High-end timepiece event Watches & Wonders returned for a third edition recently in Hong Kong, bringing with it a chance for local watch collectors and buyers to view the latest wares from the world’s leading brands.

Held between September 30 and October 3, the event featured exhibitions from 12 top brands and welcomed some 20,000 visitors, a 25 percent increase over last year. Despite challenging economic times, the crowds underscored the enduring appeal of these timeless art of watchmaking.

“The spirit behind fine watches is one of continued innovation,” said Fabienne Lupo, chairwoman and managing director of the Fondation de Haute Horlogerie. “And this event is a good reflection of that spirit because the concept is new and it’s designed to meet the needs of an ever changing world.”

Brands with watches on display included: Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels and others under the Richemont Group umbrella. Independent watchmaker Richard Mille was also present.

For readers of Shanghai Daily, here are descriptions of what the world’s finest watch craftsmen have to offer.

A. Lange & Sohne

The 1815 Chronograph from A. Lange & Sohne got plenty of attention with its exclusive case-and-dial combination. This special white-gold model features blue numerals and a pulsometer scale. It is only available in the 15 A. Lange & Sohne boutiques worldwide.

Another limited-edition 1815 model features a case in honey gold as well as a solid-silver argente-graine dial. Only 200 of these watches will be made, in honor of the 200th birthday of founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange.

Baume & Mercier

Baume & Mercier unveiled two elegant new creations, which it said were tributes to Asian culture. The first was the 18-karat red gold Clifton 1830 five-minute repeater pocket watch, which merges classical design and precision engineering. Only 30 of these watches will be produced, harkening back to the year 1830, when the company was founded.

The second major unveiling is the Promesse Jade watch featuring a jade bezel accented by 60 diamonds.

Cartier

Cartier’s Cle de Cartier Mysterious Hour watch combines mysterious movement complications inspired by the historic mystery clocks with openwork dials. If this isn’t enough, the Cle de Cartier Flying Tourbillon watch, graced with an entirely diamond-set case, is yet another highly sought-after complication.

IWC

Renowned for its discreet simplicity, the Portofino watch family from IWC welcomed several new models at Watch & Wonders. The new Portofino Hand-Wound Monopusher is the first-ever model with an ingenious single push-button chronograph. The owner can look forward to a 192-hour movement, which, when fully wound, will run accurately for eight whole days. The watch is available in either white gold with a slate-colored dial and grey Santoni alligator strap or in an 18-carat red gold version.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Geophysic line of watches is named after the International Geophysical Year in 1958, during which Jaeger-LeCoultre produced a chronometer for scientists to use while on missions. The brand chose to revive the legendary name in two models blending aesthetic elegance, technical sophistication and 21st century user friendliness: the Geophysic True Second and the Geophysic Universal Time. Equipped with Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 772, the latter model features an engraved world-map against subtly graded lacquered shades of blue.

Montblanc

Montblanc presented an impressive timepiece: the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Perpetual Calendar Sapphire made with 18-karat red gold. It showcases the mechanical splendor of its perpetual calendar, grand complication movement through a transparent dial of smoky sapphire crystal that combines traditional aesthetics and technical prowess. The timepiece is integrated to a self-winding caliber MB 29.15, which can be admired through the case-back.

Officine Panerai

Officine Panerai presented the new Radiomir 1940 in steel and red gold, fitted with an improved version of its first in-house caliber, the P.1000 hand-wound caliber with three-day power reserve. In the steel model, the strap comes in a light alligator green; while the model in red gold is supplied with a black alligator strap. Both models are water-resistant to 100 meters.

Piaget

The Limelight Stella watch is Piaget’s first complication watch made for women. This elegant watch tells not only the time but also indicates the phases of the moon. The watch’s ingenious mechanism requires a one-day correction after 122 years, instead of the usual one-day discrepancy period of two and a half years.

Richard Mille

Richard Mille lived up to its reputation of thinking outside the box with the presentation of its RM 022 Aerodyne Dual Time Zone Tourbillon Asia Edition. This watches features a dual time-zone function with its external structure, a first for the manufacturer. The Caliber RM-22 is a manual winding tourbillion movement with hours, minutes and dual time zone on a transparent sapphire crystal disc. The case is made with carbon NTPT, a new material patented by the brand.

Roger Dubuis

As Roger Dubuis proclaimed 2015 the “Year of the Skeleton,” it made its Astral Skeleton concept a focal point of this year’s Watches & Wonders event. Among its new releases is the Excalibur Spider Double Flying Skeleton Tourbillon, distinguished by a multi-level 3D-effect construction and a variety of features accenting its adrenaline-rush style.

Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels revisited its iconic Cadenas line with the release of several new watches, including the Cadenas Sertie and the fully encrusted Cadenas Pavee. Aesthetically, the new pieces feature a new style of diamond setting, called serti neige, adding a new layer of character to its design.

Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin impressed watch collectors with its most complicated watch ever: the Reference 57260. Developed over a period of eight years by three of the company’s master watchmakers, this watch is an entirely original creation with a total of 57 complications, several of which are new and unique — such as the Hebraic perpetual calendar and the dual retrograde rattrapante chronograph.