The Five Watches That Caught Our Eye At Watches & Wonders Shanghai

Watches & Wonders arrived in Shanghai this week for the very first time. The show is being held from September 9th to 13th at the West Bund Art Center and continues where the digital Watches & Wonders fair left off in April. The Shanghai event is being held in collaboration with Tmall, Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform serving over 700 million Chinese consumers. As a result of this collaboration, Tmall will host an exclusive e-commerce version of the event. Watches & Wonders Shanghai will therefore be both online and offline, so even if we can’t physically attend the show, we can still enjoy following the proceedings from afar.
 

There are a number of new releases being presented during the fair, and we are happy to bring you five hits that caught our team’s eye.
 

A new bracelet is also the big news at Vacheron Constantin, but this time it is an all-gold affair. Now, for the very first time, the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Self-Winding Blue Dial is available with a rose gold bracelet.
 

Like the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin released during the digital Watches & Wonders in April (read HERE), this model keeps the same interchangeable watch strap system and comes with a rose gold bracelet, as well as a blue rubber and a blue alligator strap. When it comes to sporty elegance, this 41mm rose gold timepiece with its versatile strap selection, signature hexagonal bezel, automatic caliber, and date at 3 o’clock is taking the “elegant all-rounder” category by storm.
 

Inspired by the pastoral beauty of the Swiss countryside that surrounds its manufacture, the next timepiece in our Watches & Wonders Shanghai line up is the Reine de Mai by Parmigiani Fleurier.

This new 36mm Tonda Reine de Mai plays host to a diverse display of artistic finishing techniques, including hand-chiseling, hand-blasting, marquetry, and more. For example, each element of the white mother-of-pearl dial is meticulously handcrafted and takes 24 hours to complete. The dial features six mother-of-pearl flowers, three rose gold Daisy May flowers with alternating polished and engraved petals, and three white gold Daisy May flowers handset with 117 diamonds.
 

Powered by the in-house PF310 automatic movement, the Tonda Reine de Mai is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out. The movement is impeccably finished, decorated with Côtes de Genève stripes and perlage, and features beveled bridges and a 22K gold rotor. The movement is also decorated with the same mother-of-pearl Daisy May flowers that grace its dial. In all, the Tonda Reine de Mai boasts 1,093 hand-set diamonds, which total 11.52 carats.
 

Embracing its dedication to métiers d’art and taking inspiration from the golden ratio, each Tonda Reine de Mai is a unique work of art. Limited to just 5 pieces, this exemplar of Parmigiani Fleurier’s high watchmaking prowess is available for pre-order and costs $109,000.