Industry insider Antonio Cecere, Principal of Cecere Monaco and Founder of Monaco Diamond Exchange, talks about his experience at Baselworld 2018.

ML: How was Baselworld this year and what are the highlights in grand complications haute horlogerie?
AC: Graff hosted a cocktail event to present their new collections, which remain focussed to employ computer aided design (CAD) and 3D printing in order to create lightweight high-jewellery watches that are easy to wear with very little metal on show.

Francois Graff, CEO of the family-run luxury house, revealed that they are currently working on “two secret watches” for women pushing the boundaries of innovation and creating designs that are far more complex in their construction. Graff’s new launches at Baselworld 2018 included the Mastergraff Gyrograff with a double-axis tourbillion, three-dimensional moon phase and power reserve indicator – the peculiarity of these watches are the automotive-inspired dials which are extremely difficult to make and require a completely dust-free environment during the decal phase of the work when each element is transferred from the engraved plate to the dial using a silicon pad.

A series of Mastergraff Ultra Flat Tourbillon timepieces have been created featuring extravagantly opulent art-inspired dials, fusing Graff’s expert gem setting with age-old micro-painting, exquisite enamelling and a flying tourbillon housed within a remarkably slim case. The three designs – Dragon, Samurai Warrior and Graffiti – are detailed with Graff’s signature faceted bezel and are set with scintillating custom-cut diamonds.

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