Jade Louise Ewen @JadeEwen
Enjoying our strange baby bottle drinks at salon qp grand opening #SQP13 @kirsty_bohrer
The Best of British Watches - Esquire
If you’re a SalonQP regular, you’ll already be winding your watch in anticipation of today - 7 November. If you’re just a curious rookie looking to trade up on that battered Casio, then you’ll want to find out what all the fuss is about.
“The secret of SalonQP's success?” ponders QP Editor and Esquire Watch correspondent James Gurney. “It’s the simple fact we’re bringing a wide-ranging selection of watch brands into direct touch with an enthusiastic audience. We have an intimate environment that encourages visitors to engage on a personal level.”
SalonQP has grown in size and repute since 2009’s slightly frayed-around-the-edges debut at One Marylebone. The Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road is now precisely the sort of slick, spacious, yet exclusive venue that London’s watch fans and countless luxury brands expect.
This year’s showcase should be the biggest and slickest yet, attaracting a a discerning crowd and the finest watch brands — including Jaeger-LeCoultre, Bell & Ross, TAG Heuer, Bulgari, Bremont and Frédérique Constant, as well as connoisseurs’ favourites Laurent Ferrier and MB&F.
Unlike the trade-only, by-invite extravaganzas held in Geneva and Basel in January and March, SalonQP is a boutique and hands-on consumer showcase — a celebration of great watchmaking as much as a marketplace for retailers and industry types.
Unlike the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) in Geneva and the Baselworld fair, at SalonQP watch enthusiasts can get up close and personal, with numerous watchmaking workshops and seminars. On the Friday, Simon de Burton will be moderating a discussion about the long-standing relationship between the wristwatch and the motorcar.
Straight afterwards, four mavericks of the independent watchmaking scene — Romain Gauthier (Swiss), Stepan Sarpaneva (Finnish), Richard Habring (Austrian) and Benoît Mintiens (Belgian) — will discuss their diverse backgrounds and what they can offer that the large brands don't.
In fact, it’s the boutique brands who really shine at SalonQP; none more so than the British watchmaking firms that have begun to make their presence felt over the past five years or so. Leading the charge is Bremont, of course, whose rugged, Biggles-worthy pilot watches are produced in a log cabin in Henley, followed closely by Robert Loomes, Schofield, Meridian, Peter Roberts and — making their world debut at SalonQP – new brands such as Hoptroff and Pinion.
Here, we introduce you to the watch brands vying to restore British watchmaking to the position of pre-eminence it enjoyed in the 18th and 19th centuries before the Swiss got in on the action.
SalonQP, 7–9 November at the Saatchi Gallery, King's Road, London. Book tickets at www.salonqp.com Alex Doak is managing editor ofTheProdigalGuide.com, who will be hosting three of ‘Talking Hands’ watch reviews live at SalonQP
Jaeger-LeCoultre 1910 Montre Broche
