Kong
[Moderator]
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Mexico City, the capital of luxury watchmaking
In its fifth edition, the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR), México 2011, brought together 46 of the most prestigious brands, appealing to dozens of senior executives and CEOs of the most important companies and became once more the main stage of exhibition for discovering the latest products from top brands.
• The Vth Salón Internacional Alta Relojería, México 2011 was celebrated from 4th to 6th October in Mexico DF with great success both in terms of the public and of its exhibitors
• More than 2,500 visitors and 369 journalists gathered to discover the new products presented by 46 high profile firms
• The ribbon-cutting ceremony was undertaken by Mr. Rudolf Knoblauch, the Swiss ambassador in Mexico, and by Carlos Alonso, Director of the SIAR
• Amongst various personalities, 25 CEOS of the most prestigious brands took part in the event
• Hublot presented as a world exclusive its new collection Scuderia Hermanos Rodríguez, as part of a forward initiative to bring Formula 1 back to Mexico
• The group Maximilian Büsser & Friends introduced exclusively for the SIAR the new watch Legacy Machine Nº1
• TAG Heuer announced the retailing of its split second to the thousandth chronograph, the Mikrotimer Flying 1000
• Zenith informed that it would soon be launching its Georges Favre-Jacot watch, a hundredth of a second chronograph, for the first time in the history of the brand Le Locle
• The watch Rotonde Astroregulateur by Cartier received the Watch of the Year Tiempo de Relojes award, and the Timewalker Twinfly Chronograph by Montblanc earned the award from the public
• The closing ceremony of the SIAR was also an excuse to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Tiempo de Relojes, the specialist magazine in pioneering watchmaking in Mexico, with a gala dinner in the gardens of the Museum of Modern Art of Mexico city
• The auction house Christie´s received collectors and prospective clients in its own suite, held on the premises of the SIAR
• La Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie organized an exhibition dedicated to the history of watchmaking, bringing together pieces from the XVIth century to the XIXth century, along with latest creations by contemporary brands
On the 4th, 5th and 6th of October, the hotel Four Seasons of Mexico City became a an elegant gallery of the best watchmaking art, where a total of 46 prestigious brands met to attend the Vth Salón Internacional Alta Relojería, México 2011 to present their latest products.
Around 2,500 enthusiasts of pedigree timepieces were able to enjoy the latest creations by A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard, Corum, Girard-Perregaux, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Parmigiani, Piaget, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, TAG Heuer, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin and Zenith. Emerging brands such as Concord, DeWitt, De Grisogono, Franc Vila, Franck Muller, Greubel Forsey, Harry Winston, HD3, Hermès, Jean Dunand, Maîtres du Temps, MB&F, Perrelet, Romain Jerôme, Urwerk and Vulcain were also in attendance. Meanwhile, other significant brands such as Christophe Claret, Cvstos, Hautlence, Pierre DeRoche y Pierre Kunz exhibited their masterpieces with an avant-garde tendency. A few other names made their debut to the SIAR on this occasion, such as Baume & Mercier, Bell & Ross, Cyrus, De Bethune, Ellicot, Giuliano Mazzuoli and Ladoire.
The opening ceremony took place on the morning of the 4th of October, presided by the Swiss ambassador to Mexico Mr. Rudolf Knoblauch and by Carlos Alonso, director of the SIAR. The opening speech reaffirmed the significance of the event, which was organized for the first time in 2007 and which has become a must for the luxury watchmaking industry on the American continent.
In addition to the remarkable selection of brands, as well as the exceptional pieces exhibited and the excellent response from both the public and the media, the event also turned into the stage for the launch of new models and the announcement of innovative strategies from the firms in attendance. Hublot presented to the public its new collection Scuderia Hermanos Rodríguez, determined to bring back the Formula 1 culture to Mexico. MB&F launched as a world exclusive its Legacy Machine Nº1; TAG Heuer announced the retailing of its Mikrotimer Flying 1000 -which had remained in a conceptual phase up until then - and Zenith presented for the very first time its new Georges Favre-Jacot watch, a hundredth of a second chronograph, the first in the history of the brand Le Locle. Meanwhile, la Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie exhibited a stunning selection of historical watchmaking pieces, dating from the XVIth century to present day. Montblanc organized an exhibition of historical chronographs, which contributed to the general expertise on display, as part of the 25 conferences run by the different brands and aimed at explaining and introducing their products.
On the evening of the 6th of October, the SIAR got a final chance to shine in its closing ceremony dinner, in the gardens of the Museum of Modern Art of Mexico City, where the Tiempo de Relojes 2011 award ceremony also took place.
The watch Rotonde Astrorégulateur by Cartier was chosen as this year’s piece: as a vertical alternative to the tourbillon, the piece is a whole technical revolution made in Cartier, which earned most of the votes from the jury in charge of deciding which of the nominated brands would reach the top category.
Ulysse Nardin obtained the Premio Especial Tiempo de Relojes for its masterpiece Freak Diavolo, marking the tenth anniversary of the watch which introduced silicon to the watchmaking world. The High complication category went to the Ref. 5208 de Patek Philippe, a triple complication which is the second most complex timepiece in the company’s current catalogue. In the chronograph watch category, the award was given to Omega for its Speedmaster Co-Axial, the first in-house co-axial chronograph with a technologizer new calibre 9300.
The Sports Watch prize went to the Luminor Submersible 1950 Automatic Bronzo by Panerai, whilst the Conceptual watch award went to the Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph by TAG Heuer, which conquers mechanical chronometering by splitting seconds to the thousandth; the award for the most Promising brand went to Zenith, following an exciting year recreating the Le Locle hallmark with pieces such as El Primero Stratos Flyback 10th. The prize for Watchmaking value went to the skills demonstrated by Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, able to create timepieces such as Chronomètre P8 with detent escapement. The Ladies Watch award went to Patek Philippe with its piece Ladies First Minute Repeater, a classic statement in an exclusive ladies format.
The occasion and venue were made even more special, as the magazine Tiempo de Relojes celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Museum of Modern Art with around 450 guests, for the majority jewellers, collectors, watch lovers and directors of the participating brands at the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería, México 2011, as well as various SIAR sponsors and a long list of friends of the magazine.
For the fifth consecutive year, these awards have provided a significant opportunity for all nominated brands - but especially for the winning pieces - to considerably enhance their prestige and their reputation.
Press Release
This message has been edited by Kong on 2011-10-13 19:23:45
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