Indholdsfortegnelse for Vol 21 i REVOLUTION WATCH

It isn’t a mere statement of the moment when we propound that the future of watchmaking is both physical and digital. In fact, in every sector, not only is e-commerce here to stay, but it has also become a core part of our generational make-up. And breaking new ground in the market by reaching out to a new environment of consumers is the only chance at future-proofing the watch industry. After a hesitant start, brands such as TAG Heuer, Longines, Zenith and Bremont have all embraced e-commerce in one way or another. Most recently, IWC Schaffhausen also announced their global partnership with leading e-commerce platforms Net-a-Porter and Mr. Porter within the luxury incumbent Richemont Group. But as the watch industry has made room for a diversity of players, so too…

Here at Revolution, we’ve never been particularly discreet about our love of the Bulgari Octo Finissimo — be it the tourbillon or minute repeater that are ultra-thin record-breakers in their respective categories, or the time-only with its stunning mix of ultra-modern muscularity and refined elegance. Thus, it is with great honor and privilege that we present you the Bulgari-Revolution Octo Finissimo Petite Seconde, a limited-edition timepiece created specially for us by Bulgari. The watch, first unveiled to distinguished guests and friends of the maison at the Bulgari Marina Bay Sands boutique in Singapore, is the first titanium ultra-thin small-seconds Octo in the brand’s history. Says Guido Terreni, CEO of Bulgari’s watch division: “I like this as an expression of our relationship, because Revolution has always been a magazine about connecting…

Watches and cars just seem to go together, and the Bal Harbour Shops, located in Bal Harbour, Florida, USA, celebrated both during its inaugural “Collectors Weekend.” From November 3–6, watch and car lovers from all over America and Latin America converged on Bal Harbour. Thursday and Friday, November 3 and 4, were the watch days, where participating brands showcased their finest mechanical watches, offered special events in their boutiques and, in the center of the Shops, panel discussions were held with luminaries from the watch industry. Hosted by Keith W. Strandberg, Editor-in-Chief of Revolution USA, the topics of the panels included: ? “The History, Present and Future of Independent Brands” (featuring Pierre Halimi, brand manager of F.P. Journe; Michael Friedman, historian for Audemars Piguet; and Daniel Novela, head of the…

As suits its British roots, Bremont has this year decided not to take its wares to Baselworld, choosing instead to launch its 2017 collection on home turf. Creating its own UK-based watch event, this February the brand took up temporary residence in a London townhouse affectionately nicknamed “Basel-on-Thames” by the Bremont team (right). Alongside its new collection, Bremont also exhibited some of its military commissions to the press and other visitors for the first time. New releases included the Airco watches (far right), named after one of the first manufacturers of British military aeroplanes – the Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited. Co-founder Giles English describes the watches as: “Very simple, very classic pilots' watches that really wouldn't have looked out of place in the cockpit of a Spitfire or Hurricane.” Several…

Cupboards, dressers, nightstands: check ‘em all: To celebrate its 185th anniversary, Longines is launching a search for the UK and Ireland’s oldest Longines watch. The hunt runs from 6 March to 28 May 2016, and customers are invited to share their pictures and stories with the brand across social media. During the period, weekly highlights will feature “the most engaging stories” on Longines GB’s Facebook page. The company wants to hear about grandparents’ cherished pocket watches, or parents’ treasured wedding gifts, even including pieces that may not be old, but which have stories to tell – like the 1944 Longines watch that belonged to the father of Revolution’s Editor-at-Large. Entries should be posted with the #oldestlonginesuk and #oldestlonginesie or via the enquiries section on longines.com. Entries can also be submitted…

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that the watch of choice for the legendary Riviera playboys of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s would be the modern Bulgari Octo Finissimo. Why so, you ask? Why not an ultra-rare three-colored screw-pusher RCO “Paul Newman” Daytona with tropical seconds track? Well, because there is something of a cliché today related to wearing vintage watches–in many ways, they have become the millennial equivalent to the skeletonized double tourbillon, a way to instantly state, “Look how much money I have,” without opening your mouth or wallet. And as such, a true playboy, one whose objective is to unite intellect and erudition with his libertine impulses, is not going to take the path most traveled. Because if he’s wearing the same watch…

BREGUET TRADITION DAME MOVEMENT Caliber 505SR self-winding movement; hours and minutes; retrograde seconds CASE 37mm; 18K rose gold with diamond-set bezel; water-resistant to 30m STRAP White leather with rose-gold buckle Breguet’s Tradition collection is a unique blend of watchmaking mastery, traditional styling and cutting-edge innovation that was originally released in 2005 as homage to (and inspired by) Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Souscription watches. The Souscription watches were born out of Breguet’s time when he sought refuge in Switzerland. He had the idea for clients to reserve watches with a down payment (hence, souscription in French). The caliber he created at the time was especially elegant, with the barrel at the center of the watch and a symmetrical layout for the train. Over 200 years later, Breguet created the Tradition collection, an offering…

HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO GMT MOVEMENT HUB 1251, UNICO self-winding movement CASE 45mm diameter; satin-finished and polished titanium or carbon fibre STRAP Ribbed black and blue rubber In 2011, Hublot launched the King Power UNICO GMT, a daring exploit that utilized four rotating satellites to display 24 timezones at once. While it was, beyond debate, an impressive movement, it proved to be — as with most GMT watches — a bit of a learning curve to comprehend and operate. However, in Geneva this year, the manufacture had launched the first Big Bang GMT, a watch that appears to be damning antithesis of the latter in the best possible way. The ingenuity of this watch lies in a patented module integrated into the Hublot UNICO cal. HUB1251, which enables the second…

