Asia-Pacific Boating Hong Kong Magazine - Basel World 2015

In this issue

EACH YEAR, watchmakers try to outdo each other with innovations and new designs, fighting to become the one with the world’s thinnest watch, or put the most diamonds on a dial. But this is not so much a race against each other as it is against time; often we see watchmakers presenting pieces that are fresh out of the manufacture or just ready. And it’s not unreasonable to wonder if quality is compromised for the sake of having something new in time to launch at the annual show. But one of the most captivating qualities about watchmaking is that there’s no room for compromises. You can load a watch with diamonds and strip away as many parts as possible to create an ultra-thin movement, but at the end of it all, there is simply one factor that determines a watch’s worth – its precision. We often see watches at Baselworld that barely make it in time to the show, with their hands struggling to tick across the dial, or prototypes so extraordinary they seem impossible to produce. But you can always be sure everyone is at the show to create the best possible watches, to refine a craft that is built on achieving perfection. Some of these watches might need a bit more tweaking as they return to the manufacture after the show, but there’s no doubt they will be perfect when time comes for them to be delivered to their rightful owner. The meticulous perfectionists that are watchmakers will make sure of it.