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Quill & Pad
For the Hermès Arceau Harnais Français Remix, Hermès’ watch designers found inspiration in a pair of beautifully harnessed horses that formed the centerpiece of a silk scarf designed by Hugo Grykar, who served as the brand's in-house designer from the 1940s until 1959. The dial is engraved Limoges porcelain painstakingly decorated with colorful oven-fired enamel. And the result is a wearable work of art!
Hodinkee
The Swatch Group is upbeat about the next six months, but the FH sees a slow recovery from "an unparalleled shock."
SJX Watches
Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi officially opened on July 20, a milestone in its independence as a standalone watch brand. Having been spun off from Seiko in 2017, Grand Seiko now has its own workshop, just beside the Seiko Instruments Incorporated (SII) facility where it was once located. “The Nature of Time” Grand Seiko recruited Kengo Kuma, the noted Japanese architect behind Tokyo’s National Stadium built for the 2020 Olympics and the interior of Grand Seiko’s Paris boutique, for its new workshop. The Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi was conceived to embody the brand’s ideology, “The Nature of Time”, with the structure coexisting with the surrounding landscape, while utilising natural materials. A material “greener” than conventional construction materials, wood is used for the structural elements and flooring of the clean room. “To balance natural materials with the room’s high technology technical requirements was a new and intriguing task,” noted Mr Kuma in the announcement. The result is one that sharply contrasts with the typical production workshop that is clinical-looking. In addition to the natural materials used in its construction, the studio is also operated with sustainability in mind. For instance, carbon dioxide emissions are monitored and minimised, while wastewater is recycled. At the same time, the company is working to preserve biodiversity in its local area, including by erecting and maintaining bird and squirrel houses. Gr...
Time+Tide
Twenty-seven … that’s how many watches Grand Seiko have already unveiled this year. And that’s not really an accurate statement – 27 new watches have been released to the Australian market. If you include limited editions, boutique editions and models from other regions, the number is closer to 40. The wheels may well have fallen off … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Grand Seiko SBGE253, SBGE257 and SBGE255 – 3 GMTs with colour, curves and cutting-edge tech appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of Longines’ longest-lived vintage remakes, the Type A-7 was inspired by a 1930s aviator’s chronograph made for the US Army Air Corps. Having been offered with a white dial, and also a bronze-case limited edition, the Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 now makes its debut in a guise closest to the vintage original. Initial thoughts The earlier version of the Type A-7 was already a likeable watch. Affordably priced and well designed, the Type A-7 managed to much convey the look of the original without being a one-for-one remake. And in contrast to the first-generation remake that was 49 mm in diameter – essentially the same size as the vintage original – the Type A-7 was a wearable 41 mm. But the faux-vintage “lume” was a bit much, and the white lacquer finish of the dial took away some of the military-instrument aesthetic. The Type A-7 with a white dial that was introduced in 2016 The new Type A-7 remedies all of that with a black dial and less-pronounced colour for the Super-Luminova. Though it still has a date window that gets in the way of the design, the new Type A-7 still works well and remains a strong value buy. As an aside, Longines did make a similar-looking, limited edition Type A-7 for the American market two years ago that did away with the date display. Off the vertical The vintage original had a dial rotated 40 degrees from the vertical, in order to allow pilots to read the time or operate the chronograph without taking their hands off the control ...
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Hodinkee
ETA now can operate freely in Switzerland's more competitive mechanical movement market, COMCO says.
SJX Watches
One of the most indelible scenes from Modern Times, the 1936 Charlie Chaplin film about the dreary life of an oppressed factory worker in Depression-era America, has Chaplin’s character strapped to a contraption that feeds him automatically, leaving his hands free to continue working on the assembly line below the dining platform. In the film, the scientists behind the feeding machine market it to the factory owner as “a practical device which automatically feeds your men while at work. Don’t stop for lunch: be ahead of your competitor. The Billows Feeding Machine will eliminate the lunch hour, increase your production, and decrease your overhead.” The “Billows Feeding Machine” in Modern Times While Modern Times was a caricature of a factory worker’s life, the film contains much truth, especially in how it illustrated the burgeoning preoccupation with time during the Industrial Revolution. An era marked by drastic shifts in culture, economics, politics, and technology, the Industrial Revolution was also characterised by an evolution in how time was perceived. Propelled by the needs of industry, time as a concept became synonymous with profit. Eventually growing to permeate all levels of society and industry, this time consciousness had a profound impact on the world that continues today. A landscape of factories Predominantly agrarian and rural societies were transformed during the Industrial Revolution, becoming industrialised and urbanised. This started in...
