Hodinkee
Business News: Rolex To Build New Manhattan Headquarters
A new tower will replace the brand's long-standing Midtown home.
41,782 articles · 277 videos found · page 1311 of 1402
Hodinkee
A new tower will replace the brand's long-standing Midtown home.
Hodinkee
Three days of events, cocktails, and exhibitions for the horologically inclined.
SJX Watches
A year after the opening of the Rolex Building in Dallas, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, London-based David Chipperfield Architects just announced it won an international design contest for the new Rolex skyscraper in New York City, beating out big names like Foster+Partners and Bjarke Ingels Group (which designed the new Audemars Piguet museum), according to industry publication Architects’ Journal. “Our team is committed to creating an exemplary building befitting the heritage and culture of the Rolex brand, as well as its prominent 5th Avenue location,” says Mr Chipperfield, speaking in the press announcement. Modernist and fronted entirely in glass, much like the rest of its work, the Chipperfield design will replace the watchmaker’s existing building located at 665 5th Avenue, on the corner with 53rd Street. Originally built for Danish silversmith Georg Jensen in 1924, the 12-storey building was revamped with a glass and aluminium facade when Rolex acquired it in 1977 for its American headquarters. The current Rolex Building, home to the company since the 1970s. Image – Google Maps A rendering of the new Rolex Building. Image – David Chipperfield Architects According to industry lore, the then chief executive of Rolex, Andre Heiniger, decided to buy the 5th Avenue building during a visit to the United States, closing the deal before getting the approval of the company’s board. Heiniger also led Rolex to acquire several dozen lo...
Deployant
On its third year running JeweLuxe expands the Independent Watchmaking section. We continue as the Official Watch Media. And you are invited to attend!
Quill & Pad
What would a corporate acquisition of Richemont or Swatch Group look like? What players might be involved? How could this affect the watch-buying and collecting community? Chris Malburg sets out his opinion in this must-read article.
Deployant
We take a close look at the Breitling Premier B01 42 Bentley Centenary Limited Edition in Red Gold, with our large format Watchscape wallpapers.
SJX Watches
In the tradition of its extravagant exhibitions, Cartier has recently opened Cartier, Crystallisation Of Time in Tokyo’s National Art Centre. Made up of some 300 items, ranging from jewels to clocks to objet d’art, the exhibition is the third Cartier exhibition in Japan since the 1990s (and the 34th globally). Notably, half the exhibits are on loan from private collections, with the rest being from the Cartier Collection, the jeweller’s own trove of over 3000 items spanning 1860 to the modern day. More unusually, this is the first exhibition that includes contemporary Cartier creations from the 1970s and later, in contrast to past events that only included historical objects. The exhibition explores the jeweller’s rich history by juxtaposing vintage jewels, timepieces and objects against their modern equivalents or relations. So a lavish portico mystery clock made of gold, rock crystal and onyx from 1923 sits beside a 2016 mysterious tourbillon pocket watch hanging in its rock crystal and jade stand. Large ‘Portique’ mystery clock (left); and mysterious tourbillon pocket watch with stand Desk clock, circa 1929, made of ebonite, mother-of-pearl, and coral (left); and magnetic clock from 2016, in white gold, lapis lazuli, and mother-of-pearl It’s organised into three themes, detailing the jeweller’s work in materials, design, and cultural inspiration. The two scarab motif jewels, for instance, are six decades apart, but share the same Ancient Egyptian theme...
Deployant
Patek Philippe introduces six Singapore 2019 Special Edition watches reserved exclusively for the Southeast Asian market.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Timex has come a long way in the last few years and has started to reach into their back catalogs and even make watches here in the US. But at their core, they still make a durable, affordable watch that looks great and can give many years of great service with very little maintenance.
Quill & Pad
The Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance marks the first time in history that the resonance phenomenon has been combined with a chiming watch (a full minute repeater!). Thanks to the clever development of the resonance mechanism several years ago, the doors to this incredibly complex and technical creation opened for the Swiss brand. And the result is like angels singing!