CHANEL PREMIÈRE CAMELLIA SKELETON MOVEMENT Calibre 2 in-house, manual-winding skeleton movement depicting a 3D camellia flower; power reserve of 48 hours; 107 components; antishock system on the balance CASE 28.5 x 37mm white-gold case set with 47 baguette-cut diamonds STRAP White-gold bracelet set with 282 baguette-cut diamonds with white-gold double folding buckle set with 30 brilliant cut diamonds. The Première became one of Chanel’s most successful timepieces after its debut in 1987. The unique lozenge-shaped case comes directly from the outline of the Place Vendôme in Paris when viewed from above. A symbol of romance and luxury, it was first used by Mademoiselle Chanel in 1924 when it was adopted as the shape of the bottle stopper for her signature No. 5 perfume. Since its launch, the Première has become…

PORSCHE DESIGN MONOBLOC ACTUATOR MOVEMENT Automatic ETA Valjoux 7754; chronograph; GMT function CASE 45.5mm glass bead-blasted titanium STRAP Titanium bracelet, folding clasp or black rubber with LaserFlex texture and folding clasp Cars aside, mention of “Porsche Design” conjures up images of sublimely beautiful products, from Lacie hard-drives to Huawei mobile phones. And while Porsche Design has a long history of timepieces made with or for them by brands including IWC and Eterna, the company is now a stand-alone manufacturer. In conversation with Rolf Bergmann, CEO Porsche Design Timepieces, and Gerhard Novak, the brand’s General Manager, it was made clear that the company is concentrating on sporting watches with direct reference to automotive tropes, and their literature likens various actions to those of valve stems, hydraulics and other aspects of car…

The original Autavia was offered in a choice of two- or three-register models, both of them manual-winding chronographs with black and white dials in round stainless-steel cases. By the end of its run, however, the watch had been produced with a dazzling array of dials, cases, hands, movements, bezels and bracelets. Throughout its life, there were basically two styles of Autavia — the models from 1962 to 1969 used traditional round cases and were powered by manual-wind movements, while the models from 1969 used C-shaped cases, to house both the new automatic movements and the manual-wind versions. In this article, we look at the models — and there were close to 25 — offered by Heuer from 1962 to 1969. In a subsequent article, we will cover the Autavias produced…

First things first, the RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultralight McLaren F1 has a mouthful of a name. And one that’s just a tad incongruous, seeing how the high-octane sport that’s inspired Richard Mille’s ultra-light orange dynamo is one where every millisecond counts. A quick office straw poll tells us it takes nearly five full seconds for most of us to read that lengthy name out. Bonus points to the overachievers out there who broke the four-second mark. You know who you are. While we’re on the subject, “firsts” are something of a theme when it comes to the RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split Seconds Chronograph Ultralight McLaren F1 — or the RM 50-03, as we’ll happily address it from here on out. A “racing machine for the wrist” in…

I have always wanted to visit Norway, ever since my grandmother told me that our family descended from the Vikings (we all have platinum blonde hair) and my dentist confirmed my ancestry by informing me that I had a Norwegian jaw (not sure what this meant exactly, but he had obviously taken a course in dental anthropology). So when my mother invited me to join her on an all-expenses-paid cruise up the Norwegian Fjords, it sparked my interest. Now, I would like to say that I “jumped at the chance,” but to be honest the idea of cruising filled me with dread. I blame James Cameron's epic romance-disaster film Titanic for fueling my unease of crossing the North Sea in a multistory floating hotel. But my mother is a persuasive…

Military design details are prevalent in civilian products from both the 20th and 21st centuries. In men’s fashion, for instance, reinterpretations of garments initially produced for the armed forces litter the collections of today’s designers. According to menswear stylist and FT How To Spend It columnist Tom Stubbs: “Men love can-do clothing that’s evolved for a reason–especially if that reason is dangerous, macho, state-of-the-art, brutal and no nonsense.” And the watch world is no different. Alongside the direct reissues of military watches from a brand’s back catalog –look at the Longines Weems Second- Setting Watch or 2016’s sold-out Zenith Heritage Cronometro Tipo CP-2–it’s a sure bet that come every SIHH and Baselworld fair, the good, the bad and the ugly of contemporary horology will present countless newly conceived timepieces inspired…

The strengthening of the “Swiss Made” ordinance for watches by the Swiss Federal Council is excellent news, not only for consumers, but manufacturers too. The term “Swiss Made” has long been associated with watches, and consumers often identify the “watch” as a product with Switzerland as the country behind it. This reputation has been forged for centuries and well-known sayings like “as accurate as a Swiss watch” still exist today. When Jean Calvin, an influential figure in the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, banned the wearing of decorative jewelry in the mid-16th century, the city’s goldsmiths and jewelers had to turn to watchmaking. This marked the birth of the unique watchmaking tradition in Switzerland and the country went on to build an unrivaled reputation and know-how in this field. It is…

