493 articles · 25 videos found · page 15 of 18
Quill & Pad
GaryG has already written about the struggles that independent watchmakers face simply to survive. Expressing oneself through horological art may well be a noble calling, but it’s definitely one of the tougher ways to make a living. Chanel's very recent investment in F.P. Journe caused Gary to think about the pros and cons of outside investment into indies, and he shares his thoughts here.
Quill & Pad
Despite the virus restrictions, GaryG has managed to venture out from time to time for brief, top-secret rendezvous in parking lots and on park benches to receive and return the generous loans of friends’ watches to photograph. Recently, he had the chance to shoot a true classic: a second-series Reference 3450J perpetual calendar made by Patek Philippe, which he shares with us here.
Quill & Pad
GaryG recently took a deep dive into the world of digital art, auctioning a few of his photos of a rare Patek Philippe Reference 2526 Gobbi Milano as an NFT (non-fungible token). Here he shares the complete mechanics and thoughts behind his futuristic experience. And he's encouraged enough to do it again!
Quill & Pad
Once upon a time in a small watch shop in a (relatively) small California town before GaryG really knew much at all about Vacheron Constantin as a brand and company. there was a display case. And a watch: the Vacheron Constantin Malte Squelette.
Quill & Pad
Recently GaryG took a deep dive into the world of digital art, auctioning a few of his photos of a rare Patek Philippe Reference 2526 Gobbi Milano as an NFT (non-fungible token). Here he shares the complete mechanics and thoughts behind his futuristic experience.
Quill & Pad
Sit back and enjoy as Quill & Pad resident collector GaryG and Alexandre Ghotbi, director of the Philipps Auctions watch department for Europe and the Middle East, and A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid talk about watch collecting with Dr. Carl Naughton in this engaging video.
Quill & Pad
It would be relatively easy, and pretty interesting, for GaryG to tell you the story of his two days one summer with artist Alexa Meade and her team. And he’ll get to that, but there’s more: the flood of sensations and emotions that came from considering why time and space are so important to him and from inhabiting a work of art that melded GaryG's vision of himself with the artist’s interpretation and self-expression. And there was even a watch.
Quill & Pad
Once upon a time, it was possible to have an entire discussion about watches without once addressing the prospects of the price of a given watch growing or shrinking over time. Those were the days! As soon as public health constraints allow there will be a flood of gatherings where collectors catch up, swap tales, and speculate on the future. GaryG just wishes that money wasn’t going to be a prime topic of those discussions.
Quill & Pad
England’s 'Decanter' magazine's judges selected the House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged 2004 as the best sparkling wine of 2020 against top competition including the 2006 Krug champagne. Here Ken Gargett takes a look at just how good this Tasmanian wine producer is.
SJX Watches
After introducing the amusingly quirky Endeavour Centre Seconds X Seconde/Seconde/ last week, H. Moser and Cie. continues with its minimalist approach to design in a more serious-minded manner with the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Tiger’s Eye. Available in two variants each with equally stunning natural stone dials – blue Falcon’s Eye and reddish-brown Ox’s Eye – the new tourbillon features rich colours and textures that are a departure from Moser’s conventional aesthetic. Both dials are variants of Tiger’s Eye, the quartz mineral best known as golden brown but also found in other colours. Being a natural material with a prominent grain, each dial, and consequently each watch, is technically unique. The Ox’s Eye variant, with a red dial and red gold case. Initial thoughts The new tourbillon is based on an existing reference, which is already a mesmerising watch. However, for those seeking something different from the usual fume dials that’s still quintessentially Moser, the Tiger’s Eye certainly fits the bill. Mineral stone dials were the in-thing in the 1970s and 1980s – often found in with ultra-thin watches on mesh bracelets – and seem to be enjoying a resurgence today. But few have implemented semiprecious stones as beautifully as Moser has here, with its signature minimalist look providing the perfect canvas for the unique natural material. I find both variants equally attractive. The Falcon’s Eye is more contemporary in its blue and white g...
