Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 29 i REVOLUTION WATCH

Someone needs to do a study on the long-term psychological effects of constant, non-stop, out there in the wind, transcontinental travel. Because it’s hard to describe the bizarre soul-crushing loneliness that emerges from the depths of your soul. Yet at the same time all you long for is a day devoid of contact with all of humanity. A 24-hour reprieve from having to be charming, witty and smart, and can just revel in your own mediocrity while sat in a dark room, eating a tub of popcorn the size of a child’s bathtub and surrendering yourself to the easy emotional manipulation of Hollywood. It is in this state after close to a month on the road, after the menswear trade show known as Pitti Uomo and Milan Fashion Week; after…

Longines opened its largest boutique in Singapore, spanning 1,500 square metres at Wisma Atria. The grand opening ceremony was attended by watch collectors, press, and VIPs, including Mr. Jose De Cardoso, Country Manager of Swatch Group Singapore, Mr. Toshifumi Hashizume, Managing Director of Isetan Singapore, Mr. Arnaud Carnal, Regional Sales Manager of Longines, and Ms. Jas Guo, Brand Manager of Longines Singapore. Hosted by Allan Wu, the ceremony was graced by special guest and Longines Ambassador of Elegence, Taiwanese celebrity Chi Ling Lin, who was wearing a piece from the Record collection. Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, Chi Ling Lin and fellow VIPs brought Longines’ winged hourglass logo to life by filling the structure with blue liquid — the brand’s signature colour. Inside, a centrepiece was erected displaying the…

We live in a digital age, where computers do all the work for us. This is the case in so many facets of our lives including our personal pursuits and professional occupations. Storm patterns are predicted by computers, seismic reactions are electronically modelled and computer-flown drones can give us real-time, high-definition pictures of any part of the planet. But it hasn’t always been like this and back in the analogue era, humans were sent out into the unexplored territories to carry out scientific research to help humanity better understand our world. The analogue era relied on analogue communication and timing and the development of the wristwatch made it perfect for the great early-to-mid-20th century explorers to carry for timekeeping. Precise timekeeping was an important safety concern for the teams who…

By their very nature, limited editions dubbed “collectors’ watches” from the outset automatically find their way straight to the enthusiasts who will cherish them. These watches were not marketed as such back in the day, but acquired added desirability by virtue of excellence, rarity or the mere passage of time. What did SIHH hold for future collectability? Bound to offend many, and having done so for centuries, are erotic timepieces. In an era where the click of a mouse accesses material that would shock the Marquis de Sade, you’d think such prurience was passé. Not so for Ulysse Nardin, which has updated the genre to embrace the art form most associated with graphic novels with the Ulysse Nardin Classico Manara series. Ulysse Nardin has produced a series of 10 different…

For the man who has everything — and we do mean everything — which watch could possibly get these wealthy gentlemen even the slightest bit excited? When money is no object, what makes things interesting is when there is a watch so special and unique that grown men will fight each other over it. And this year’s SIHH did not disappoint. There were a number of exceptional, one-of-a-kind creations and limited editions that were snapped up before we even had the chance to drink our first SIHH espresso! Case in point: The H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black sold on the first morning of the show, and it didn’t even have any hands! In fact, the blank slate is the only thing you’ll ever see. H. Moser…

As Revolution’s resident sportsman, I high-jumped at the chance to keep my eyes peeled for sports watches during the annual SIHH. Typically, the Salon is more of a luxury show and the offerings tend to be complicated or elegant, with the occasional sports watch added in. This year there were three standout timepieces worth highlighting. Girard-Perregaux is taking its Laureato collection to the next level with the Laureato Absolute. The watch for the athlete in this collection is the Laureato Absolute Chronograph, which is housed in a 44mm black PVD titanium case, water-resistant to a robust 300 meters, with an integrated rubber strap. The chronograph is the perfect sports complication, and the Laureato Absolute Chronograph is the ultimate expression of a do-anything sports watch, allowing you to time your bike…

A long-established tradition, putting art onto the face of a wristwatch, has had something of a renaissance in the past decade. Each year, several watch brands introduce timepieces that highlight their expertise in artisan crafts by producing limited-edition watches with highly decorative dials which showcase myriad métiers d’arts techniques dedicated to the craftsmanship of the past. Arguably the king of the métiers d’art revival is Vacheron Constantin, which has consistently delivered incredible works of dial art. This year, decorative craftsmanship was combined with technical genius as the maison opened the doors to its bespoke Les Cabinotiers department with a collection called Mécaniques Sauvages, the central theme of which is wild animals. One that demonstrated a whole host of rare skills was the Les Cabinotiers 14-Day Tourbillon Lion. Even gorgeous pictures…