I would say that ambassadors are incredibly important because they act as a bridge between product and potential customers–personifying the values of a company and making it easier for people to identify themselves with a brand. It’s good to have a reference in a living person, as it is human nature for people–especially younger people–to look to their heroes and want to be like them. I would say that the most important thing is that when choosing an ambassador you have to make sure that they are right for the brand. Our ambassadors are always Hublot buyers and wearers before we approach them. It is important that the company has already touched them, that they understand it. If somebody is not into the brand, or even watches, then how can…

Some people say they don’t like fighting, just as some people say they don’t like watches. But if you persuaded the most hardcore horology-denier to spend some time getting to know one or two of the lovely watches on the pages of this magazine, you can guarantee that sooner or later he would start to have warm feelings for them. Equally, if you think that you have no interest in combat sports, I challenge you to watch a few UFC fights. You may discover that you love it, or at the very least you will find it grimly fascinating. Because there is a bit of warrior in all of us. Many of us like to think that we have evolved past our primitive instincts, but underneath the layers of morals…

Tell me a bit about how the Stern family acquired and developed Patek Philippe. At the time [in the 1930s], there were two brothers in the Stern family — one ran Patek Philippe and the other ran a dial factory. Back then, there was a major crisis [at Patek] and the business that was doing well was the dial factory. Patek was not really in good shape. A new biography on the manufacture [entitled Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography] will highlight a series of interesting letters back and forth on how Patek was the bad business and how the dial factory was the really strong business. But a few years after the acquisition, the Stern family pushed Patek Philippe to start making new movements and new cases. The tide began…

How did you get involved in CrossFit? Sandro Reginelli, CEO Hautlence: I have participated in sports my whole life. I used to play soccer when I was very young and wanted to be a professional soccer player. When I was introduced to CrossFit, I found it amazing because it is really the most complete sport—you exercise everything. What’s unique about CrossFit is that you quickly find out that you cannot be good at everything. As a manager, you are able to bring people on board who will help you with all the things that you aren’t good at—but in CrossFit, with the exception of your coach, you are by yourself. It’s up to you to get it done. And there is a parallel to what I’m doing as a CEO;…

Do you remember your first watch? MM: I got my first watch when I was about 12 years old; it was one of my father’s watches with a silver band. I went to school with Illaria Bulgari, who was a very good friend of mine, and she had the most incredible watch collections ever. When I saw those, I wanted my own collection. I developed that watch envy very early on. My godfather George Balanchine traveled the world to put on his ballets. Every time he returned from a different place he would always bring me a gift. He bought me watches, handbags and jewelry. The last watch he gave me was a gold Omega with a patent leather band from Switzerland. He also brought me a really interesting clear…

The watch world lost one of its few genuine icons when Walter Lange passed away in January. How important was he to A. Lange & Söhne? In his modest way, Walter Lange sometimes referred to himself as “a bridge to the past”, but this is only one side of the coin. With his courageous decision to re-establish A. Lange & Söhne in Glashütte, right after the German reunification, he built a bridge for the future of our company and for the German fine watchmaking industry as a whole. So he was an important presence for the watch industry in general? I think it is not too much to say that Walter Lange was one of the best ambassadors of haute horlogerie ever. His success and his example has inspired watchmakers…

This was an easy one to write. Am I allowed to say that? This isn’t exactly controversial territory. The highlights reel is always going to be the most straightforward selection of all. One may engage in endless debate on which watches provide the most consumer value, or which watches constitute the most evolved examples of modern watchmaking, but you just ask anyone what the defining watches of the 2017 SIHH were and 99 times out of 100 you’ll get the same few candidates over and over again. You can ignore the one-percenters– they’re either trying to sound clever by throwing in a contrarian opinion, or they’ve over-analyzed things, or they just don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Or it could be a combination of all three. To celebrate…

It is an intimidating question: what do women really want? Since we’re not a collective consciousness, it’s difficult to say. As a woman myself, I’ve taken on the daunting and, frankly, Himalayan task to be the apparent sole voice of my gender—at least, for when it comes down to what watches we want. After a week at SIHH, here’s a studious collection of what the watch fair had to offer women; our coup de coeur for the beginning of the watch year, as voted on by the female editors at Revolution. In the hustle and bustle of SIHH, there was a rare and significant moment of quiet when Van Cleef & Arpels presented to the press its statement piece, the Lady Arpels Papillon Automate watch. The silence was due to…

The shake-up within the Richemont Group is coming swift and hard, as a result of what Bloomberg is reporting to be a rather disgruntled Mr. Johann Rupert wanting to see a younger, more diverse mix of executives in the Group’s leadership, in the wake of their less-than-ideal performance in the last quarters. For now, the reported CEO departures are: Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Daniel Riedo, who according to Reuters is departing to pursue alternate opportunities at the end of February; Juan-Carlos Torres of Vacheron Constantin and Piaget’s Philippe Léopold-Metzger, who will both retire but remain as non-executive presidents on the Group Board. Vacheron Constantin has since appointed the role of the CEO to Louis Ferla, who is presently the company’s managing director of sales and marketing. He will be taking up office on…

Bulova announced its partnership with The Recording Academy in June 2016 and this February saw the watch brand take part in its first Grammy Awards as Official Timepiece Partner. The three-year collaboration will see Bulova “create special-edition products, [and take part in] red carpet events and promotional activities”. The first watches to be released were a trio of special-edition Precisionist models launched last December. All three watches are designed in a Grammy-appropriate black and gold colour scheme and feature the Grammy Awards logo on the dials at 9 o’clock. Founded in the 1950s as the music industry’s equivalent of the Oscars, the first awards ceremony was held on 4 May 1959 in Los Angeles and New York simultaneously. This year’s event, held in LA’s Staples Center, pulled in millions of…