SJX Watches
Having made its debut 15 years ago, the Ballon Bleu de Cartier is an upstart by the Parisian jeweller’s standards – the Santos and Tank, for example, are both over a century old. But the Ballon Bleu was an instant hit, thanks to its classically round case with a quirky and captivating crown, making it one of the brand’s best sellers. Now a new size has joined the line up, the Ballon Bleu 40 mm powered by the in-house 1847 MC automatic movement. It sits in between the 36 mm medium and 42 mm large automatic models, neither too big nor too small for current tastes (Cartier already has a 40 mm that is hand-wind). The new 40 mm automatic also incorporates a practical upgrade: the brand’s proprietary quick-release system for the bracelet and strap. And finally, the new size also includes new dials in a simpler, metallic finish – in either blue and grey – giving it a more contemporary look. The most traditional of the Ballon Bleu variants with a silver guilloche dial Initial thoughts The Ballon Bleu is over a decade old but still attractive in a timeless manner that Cartier’s classic designs always manage to be. But it’s unusual among the brand’s best-known watch designs. While the signature Tank and Santos watches are characterised by straight, hard lines, the Ballon is a made up of spheres and domes of varied sizes – the crown, case, crystal and even the case back are all lightly rounded, giving it a pebble-like feel that’s a little organic. Given the B...
Quill & Pad
If you’re like GaryG, you’ve been spending some time during the current pandemic-driven lockdown monitoring online watch publications, including Quill & Pad, and you’ve likely seen at least a few comments in response to posts that go something like this, “How in the world can you possibly be focused on something like watches at such a terrible time?” Well, Gary is here to tell you.
Quill & Pad
Given GaryG's musings on these pages about the relative roles of rarity and complication in driving the value of a watch, he thinks it appropriate to dedicate this “Behind the Lens” entry to a piece that is both complicated and limited in production: Patek Philippe’s Reference 5950A. What’s so special about this watch? Well, first of all it’s a split-seconds chronograph. What else?
Quill & Pad
If H. Moser & Cie is edging away from the satirical approach that brought us the original Swiss Alp Watch, it is doing so with a bang with the Vantablack-dialed Final Upgrade version. The Vantablack dial coating, as advertised, absolutely absorbs any light that comes its way. But that is not all that GaryG finds spectacular about this timepiece.
Quill & Pad
GaryG ordered a Hasselblad X1D. He had never shot with a medium-format camera before, and the resolving power, color rendering, and ability to seemingly wrap light around a subject completely blew him away. So when Hasselblad announced that it would be offering a 120 mm macro lens for the X1D, he was among the very first to sign up. But did it make a difference in his watch photography?
Quill & Pad
For those of you who are regular readers of GaryG's “Behind the Lens” series, it’s no secret that he and his watch pals are big fans of independent watchmaking. Here Gary points his lens up close to a rare McGonigle Tuscar One Of Ten.
Quill & Pad
GaryG has long wanted to meet and learn from independent horologist David Walter. He had the opportunity to spend some time with him in his California workshop, soaking in a tiny fraction of his deep knowledge of clockmaking and encountering DeeDee’s Tourbillon, an ultra-interesting unique piece clock.
Quill & Pad
For GaryG the wonderful Antiqua by Vianney Halter is a long-term keeper. He fell for the Antiqua when he first saw one more than a dozen years ago; while many of his friends will freely confess that at the time they were at first put off by its looks, Gary was smitten from the start. But that's not all that he loves about this watch. Find out here why he bought it!
Quill & Pad
GaryG loves independent watchmaking and independent watchmakers; one of his great joys as a collector is having the feeling that, in a small way, he is supporting their efforts. So he put some thought into why many independent watchmakers struggle in a business sense and how they can remain relevant in changing market situations.