Time+Tide
Patek Philippe’s first wristwatch of 2020 didn’t go down quite as well as the complicated models that have followed this week to practically unanimous praise. By contrast, the Calatrava Ref.6007A-001, limited to just 1000 pieces and made to celebrate the legacy brand’s new manufacture was met with many more brickbats than bouquets. Why? Well, according … ContinuedThe post A design that divides – the Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref.6007A-001 meets its lookalikes head on appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Swiss watchmaking conglomerate Swatch Group just announced its half-year 2020 results and unsurprisingly, it took a huge hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the group, which owns brands like Omega and Longines, had a good start in January with an operating margin of 17.3% – with the watch and jewellery brands performing a bit better than movement- and component-production division – the lockdown progressively imposed across the world since February severely impacted sales, leading to a steep declines in revenue and half-year operating loss, a first for the group. Group sales for the first half plunged 43.4% at constant exchange rates from a year earlier, resulting in an operating loss of CHF327m, compared to a profit of CHF547m for the same period in 2019. Most of the drop in sales was attributed to the lockdowns in most countries, resulting in widespread store closures. The Swatch Group saw up to 80% of both its own boutiques and third-party retailers close, meaning it had to rely on partially “partially feasible” e-commerce. And even after lockdowns were lifted, the group permanently vacated some of its retail space, as evidenced by disputes with its former landlord in Hong Kong, which has sued the Swatch Group for several million in allegedly unpaid rent. Due to its swiftly-streamlining retail network, the group’s employee count was trimmed by 6.5% since December 2019 to approximately 33,700 employees. This was also confirmed by anecdotal evidence fro...
SJX Watches
Originally an 18th century Danish brand, Urban Jürgensen & Sønner (UJS) was resurrected in 1981 by Peter Baumberger (1939-2010), an antique watch dealer turned watchmaker. While the brand’s best-known timepieces were elegantly-styled wristwatches with teardrop lugs, its greatest technical achievements were pocket watches, all of which were built by Derek Pratt (1938-2009), a deeply talented English watchmaker who was a contemporary of George Daniels. As was typical of the era when pocket watches were the preeminent genre of watch collecting – and the tourbillon was the ultimate complication – Pratt’s best work for UJS were his tourbillon pocket watches. Pratt not only built the movements, but also fabricated some of the dials that were decorated in exceptional guilloche. Peter Baumberger. Photo – Dr Helmut Crott The oval pocket watch The pièce de résistance in Pratt’s series of tourbillon pocket watches is no doubt the Ref. 1 “Hommage”, an oval pocket watch featuring a tourbillon with an integrated remontoir d’egalite. Writing in Derek Pratt – Watchmaker, a book dedicated to the watchmaker’s life and works, watch expert and auctioneer Dr Helmut Crott explained the Ref. 1 was originally conceived as a series of five watches for an Asian collector in the late 1980s. But after the first watch was complete, the client cancelled the rest of the order, making it a “financial disaster for Peter [Baumberger]” according to Dr Crott, , a longtime f...
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WatchAdvice
Earlier this month, Tudor released to the world their latest Black Bay creation; the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight ‘Navy Blue’ (Ref 79030B-0001). We covered this much anticipated timepiece briefly upon its release, but now, we will take an in-depth look into what this watch is really about. For the newcomers to the world of horology, you might be asking, why is there such an aura around the Black Bay Fifty-Eight that draws people in? To answer this, we need to go back into Tudor’s history with dive watches and how the Black Bay Fifty-Eight first came about. Tudor released its first dive watch in 1954, which would incidentally set the brand on a new path to becoming iconic for dive watches. The first Tudor that was released was the Oyster Price Submariner reference 7922. This model was designed with some substantial criteria which included having exceptional durability, reliability, precision and waterproofness, all the while still being moderately affordable. The Oyster Price Submariner reference 7922 after its release became a favourite in the watch industry and positioned itself as an instrument of choice for professionals. Tudor’s dive watches over the next 66 years would evolve with new technologies and materials emerging, updating the movements along the way as well. Back in 2012, Tudor first launched the Black Bay collection, which is essentially the modern interpretation of the the brand’s iconic Submariner style design. The original Oyster Price Submari...