The evolution of IWC’s Da Vinci collection over the years can be likened to the process in a person’s life when he or she finally makes the transition from young adulthood into a period of mature adulthood, when a person has developed a strong sense of self that is uniquely his or her own and, with the impetuousness of youth falling away, is better able to use his or her perspectives to regulate emotions and plan for the long term. This process of attaining maturity requires experience, hard work, a dose of self-awareness and, most importantly, time. When achieved, it projects a sense of solidity, stillness and a quiet sensibility rooted in the confidence of one with a strong identity and purpose. Finally, when the rough edges are gone, and…

CARTIER DRIVE DE CARTIER EXTRA-FLAT MOVEMENT Manual-winding caliber 430 MC; hours and minutes; 43-hour power reserve CASE 38mm; rose gold or white gold (limited to 200 pieces); water-resistant to 30m STRAP Semi-matte brown or gray alligator skin You wouldn’t have found yourself alone had you walked up to the Cartier booth at SIHH 2017, wondering what the maison would unveil in celebration of the Tank’s 100th anniversary. But, of course, we know now that the closest thing to the Tank that Cartier was showing at the fair was the 2017 Panthère de Cartier, which was a much younger icon first introduced in 1983 but taken off the Cartier catalogs some ten years ago. The maison, however, seems to be adding ever-new icons to its treasure chest quicker than most people…

MORITZ GROSSMANN ATUM SKELETT MOVEMENT Manual-winding Moritz Grossmann caliber 100.5 CASE 41mm 18k rose-gold or white-gold case STRAP Handstitched alligator leather The skeletonizing of this stunning piece, the Moritz Grossmann ATUM Skelett, was done in a small workshop in Switzerland’s Siberia, Le Brévine–the workplace of one of the acknowledged masters of this discipline, Christophe Schaffo. In his atelier, Schaffo creates incredible skeletonized watches entirely by hand–the work so intense, he only does about 10 watches per year. Schaffo combines technology, craftsmanship and artistic creativity, and the results are spellbinding. The starting point of this unique piece is the Moritz Grossmann caliber 100.1, from which Schaffo removes as much material as he can, enhancing the artistic creativity of the watch while at the same time leaving enough material to ensure its…

MEISTERSINGER NEO PLUS MOVEMENT Swiss-made automatic movement; 38-hour power reserve CASE 40mm stainless steel; screwed back; water-resistant to 30m STRAP Suede, in colours complementing the dial Some years before MeisterSinger arrived on the scene in 2001, a well-known watchmaker pointed out to me that the advent of larger watches encouraged the revival of the single-hand timepiece. It simply made sense, especially for those who are appalled by unnecessary complexity. And as MeisterSinger has cleverly insinuated, reading one of their watches requires a bit more than the snap observation of a pair of hands with a tell-tale angle relationship. You need to read a MeisterSinger. Single-hand timepieces date back to the earliest portable watches, used centuries ago because it halved the complexity of powering two hands. Moreover, the size of a…

If you had to come up with three adjectives to describe MB&F, what would they be? You might think at first that the whole point of a brand like MB&F is that they can’t be neatly defined or categorized; nevertheless, there are descriptors that surface more often than others. You’ll probably come up with some variations of the following: three-dimensional, incendiary, anything goes. The latest Horological Machine from Max Büsser’s creative labs draws elements from the legendary North American race series that ran between 1966 and 1987, the Canadian-American Challenge Cup. So if you’re anything like me and have no knowledge of car stuff, here’s the 411 — the Can-Am (as the race was popularly known) was insanely relaxed about construction limitations, including engine capacity, and became something of a…

It is an irony worth savoring that this hi-tech, futuristic hydro-mechanical gadget we present to you is but inspired by one of the nobles legacies of watchmaking tradition — the pocket watch. In fact, it is through this latest timepiece, the HYT Skull Pocket, that the brand touches on some of watchmaking’s most salient themes today, such as the reconfiguration of a user’s experience with time, the creative reinterpretation of history and the unexpected use of unconventional materials, which are currently forming a zeitgeist in the industry. It was half the battle won when the brand emerged as the first watchmaker to embrace liquid engineering in a mechanical watch, to the astonishment of a trade that spent decades waging war against it. Nuclear physicist Lucien Vouillamoz, together with a team…

January 17, 2017, the second day of SIHH, began as any other, with journalists waking up to attend one of the most important watch fairs of the industry. Yet as the day wore on, it became evident that a somber mood was infiltrating the halls, as each member of the press became aware, by word of mouth, of the sad news — in the early morning, Walter Lange, the esteemed patriarch of A. Lange & Söhne, had passed away at the age of 92. For many in the watch community, it was the realization that the end of an era had come. Walter Lange had, in his lifetime, given his heart and soul to a brand that many have come to respect and love, and in doing so, he had…

