3,862 articles · 51 videos found · page 127 of 131
Deployant
Jaeger LeCoultre’s offerings this SIHH produced some of the interesting highlights of the show for me. The latest Gyrotourbillon 2 was unveilled…but only 2 pieces were made…one on the showcase, and the other on CEO Jerome Lambert’s wrists. SIHH 2013: JLC Perpetual Calendar with Cylindrical Tourbillon So, its a series of facelifts which drew theRead More
Revolution
In an anticipated announcement made by Chairwoman Jasmine Audemars on behalf of the Board of Directors, François-Henry Bennahmias was nominated Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Audemars Piguet Group. He was previously heading up Audemars Piguet (North America) in New Work since 1999 and was promoted General Manager ad interim end May 2012. The 48 year […]
Deployant
Being a seasoned watch collector means that nothing much takes my breath away these days…but today’s post is one such watch…so unusual, but without being overtly so. So beautiful, but yet, retains some of the charm of being slightly quirky. So refined and well finished, yet a bit garage-home made feel. Bravo David Zanetta andRead More
Deployant
Arnold & Son was once a venerable name in English watchmaking. Perhaps with these new watches, they are coming back? Read on to find out more. Arnold & Son in London circa 1787-1790. An old firm indeed…very little is published about their early works. But the name is now owned by a Swiss based company,Read More
Revolution
Despite the hyperbole that sometimes accompanies news from the watch world, the truth is this: the hairspring and balance got together in 1660, Mudge made his first lever-escapement watch in 1755, and, with respect to repeaters, Barlow and Quare (both Englishmen) applied for patents for repeating watches in the late 17th century. Breguet developed the […]
Deployant
A quick place marker for next week’s post. Possibly the most beautifully made mechanical ladies watch in production…the Lange Arkade. This specimen is in yellow gold case, champagne dial. Personal timepiece of my wife’s. Photographed simply in a restaurant, while we were having lunch, perched on a plate. One of the original watches introduced byRead More
Revolution
Hidden in plain sight” might be more appropriate. It’s news to no one who loves fine watchmaking that, thanks to many factors, the prices of mechanical watches have been steadily climbing over the last few years, with - apparently - no end in sight. That’s made things a little tougher for die-hard horological enthusiasts who […]
Revolution
A Conversation with Vartan Sirmakes, Co-founder of Franck Muller It is impossible to examine the rise of Franck Muller Watchland as one of the most technically creative, fully integrated and totally verticalized manufactures in Swiss watchmaking without tapping into the brilliant mind of the brand’s co-founder, Vartan Sirmakes. Sirmakes got his start with a case-manufacturing […]
Revolution
Vacheron Constantin’s tonneau-shaped watch, the Malte, celebrates 100 years with two new models It’s been a century since Vacheron Constantin introduced its first tonneau-shaped wristwatch - which was probably among the first series-produced wristwatches ever made, as 100 years ago, in 1912, the wristwatch was still very much a novelty, tonneau or otherwise. The tonneau shape […]
Revolution
FOUR DECADES OF THE REMARKABLE ROYAL OAK FROM AUDEMARS PIGUET There are certainly watches made in larger numbers, but there are few more instantly recognizable than the Royal Oak, from Audemars Piguet. Forty years since its 1972 introduction, the Royal Oak has become not only the watch associated by enthusiasts with the small Le Brassus-based […]
Deployant
Francois Paul Journe. A talented watchmaker. I had the pleasure of meeting with FP way back when he was yet a nobody…and had just made his first tourbillon remontoir d’egalité. The original looked like it was made in his garage, and indeed it was. But recently, I had the pleasure of spending a week withRead More
Deployant
Omega recently added some watches to their collection which are homages to the watches that made the brand in the early years. Today’s watch is the Museum collection no 10, issued in 2010 as a replica of the 1938 chronograph. I am not so sure about the name Omega has chosen for this watch…replica soundsRead More
Deployant
The Vietnamese market is a slippery one, for many foreign businesses. I have personal experiences of mis-adventures, but particularly so for the high end horology business. One of the few independent watchmakers who have made inroads into this former Communist market is Peter Speake-Marin. I continue focussing on Peter today, with his interesting, and quiteRead More
Deployant
Exclusive pictures of the Stainless Steel Lange Tourbillon “Pour le Merite” In the early days of the manufacture, the leadership of the company, principally Mr Gunter Blumlein made some difficult decisions to make special edition watches for special customers…he subsequently stopped this practice, as it creates considerable headaches for the company to dedicate resources toRead More
Deployant