SJX Watches
Following up the more complex Toric Tourbillon Slate, Parmigiani is launching its first ever luxury-sports watch, the Tonda GT. Founded in 1996 by highly-regarded independent watchmaker Michel Parmigiani, the brand specialises in complicated watches like the tubular, Bugatti-inspired Type 390. A departure from the brand’s usual far in both form and price, the Tonda GT line comprises a time-and-date base model, the Tonda GT, as well as the star of the show: the Tondagraph GT chronograph with annual calendar. Tondagraph GT Both are sports watches, with screw-down crowns and water resistance of 100 m. But they takes they cues from past Parmigiani designs, but translated into a more angular, modern shape. The knurled bezel, for instance, takes inspiration from the Toric, the brand’s very first wristwatch. And the dials are decorated with traditional clous triangulaire guilloché. Initial thoughts The new watches add a more casual, sporty offering to the Tonda collection. With distinct designs that don’t ride on the styling of Audemars Piguet or Patek Philippe, Parmigiani is offering a unique and well-priced line that’s suited to both the great outdoors and more formal occasions. Importantly, the Tonda GT is attractively priced, given the high quality of execution and in-house movements. Parmigiani makes almost all components in-house or at its sister companies, and if its current watches are anything to go by, the fit and finish on the Tonda GT will be as good a...
SJX Watches
Watch auction season is in full swing, two months later than its usual May timing. Phillips will be staging The Hong Kong Watch Auction: X on July 10, with 269 lots slated to go under the hammer. The catalogue includes a wide-ranging line-up of big-ticket complications, as well as some interesting examples of independent watchmaking. Below we take a look at a couple of highlights from the complications category, and we’ll look at some of the independents next week. You’ll find the full auction catalogue here. For a more personal take on the highlights: myself and Phillips’ head of watches, Thomas Perazzi, will be hosting a webinar to discuss the highlights from the sale on July 6 at 4:00 pm GMT+8. Registration is required to attend, and you can do it here. Lot 816 – A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite” in honey gold This A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite” was part of the 165th Anniversary Homage to F.A. Lange three-piece set made in 2010 to commemorate the 165 years since the birth of the company’s namesake founder. Made up of the Tourbograph, Lange 1 Tourbillon, and 1815 Moon Phase, the set was characterised by honey gold cases and guilloche dials. The most complicated Lange wristwatch aside from the monumentally unwearable Grand Complication, the Tourbograph incorporates a tourbillon, rattrapante chronograph, and fusée-and-chain transmission. It was first launched in 2005 as a limited edition of 50 with a platinum case, with th...
Quill & Pad
Our friends at The Watches TV have published a beautiful three-part video series on manufacturing a watch fully by hand as demonstrated by Greubel Forsey’s recent Hand Made 1. In this series, Marc-André Deschoux and his team get deep into the manufacture and talk to all of the artisans involved, beginning with founders Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel.
Revolution
Revolution takes a brief look at the Type 20 chronograph’s rich history and brings you a great offering for a modern Type 20 at an unbeatable price point.