Anticipation stirs the imagination like nothing else. We consider the situation that we will have sometime in the future as distinctly better than what we have now purely because we want what we do not have. Consequently, in that liminal space between having and not having, we experience the full spectrum of emotional pleasure, buoyed by the mental drama we can enjoy right now. And emotional pleasure, in essence, is what the brand new 2017 Slim d’Hermès L’heure Impatiente is all about. In line with the other seminal watches from the brand that ply their appeal in the whimsical arena of complicated watchmaking, this new watch adds yet another dimension to the brand’s unique philosophy of time. There is no doubt that, in the realm of the emotional complication, Hermès…

At Baselworld 2016, our President, Shinji Hattori, announced his intention to increase the number of Seiko boutiques to 100 in the coming years. At the end of 2016, the number has already risen to 73, with several more at an advanced stage of development. From this you will see that our enthusiasm for having a strong network of Seiko boutiques is undiminished and that, even in challenging times, we are continuing with our steady expansion of these outlets. There are several reasons for our commitment to this policy. First, we believe passionately that consumers deserve the best possible information about the Seiko world and its products. Ours is a very diverse collection that incorporates a wider range of watch movements and designs than that offered by any other watchmaker. With…

Breguet’s new Classique 7147 with enamel dial wouldn’t look out of place in an exhibit at a watchmaking museum. Place it among Abraham-Louis Breguet’s (1747-1823) masterpieces from the 18th and 19th centuries and the only thing that would possibly give it away would be the shininess of its scratch-free new gold case. Everything about the watch celebrates its founder’s craft, from the exquisite handmade grand feu enamel dial to the refined case and the intricate movement. Perfectly illustrating Breguet’s passion for bringing the past into the present, the Classique 7147 couldn’t be more timeless. DIALLING BACK TO THE PAST The enamel-dialled watch honours Breguet's work in every way. The first thing that catches the eye in this new timepiece is the pure white dial that has been produced using the…

The wristwatch has undoubtedly become a statement item for the modern man, but, believe it or not, it was women who first made the statement. Dating all the way back to the 16th century, wristwatches were seen as a feminine pursuit. While men proudly sported pocket watches, it was women that were the first to wear watches on their wrists, primarily in the form of jewelry. Although certainly admirable for their elegant and artistic exterior, their function was not of much consequence. In the 19th century, many manufacturers such as Vacheron Constantin and IWC were producing lavishly decorated bracelet watches for women, adorned with jewels set in elaborate case designs. A slightly later example would be a 1950s platinum Rolex bracelet watch that we offered recently in our December 6…

For this year, the Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed-Gold watch is made using a new technique — was it inspired by something that was seen before or is it something that is completely new? It’s the same technique that we use for hands. Yes, but in terms of the usage of this technique for decorative métiers d’art, is it new? It’s new in watchmaking, but it’s not new in art. We discovered this technique from a French artist. He usually works with big elements, but we decided to challenge the limitations and see if we can apply it within the confines of the dial of a watch. We like how the light and colors play on the dial. I find this very interesting. If the artist is used to working…

One of the things that we spoke about the last time was what you wanted to do with L.U.C, and you mentioned that there were a number of complications that you have not completed yet. From what I see today with the Full Strike, you’ve basically completed all the major complications in watchmaking. In a way you can say that the L.U.C line is complete. In a way it’s complete, but of course, there are still things to do (laughs). Would your next steps be refining the collections as they are already? I think after the minute repeater, you can still aspire to do something even more interesting, like maybe the next step, the Grand Sonnerie? And looking at our chronograph, you can still think of a second function, and so…

Jeff Hess knows so much about watches, he’s probably forgotten more than I’ll ever know. The owner of retail watch stores in Florida (and an art gallery) and the head of US distribution for Ball, Mühle-Glashütte, MeisterSinger, Anonimo and others, Hess is one person who really knows what he is doing. Luckily, I recently had the good fortune to be able to pick Hess’s (JH) brain about watches, the watch industry and the future. You are something of a historian of the watch industry. When you look at the watch industry in general, how are things different today than 100 years ago? JH: Here are some thoughts...obviously: 1) wristwatches were starting to be popular in 1917; 2) The Swiss had overtaken the market, wresting it away from the Americans; 3)…

How are you enjoying your role as President of Omega? It's incredible to have this role after all these years. I started at Omega in 1996 and at the Swatch Group in 1992 – I expected it to be for a year to gain business experience, but it became a passion of my life. Originally I was a Sales and Marketing Project Manager, becoming VP of Sales in 2001 and this new role is a huge opportunity. I have given a lot of energy to the brand over the years and being offered the chance to see it as President is very interesting – it is a pleasure and gives me a huge sense of pride to lead the company. What have been your priorities? I want to motivate people…

Thank goodness for the dictionary and the thesaurus: all languages have words with multiple meanings, so it’s easy to check that the theme of this issue-“conflict” (as a noun) doesn't only mean war and it isn’t always negative. Indeed, in a non-militaristic context, it does inspire and drive thinkers and doers, inventors and designers, and artists and musicians to new heights. It can be internal, as in: “Should I really have another slice of cake?” Or it can mean, “a serious disagreement or argument”. It is often grand and global, such as: “The eternal conflict between the sexes.” Or it can describe another type of non-bloodthirsty confrontation; for example, doctors coming into conflict with politicians, or two generations in the same field with opposing views, such as musicians or artists.…