There’s really no other way of putting it — the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar is the most exciting horological development this year and one of the most innovative of all time. In the lead-up to SIHH, I keep telling people, it’s not just a new watch; it’s a new kind of watch. The Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar is the first watch in the world that allows you to switch between a high-frequency balance and a low-frequency balance, extending the power reserve by up to 65 days. To use an analogy, it’s equivalent to being able to change gears and optimise fuel consumption according to your needs. Here’s the lowdown on how that works. The mainspring barrel is the energy source in any watch movement.…

OK, let’s back up to 2015 when Oris launched its now much-beloved Divers Sixty-Five. One of the hardest design challenges in watchmaking is the creation of a handsome, functional and original-looking dive watch. But that’s precisely what Oris achieved when it launched the 40mm rotating-bezel-equipped timepiece with amusing funky op-art-like indices at the four main quadrants based on a 36mm watch from its collection dated to 1965. Even more appealing beyond the watch’s well-executed and relatively slim case and domed sapphire, which provide the design underpinnings for a steady aesthetic evolution over the years, was the highly accessible 1,600-euro original price point. It was clear that Oris had decided to offer an extremely strong value proposition with their Swiss-made timepiece powered by a Sellita SW 200 calibre. The water resistance…

What Jaeger-LeCoultre presented at this year’s SIHH was testament to the technical prowess of the 186-year-old maison. Namely, one of the major highlights uttered on everyone’s lips was the Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Pérpetuel (Hybris Mechanica 13). A watch with a name nearly as complex in styling as its movement. At first glance, it’s a breathtaking view of skeletonised inner workings that’s been modernised with touches of blue (with another version in a silver-grained dial). One’s eyes are immediately drawn to the hand-hammered finishing on the date wheel and trebuchet hammers, the blued square-shaped gongs, and not forgetting the cherry on top, the multi-axis tourbillon. It’s a lot to take in, even more so when one flips it over. There’s an almost symmetrical arrangement with the exceptional finishing on…

You joined The Hour Glass in 1999 and one of your first initiatives was to champion artisanal independent watchmaking. Why? The Hour Glass’s story with contemporary independent artisans, designers and brands began in 1981 when my parents partnered Gérald Genta to launch his eponymous brand in Southeast Asia. Genta had already achieved international acclaim as the man who brought contemporary design to the watch industry. The Nautilus and Royal Oak were watches that captured the zeitgeist of the post-Quartz Crisis era, developing a new sports-luxe language for watches. This transformational movement laid the blueprint for a defining design arc that would inform watchmakers for the next five decades. At the turn of the ’80s, he had introduced a collection named “Gold and Gold”, based off an octagonal case with a…

The heir to the Kessler debt tells his old man how pissed off he is that SIHH and Baselworld will be running sequentially in 2020. “First SIHH, then Basel? Eight days away from home?” His expletive was repeated by many others throughout the industry, horrified at the idea of travelling with a week’s worth of business attire, and of being away from their desks for an extended period. I reassured him that he will survive it. Leaving aside the obvious solutions of travelling light and using the hotel laundry services — admittedly prohibitively expensive in Switzerland, where cleaning a shirt can cost more than the shirt itself — he wasn’t alone in demonstrating dismay at this monumental change in the watch fair calendar, with SIHH at the end of April…

Across two continents, Revolution organised a series of events to bring our readers’ attention to the collaborative timepieces we’ve been developing. In Singapore, we celebrated the launch of the Bell & Ross x The Rake and Revolution Bellytanker chronographs, codenamed “Dusty” and “El Mirage”, at The Straits Clan with over 100 guests. CEO of Bell & Ross Carlos Rosillo and general manager of Bell & Ross Asia, Tong Chee Wei, joined Revolution founders Wei Koh and Dr Bruce Lee to mark the special occasion. It was particularly notable as the project is the 10th Revolution edition timepiece to be launched. Rosillo spoke at length with the audience to explain how the partnership came about, and also personally presented the Bellytanker watches to two collectors who had pre-ordered the timepieces. Over…

