star of the event, fresly awarded with its Aiguille d'Or prize won during the last GPHG:

Rexhep Rexhepi (Akrivia) was again present with both the Chronomètre Contemporain, also awarded during the last GPHG and the AK-06 which is a watch that I really like:

Another regular exhibitor, Kari Voutilainen went to London with new dial variations including a salmon dial that I enjoyed. The ivory dial is also attractive thanks to its subtlety.

Czapek presented to the public its latest novelty, the Faubourd de Cracovie chronograph powered by an integrated Vaucher movement. The SalonQP gave also an opportunity to show the Quai des Bergues HRH which first watch of the series dedicated to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award was auctioned for charity a few days ago.

Urban Jurgensen was one of the main exhibitors at SalonQP. One of my favorite watches in the collection is the Perpetual Calendar Reference 1741.

Claude Meylan is a brand in full swing and which shows from now on of more ambition. It focuses mainly on skeletonized watches but with a more contemporary approach as proven by the Tortue Carbon and the Lake Skull:

Vacheron Constantin had dedicated its SalonQP booth to its latest collection, the FiftySix, which gave me the opportunity to discover the Tourbillon version. The latter is in my opinion the most successful watch of the collection.

Vertex is an English brand that has risen from the ashes since 2016 under the leadership of Don Cochrane. It features military-inspired three-hand watch(M100) or monopusher chronograph (MP45):

Negotiations around Brexit seem to inspire Graham which finds the opportunity to decline its original Chronofighter Vintage with two original dials:

Moser is also one of the pillars of SalonQP through the William & Son booth. Two novelties were presented to the visitors. The Venturer Concept Blue Lagoon is in line with previous Concept models. But my favorite was the Pioneer Tourbillon, a superb watch, classy and casual at the same time.

Jaeger-Lecoultre gave a very complete overview of its catalog and not only of the Polaris collection. So I could discover the amazing Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon:

The AHCI booth included several watchmakers from the Academy. It is always a delight to enjoy the Andersen Geneve automaton watches:

Cyril Brivet-Naudot is officially a candidate to become a member of the Academy and this is excellent news!

Konstantin Chaykin once again seduced SalonQP visitors with his creativity. I really enjoyed seeing the Lunokhod again, which is one of the strangest and most fascinating independent watches. As for the Clown, it still arouses the same craze:

The public could also discover the remarkable finishing work of David Candaux's 1740 Half Hunter:

Bulgari was present in force with a beautiful booth. It gave me the opportunity to discover the Octo Finissimo Automatic Harrods, a limited series of 10 pieces with a beautiful English green dial.

Reservoir continues to expand, including internationally. The presence at SalonQP was in this logical context especially with the latest collection of the catalog called Longbridge. I also really liked the final colors of the Supercharged Classic Red Zone:

Emile Chouriet was back. One of the watches that I prefer in the catalog of the brand is the Héritier à Guichet.

The Raider Harpoon of Favre-Leuba is undoubtedly the emblematic watch of the collection with its original time display. The hours are indicated thanks to the peripheral ring.

Reference 1 is the first watch from Birchall & Taylor, two young watchmakers born and based in Toronto. The watch is animated by a Vaucher micro-rotor caliber.

The Petite Seconde Retrograde Tourbillon is my favorite Schwarz-Etienne watch that once again exhibited at SalonQP:

Singer Reimagined was not one of the official exhibitors but Marco Borraccino was present as a speaker at a conference. I could see the Singer Track 1 Geneva Edition and its great movement developed with Agenhor.

Bravur is a young Swedish brand that offers 3-hand or GMT watches. They are distinguished by their very clean design. They are animated by Sellita movements.

Another pillar of SalonQP: MB & F! This year, visitors were able to discover the surprise effect of the HM9, its two balance wheels and the unique case shape.

A very nice surprise with HYT since the H0 created with the Arab Watch Club was visible. I could also enjoy different versions of the Skull.

The 1858 Monopusher Chronograph is one of today's finest Montblanc watches. Its diameter of 40mm suits it perfectly.

Finally, the Atelier de Chronometrie no longer misses a single SalonQP edition! This year, the Barcelona brand presented the AdC88, a superb classic watch with sector dial available in two colors.