As watch journalists we are constantly drawn towards exciting complications, different ways to read the time groundbreaking technology, new materials, and anything that has the “wow” factor. But very often, the most beautiful watches don’t scream or jump up and down, they don’t catch your eye with a million carats, or fascinate you with their mechanics, they just tell you the time in the most elegant and diligent way possible. These two–or three-handed timepieces are not always the easiest to find at the SIHH. They don’t tend to hang out in the front showcases of the salon; they rarely get screen time in press conferences or texts written in their honor, and forget the photos with beautiful people in lifestyle situations! Strangely enough though, these discreet timekeepers are often the…

By accident or design, this category has been handed to a known disparager of complications. Perhaps my inability to be impressed by useless functions or arcane technical solutions graces me with a more critical eye, rather than the usual drooling sycophancy. While the consensus was that SIHH 2017 exhibited a new rationalism, with lower prices, targeting the less-plutocratic, it still played host to myriad tourbillons, repeaters and a watch from Richard Mille nudging the one million Swiss franc mark. Everyone was in on the act, mainly with single, clever ideas rather than the usual, forced, overwhelming plethora of complications squeezed into an individual case. Grönefeld’s 1941 Remontoire showcased the eponymous, rarely seen constant-force technology, while Montblanc upped stopwatch precision with the TimeWalker 1000th of a Second Chronograph. Greubel Forsey issued…

The world we live in is hurtling with increasing intensity towards the future–the new becomes old in the blink of an eye and we get ever more desperate for that hit of dopamine that comes from the next big innovation. But, while the floodgates are open, there are moments when through the mire we see true innovation emerge, lighting the path towards the future. Many of the watches that were particularly memorable at this year’s SIHH have made their mark by using advancements at the very edge of science, adding to the current body of watchmaking know-how instead of reusing pre-existing ideas. Stronger, lighter, more resilient to wear-and-tear or just so intensely black that there can be “none more black,” material innovation once again led the way in Geneva. The…

No, these are not watches that have some state-of-the-art radar evasive mechanical technology worked into them that everyone else at SIHH 2017 missed talking about. Quite simply, these are a few watches from the show that we thought had impressive qualities, which, nonetheless, never really got picked up by most radars beeping away out at Palexpo. In certain instances, these were also the watches that perhaps need to be experienced in person to be fully understood. So, while you’re reading this, go ahead and call your local dealer to set up that personal experience. We’ll begin with the one that really made us do a double take and, essentially, gave rise to this category: the Piaget Altiplano 40mm watches with their patinated dials. These are unlike the blue pair that…

On January 29, the world witnessed a breathtaking victory at the 2017 Australian Open in Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne — 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours and 37 minutes that resulted in Roger Federer becoming the first man to take five or more titles at three grand slam events. Both players in this final have had legendary careers characterized by a respectful rivalry. Up till then, Rafael Nadal and Federer had played against each other 34 times in professional tournaments, nine times at grand slams and six of which, including the 2009 Australian Open finals, were won by Nadal. At the age of 35, with six months spent away from court last year nursing a knee injury, the finish was a true demonstration of why Federer holds the…

“What’s the best dive watch?” I get that question a lot, since over the past decade I’ve had the opportunity to take well over two dozen different watches diving in almost every imaginable scenario—inside deep wrecks, with tiger sharks, breath-hold freediving and even under the ice. The fact is, it doesn’t take much to make a good dive watch. Even from the earliest days of this aquatic breed of timepiece, most watch companies got the formula right. And that’s because dive watches have a pretty simple design brief: track elapsed time accurately and legibly, while being sturdy enough to go underwater and endure some rough treatment. Even the first dive watches did that pretty well. So every one that has come since has just aimed to improve on those basic…

Back in the days when life for me revolved around Haribo and holidays and people in their mid-twenties seemed old beyond all belief, there was a short-lived American TV show called Square Pegs. It told the story of two teenage girls who sat on the edge of the normal high school cliques. Clever and quirky, they epitomised unconventional beauty, never quite managing to fit in to the traditional stereotypes. Although the show ended before the characters blossomed, one of its quirky stars grew up to become the doyenne of contemporary, cutting-edge fashion, the woman every girl aspired to be: Sex in the City’s Carrie Bradshaw. You see, sometimes when things are a little different, a little more complex than the everyday, they take a little longer to find their place.…

BELL & ROSS BR 03-92 HOROGRAPH & BR 03-92 HOROLUM MOVEMENT BR-CAL.302 self-winding movement; hours, minutes, seconds, date CASE 42mm diameter; bead-blasted steel case STRAP Black rubber and ultra-resistant black synthetic fabric; gray-green calfskin and ultra-resistant black synthetic fabric After a spate of horological gymnastics, where the brand stretched its technical and creative muscles with a series of heavy hitters such as the Hyperstellar, AeroGT and the impossibly stunning Sapphire Tourbillon, Bell & Ross kick-starts the pre-Baselworld announcements with a pair of palate cleansers: the BR 03-92 Horograph and the BR 03-92 Horolum, two dignified, back-to-basics watches that amplify the brand’s aeronautical core values of supreme functionality and visibility. The smart and uncluttered dial of the Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Horograph (from the Latin “Hora” for hour and “Graph”…

