I headed to the Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie 2014 in Geneva to look at what the top luxury watch houses are offering this year. After seeing hundreds of watches, here are those that stood out from the crowd, each for a different reason.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso may be an absolute classic, but the new Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin 1931 is such a beautiful combination of warm rose gold and a chocolate brown dial that it is bound to be a winner.
The Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon enamel watch is an elegant coming together of decorative arts and horology. The richly rippled blue guilloché or engine-turned dial is the perfect backdrop to the highly complex tourbillon escapement on view through the dial.
For women, Ralph Lauren's new rose gold Stirrup watch has all the glamour of any luxury creation to bear this designer's name. The chunky all-gold bracelet is a fabulous piece of jewellery set off by the stirrup-shaped dial for a look that is becoming a signature of Ralph Lauren watches.
One of the most surprising alliances at the SIHH is the Tondo watch created by Parmigiani Fleurier in association with Italian jewellery Pomellato. The result is stunning, and I was particularly impressed with the turquoise dial version.
And while many of the watches at the SIHH are positioned at the very high end of the luxury scale, Baume & Mercier reminds us that there is a strong market for well-priced, well-made watches as exemplified in the new Clifton range for men. Handsome and correctly constructed, the new Clifton is set to be a bestseller.