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SJX Watches
Longines is continuing its streak of affordable and handsome remakes of vintage watches, with the last big hit being the Heritage Classic “sector” dial, with the Heritage Classic Chronograph “Tuxedo”. Modelled on a 1940s chronograph powered by the cal. 13ZN, regarded by collectors as the brand’s best chronograph movement, the remake gets its nickname from the stylish black-and-white dial. Initial thoughts There’s almost nothing to criticise in the new chronograph. Aesthetically, it is spot on. The design is faithful to the original, smartly doing away with the much-derided extras of the date and “automatic” often found in remakes. It’s a moderate size, albeit a bit thick. The movement is modular, rather integrated. But it only costs US$3,000, which is excellent value for money. More generally speaking – and this is criticism – Longines has rolled out several well-executed remakes in recent years, notching hit after hit. Paradoxically the success has made the Heritage remakes a little less appealing, just because there are so many of them – and most of them are pretty good. When the original Legend Diver was introduced in 2007, it was special, because the only affordable, good-looking remake. That said, it doesn’t take away anything from the watch itself; the new chronograph really is a compelling buy. Two-tone and tachymetre The Heritage Classic Chronograph “Tuxedo” manages to capture most of the elements of the original. The dial is in silver...
SJX Watches
Everyone in watchmaking has been affected by the pandemic, brands and consumers alike. But in between the two are the retailers. To find out how the situation in unfolding for the key intermediary between brand and consumer, we spoke with Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi. He is the Chief Commercial Officer of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the luxury-watch pioneer established in 1950 that is now the biggest retailer in the Middle East. Beyond being a retailer, the Dubai-based company is also widely known for organising Dubai Watch Week, the biannual fair that brings watchmakers and industry personalities to the Emirate. The interview was edited for clarity and length. First, how did Seddiqi get through the lockdown? It all happened very fast and came as a shock at first. The UAE government applied very strict rules immediately to protect the population and support the economy. We underwent a strict lockdown of 40 days. For security reasons, we moved our inventory out of the malls into our headquarters. We quickly found out it was a good idea! Indeed, no matter that the whole state was in lockdown, people still reached out to us for watches. We started sending pictures to them and organising home deliveries. At the beginning to middle of March, we did one delivery a week, then it turned into a daily challenge. What is amazing is that we did not get any order cancellations during the period. On the contrary, we saw people were getting bored at home, so online shopping increased. But we...
Time+Tide
Often in the watch community, it’s difficult to celebrate the art of horology in any other way than simply wearing a watch. I mean, sure, you can consume editorial content (bravo, you’re already nailing this), wear a pair of socks covered in watches and maybe even pick up a copy of your favourite watch magazine … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: AHW Studio, jewellery for the watch enthusiast appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Quill & Pad
The newly released Antarctique is Czapek’s first foray into the steel sport watch market, a market segment that has exploded over the last couple years, by dipping its toes in with a “subscription” strategy for the first limited model. Find out what is so special about this particular addition to the sporty steel bracelet watch market.
SJX Watches
A French watchmaker who is just 23 years old, Rémy Cools has just revealed the finished prototype of his debut watch, the Tourbillon Souscription. Mr Cools’ creation is a large watch with no visible crown, giving it a contemporary silhouette, but the look is still heavily classical in style, with the movement and dial strongly influenced by 19th century watchmaking, especially the work of Abraham-Louis Breguet and Jacques Frédéric Houriet according to Mr Cools. Initial thoughts I met Mr Cools at Baselworld 2019 and got to examine the unfinished prototype. It was complete and working, but had not yet been decorated. The prototype was an extremely striking watch, with a strong pocket watch aesthetic but still unique. While clearly modelled on the works of Breguet, it manages to avoid looking like a Breguet. Now that the watch is finished, it is no doubt more impressive; Mr Cools’ photos of the movement and its parts reveal an impressively high level of decoration. Two things go against the watch. One is the pair of crowns on the case back. They are easy enough to use, but feel unnecessarily complicated. The crowns, however, are probably something you get used to and forget about afterwards. The second drawback is the massive height of the watch, which is only 40 mm wide. It stands 15 mm high – including 7 mm of domed sapphire crystal – which gives it a really tall profile. And the thickness is accentuated by the relatively small diameter. That said, the height is ...