My portfolio featured in Heure Suisse I was greatly honoured to be given several pages of the permier industry magazine Heure Suisse. This is the leading Swiss magazine read by almost everyone in the industry. The magazine is published in both French and German editions So instead of the regular blog post, please allow meRead More
Deployant
One of my favourite watch making house is the often overlooked Seiko. They have a long history and tradition of making fine timepieces as well as of innovation. But most collectors focus too much on Swiss timepieces. But yes, Virginia, excellent watches do come from outside Switzerland. Germany, and increasingly England, and of course Japan.Read More
Deployant
Following up on my walkabout impressions of the quite remarkable Leica S2, here are some photographs I made in L’Atelier by The Hour Glass using my usual set-up. I have featured the Db25T before, it is a remarkable watch. I particularly love the jumping seconds hand, and the beautiful Caliber 2109 with the magnificent bridgeRead More
Deployant
I’d like to present some of the watches made by Moser. The Perpetual 1, which I have covered before in a bit detail is still one of the most outstanding perpetual calendars in production. Seen on here on the wrist of my good friend Eddie Also available with a fancy dial…rose gold case Also, aRead More
Deployant
Kari Voutilainen’s simple time only watch…a la Dufour’s Simplicity is the Observertoire. I had the oppportunity to photograph this masterpiece in Motiers in January, after the SIHH when I visited with some good friends. The dial shows great restraint, and looks extremely handsome. The rose engine turned dial is made onsite at Kari’s premises. IRead More
Deployant
Some portraits of Grandmaster of Watchmaking – Philippe Dufour. Photographed in his workshop in Le Soliat, in the Swiss Jura. January 2011.
Deployant
Vianney Halter is a very interesting watchmaker. Intensely passionate about his craft, and insanely loyal to producing everything inhouse in his little farmhouse in St.Croix – a little village up in the mountains in the Swiss Jura. Visiting his workshops are like visiting a toystore for a man who still loves to play with everythingRead More
Deployant
The JLC Triptyque Grand Complication…announced in SIHH 2007. This is a magnificent watch. I recently managed to have the opportunity to photograph this piece at a local dealer’s where it was on its way to being delivered to its owner. One of the more complicated watches made by JLC, the watch is based on theRead More
Deployant
This year’s novelties at SIHH 2010 finally made it to our shores. I attended an evening hosted by Vacheron Constantin…great food, wonderful company, and of course, fine watches. The Historique Ultra-Fine 1968 in a square case, and the Historique Ultra-fine 1955 in the round case. The watches are truly thin, the 1956’s hand wound movementRead More
Deployant
Its Singapore’s National Day! To celebrate, I am showing my personal Datograph, owned for almost 10 years, and gone back to the factory for a full service about a year ago. The dial side… The movement side is mesmerising…I think this is bar none the best chronograph movement ever made: Detail showing the movement.
Deployant
The MB&F;’s latest creation the Horological Machine No. 4 is an imposing watch…quite large, though it sits well on the wrist. MB&F; HM4 Thunderbolt Made from titanium and sapphire crystal, the watch is a rather interesting piece of sculpture…reminiscent of a rocket ship or a jet engine. Two engine like scuptures, I guess that isRead More
WristBuzz
Louis Cartier built it in 1904 for his aviator friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, who was fed up fumbling for his pocket watch mid-flight. 121 years later the square case with exposed screws is still the sharpest dress-sports piece on the shelf. Here is how it got there.
Hodinkee
Last week I kicked off a mini-series where I'm finally taking some great books off my shelf and sharing them with the world. We covered a brand-backed "Grand Seiko" book by ERG Media, which set a great tone. This week we're looking at another brand-focused tome, the much more recently released "Universal People, Universal Dreams," which documents the hyper-focused collection of one man. But it's more than a book about Universal Genève. I first met the author and publisher, Luca Mignini, a few years ago, though I'm not exactly sure where. Maybe at an auction in Geneva? At some point, he just turned into a fixture in my vintage watch sphere, a person who could turn up anywhere there was a vintage watch. At the famed antique fair in Parma, Italy? Sure. Luca Mignini and Max Bernardini He had a prototype Universal Genève Space Compax/Polerouter Sub dive watch made for the U.S. Navy, which I shared in my photo report from the fair. On that same trip, he just randomly showed up as I was looking at Patek 1518 dials with Max Bernardini (Uncle Max, to his close friends) at his shop right across the street from "The Last Supper" in Milan. That later encounter makes sense, as Bernardini (and his team, including Mauricio Gimenez, who is named as "The Trusted Advisor" in the book) was instrumental in curating the collection. Mignini frequently travels between his home in Rome and Milan, where he serves as a professor at Bocconi University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mignini and B...