Quill & Pad
GaryG provides us with a look at why he bought the A. Lange & Söhne Double Split even though he already owned the brand’s Datograph. The Double Split is the world’s only double rattrapante capable of both split-second and split-minute interval timing, which may shed some light.
Quill & Pad
In 2006 GaryG spotted two objects of desire at a California dealer: Vianney Halter's dramatic Antiqua and Contemporaine timepieces. They were out of his reach, but in 2007 he found a Contemporaine in white gold offered at a price that was about one-third its original retail value on eBay. What could possibly go wrong?
Quill & Pad
This is the story of the final watch – or, truthfully, pair of watches – that GaryG happened upon at a Sotheby’s auction in late 2017 and felt that he just had to have: two 1970s prototype pieces made by Jaeger-LeCoultre. But why "unsalable"?
SJX Watches
Possibly the most iconic Hermès watch, the asymmetrical Arceau has been used to showcase complications like the recent minute repeater with tourbillon or the quirky L’Heure de la Lune. A counterpoint to that is the Arceau Grande Lune, an accessible watch that still preserves the design elements that make the Arceau so recognisable. With its latest facelift, the Arceau Grande Lune now has an altogether more modern aesthetic with a two-tone, metallic blue dial. Initial thoughts The new Grande Lune is a handsome watch with all the typical design cues of the Arceau, from the Breguet-style numerals for both the hours and date to the stirrup-inspired case. At the same time, the Arceau Grande Lune is a more formal-looking watch than recent releases from Hermes that had a bit more whimsy, most notably the Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh! Minute Repeater. The distinctive lugs are larger on the top While the “XL”, 43 mm Arceau case is ideal for showing off uber-complications, it is perhaps a shade too large for a more formal watch, especially one with an old-school triple-calendar and moon phase. It’s still a good looking watch, with a style that is more contemporary than earlier iterations of the model. The dial is dressed in a fashionable colour, but has plenty of visual interest thanks to the clever use of varied surface textures that give it a subtle two-tone finish. And despite the case design being over 40 years old, the Arceau still feels current thanks to its subtle asy...
Quill & Pad
Like many, GaryG is a sucker for blue-dialed watches. But he thinks that the Moser Funky Blue Streamliner Flyback Chronograph has a lot more going for it than just its eye-catching dial. Check out his comments and photos and decide for yourself.
Quill & Pad
Ming Thein kindly discussed a far-ranging set of questions on his past, present, and future with GaryG. What follows are what Gary considers the best of many highlights of that revealing chat.
Time+Tide
For many of you reading, COVID-19 is the virus that will. Not. Go. Away. At first, for most, it was a bit of a quirky change of pace. Fun, even. A blur of Netflix, homemade Negronis and novelties like bare-knuckle fighting for toilet paper. But as it’s ground on, the darkness has subsumed many of … ContinuedThe post The three most common answers to why the hell you’d wear a watch in lockdown? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
To the extent that new enthusiasts represent the future of the watch market, is it possible that their enthusiasm for the past will prove highly damaging, or even lethal, to the industry’s future? GaryG shares his thoughts on the subject here.
Time+Tide
EDITOR’S NOTE: We first published this story in July 2020 in the lead-up to the purported release of the new James Bond film, No Time to Die. And then the film was delayed and delayed and delayed. Until now… But while you may have got impatient for Daniel Craig’s last hurrah, don’t take it out on his Omega … ContinuedThe post By the end of this video, you’ll know if you need James Bond’s Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
A round watch case like few others, sharp angles, quirky Japanese design and a Swiss movement? Surely that can grab your attention, even in these weeks of big stories from Switzerland. At a time when just as many gravitate towards the well known, we have the ones that turn towards another path, a path less … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: The Minase Divido appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
Often with incoming pieces GaryG resists the temptation to wear a watch until he has had the chance to photograph it in pristine condition, but in the spirit of fun he chucked out the principle of restraint and slapped his new Hajime Asaoka Kurono Anniversary Green Mori right on his wrist. When you read Gary's story and see his photos you will know why.
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