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Results for WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program)

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Business News: Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes in Geneva Gem-Setting Giant SJX Watches
Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes Sep 14, 2022

Business News: Patek Philippe Acquires Stakes in Geneva Gem-Setting Giant

Little know outside the industry but a key supplier to the biggest watch brands, Salanitro S.A. is Switzerland’s biggest gem-setting and jewellery specialist catering to watchmakers. Owned by its namesake founder until now, Salanitro now counts Patek Philippe as a shareholder. Founded three decades ago by Pierre Salanitro, the company is located a Geneva suburb not far from Rolex headquarters. A discreet but well-connected individual, Mr Salanitro built his company both organically and through acquisitions, creating an enterprise that’s the preeminent jewellery and gem-setting specialist for the watch industry. Today Salanitro far exceeds the competition in scale with annual revenue in the high nine figures and over 230 employees, more than half of them gem-setters. The company covers all the bases when it comes to jewelled watches: it supplies, cuts, and sets gemstones, and also produces components with the three dozen CNC mills on its premises. Gem-setters at work in Salanitro’s facility. Image – Salanitro The art of gem-setting is a manual process that requires deft hands. Image – Salanitro Mr Salanitro’s three children have no involvement in the business, explaining his desire to seek a strategic investor.  “I am very proud and delighted that Patek Philippe has acquired a stake in my company,” says Mr Salanitro, “[The brand is] the ideal partner for securing the firm’s future… [and] continue our activities and guarantee jobs beyond generations....

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How Do You Achieve Chronometric Perfection? Revolution
De Bethune s Denis Flageollet Frässdorf’s Aug 12, 2022

How Do You Achieve Chronometric Perfection?

Wei and Jeremiah geek out over the different approaches taken by two independent watchmakers in their pursuit of chronometric perfection: Montres KF’s Karsten Frässdorf and De Bethune’s Denis Flageollet. Frässdorf’s EI8HT Evolution Meteorite is the latest iteration of the bespoke only EI8HT released in 2020 – a modern interpretation of centuries old inventions. Flageollet’s approach […]

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INTRODUCING: The Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa in white Time+Tide
Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa Jul 25, 2022

INTRODUCING: The Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa in white

As the world’s oldest international sporting event still in operation, the Americas Cup needs very little introduction. The past 22 years have seen a fierce competition between the same four teams based in New Zealand, the United States, Switzerland, and Italy, and it’s of course the Italian team who have partnered with Panerai since 2017. … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Panerai Luminor Luna Rossa in white appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Up Close: Yosuke Sekiguchi Primevère Prototype SJX Watches
Jul 21, 2022

Up Close: Yosuke Sekiguchi Primevère Prototype

Though born in Japan, Yosuke Sekiguchi is steeped in the tradition of Swiss watchmaking. He moved first to France and then Switzerland some two decades ago, and is today fluent in French and skilled at watchmaking. After a career at complications specialists like Claret and La Joux-Perret, Mr Sekiguchi established his own brand in 2020 with the goal of building a historically-inspired timepiece of extremely high quality. The concept is a familiar one that has been interpreted in various ways by others, but Mr Sekiguchi arguably succeeds far better in both paying tribute to the historical inspiration and achieving impressive, artisanal quality. His first watch is the Primevère, which made its debut just earlier this year. It is an elegantly designed and clearly rooted in 19th century pocket watches, but also novel in several ways, reflecting Mr Sekiguchi’s unusual approach to the concept. Amongst other things, it is robustly constructed and larger than such wristwatches typically are. And while the movement resembles its vintage inspiration, it is fabricated and decorated in a finer, more artisanal manner than the 19th century original. NB: The Primevère pictured here is the first complete prototype with a gold-plated case, so it still reveals several obvious imperfections in the movement decoration. Mr Sekiguchi promises the the final product will be perfectly finished and I believe that it will be. Initial thoughts Although it appears to be a pocket watch reproducti...

