Mexico City Hosts 5th Annual Salon Internacional de la Alta Relojeria (SIAR) 2011

Harry Winston Opus Eleven

The 5th Annual Salon Internacional de la Alta Relojeria (SIAR) starts today at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City's and runs to October 6th. SIAR 2011 attracts fine watch affeciendos  from Latin America, and all over the world.  45 watch companies participating in this show.Exciting conferences by renowned watch brands cover subjects such as Bell & Ross Clock & Military History; Girard-Perregaux explores its 220 years of watchmaking; Baume & Mercier unveils a brand new chapter in its watchmaking legacy; Cartier unveils a new type of complication: the Astroregulateur; Franc Vila enlightens the crowd with a look at nanotechnology in today's luxury and many more.

Ladoire Mr Race

The Fondation Salon de la Haute Horlogerie is presenting an intriguing historically-themed exhibition "Mechanical horology from its origins to the present day." The exhibition traces mechanical time measurement all the way back to the thirteenth when  weight-driven clocks  tracked the time to "Grande Complications" wristwatches. The presentation is accompanied by 60 historic timepieces on loan from the Fondation Salon de la Haute Horlogerie partner brands and Swiss Museums. In addition the FHH will display a current watch for each of its partner brands.  

Listed below are the brands partaking in this exhibition.

Hautlence HL 2.2

Hublot MP-02 Key of Time Watch

• A. Lange & Söhne
• Audemars Piguet
• Baume & Mercier
• Bell & Ross
• Bulgari
• Cartier
• Chopard
• Christophe Claret
• Concord
• Corum
• Cvstos
• Cyrus
• De Bethune
• De Grisogono
• DeWitt
• Ellicott
• Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie
• Franc Vila
• Franck Muller
• Girard-Perregaux
• Giuliano Mazzuoli
• Graham
• Greubel Forsey
• Harry Winston
• Hautlence
• HD3
• Hermès
• Hublot
• Jaeger-LeCoultre
• Jean Dunand
• Ladoire
• Maîtres du Temps
• Maximilian Büsser & Friends
• Montblanc
• Parmigiani
• Perrelet
• Piaget
• Pierre DeRoche
• Pierre Kunz 
• Richard Mille
• Roger Dubuis
• Romain Jerome
• Tag Heuer
• Ulysse Nardin
• Urwerk
• Vacheron Constantin
• Vulcain
• Zenith

FHH and FHS anti-counterfeiting campaign

"FAKE WATCHES ARE FOR FAKE PEOPLE!" is the new powerful slogan in an anti-counterfeiting campaign by The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FH) and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS). This campaign was unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute 2009. The add campaign is to inform the public of the damaging effects the counterfeiting watch business has on the genuine watch industry.
Fake online watch sales have skyrocketed and has taken a terrible toll on the watch industry. "Replica" is the term of choice for these companies; however, a fake is a fake no matter how you coin the phrase. Calculations determined by the Customs seizure of counterfeit and piracy amount to a staggering $200 billion to $360 billion a year. Luxury Swiss watches are as vulnerable to counterfeiting as handbags, perfume and clothing. About 40 million fake Swiss wristwatches are produced every year compared to the exports of just under 26 million authentic Swiss watches during 2007.

However the genuine Swiss Brands know that to target the manufacturers of fake watches will be useless and so they target the customers. If there is no customer demand for fake watches then the manufacturing of fake watches would seize.
The slogan "Fake Watches are for Fake People" is extremely effective as it questions ones self-image. No one wants to be known as fake and if wearing a fake watch means one is fake, well then one must stop wearing the fake watch.

Don't try give your loved one a fake watch this Valentines Day. You don't want your loved one to think your relationship is a fake. Giving a fake watch for Valentines Day is like placing a cubic zirconia in a wedding ring. Ouch! So steer away from fakes and let your beloved know your love is true with a real 100% genuine luxury watch.  Be real this Valentines Day!

SIHH 2009 opens in two weeks.

The 19th Salon International de la Haute Horogerie opens in Geneva from Monday January 19th to Friday January 23rd, but don't pack your bags just yet, the SIHH is reserved for guests of the exhibiting brands and professionals- by invitation only. The rest of us will have to be patient eagerly anticipating the new Timepieces crafted by exceptional Watch Brands.
Look out for new models from:
A.Lange and Sohne, Alfred Dunhill. Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, JeanRichard, Montblanc, Officine Panerei, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewerly Co., Roger Dubois, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Cartier is unveiling the Cartier Baignoire Grand Modele Watch a poetic addition to its Baignoire line first introduced in 1913. This Watch is in sync with its counterparts in Cartier Baignoire Collection with its oval face and pleasantly distorted numbers. This newer model has a larger sized case with a ultra-thin manually wound Piaget 430C movement. The Case is crafted from the increasingly popular rose gold with a silver dial. This luxurious timepiece is accentuated with Cartier's trademark in style: the blued hands, Roman numeral hands and a sapphire jewel cabochon set in the crown.

Amongst the Masters, a brand caught my eye - the Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewerly Co., a new joint venture between the Richemont Group (owns several of the world's leading companies in the field of luxury such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc) and Polo Ralph Lauren who will join the brands showing at the SIHH and introduce its very first collection of Haute Horlogerie timepieces.

Another first at this years SIHH will be a cultural area displaying the achievements of the Fondation del la Haute Horlogerie. The FHH was established in 2005 in Geneva because of the rapid increase in watch making brands as well as the products that are created. Countless brands are releasing fine watch creations. FHH has taken on the role of providing information and guidance from the watch making specialists to the press as there has been an increasing interest from the media and the public.
The FHH is a modern Foundation which for the most part utilizes the Internet for the release of information.
In addition the FHH recognizes Luxury Watches have evolved from a "social aspiration" into a "cultural aspiration"
The FHH focuses its primary attention on information and training in Horology.

For the first time the SIHH will be held a full two months prior to BaselWorld 2009. Usually BaselWorld and SIHH overlapped making it easier for participants and the guests. BaselWorld 2009 will be held from March 26 to April 2, 2009 in Basel, Switzerland.