I ended Day One, by heading to the Bad Bahnhof where I got on a German train bound for Schaffhausen. Odd you might say, as I neither represent IWC or any Independent Watchmaker from this famous Swiss town on the Rhine. Well there is a connection, Richard Habring spent many a formative years here and developed a close friendship with a hotelier, with whom he and Maria always stay when attending Baselworld. I had received a kind invite from Maria & Richard to join them for dinner and eagerly accepted. To get out of Basel during the fair is something I love to do if possible, and for me Schaffhausen was a new town to visit. I dined upon the best Veal Cordon Bleu I've ever had. Washed down with lovely red vino and superb dinner companionship, the conversation flowed until almost 11 o'clock! We were the last ones in the dining room...a big thank you to Maria & Richard!

The following morning I had a lovely breakfast in the hotel, and headed back to the train station with Maria & Richard to take the 1hr train back into Basel. During the train ride, they showed me a couple of new pieces, or rather derivations of existing models, a blue dial for the Felix and a white dialed central hand Calendar Jumping Seconds. Also we discussed the upcoming 10th Anniversary Habring2 model and was shown a couple of potential new cases. The hour quickly flew by and before I knew it, arriving into Basel, and off to the first meeting of the day.

Vianney Halter was exhibiting for the first time in several years, thanks to several of his colleagues who convinced him that 20 years since his first Baselworld, he ought to exhibit. It's allways one of my favourite meetings during Basel, and this year was no exception. To this day and almost ever since I first saw his Antiqua Perpetual in a magazine in 1999, I have been smitten. It is to me one of the most brilliant pieces of Horological Art, combining brilliant micro-mechanics for that caliber and the aesthetic of the dials and case. Habillage at it's finest. When asked about possibly building another one for a client, he grimaced somewhat, as the thought of doing what it takes to make one crossed his mind. There are only 3 WG cases left, so if one wants one, now is the time as there will be no more. Of course this watch isn't for everyone, and it lies within a terribly narrow field of appreciation. Knowing Vianney for almost 15 years and having visited his workshop in St. Croix, only goes to make this piece that much more compelling.

As he hasn't had a sub $100K watch for a while now since the original Classic sold out in 2008, he decided to make a series of 20 steel watches named the 20th Anniversary Classic. This is a 2mm diameter increase over the original, so it is now 38mm and with the lugs wears closer to a 40-41mm watch. The rivets are 18K YG in the bezel and on the crown. The dial has a different logo, Vianney's signature and on the case back there will be a cryptic mark or letter that together with each of the other 19 pcs makes a special message. Obviously I am at a bit of a loss as to exactly what this will be. The piece pictured here is the prototype and the back of the watch case isn't complete. Same Mystery rotor automatic VH100 Caliber based on the Lemania 8810 ebauche. Happy to see this piece, we ordered one thinking we'll almost certainly find a client for it. Happy to report we did indeed. It is great to see Vianney's extra-ordinary talent get the recognition it so richly deserves.