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Incoming! If there’s a happier word in the watch enthusiast’s vernacular, GaryG is not sure what it is. After several months in the queue, he recently received the happy news that his Model 17.06 Monolith from the Ming Watches team had arrived. Here he shares why he bought it and what he thinks of it after wearing for several months.
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Given Panerai’s origins in Florence, it should come as no surprise that the Italian watchmaker created a horological tribute to the insatiably curious father of modern science Galileo Galilei, who was once a resident of the Renaissance city. The Jupiterium is a one-of-a-kind geocentric planetarium with perpetual calendar.
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SIHH 2019 provided an instructive example to Tim Mosso of architecture’s low-key role in watch design relative to well-worn tropes. For him it was the third year in a row that parts of Geneva’s Palexpo felt like a Southern California cars-and-coffee event. But there are a few watch brands that do architecture well, and Tim takes a closer look at some of them here.
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Place Vendôme has always held an extraordinary attraction for Martin Green: he cannot visit the French capital without going there. The square is occupied by hôtel particuliers, or historical city townhouses, which served as homes and offices to some of the richest and most influential families in France. And while their façades are homogeneous, what's behind them is not: one of the magical places there is the Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique at 7 Place Vendôme.
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Well, here we are in February 2020: a leap year. Which means that for the first time in four years we will have a February 29. This is one of those times that has watch enthusiasts with perpetual calendars anxiously checking their watches for the leap from February 28 to 29 and then on to March 1. Here are five perpetual calendars perfect for watching the date “leap” into action.
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According to Joshua Munchow the sleeper of horological complications is the dead seconds, or jumping seconds, function. And, according to him, no one does it better than A. Lange & Söhne as evidenced by the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds model. Follow him on a deep dive of this unusual watch right here.
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Jaeger-LeCoultre supports ‘The Supermarket Of Images,’ the latest exhibition at the Jeu de Paume arts center in Paris, which exhibits and promotes all forms of mechanical and electronic imagery. The exhibition’s central premise is that our lives are increasingly saturated with images. The impact of this is the story that this exhibition tells.
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GaryG once wrote on Quill & Pad about his relationship with the world’s greatest mass luxury brand in 'Why I’ve Never Owned a Rolex – And Why I Might Yet.' Well, to know him is to know that if he says he “might yet” buy something it’s likely only a matter of time. So, too, with this Rolex: the GMT Master II BLNR “Batman” with black-and-blue bezel.
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Dedicated ladies’ watches are a relatively surprising turn of direction for Zenith, which has primarily concentrated on men’s watches up to now. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at the fresh new feminine additions of the Zenith Defy Midnight And Elite Classic collections for 2020.
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The awesome Greubel Forsey Art Piece Edition Historique is a true coalescence of a decade and a half of horological exploration into something stunningly simple and complicated all at once. Joshua Munchow explains why.
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For the Michel Perchin Model #1, designer and brand owner Patrick Pinkston works with a well-versed goldsmith workshop in the United Kingdom that he describes as “literally fabricating one case at a time.” There, each 36 x 55 mm white gold case is hand-finished and engraved. What else makes this independently crafted timepiece notable? Nancy Olson has the full story.
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Breguet launches the Classique Dame Reference 9065 in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day and the season of love, but rest assured this watch is the right choice any time. Martin Green thinks that's largely due to the Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial, but there's much more to this colorful delight as he explains here.
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Nothing happens quickly in the whisky industry, but Ken Gargett thinks that the future is looking bright for Glenglassaugh and it should take its place among the elite producers. And then there's that superlative malt from 1965 that Ken recommends "to be sipped on bended knee."
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There is something about tonneau-shaped watch cases that Martin Green finds instantly appealing. So it's no surprise that he fell for the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Meca-10 upon its introduction at the 2020 LVMH Watch Week. Or is it?
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Armin Strom’s Gravity Equal Force, first seen at Dubai Watch Week 2019, is a brand-new watch that seeks to innovate with the help of historical inspiration and a healthy dose of research and development. Here The Watches TV goes behind the scenes to find out more about its innovative mechanics and modern good looks.