There’s a common belief that conflict breeds invention. Some historians opine that global wars bring innovations and developments that further civilian lifestyles, but it’s not fully valid. The best inventions have come in peacetime; conflicts merely amplify their significance and therefore success. The military or pilot’s watch is emblematic of such a success. Till the first global conflict, pocket watches were the norm. The need for co-ordinated strikes between international alliances increased the need for precision and convenient access to timekeeping, which led to officers fusing wire lugs and cutting strips of leather to use as wrist straps. But wrist watches had already existed for some time. Up till the first World War, they were mostly decorative and ornate in style, and designed for women. The normalisation of the wristwatch…

It’s true that most of us still struggle with the fact that enough time has passed since the ’90s, that bringing back things from that decade is now a retrospective, not a refresh. But of all the things worth reviving, we’re glad that the one thing Audemars Piguet brought back this year, is a version of the 20th anniversary Royal Oak with salmon dial dating back to 1992. Granted, the 1992 version of that watch was in steel and the present one is in white gold. The original had rivets on the bezel in pink gold to match the dial, while the present one has rivets that match the case. The charm of this particular combination on a Royal Oak is undeniable in both cases. This year’s rendition retains the…

The usual fare at SIHH is a standard split down the middle into everyday wear and jaw-dropping showpieces that make you wonder if they’ll ever see the light of day outside a safe. Whether you want all eyes on you, or seek attention in a more elusive manner, here are my selections, which include two maisons who are exhibiting for the final time this year. We begin with Richard Mille, who makes our teeth positively ache with a trip into Candy Land. The Bonbon collection consists of 10 timepieces, split into the Fruits or Sweets collection. Diving straight into the latter, I was immediately drawn to the RM 07-03 Automatic Marshmallow. You can blame my childhood propensity for all things saccharine, but I always appreciate Mille’s tongue-in-cheek nature and I…

SIHH that would make the strongest statement.FOR THE SUITPost-SIHH, a real power move would be entering a room filled with watch enthusiasts while brandishing on your wrist the new Audemars Piguet CODE 11.59, because wearing the most controversial timepiece of the year is a true declaration of power. Most of the unbridled reactions to the collection when it was first revealed online made it sound like the arrival of the Antichrist. But objective analysis reveals that the seemingly simple and modernised style of the watch dial (criticism is fiercest here) is just one component of many. The case has a sturdy, octagonal shape crowned by a slender bezel, where a sapphire dome protects the lacquer-finished dial. On it, the emblem of the maison reveals a new technique, a chemical process…

HYT’s futuristic designs have always been based on the concept that time, while it rules us all, is abstract. With the release of the H20 at the 2018 edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), HYT turned the abstract into concrete — the H20 collection showed the brand embracing its story and what it does best: liquid time telling. Now, in anticipation for SIHH 2019, HYT is doubling down on the H20, giving us the H20 “Time Is Fluid”. Available in two versions (18-karat yellow gold and stainless steel), the H20 “Time Is Fluid” encompasses both an update in the H20’s design and a philosophical embrace. The cloche-like sapphire crystal from the H20 (which was just spectacular to see when the brand first unveiled it in 2018)…

For a long time, watches were solely crafted in precious metals, namely gold and silver, as the gentility of their movements called for equally refined cases. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, watch manufacturers had to start sourcing for cheaper case substitutes, even reducing the dimensions at the time. Stainless steel was the most viable option, except that the tools needed to machine them were too weak to attain the desired shape and finish that were accomplished on gold and silver cases; steel alloys were much harder compared with precious metals by factors of up to 10. An alloy, by definition, is a mixture of at least two different chemical elements, one of which is a metal. Creating a new alloy composition is not a scientific breakthrough. In fact,…

Venezia. Truman Capote described it as “eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go”, which to be fair isn’t that far-fetched or impossible, depending on the size and scale of the treats in question. (Incidentally, for an impeccable chocolatier in Venice, VizioVirtù at Sestiere Castello is where you will inevitably wind up.) But we’re not in Venice simply for sweet delights. Nay, it’s the wonderful warmth and invigorating sense of life lived in exuberance as you enter the Gritti Palace and cast your eyes over the breadth of the city’s majestic towers rising above its surrounding waterways as the morning sun peeks over the isle of Murano. You half-expect the famed glassworks of the island to cascade those rays into a splendour of colour, that spreads itself to…

Inspired by Alexander Dumas’ charming description of a Breguet timepiece in The Count of Monte Cristo, Breguet introduced a brand new experience for its special guests — The Classic Tour. The event, which has criss-crossed the globe, sees Breguet hosting a discovery of traditional lifestyle trades that still exist in each city, modernised for the 21st century. In Singapore, it selected three partners to chart the Classic Tour, with local bespoke tailor Kevin Seah, traditional groomer Truefitt & Hill, and boutique alcohol distributor La Maison du Whisky. Hosted at Seah’s offices, guests also had the opportunity to get up close with vintage motor vehicles from local retailers Autobahn, while enjoying the latest offering from Hampden rum, a boutique Jamaican rum producer and discovering Seah’s fine cloths and seasonal releases, which…