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De Bethune Fills Marc Newson’s Hourglass with Blued Steel SJX Watches
De Bethune Fills Marc Newson’s Hourglass Jun 22, 2022

De Bethune Fills Marc Newson’s Hourglass with Blued Steel

Designed a decade ago by Marc Newson, the industrial designer most famous for his Lockheed Lounge chair and the Apple Watch, the sleek hourglass is exceedingly simple yet remarkably complex to fabricate. It’s made of a single piece of glass – blown by hand in Switzerland – and filled with millions of tiny metal spheres known as nanoballs. De Bethune has applied its signature heat treatment to the object, resulting in the De Bethune x HG Timepiece Blue Hourglass, a limited edition pair of large and small timekeepers filled with heat-blued steel nanoballs. Initial thoughts More sculpture than timekeeper, the hourglass is a beautiful object that is incredibly simple yet impressive in its artisanal nature. The glass is blown by hand yet perfectly in form and proportions. The De Bethune touch adds another level of beauty to the object. Instead of the plated nanoballs found in the standard version of the hourglass, the Blue Hourglass contains blue nanoballs heat treated by Denis Flageollet himself. However, the addition of Mr Flageollet’s talents to the prowess of Swiss glassblowers comes at a high price. The smaller, 10-minute Blue Hourglass costs CHF25,000, more than double the price of the standard hourglass with plated nanoballs. That’s affordable relative to everything else than De Bethune makes, but it’s a steep premium for the hourglass. Tinkling timekeepers The Blue Hourglass is available in the two standard sizes: the larger, 60-minute timer and a smaller 10...

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Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador Doble Luna: A Delightful (Latin) Twist On A Classic Complication Quill & Pad
Jun 17, 2022

Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador Doble Luna: A Delightful (Latin) Twist On A Classic Complication

Cuervo y Sobrinos drums to its own beat. And that beat has a vibrant Latin vibe to it as the heritage of the brand is anchored in the spirit and style that made Havana one of the world’s cultural hotspots. Now headquartered in Switzerland, the Latin spirit is still present in each of Cuervo y Sobrinos’ watches, including its latest creation, the Historiador Doble Luna.

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INTRODUCING: Vacheron Constantin release 4 INSANE masterpieces in the Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations Time+Tide
Vacheron Constantin release 4 INSANE masterpieces May 24, 2022

INTRODUCING: Vacheron Constantin release 4 INSANE masterpieces in the Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations

Vacheron Constantin are one of very few watchmakers capable of creating a high-end watch instilled with so much craftsmanship and passion that it could easily belong in a museum upon release. The Métiers d’Art range is the pinnacle of what the storied brand are capable of, with fine art techniques incorporated into their construction and … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: Vacheron Constantin release 4 INSANE masterpieces in the Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Watch community unites for Ukraine, Lewis Hamilton’s triple wristing, separation anxiety… Time+Tide
Hamilton s triple wristing separation May 13, 2022

FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Watch community unites for Ukraine, Lewis Hamilton’s triple wristing, separation anxiety…

Having your apartment stripped to bare concrete slab, with carpet, toilet bowls and light bulbs all thieved, is not a fever dream, but the new reality of Watches in Ukraine magazine editor, Natalie Yarova. Recently, she’s swapped her day job reviewing watches and interviewing key watch industry players to undertake tactical medicine training in an … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Watch community unites for Ukraine, Lewis Hamilton’s triple wristing, separation anxiety… appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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English Independents Team Up for the “Fears Garrick” SJX Watches
IWC Portugieser which Apr 29, 2022

English Independents Team Up for the “Fears Garrick”

A pair of watchmakers with English roots, Fears and Garrick have banded together to create a wristwatch that bears the aesthetic of the former while relying on the mechanics of the latter, the Fears Garrick. Founded in 1846 but having gone out of business during the Quartz Crisis, Fears is an English brand that was revived in 2016 by a descendant of its founder. Though it was not in continuous operation, Fears is now one of the oldest, family-owned English watch brands. Its modern-day offerings are all about clean, simple designs inspired by watches from its past catalogue, which are sometimes paired with period-correct, vintage movements. Garrick, on the other hand, was founded in 2014. Sitting in a higher price point than the typical Fears, Garrick’s offerings are constructed with the help of Swiss specialists, including Andreas Strehler, and dressed up with traditional decoration such as engine turning. David Brailsford of Garrick (left), and Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great-grandson of Fears’ founder Initial thoughts The Fears Garrick is essentially a Garrick S1, the brand’s most impressive offering to date, but redesigned to give it a simpler aesthetic. Though intriguing, the open dial of the S1 has been done away with and the result is minimalist but appealing. I actually prefer the look of the Fears Garrick over the S1. But the Fears Garrick does bring to mind the IWC Portugieser, which is a good thing. For anyone who found the movement of ...

