This edition of Swiss Contest of Elegance had an excellent setting that allowed visitors to admire many suggestive sights full of history in the antique Coppet Castle (near to Geneva). The castle was owned by Jacque Necker, famous minister of finance of Luigi XVI and by his heiress Germaine Necker, knowns as Madame de Staël. The place offered the splendid view of lake Lemàno and snow-covered Alps. The festival saw the participation of historical cars, belonging to important collectors from all over the world, such as legendary British sport car ASTON MARTIN DB4 and Pininfarina’s FERRARI 250 GT Coupè, the most successful model for Cavallino in the Sixties. The winner of the Trophy of Elegance was 1939 ALFA ROMEO 6C 2300 BMM, the first car in Europe with independent wheel suspension, hydraulically operated brakes and swiss white bodywork based on an exclusive design by Hermann Graber. Even if it’s true that driving a car is different from driving an airplane, a precision clock is a must have for those who have the possibility to drive prestigious cars as the ones present at the event.

The event has been even more special thanks to the exhibition of historical watches of BREITLING, made between 1920 and 1930. In the time of creation of the prototypes of flying machines in the first decade of 1900, it became essential to develop research in calculating time as much accurately as possible. Even if the first wristwatch, specially made for drivers, was Cartier’s “Santos-Dumont” (1909), the most famous is the Swiss Breitling. Breitling Navitimer 1884 shows the foundation year of the company, and also the number of pieces in limited edition. The Breitling watches now enjoy big interest in collectors. These models are special for their durability, good measurement of time intervals, easy readability etc. In 2017 the historical trademark was purchased by British investment fund CVC.