November 24, 2018

Salon QP Saatchi Gallery - Friday 23rd November Recap

All things watches...

SalonQP returned to London’s Saatchi Gallery celebrating its 10th edition as one of Europe’s leading watch and luxury lifestyle experiences. We were kindly invited by the Hearst team to attend and we had an absolute blast! We wanted to share our experience with you in a quick recap.

What to expect!

Over three days Salon QP is brought to life through a series of curated exhibitions, live talks and exclusive parties.

As well as a host of exhibiting watch brands from illustrious international names such as Vacheron, IWC, Mont Blanc, Breguet, Panerai and Breitling through to the most selective independent ateliers, SalonQP brings visitors face-to-face with features focusing on topics such as Adventure, Aviation, Collecting and much more.

Arrival

We arrived in the impressive Saatchi Gallery, a stunning building located just off Kings Road in Chelsea, and were checked in by the friendly Hearst team. As you walk around the gallery (champagne in hand) you see some of the world's most incredible watch brands constantly pushing the technical ability of a wristwatch. Coupled with independent brands who have some of the most inspired stories out there. It really is a special environment to be part of, seeing brands with 150+ years of heritage that retail for £100k+ right next to brands which are only a few years into their journey, but with charisma and character by the bucket load. Here is a handful of images from the collections we tried on that caught our eye.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Watch

HYT Skull Watches

MB&F HM9 (only 33 in the world $182,000 RRP)

MB&F LM101 (only 18 pieces in the world $64,000 RRP)

MB&F Spider Watch

AkriviA Tourbillon Régulateur

What are the watch buffs saying?

At 8pm we joined a thought provoking panel with Justin Hast, Simon de Burton, Chris Hall & Kristian Haagen as they reviewed the year of the watch, discussed what caught their eye and who is leading the industry.

My main takeaway was that bigger doesn't always mean better. The rise of the independent brand is happening now! Us smaller brands have the ability to move fast and disrupt the market. The customer can get so much closer to the founder and story behind the brand and grow with them on the journey.

DJ set from Nick Grimshaw

The evening came to a close with Nick Grimshaw playing a set in the lounge, and we were given a free magazine gift bag on departure. We met some great people and look forward to the next event! Thanks to the Hearst team for the invite!

Until next time...