Quill & Pad
When most people think of Patek Philippe, they think of the evergreen models that roll off the lips of enthusiasts all over the world: Nautilus, Gondolo, Calatrava, and perhaps even that delectable worldtimer that appeared in 2013’s new Patek Philippe offerings as Reference 5130. But one of the many elements that I personally adore about Patek Philippe is its love of the handcrafted arts and the perpetuation of them in highly aesthetic ways.
Deployant
We caught up with the President of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern in Singapore recently when he was hosting the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition.
Hodinkee
Our weekly picks of watches from around the web.
Revolution
The Bamford Watch Department has collaborated with Zenith to create a retro-futurist Chronomaster inspired by archive pieces and radar.
Deployant
Seiko celebrates the 65th anniversary of Godzilla with a new watch. To be known as the Grand Seiko Godzilla 65th Anniversary Limited Edition SBGA405
SJX Watches
Designer of some of the most striking wristwatches of the 1960s, jeweller Gilbert Albert (1930-2019), passed away in his hometown of Geneva on October 1 , 2019. He was 90. Son of a newspaper deliveryman, Albert trained as a jeweller at Geneva’s l’Ecole des Arts Industriels and was only in his mid 20s when he joined Patek Philippe in 1955 as a designer. In his seven years at the watchmaker, which was then led by Henri Stern, himself a trained jeweller, Albert was responsible for some of the most radical watch cases of the era. These strikingly asymmetrical timepieces, like the Asymétrie wristwatches and Ricochet pocket watches, are still incredible designs six decades on. Gilbert Albert. Photo – lenouvelliste.ch He then set up his own workshop in 1962, where he became known for the use of unusual materials like coral and meteorite, all installed in quirky, unique jewellery desirable enough that frequent fakes eventually emerged. Albert also designed watches and jewellery for other watchmakers, most notably Omega, where he created several collections, including the Maille d’Or and Arabesque d’Or, all characterised by a distinctive, almost organic style. With his success, Albert built a small but highly regarded jewellery business. He opened his first store in his hometown in 1973, sited on rue de la Corraterie, a street just outside the walls of Geneva’s Old Town. Ten years later that was followed by a boutique in Zurich. Albert’s boutique in Gen...
SJX Watches
The last time Audemars Piguet had a skeletonised Royal Oak perpetual calendar in the catalogue, it was 2015. The skeleton perpetual is familiar enough that it doesn’t seem to have been missing for that long, but it’s been a half-decade. In the mean time, Audemars Piguet (AP) unveiled the next generation of Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, with the case widened to 41mm, and then introduced it in black ceramic, and only just, in white ceramic. And it took some time to develop the thinnest automatic perpetual calendar ever. But now the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked is back, in proper, fine form. Putting a skeleton movement inside the bestselling Royal Oak in black ceramic is obvious, and could have been done in the easiest way possible. But AP went one better; it developed a new calibre, the 5135, that is not merely open-worked, but also redesigned for maximum aesthetic effect. “This is the first time in many years that AP has introduced an openworked perpetual calendar wristwatch,” says Michael Friedman, the head of complications at AP, “The effort here was to create an experience of contrast and play of light.” I’d say AP succeeded. The watch pictured is a travelling prototype, so pardon the cleanliness of the movement Ceramic and the Royal Oak But first, a small, modestly technical digression on the material and the watch. The case and bracelet are made of black ceramic, specifically zirconium oxide stabilised with yttrium oxide – essential for...