SPECIAL THANKS TO MAZEL GALERIE SINGAPORE FOR THE KIND LOAN OF ITS LOCATION IN THIS PHOTOSHOOT. MAZEL GALERIE SINGAPORE IS SITUATEDAT9SCOTTSROAD,#02-17PACIFICPLAZA, SINGAPORE 228210 (https://MAZELGALERIE.COM/EN).…

What’s been interesting to see this year at SIHH, for the first time, is a generational alignment. By that, I mean that the people who are creating the watches, are actually the same age as the people who are consuming the watches. Let me be clear: credit is due to the previous leaders. However, many of them were quite a bit older, and perhaps in their mind they think that people wear watches in a certain way, or will want certain types of watches. At a wonderful dinner with Chabi Nouri, the CEO of Piaget, who was seated opposite Michael B. Jordan, my biggest takeaway was when he said that today, a man can wear a gemset watch with a pair of sneakers, jeans and a T-shirt; add maybe one…

Long before he started getting billionaires in trouble with NASA, the comedian Joe Rogan did a bit onstage where he mocked our obsession with the Grand Canyon. People say it’s worth travelling miles to see because the scale makes you realise just how small your role in the universe is — but how about just going outside at night? Pointing to the sky in disbelief, Rogan says: “What about all that shit? Those are huge nuclear explosions billions of miles away and it goes on forever. Do you understand what forever means? What you are looking at is a ditch.” In a plea to get people to look upwards more, he calls space the “most taken-for-granted thing ever”. Well not in Geneva, where celestial beauties were in abundance. The Hermès…

I’ve long considered the world and second time zone complications to be the most useful of all modern timepieces. That’s because they offer watch wearers an actual practical benefit to wearing a wristwatch today. Sure, one can add a widget to a phone, but most don’t do it by default. Displaying dual or more time zones is one of the few functions where a mechanical wristwatch outperforms a quartz or even a smartwatch or device. While 2017 and 2018 had overcrowded fields of these complications, 2019 has decidedly fewer competitors in the game. And the watchmakers presenting these functions have also chosen to up the game significantly in style, aesthetics and craft. One of the highlights was from Bovet, which offered a dual time zoner with an improved Fleurier Amadeo…

OISSEUROne thing’s clear: 2019 is off to an incredible start for watch geeks. And I mean real geeks who can comprehend the physics behind a balance wheel and analyse chronograph constructions. This SIHH brought us timepieces that redefined how we interact with watches, resolved one of the most persistent redundancies in the minute repeater mechanism, and masked high levels of expertise in complex fluid dynamics with a cascade of diamonds. There is no debate in our offices about how Vacheron Constantin owned the fair with its Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar. This isn’t just a new watch. It is a new kind of watch. The dual-balance, dual-frequency timepiece allows the wearer to switch between Active and Standby modes (5Hz and 1.2Hzz respectively). When the watch is not being worn, activating…

Maybe it’s because as a former Boy Scout I’d had our motto “Be Prepared” jack-hammered repeatedly into the substrata of my subconscious. Or it could be the innumerable 3:00 a.m. awakenings for spontaneous force marches through the dirt tracks of Singapore’s desolate Tekong Island during basic military training that has me at a constant state of operational readiness. Which, let’s be clear, is not me boasting of my military prowess. I sucked at soldiering. But rather to reveal that underneath the Negroni-induced state of nonchalant equanimity lies a seething current of constant anxiety and existential apprehension that is only fully understood by pessimist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, particularly nervous sausage dogs, and me. Because we know the unremitting irrefutable truth of it all. It is not if sh*t will happen. It…

It is impossible to understate the extraordinary achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when on July 21st, in the year of our Lord 1969, at O-two-hundred- and-fifty-six Universal Time, they set foot on the surface of the Moon, fulfilling a promise made by John F. Kennedy a mere eight years previous. To place this in context, that same year the Concord’s first test flight was considered a technical revolution. Flashback a decade before to 1957 and witness America scrambling at the terrifying news that the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 and thus claimed dominion over the heavens. On the wrists of these amazing astronauts were their trusted watches: the fabled Omega Speedmaster. The Speedmaster and Omega would go…