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Business News: Aiôn Attempts to Reestablish French Watchmaking SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet Apr 17, 2022

Business News: Aiôn Attempts to Reestablish French Watchmaking

Just as the biggest watch fair of the year opened its doors in Switzerland earlier in April, an industrial-scale watchmaking enterprise was born in France. Conceived as a vertically-integrated watchmaking group that makes movements for its own brands Aiôn Group, wants to establish “Made in France” as a key segment in a luxury-watch arena that’s dominated by Swiss, German, and Japanese players. Backed by government funding, Aiôn has the ambitious goal of producing 400,000 movements per year by 2025 in its new manufacture on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille. Although Aiôn has kept mum about the origins of its industrial capability, it is well known within the Swiss watch industry that the French group took over Swiss movement maker Felsa-Leschot, which was then moved lock, stock, and barrel to France. [Update April 20, 2022: Respected Swiss newspaper Le Temps published an article expressing scepticism about Aiôn, especially about the movement “factory” that Aiôn acquired. The article references the factory owner’s chequered history and involvement in multiple lawsuits. We believe the doubts expressed by the writer at Le Temps are well founded and would encourage everyone to read the article of March 16.] A Swiss foundation One of Aiôn’s founders is Anthony Simao, a French watchmaker who started his career in Swiss watchmaking, having worked at Breitling, Audemars Piguet, and Chronode. He then founded French watch brand Lornet, which has been merge...

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The CODE41 X41 Edition 6 delivers an ultra-hard, full sapphire case at an astonishing price Time+Tide
Apr 13, 2022

The CODE41 X41 Edition 6 delivers an ultra-hard, full sapphire case at an astonishing price

Following the success of their previous releases, Swiss watchmakers CODE41 are back with the latest version of their bold and highly technical X41 in the shape of the new Edition 6. This time, they’re upping the ante with the introduction of new variants that are available in an ultra-hard full sapphire case. Typically the domain … ContinuedThe post The CODE41 X41 Edition 6 delivers an ultra-hard, full sapphire case at an astonishing price appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Auction Watch: Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” on Loupe This [Updated with Result] SJX Watches
Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” Mar 13, 2022

Auction Watch: Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Poker Chip” on Loupe This [Updated with Result]

A limited edition launched at the end of 2021, the Zenith Chronometer Revival “Poker Chip” was the result of a collaboration between our founder and the watchmakers in Le Locle. One of them just popped up for sale at online auctioneer Loupe This – the first example to go under the hammer. The 200 pieces sold out at launch, making this a perfect opportunity for anyone who missed out last year. If the funky dial appears familiar, that’s because the Poker Chip reimagines the G383, one of the standout designs from the first references of the El Primero. While the G383 had a lavish, gold-on-black palette, the Poker Chip is entirely contemporary. Its dial is generously “lumed” – even the strap glows in the dark – bringing it to life at night, with the aesthetic alluding to the disco era of 1960s and 1970s when the G383 was born. [Update March 17, 2022: The Poker Chip sold for US$16,500 including fees on Loupe This.] The case is a micro-blasted titanium coated in DLC, which complements the military-esque dial. Notably the Poker Chip was the first – and remains the only – classic, 38 mm El Primero with a titanium case. Continuing the blend of new and old, the movement is the original El Primero 400 that’s almost identical to the 1969 original. As it is being phased out, this movement was chosen instead of the latest-generation El Primero 3600 (which has a lightning seconds), making the Poker Chip one of the last watches with the landmark calibre. Accompani...

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INTRODUCING: The Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger is inspired by cryptocurrency Time+Tide
Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger Feb 20, 2022

INTRODUCING: The Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger is inspired by cryptocurrency

The future. It’s always here before you know it. And in an industry based on the anachronistic idea of the mechanical timepiece, Swiss watchmakers Hublot have always looked forward. From their striking, sometimes polarising designs, their forays into the connected watch world with the Big Bang E, and their use of cutting-edge materials like ceramic, … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger is inspired by cryptocurrency appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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A WEEK ON THE WRIST: The Rado Captain Cook Automatic channels 80s style with playful fun Time+Tide
Rado Captain Cook Automatic channels Nov 23, 2021

A WEEK ON THE WRIST: The Rado Captain Cook Automatic channels 80s style with playful fun

