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Greubel Forsey and Roger Dubuis are the leaders of the horological pack when it comes to tourbillons and now also when it comes to multible balancewheels. Greubel Forsey has introduced the fascinating Double Balancier with two balance wheels and Roger Dubuis doubled that by offering four angled balance wheels with their impressive Excalibur Quatuor.

Jaeger-LeCoultre boss Jerome Lambert told me last year that he expects the industry to concentrate more and more on ultra high-end collectors’ pieces with six-figure prices and ultra-limited production runs – such is the importance of super-collectors with the spending power to help brands ride out economic storms. According to people I spoke to, the upper echelon collectors at SIHH were happy with what they saw.

Where were all the innovative watches? Besides from Greubel Forsey and Richard Mille I did not see a lot of great new inventions nor wow-factor-news from the other watch brands. AP showed not surprisingly a slightly updated Royal Oak collection. JLC had a couple of Reverso's and a Deep Sea Chronograph that was not an off spin of history, but instead an off spin of last years relaunch. Girard-Perregaux showed a Laureato with their iconic three-bridge tourbillon and JeanRichard presented a DiverScope that was not PVD-coated.

It was a pleasure to see a lean looking Roger Dubuis meet & greet the press yesterday. Good to see him back at the company that bears his name. And the watches looks good too. Especially the Pulsion line. Rugged, yet luxurious. And pricy! 35-135.000 CHF.

I have always been a fan of the crazy cool designs of Roger Dubuis. I even owned the Easy Diver chronograph for a while. However a rather disappointed relationship as the movement kept acting up. Quality issues aside, I still very much like the Geneva-based brand, even without the man behind the name, nor the man behind the money, Carlos Dias, in charge of the company.