Worn & Wound
Just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, we see the debut of a new haute horlogerie brand, brought to us in part by Wei Koh, founder of Revolution and the Rake, and a longtime fixture in the watch media landscape. The new brand, Legare, was founded by Koh and Guillaume Tetu, a watch industry veteran who counts Hautlence as well as TAG Heuer and Ralph Lauren on his resume. Koh and Tetu are incredibly well connected professionally, and the first watch out of the gate for Legare reflects that particularly well – this is the product of a lot of collaboration between many partners, and has plenty of pure watch nerd DNA in its inspiration as well. The brand’s first watch is the Chapter 1 AGP Inverted, and takes inspiration from a rare pocket watch made by Albert-Gustave Piguet, who would ultimately become well known in the watch industry for his work on the Lemania 2310 caliber. But the watch that Legare credits with shaping the Chapter 1 is a pocket watch he created while a student at the Vallee de Joux School of Watchmaking in 1932, when he was just 17 years old. That watch featured two large split bi-metallic balance wheels, whose rates were averaged by a differential. According to Legare, only six total examples of this pocket watch were completed. Legare’s conceit in making the Chapter 1 is essentially an answer to the hypothetical question of what if Piguet’s idea behind this movement had continued to evolve? This is an entirely original movement architecture (and diff...
Worn & Wound
Cybèle Vigneron and Carla Lanfranchini first met at the Strate École de Design outside of Paris, arriving at the institution with enviable backgrounds: Lanfranchini had served as an artistic director and graphic designer at Dom Pérignon and Château de Pommard, while Vigneron honed her career in store design planning and visual merchandising at Cartier, Bulgari, and Berluti. The two became fast friends. After both earning dual degrees in design as well as business management, they established Version Watches in 2024. They were entering a crowded field where microbrands have never been more popular, with even greater opportunities for designers and watchmaking visionaries to express themselves. Over the past two years, as they worked in separate cities and handled branding, design, distribution, and a successful Kickstarter launch, the two-person team were motivated by uniqueness: “we wanted to approach watchmaking from a pure designer’s perspective rather than just assembling off-the-shelf components or relying purely on nostalgia,” said Vigneron. We first saw Vision on display in New York at Tempus Takumi, a showcase of independent watchmaking that pointedly focuses on watches made outside of Switzerland. Alongside the design-driven, accessible collections from Germany’s MeisterSinger and Japan’s Minase, Version fit right in. Both founders were present and clearly happy to show off their creations, making their debut to an American audience. Accessibility i...
Hodinkee
What We Know Matteo Violet Vianello found the idea for his newest watch while standing in a room full of prehistoric tools. At the Centre Pompidou's Brancusi exhibition in Paris a couple of years back, Vianello, the man behind Anoma, saw the sculptor's collection of primitive tools and artifacts, which stopped him—and stayed with him. That visit became the starting point for the A1 Prehistoric, the latest limited run built on Anoma's signature triangular case. The case itself is hand-chiseled 316L stainless steel, a five-hour process undertaken by Steven Brunel, a French engraver whose work has been exhibited at the Louvre. Brunel works out of a workshop in Mornand-en-Forez, a village of about 500 people in the Loire region. The buckle receives the same treatment. Because the chiseling is done entirely by hand, Anoma says no two pieces will be identical. The dial carries the process further. Roughly 600 individual lines are cut by hand into a brass base in a sunburst pattern, then finished in a dark anthracite color meant to recall the look of worked stone or flint. Specs remain close to the standard A1: the case measures 39mm by 38mm, wearing closer to 37mm thanks to its lugless, triangular shape, with a 9.45mm thickness. Inside is the Swiss automatic Sellita SW100, the same movement Anoma has used across its lineup, running in a case rated to 50 meters of water resistance. The watch comes on a grey-grained Italian leather strap. Anoma will build 100 examples of the A1 ...
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