HARRY WINSTON PREMIER ROOSTER AUTOMATIC 36M MOVEMENT Self-winding movement; hours and minutes. CASE 36mm diameter; 18-carat rose gold case. STRAP Black satin. With the watch world celebrating Chinese New Year, the limited editions associated with the Chinese Zodiac signs have seemingly evolved into a sub-genre overnight. Of course, these watches typically feature the animal connected to the zodiac sign of that particular year, but most brands go a step further by interpreting the zodiac animal in ways that are historically and culturally meaningful, with the most extraordinary savoir-faire we so often take for granted in watchmaking. One spectacular case in point in this year of the “Fire Rooster” comes from Harry Winston, which, aptly enough, showcases the beautiful and highly technical art of grand feu enameling. In this 18K rose-gold…

BLANCPAIN FIFTY FATHOMS BATHYSCAPHE 38MM MOVEMENT Automatic Calibre 1150; twin barrels; 100-hour power reserve CASE 38mm stainless steel with blue bezel; sapphire back STRAP Padded blue sail canvas Back in 2010, I was fortunate to attend an exhibition in Paris in honour of the Fifty Fathoms. Even though I had long worshipped the watch – roughly tied with the Rolex Submariner as the protean example of the modern diving watch – I left the event overwhelmed. I had no idea whatsoever how many types there were, far beyond the half-dozen variants I knew. It was enough that Blancpain, aided by French watch journalist and Fifty Fathoms devotee Stephan Ciejka, had assembled something like 300 watches. Faced with them in one room, the sheer variety was staggering. One knew immediately that…

For the most part of watchmaking, watches targeted solely at women have historically served as the horological equivalent of the buxom blonde stereotype; pleasing on the outside with little going on inside. As a result, it became the most natural and common phenomenon for the modern woman — with educated tastes and means — to wear timepieces originally designed for men. Throw in gem-setting for the sake of it, sickly colors, an even more clichéd feminist tagline, and we wonder why the reverse doesn’t ever occur. But at SIHH this year, Audemars Piguet seemed to be on to something with a watch suitably pitched for the women’s market, yet is fast becoming a man’s guilty pleasure: the Royal Oak Frosted Gold. This was a radical intervention to say the least,…

Whether it’s the extraordinary load-bearing flying buttresses at the Chartres Cathedral, the streamlined trains of Raymond Loewy, or the air scoops in one of Flavio Manzoni’s award-winning Ferraris, the details in great design have always come about through function and performance defining the very architecture of the aesthetic form. And in modern watchmaking, there is no single timepiece that more perfectly represents the symbiosis between unlimited performance and thoroughly seductive design than the extraordinary Tudor Pelagos. With its name derived from the Greek word referring to the deep sea, the Tudor Pelagos represents the single greatest value in the dive watch sector; it is an example of supreme ethical pricing, as well as an amazing technical innovation, in an era lacking in true creativity and where watch prices have veered…

Make no mistake. There is a war going on. Not a war fought in trenches with guns, knives or fists. But a war for the hearts and minds of the modern watch consumer. A war that, by and large, the Swiss watch industry, at least the part of the industry that is related to making new watches, is losing. Sure, there are exceptions to this. Brands like Richard Mille, Hublot, Audemars Piguet, Rolex and Tudor are soaring to ever-greater heights. Because they have critically distinguished themselves by moving beyond the limiting confines of “watch connoisseur” brands and become global luxury lifestyle brands. They have embedded themselves into the consciousness of the consumers so successfully that their watches are a symbol of access into an exclusive club that the people who…

Oris is a watch brand based in the Swiss German part of Switzerland, known for its seriousness about watchmaking and value, yet the brand has a decidedly playful spirit. Its collection juxtaposes elegant watches with sports, pilots and diving watches, setting it apart from other Swiss brands. After all, their slogan is “real watches for real people.” This separation was never clearer than when I skied down a black run in Zermatt, the Matterhorn looming over the piste, trying to catch up to Rolf Studer, the brand’s co-CEO, as he led us through this incredible ski resort, en route to the brand’s Basel novelties presentation. Now, Studer is a fantastic skier, as is Rico Steiner, region manager for Oris, but they were very patient with me, an enthusiastic, if very…

I recently toured the Montblanc manufacturing facilities in Le Locle and the famous Minerva manufacture in Villeret, all of which was very enjoyable and extremely impressive. The thing that really stood out to me was the Montblanc 500 Hour Test that the majority of Montblanc watches are obliged to undergo. Obliged by whom? Is this some sort of industry-mandated requirement? No, it’s just something that Montblanc itself does. Something done by no other brand in the industry. Making it all the more impressive. As Montblanc explains in its own press materials: “The ‘500-Hour Test’ for all manufacture watches from Montblanc Le Locle is an iron-clad guarantee for reliability, an accurate rate and longevity, i.e. the three principal criteria by which fine mechanical wristwatches are judged. Reliability is crucial so that…

The motion–that in the 21st century every watchmaking company should have an in-house movement– is one that I whole-heartedly support. I will put forward my side of the argument with the following three points: in-house movements ensure independence in the watchmaking industry; the ability to produce in-house movements demonstrates a watchmaking company’s technical skills; and in-house movements enable companies to control the quality of the timepieces they produce. Firstly, in-house movements have now become essential for a company’s independence in the watchmaking industry. For example, when the 2015 uncoupling of the Swiss franc and Euro currencies negatively impacted all the watchmaking companies that source parts or entire watch movements from Switzerland, Nomos Glashütte remained relatively unaffected. This is because we produce our own movements and indeed almost all the parts…