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One of Joshua Munchow's favorite watches from 2019, winning the Calendar and Astronomy prize at the 2019 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, was the Hermès Arceau L'Heure de la Lune. Not only is it a stunning double moon phase watch with wandering dials, but also features an incredible module designed by Jean-François Mojon and his team at Chronode. Take a deep drive into it here with Joshua.
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Influencers have been around for as long as humankind exists, but where in previous centuries this power was mostly in the hands of nobility, priests, elected officials, or successful entrepreneurs, it is now wielded by teenagers with a camera and an Instagram account.
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Vacheron Constantin has been producing timepieces uninterruptedly since 1755, and it often draws on that heritage for the models in the Historiques collection. A great example is 2017's Historiques American 1921 Small Model, a terrific unisex wristwatch.
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Dunhill has been producing fragrances since 1934, soon gaining quite a reputation. Aimed at the higher end of the mass market, that's where we find Dunhill's aptly named Icon Elite cologne line. Martin Green explains how it measures up right here.
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If Ken Gargett were to tell you that he is looking at one of the great champagnes, that wouldn’t really narrow it down for you. If he said it was a blanc de blancs then you’d be able to get closer. And if he said it had become a cult favorite in recent years, you might think he is talking about Selosse, Agrapart, Collin, or one of the other emerging growers. The champagne he puts under the microscope today is actually from small(ish) grower Pierre Peters and it is the flagship, Les Chétillons. Find out what he thinks about it here!
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Only a handful of producers are able to make hairsprings, most of which are large-scale industry suppliers. But a few watch brands manufacture their own using recipes and processes they keep close to their hearts. Bovet is one of these rare few manufacturers. Take a walk through the factory here thanks to The Watches TV, one in which cameras are usually not allowed.
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The curved edges of the case of the Parmigiani Kalpa Kalparisma Snow ensure that, whatever the angle or direction, there are always diamonds catching light and reflecting it back as a bright galaxy of scintillating fires. It’s the incredible expanse of sparkle that makes snow-set watches so extraordinary, and this new watch is a prime example.
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The longer Quill & Pad reader Thomas enjoys the world of watches, the more people he meets, and the more collectors he talks to, the more he asks himself, "Why don’t we include children, children’s watches, and pay more attention to this group of potential collectors and customers to ensure the future?"
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To mark its 50th anniversary in 2009, the International Museum of Horology in Le Locle, Switzerland launched an international chronometry competition. This effectively broke a long drought of 37 years since the last timing trial, which was held by the Observatory of Neuchâtel back in 1972. So what's going on now?
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Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini have a special relationship: the watches that have so far come from this still relatively young collaboration have not only been impressive but also suck you into the world of Lamborghini without a car even being in sight. It is almost like the watchmakers at Roger Dubuis have infused this watch with motor oil and replaced the ticking of the escapement with the growl of an Italian high-performance engine. And the Excalibur Huracán Performante is all the evidence you need!
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Bond girls often dazzle us with their brains and beauty, but for the upcoming twenty-fifth James Bond movie, 'No Time to Die,' Chopard jewels are also set to do some dazzling. The Swiss brand will have some of its most stunning creations worn in the movie by Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas playing Paloma, this film’s Bond girl. Martin Green fills us in on which diamonds will grace her character.
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The Bovet Virtuoso IX combines a (double-face) flying tourbillon with two time zones, large date, an impressive power reserve of ten days, plus the brand's patented Amadeo convertible case. What more need we say?
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If a friend dropped by for a chat and a drink and pulled out a couple of these whopper Romeo & Julieta Maravillas 8 Cuban cigars, Ken Gargett thinks you would have an enjoyable afternoon, but probably not think a lot about the cigars. He thought the one he smoked was fine, pleasant and consistent, but no fireworks. And then there's the elephant in the room: the price.
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Ever since the Bulgari Octo Finissimo premiered in 2017 George Cramer has been very attracted to the model, but was also afraid that the case would be too large for his wrist. But in Paris one day, he tried an Octo Finissimo on in the Bulgari boutique and was immediately convinced that it was perfect and also very comfortable. But he then had to decide which version was his favorite.
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Many of the great marques in the history of watchmaking were driven by prominent figures who ended up with a watch named after them. Such was the case for both Louis Cartier and Pierre Arpels. Both were born into jewelry and watch dynasties and both made prominent marks on the histories of their respective houses. How else are they intertwined? Martin Green explains here.
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