The icon of timepieces

The Siam Paragon Watch Expo 2016.

Siam Paragon is once again staging the Siam Paragon Watch Expo 2016, Thailand’s biggest watch fair under “The Icon of Timepieces” concept. The grand watch event runs daily at the Hall of Fame, Watch Boutique, Crystal Court and Watch Galleria on M floor of Paragon department store and at Fashion Hall and Star Dome on the first floor of Siam Paragon until Aug 15.

The 2016 expo showcases world-class timepieces, horological innovations and latest designs from more than 180 of the world’s leading watch brands, worth more than 350 million baht in total. Among the 180 participating brands include Breitling, Baume & Mercier, Corum, Franck Muller, Frederique Constant, Graham, Grand Seiko, Gucci, Glashutte Original, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Maitres Du Temps, Maurice Lacroix, Montblanc, Nomos Glashutte, Oris, Parmigiani Fleurier, Tag Heuer, Zenith and more. Together, there are more than 30,000 timepieces divided into three categories — Masterpieces, Luxury and Trends.

The highlighted timepieces in the Masterpieces include Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Editions; Corum Admiral’s Cup Legend 47 Worldtimer; and the unique Breitling Bentley B06 Midnight Carbon Limited Edition. The Luxury features prestigious watches decorated with brilliant-cut jewels, including Franck Muller Vanguard Lady; Longines Equestrian collection; Grand Seiko Black Ceramic Chronograph GMT Limited Edition; and Charriol St-Tropez 35. Under the Trends group are modern, trendy and innovative timepieces such as Victorinox Swiss Army Airboss Mach 9 Limited Edition; Tag Heuer Carrera-Calibre Heuer 01; and Rado Centrix Open Heart.

To mark the beyond traditional watch fair, many celebratory collections are also launched at the event to commemorate its long historical success. They are Montblanc celebrating 110 years; Tudor celebrating 90 years; Seiko celebrating 135 years; Rolex celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Day-Date models and the 60th anniversary of Oyster; Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrating 85th anniversary of the Reverso; Tag Heuer celebrating 40th anniversary of the Monza; and Citizen celebrating 40th anniversary of the Eco Drive. The latest collections of fashion watches are set to be launched throughout the event.

Not to be missed is the exhibition of museum pieces flown in directly from the Basel World 2016. Among the “must visits” is the Grand Seiko Avant-Garde exhibition showcasing Japanese contemporary art pieces created by two renowned artists, Daido Moriyamo and Nobuyashi Araki.

Gucci also unveils its “Cabinet of Curiosity”, the brand’s travelling exhibition of the year, on show for the first time in Southeast Asia. The exhibition showcases the brand’s new image under the direction of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s new creative director. This travelling exhibition is on view at Hall of Fame, M floor, Siam Paragon until Aug 15.

The expo also keeps its unique profile and new image by joining hands with the luxury Swiss timepiece brand, Breitling to bring watch admirers and collectors the best ever aviation experience by transforming Parc Paragon into a mini-airport to park the original 12-metre jet plane for the first time in Asia. The aviation showcase can be viewed daily until Aug 31.