If the resurgence of the mullet as a fashion statement as we emerge from lockdown(s) in Australia isn’t enough to convince you, then perhaps the decision by large watchmakers to revitalise two-tone models could help. And yes, it’s true. Mullets are coming back. God help us. Watches are, after all, part of the luxury and fashion … ContinuedThe post A WEEK ON THE WRIST: The Rado Captain Cook Automatic channels 80s style with playful fun appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Review: The New Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph “Everest” Deployant
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph “Everest” DE... Nov 22, 2021

Review: The New Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph “Everest”

It was the 1970s and the emergence of sports watches is nigh. In anticipation of this trend, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious watch manufacturers, Vacheron Constantin, launched the Reference 222 in honour of its 222nd anniversary. The Reference 222 featured the aesthetic and technical attributes of sports watches and guaranteed 120 m of water resistance.Read More

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Only Watch 2021: Independent Watchmaking Highlights SJX Watches
F.P. Journe FFC Blue Nov 3, 2021

Only Watch 2021: Independent Watchmaking Highlights

The top lots amongst independent watchmakers at Only Watch 2021 are no doubt the F.P. Journe FFC Blue and Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain II, but they will cost six or seven figures. But half of the participants at Only Watch are independent watchmakers, so there are a few more interesting examples of the genre, which might possibly be reasonably affordable. We round up five notable watches amongst the “indies”, ranging from the quirky and fascinating Urwerk that’s an upgraded example of the brand’s earliest watch to the stunningly engine-turned Andersen Genève Quotidiana. Urwerk UR-102 “Gaïa” Perhaps the avant-garde independent watchmaker, Urwerk is best known for revolutionising the presentation of time, having invented time displays using satellite cubes on a carousel and prisms in cylinders. But the brand’s creation for Only Watch 2021 looks nothing like its recent work, because it’s a quarter-century old, an artefact from the brand’s start-up days. The UR-102 “Gaïa” is a prototype of one of the brand’s earliest models – it is actually a vintage Urwerk – but dressed up smartly for the occasion, with a special case back decoration that signifies the brand’s success. The platinum case back is adorned with a sparkling, deep blue emblem that alludes to the Gaïa Prize, which Urwerk’s founders won in 2020 That said, being an Urwerk, the time display is far from rudimentary. While neither a cube nor a prism, it is still a wond...

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In-Depth: The Longines Observatory Chronometer Cal. 360 SJX Watches
Longines Observatory Chronometer Cal 360 Oct 30, 2021

In-Depth: The Longines Observatory Chronometer Cal. 360

In the field of precision timekeeping, one inevitably encounters Longines with its multi-facetted and remarkably rich history. The unwavering persistence of the firm’s celebrated régleurs and its long lineage of in-house chronometer calibres fostered Longines’ reputation for excellence in precision timekeeping, far beyond the borders of Switzerland. The Saint Imier-based manufacturer ventured into precision chronometry as early as 1888, amidst the dawn of observatory chronometer competitions in Switzerland, when its cal. 21.59/60-based chronometer obtained an observatory-issued Bulletin de Marche, or rate certificate. And after almost a century of steadfast participation in prestigious chronometry trials, the last Longines timepiece subject to observatory-governed testing, a cal. 262 based chronograph (movement no. 14’701’394), received its certificate in 1972. The Neuchâtel observatory announced its first chronometer contest on December 5, 1865. Eight decades later this Longines advertisement portrayed the observatory chronometer contests as an uphill battle, referencing the record of N=5.00 obtained by the wristwatch-sized cal. 15.68Z in 1945 at Neuchâtel. Towards the end of the 1950s, a pure-bred competition calibre named the cal. 360 became Longines’ final masterpiece in the hard-fought race for glory in precision. A proven workhorse that won countless prizes and accolades at both the Neuchâtel and Geneva observatory competitions, the cal. 360 was a pu...