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SJX Watches
Patek Philippe’s 1,600 employees in Geneva began migrating to its expansive new headquarters last year, and now the move is almost complete. To commemorate the completion of the new manufacture, Patek Philippe has announced its very first new launch for 2020: the Calatrava ref. 6007A-001 “New Manufacture 2019”. A limited edition of 1,000 watches, the ref. 6007A has a steel case and a grey-blue dial finished with a variety of textures, including a “carbon” pattern on its centre. Initial thoughts The new ref. 6007A confirms the chatter that Patek Philippe is in the midst of evolving the Calatrava line by injecting more contemporary flair into its aesthetics, which began with last year’s quirky ref. 5212A Weekly Calendar. Though the new ref. 6007A is a very different watch – in fact, its styling brings to mind the unique ref. 5208T “Only Watch” – it too feels like a more casual take on the classic Patek Philippe gentleman’s watch. The case is steel and relatively large at 40 mm, while the dial has a sporty, instrument-like look (which can be explained by its inspiration, the speedometer-inspired ref. 6006G). Notably, the dial has a stamped guilloche centre, which is an unusual feature for a Calatrava. And it also features applied Arabic numerals in white gold, a luxe detail for a simple watch. It will doubtlessly be a lightweight, thin watch that is easy and comfortable to wear, especially since the steel case is more hardwearing than the usual 18k go...
SJX Watches
Jaquet Droz produces some of the most refined artistically-inclined timepieces, typically using a variety of artisanal decorative techniques to express its peculiar aesthetic sensibility inspired by the splendours of nature. Encapsulating the brand’s approach is the new Petite Heure Minute “Tiger” featuring black and ivory grand feu enamel dials that adeptly captures the majestic essence of the tiger with a lifelike miniature painting. Initial thoughts Tiger motifs are not new for Jaquet Droz timepieces; the big cat was found on several other versions of the Petite Heure Minute. But the latest version is easily the most enchanting. While the earlier tiger-motif watches were decorated in the style of a Chinese painting, the new watch depicts the tiger’s gaze up close. The dial immediately arrests with the lifelike details of the tiger’s eyes that fill the lower half of the dial. Every strand of the tiger’s fur can be discerned, with the highlight undoubtedly the eyes, which reflects the brooding, mysterious and ferocious personality of the feline. For this reason, I find the white gold version significantly more interesting than its red gold counterpart as the painting is more outstanding; the white brush strokes are enhanced and sharper thanks to the contrast against the glossy black enamel. The painting is also more appealing as the blue-eyed white tiger is more exotic. Although the painting on the red gold version represents the prototypical, orange-and-b...
Time+Tide
Grand Seiko really knows how to say bonjour with style – not only is their new Paris boutique the largest of its kind in the world, it’s also easily their most palatial. Set amongst the cobblestones and opulent retailers that line the Place Vendôme, the new Grand Seiko flagship is rubbing shoulders with the likes … ContinuedThe post Grand Seiko has just dropped two limited edition watches to celebrate their new Paris boutique, and the dials are incredible appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
One of the grandest and oldest watchmakers in the world, Breguet was founded in 1775 and usually sticks to watches very much rooted in tradition. Even its high jewellery timepieces are elaborate and lavish, but still old school. The new Marine Haute Joaillerie 9509 Poseidonia, however, is a strikingly lively, ocean-inspired jewellery watch. Named after the Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass found the Mediterranean sometimes known as Neptune grass, the new Marine has an iridescent mother-of-pearl dial invisibly set with 85 gemstones to form an elegant floating-seagrass motif surrounded by baguette-cut gemstones. It’s very different from the usual Breguet fare – in a good way – especially in the coloured gemstone versions. The Poseidonia is available four variations, each distinguished by the combination of gemstones. While the diamond version is set only with diamonds, the emerald, ruby, and sapphire models are each set with a variety of gems – amethysts and tsavorites on the sapphire version for instance – to create a rainbow-hued decor. The ruby And emerald Initial thoughts Breguet has a penchant for making high-jewellery timepieces inspired by nature. Thematically, the Poseidonia is no different, but it is far, far more spectacular in visual effect. Going by the photos, the watch will no doubt be dazzling and unapologetically luxe – and a world away from the restrained elegance of the Marine for men. Watches that have been liberally set with gems tend to b...
Deployant
Hands-on review of the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Bentley Mulliner Chronograph, to celebrate Bentley's Continental GT Convertible Mulliner Edition
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