SJX Watches
The epic Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019 was massive not just in scale and numbers, but also in the Patek Philippe executives who travelled halfway across the world from Geneva to Singapore just for the event. All of the company’s top management is the town for the event, including president Thierry Stern, chief executive Claude Peny, and commercial director Jerome Pernici. But perhaps the most interesting personality for a hardcore watch geek is Dr Peter Friess, curator of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. A studied man who’s spent his life in museums and cultural institutions, Dr Friess is an art historian by training but also a true horologist. He’s the sort of guy who gets deeply excited over the “new old stock” 369-year old Cremsdorff pocket watch the museum recently acquired, and is familiar with the catgut used in 16th century chain and fusee mechanisms. Dr Peter Friess at the Singapore exhibition, with a portrait of Antoine Norbert de Patek behind him The first ever Patek Philippe wristwatch; importantly, it was not conceived as a bangle with a pendant watch movement bolted on, instead it is a timepiece for the wrist Unsurprisingly, the German native is also a professional watch- and clockmaker. Dr Friess joined the Patek Philippe Musuem as Director and Curator exactly seven years ago. Before that, he was President of the Tech Museum of Innovation in California, as well as a curator at the Smithsonian where he put tog...
Revolution
In this episode of the Revolution Watch Podcast, we dive right into the biggest Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition ever staged.
Deployant
We used the just released Chopard Alpine Eagle Lucent Steel 41mm watch as a daily driver for a few days and here is our hands-on review.
Revolution
Three generations of the Scheufele family come together to bring ethical luxury, sports elegance and technical innovation in one collection. This is the Alpine Eagle.
Hodinkee
You'll never look at a watch dial the same way again.
Deployant
MB&F; extends the HM9 model line with two new models in titanium and red gold, with two dial styles. Introducing the MB&F; HM9 "Flow".
Quill & Pad
Joshua Munchow is a sucker for a moon phase and anything unique about the indication that makes it extra special. In the case of the Harry Winston Z13, the moon phase is an interesting shape: a dodecagon (12 sides) featuring a shuriken symbol (like a ninja throwing star). And its case is made of Zalium, a proprietary material Joshua explains here.
Deployant
Is green the new blue? We take a look at some of our favourite green dial watches, in this week's Throwback Sundays column.
Quill & Pad
Sotheby’s justifiably described the tourbillon pocket watch No. 41000 as the most important watch made by A. Lange & Söhne. Nicknamed the Jahrhunderttourbillon ("tourbillon of the century") and introduced in 1900, it was until recently part of Sotheby’s bombastic Masterworks of Time auction. However, Sotheby's has removed the Jahrhunderttourbillon from the upcoming November auction and here Elizabeth Doerr reveals why.
Deployant
Luminox introduces the Atacama Adventure Series 1760 with four new watches which are cool enough to conquer the urban landscape. We look in detail.
Hodinkee
Your weekly round-up of watches from around the web.
SJX Watches
Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont has just added Buccellati to its stable of luxury brands, which include watchmakers like A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Panerai. Richemont is buying the 100-year old Milanese jeweller from Gangtai Group Corporation Limited, a Chinese conglomerate that bought a majority stake in 2017 that reputedly valued the jeweller at €230m, or about US$271m at the time, according to Forbes. Gangtai had owned 85% of Buccellati, with the remainder held by the founding family, but like many of its peers the Chinese group has been forced to sell assets as the Chinese government put a stop to the debt-fuelled overseas expansion that was earlier fashionable. The terms of Richemont’s acquisition were not disclosed, although Chinese news website Jing Daily reports Buccellati was valued at US$313m, including debt, equivalent to about 15% of Richemont’s net cash position in the last fiscal year. According to Richemont, Buccellati family scion Andrea Buccellati as well as several other family members will remain with the jeweller after the takeover. Buccellati gives Richemont a more diverse presence in high-end jewellery, where its business is concentrated the Parisian jewellers Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, which together account for the bulk of group sales. In contrast to the French style of both Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati’s Italian sensibility gives Richemont a stylistic counter to Bulgari, the Roman jeweller owned by French luxury ...
Revolution
Patek Philippe launched the new Ref. 5303R Grand Complication in Rose Gold at the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Singapore.
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