The brand boutique is a relatively recent development. The trend started, in general, as a way to present a manicured brand image–an extension of marketing. Initially, it was even pitched to the retailers that the boutiques were here to help us! However, something happened, and it is not good. The manufacturers now see the boutique business as an opportunity to compete with and undermine their retailers. My first negative experience came whilst managing Hochfield Jewelers in Aspen, CO. We brought a star watchmaker to town on multiple occasions to develop our business with the brand and strengthen the relationship with our clients. We were immensely successful and sold many, many of these watches. So much so that the company decided to cut us out and open their own boutique. This…

Implausible stories pepper the history of watches, but how rare and joyous must it be for a watch enthusiast to discover that his family founded an admired British watch brand? And that it contributed a model to the Dirty Dozen? (For a detailed account of all 12 watches see page 204.) Street cred doesn’t come any better than that, and Don Cochrane is making up for not being more inquisitive in his youth about what also had an air of a family secret. “I’ve always liked watches, even before I knew that much about our family connections,” says Cochrane. "My great-grandfather, Claude Lyons, started Vertex and then my grandfather and my uncle John joined the company in 1961. The factory closed in the 1970s, two months after I was born.…

Over the past decade, TAG Heuer has offered numerous models of the Carrera, Monaco, Monza and Silverstone that paid tribute to their predecessors. Whether labelled as re-issues, homages or classics, with each visit to the portfolio of historic models, vintage Heuer collectors asked: “Why not the Autavia?” Finally, in November 2015, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver issued a challenge to the vintage community: “Tell us exactly which Autavia you want, and we will offer it in 2017.” There were only two restrictions on the choices. First, the new Autavia had to be housed in a traditional round case of the 1960s rather than the C-shaped case used in the 1970s. Second, the new Autavia would be a modern-sized watch, rather than copying the sub-40mm case sizes from the 1960s. In…

Firstly, let’s talk about the booth design — there is a rift going down in the middle of the space! It’s a break that happened before the fair! (Laughs) The idea behind it is to depict the destruction of the old world first, before a new world can emerge. The rift is to show a breakthrough and a split between the old and new worlds. This year, the stage is also about how we renew ourselves and how we produce new materials, disruptive materials, so that we can offer new experiences to our clients as well. Yesterday, when I sat through the presentation, I felt that the releases were in a way more subtle, more profound. With what you are offering, there wasn’t a loud explosion, but a very profound…

What are your feelings about the Atmos clock in terms of the technology that it contains and what it represents? I have always been a fan of Jaeger-LeCoultre and of the Atmos clock — actually, I’ve been obsessed with them since I was in my early teens. In a weird way, an Atmos represents the cutting edge of technology, yet it is completely anachronistic. It is as up-to-date now as it was 80 years ago. In a way, it’s the perfect design object of the moment — the very definition of modern luxury with its amalgamation of craft and technology with design. Projects like the Atmos lie somewhere between the extremes of what I do. It’s really a good example of how these worlds can mesh nicely… It’s an industrialized…

The watch industry has changed markedly in the past ten years. How have you adapted to these changes? We have lost some industry greats, but that is a rule of life. It is hard to lose a friend, but in business things carry on with other people and we must always be prepared. Nicolas G. Hayek Sr. is the perfect example; he knew that he would die one day and he prepared his successors for that day. He wanted things to go on as if he was still here and his true genius was to find the people who would make his death invisible to the wider world. I have tried to emulate this – in 2011 I stepped down as CEO of Hublot to become Chairman and I have…

Listen up. The watch industry is about to change–totally, radically and irreversibly. Because the men leading it now are no longer going to be shackled by the confining mentality of their past. Instead they are going to capitalize on the tools, language and mediums of today to connect the values of Swiss watchmaking to the audience of tomorrow. And it couldn’t come at a better time. It’s no secret that the Richemont Group in particular has been badly hit in the past couple of years due to over investment in the Asian market. It encouraged competition between its various watch brands, which resulted in the development of an in-house movement strategy for each and every brand, in many cases severely increasing the cost of watches until they were priced out…

T he car/watch symbiosis goes back decades and incorporates a literal connection of dashboard instrumentation as well as a more esoteric link shared by only a few mechanical objects that strive to combine art and engineering. And this year’s SIHH, more than any other before it, showed that the car/watch marriage is stronger than ever. Broadly speaking, there were three distinct categories of collaboration. Firstly, there was a contingent that has incorporated materials and technology from the world of motorsport directly into a watch, such as the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pirelli. Secondly, there was direct brand partnership resulting in the likes of Baume & Mercier’s Clifton Club Shelby Cobra. And finally, there were the watches inspired by the past such as the Ralph Lauren RL Automotive Tourbillon and Double…

“Reissue,” as the word suggests, is an act of relaunching an old product, a wristwatch in this case, to celebrate an anniversary or because it is significant in the history of a brand. But a good reissue involves so much more than a company simply taking an old watch out of the archives and manufacturing it all over again. Indeed, the designer must take the background story into consideration and think about how to fine-tune the watch in order to meet the needs of today’s consumers, while still preserving the classic style and poise–a challenge to both the watchmaker and the designer. And, most importantly, a reissue watch must touch the emotions of consumers– after all, it is essentially a time capsule of sentiment and remembrance. The new Montblanc 1858…