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Urwerk Unveils the UR-112 Aggregat SJX Watches
Urwerk Unveils Oct 27, 2021

Urwerk Unveils the UR-112 Aggregat

For some two-and-a-half decades, Urwerk – along with a handful of other independent watchmakers – has been at the cutting edge of the the presentation of time. While the three-dimensional, satellite-cube hours has long been its trademark complication, Urwerk has nevertheless continued to evolve its mechanics, resulting in similarly futuristic watches such as the UR-111C with its linear time display on a rotating drum. And its latest invention is perhaps the brand’s most notable since the debut of the satellite cube display. A followup to the UR-111C, the UR-112 Aggregat retains the same form as its immediate predecessor, and continues to display hours and minutes displayed in a pair of glass cylinders. But the UR-112 is more complicated, with the hours and minutes indicated by swivelling prisms. And its case has an aggressive, military feel that brings to mind the Tumbler of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight films. Initial thoughts As the UR-112 is part of the Special Project Collection – the models within are essentially one-off production runs – it is disconnected with Urwerk’s recent inclination towards slimmer, streamlined designs. The UR-112 is an appealing and intriguing example of watchmaking, and very much typical of Urwerk. Importantly, it is impressive yet unpretentious – it does not replicate past designs, nor does it try to be fashionable. Notable for being entirely digital with its time display, the UR-112 indicates the the hours and minutes ...

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My top five watches from WatchTime New York 2021 Time+Tide
Oct 27, 2021

My top five watches from WatchTime New York 2021

Imagine walking into a building and coming face to face with some of the biggest brands and independent watchmakers in horology. Well, that’s exactly what I was lucky enough to do last weekend while attending WatchTime New York. It’s an annual event located within the vast Grand Ballroom of New York City’s Gotham Hall. It … ContinuedThe post My top five watches from WatchTime New York 2021 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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HANDS-ON: The Cartier Tank Must Collection offers classic design at an accessible price Time+Tide
Cartier Tank Must Collection offers Oct 24, 2021

HANDS-ON: The Cartier Tank Must Collection offers classic design at an accessible price

The quartz crisis is often spoken about with abject horror, and for good reason. Japanese quartz watches were more accurate, reliable, and cheaper than Swiss mechanicals, so why would anyone buy an old-fashioned and outdated piece of technology? Given that Switzerland controlled over half of the world’s mechanical watch industry after the second world war, … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Cartier Tank Must Collection offers classic design at an accessible price appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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Inside The Manufacture: A Two-Day Visit To Chopard Hodinkee
Chopard Sep 29, 2021

Inside The Manufacture: A Two-Day Visit To Chopard

Chopard is one of the few brands out there that can boast both being independent and having a storied history, but many watch enthusiasts don't realize that Chopard is producing truly in-house movements to an extremely high level in the hills of Fleurier while also making its own cases and smelting its own gold back in Geneva. There are actually three facilities across Switzerland that make up the Chopard manufacture family and here we take you on a tour through all three.

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Introducing the MIH Gaïa Watch Series II SJX Watches
Sep 16, 2021

Introducing the MIH Gaïa Watch Series II

The largest time-measurement museum in the world, the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) is located in the heart of Switzerland’s watchmaking region, so its fundraising project announced two years ago took an unsurprising form – a limited-edition watch. Inspired by the brutalist museum building and produced entirely by local suppliers, the watch sold out quickly. Now the museum has announced the MIH Gaïa Series II, which will once again go towards funding the restoration of one of its prized exhibits. Initial thoughts I liked the original MIH Gaïa watch (enough to buy the very first one). The new edition has all of the features of the first – they are essentially the same, so it will have the same appeal. Even after more than a year, the watch still feels novel on the wrist. I’m pleased with mine in blue, but I do like the black dial, especially in how it matches the case. Given the quality-price ratio and the fact that proceeds go towards an important watch museum, this is a compelling, worthwhile buy. Edition noire The Series II is identical to the original run, save for the dial colour. While the first edition was dark blue, this has a black dial with a subtle radial brushing. Produced by the same suppliers responsible for the first edition – nearly all of them in the museum’s hometown – the watch has a 39 mm steel case with angular lugs and a simple but unusual display where both the hours and minutes and indicated by rotating discs. A narrow ...

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HANDS ON – The Farer Segrave Monopusher Chronograph delivers a big eye with a colourful twist Time+Tide
Farer Segrave Monopusher Chronograph delivers Sep 13, 2021

HANDS ON – The Farer Segrave Monopusher Chronograph delivers a big eye with a colourful twist

Pride is not an emotion I often overplay when it comes to my Britishness, but last week while dipping in and out of appointments around Switzerland’s prettiest city for Geneva Watch Days I was brimming with the stuff – emanating predominately from my left wrist. You’ll be hard pressed to find a place where the … ContinuedThe post HANDS ON – The Farer Segrave Monopusher Chronograph delivers a big eye with a colourful twist appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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