Home » The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie » SIHH 2012 Preview – JeanRichard Highlands Big Life Watch Limited Edition
In order to support Big Life Foundation and help preserving the fauna and the ecosystem of Africa, JeanRichard worked with a photographer Nick Brandt on the authentic Special Edition of Highlands watches that will be officially presented at the upcoming 2012 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), in Geneva.
JeanRichard has created a very exclusive series, limited to 100 pieces. It is specially designed to remind us on this noble cause, but also to offer a practical purpose, especially if you are planning safari combined with the photographing of beautiful wild animals, as Nick Brandt usually does. One of his most famous photos, the elephant with exploding dust in the background, finds its place on a sapphire crystal case back, along with a striking symbol, inspired by the foundation’s logo.
The Highlands Big Life watch has a robust, 44.5 mm case, made of sand-blasted steel with black PVD coating. It incorporates a green outer, bidirectional rotating bezel, with Arabic numerals for tracking time in a second time zone. An interesting adventurous style of the watch is completed with a black fabric strap mounted on steel, and with a PVD coated folding buckle.
Through the transparent case back, you can see a JR1000 self-winding movement. It comprises 27 jewels and oscillates at the frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz). If it is fully wound, the watch can beat minimum 48 hours, even when it is out of use.
A matt black dial that leaves no reflection features Arabic numerals and indices, coated with ivory-colored luminescent material, as well as the “Big Life” signature in red that highlights the purpose of the watch. Black minute and hour hands are coated with luminescent material which makes the dial highly readable. If you decide to make the photos of crocodiles in their natural habitat, the watch will be much more secured than you, since it is water-resistant up to 100 meters (330 feet).
This is the second time that JeanRichard collaborates with renowned photographs in order to create unique Highlands timepieces. In 1990, it was Peter Beard who helped with this interesting project. Now, JeanRichard proudly presents British photographer, Nick Brandt who is a specialist in the intimate portraits of the African savannah animals, without using telephoto lens. Their partnership resulted in the Limited Edition of Highlands Big Life watches and what is more important, it will help Big Life Foundation in its effort to protect animals, especially elephants which are under serious threat from poachers.