Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 - Issue 53 i REVOLUTION WATCH

I get it. I see it in your eyes. The underlying malaise. The bags under your eyes from disrupted, REM stage-deprived sleep. Just when things were going so good, it feels like the carpet has been pulled out from under the collective feet of the watch industry. Because every time you open up the teeming chaos of social media, or jump onto YouTube, or accidentally open that newsletter in your mailbox, all you read, hear or watch are ceaseless waves of bad news crashing down on you like a surfer caught in the undertow at Praia do Norte at Nazaré. OK, take a deep breath and repeat after me: Everything will be fine. I get it, if you’re a Gen Z-er and this is the first market correction you’ve ever…

To mark 100 years of the iconic Trinity, Cartier conjured up an immersive experience that paid homage to the triple-stacked ring. From July 15 to 23 at The Arts House in Singapore, visitors were able to navigate through seven interconnected rooms that explored the Trinity’s journey from its daring creation to its current iconic status. TRINITY: FROM 1924 TO TODAY The Trinity rings, each one crafted from yellow, rose and white gold, symbolize the unity and magic of the number three. This trio represents the three Cartier brothers — Louis, Pierre and Jacques — as well as the maison’s three historic boutiques in Paris, London and New York. The interlinked bands of Trinity sit atop and below one another as if symbolic of the multitudinous forms of love — filial,…

Breitling announced its latest collaboration with NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, resulting in the creation of limited edition Chronomat timepieces. The new series introduces a new Chronomat GMT and a Chronomat B01 chronograph in gold, but not before presenting the athlete with an exclusive Chronomat B01 with a special Eastern Arabic dial. In honoring Antetokounmpo’s incredible achievements and indomitable spirit, Breitling presents an exclusive “One of One” Chronomat B01 timepiece designed specifically for the 6’11 athlete. The bespoke watch features the striking green shade that’s a nod to Antetokounmpo’s team, the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom he achieved legendary status by winning a championship. The dial is adorned with golden Eastern Arabic numerals, a white inner bezel, and white contrasting chronograph counters. NEW CHRONOMAT GMT AND B01 CHRONOGRAPH The partnership also introduces…

When Bvlgari unveiled the Octo Finissimo Ultra in March 2022, it was the world’s thinnest watch at just 1.8mm thick, dethroning the 2mm Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which had held the record for the world’s thinnest mechanical watch since 2018. Then in July 2022, Richard Mille came out of left field with the RM UP-01 Ferrari, nabbing the title by a very slight margin of 0.05mm. But as it turns out, Bvlgari was not done. It made a return to the throne this year with the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, clocking in at an unbelievable height of 1.7mm. But as is often the case, focusing on numbers alone runs the risk of obscuring much of what it really takes to create a watch this thin. The Ultra COSC achieved the…

Say hello to the brand-new, refined and completely redesigned Oris Aquis dive watch. If you know the collection well, you might be squinting right now — the differences aren’t readily apparent. But put it on the wrist and you’ll start to get it. Then look closer, and you’ll see that this represents a thoughtful and thorough evolution of the brand’s flagship diver. The second generation Aquis was introduced in 2017. It represented a design overhaul of the original model (launched in 2011), resulting in a more mature product with broader appeal. The third generation is less of a transformation, but reconsiders nearly every element of this distinctive diver to improve the overall experience. Oris has applied these changes across three case sizes, each with different color options and even in…

For over 30 years, since I was a young watch nerd in my 20s, one of my grails has been the famous Double Sided Chronograph created by the brilliant Franck Muller. I’ve always loved Muller’s design genius: by putting a second chrono hand on the back of the watch so that you could read three different scales — telemeter, tachymeter and pulsometer — in massive oversized format across the entirety of the caseback with unrivaled clarity. But for years, that watch stayed frustratingly out of reach from me. I’d hear of one in an auction, but by the time I got there, it was either sold or I had gotten outbid beyond my meager budget. Or it just wasn’t the split seconds or rattrapante version I lusted after but the…

The most visible action of a chiming watch, where each hammer strikes its corresponding gong, appears rather simple until we consider how the motion of the hands is converted into the correct sequence of strikes. The mechanism responsible for this, along with the quest for the perfect sound, is what makes chiming complications the pinnacle of complications. So much so that, in a time when perpetual calendars, tourbillons and even rattrapante chronographs have been successfully realized on larger production scales, the construction, assembly and adjustment of a full sonnerie or repeating watch remains a necessarily laborious undertaking, demanding not only a good eye and a steady hand but also a keen ear. Before the advent of electricity and luminous materials, repeating watches were developed to provide timekeeping in the dark.…

Here’s the thing about watch journalism that is unequivocally true for everyone, and I really mean everyone — whether you’re a senior editor who’s been around for ages or you’ve only just started out creating content on social media. No one studied horology or graduated with a degree in horology, and then went on to be a watch journalist. All of us are a bunch of completely different people who have basically arrived at this point through the sheer power of kismet, and suddenly we discover there is this entire community of people out there who share a taste for great watchmaking. I honestly believe this is one of the reasons that we find the watch industry so darn fascinating. In theory, horology should actually be quite boring. A lot…

Collectors of pretty much anything often bring up the hypothetical question: “If you could only have one [said collectible] for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Typically, the collector will nervously attempt to laugh it off; it’s unfair, unrealistic or just not possible to answer. I may be one of those people when it comes to picking the single watch that would make the cut, audibly groaning at the thought of how impossible the choice is. When it comes to cars, though, I have a firm answer ready to go. If I could only have one car for the rest of my life? It would be my Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer. For those who may be wondering who, or what Singer is, here’s the lowdown. Singer…

Louis Vuitton started building its reputation back in 1854 when it began making trunks for Napoleon III. By the 20th century, the maison’s leather goods had secured icon status, gracing the arms of prominent figures from Audrey Hepburn to Jackie Kennedy. Exceptional materials, a high level of craftsmanship, instantly recognizable aesthetic codes and collectibility have long been at the core of Louis Vuitton’s DNA. Though the brand’s expansion into the world of horology in 1988 was a departure from its rich history in the realm of high fashion, Louis Vuitton clearly had the foundational ethos to resonate with the watch community. Still, it would be about another 15 years before the maison started to establish itself as more than just a producer of fashion watches. In 2002, Louis Vuitton founded…

The Richard Mille RM 65-01 has the distinct honor of being the most complicated regular production automatic in Richard Mille’s exceedingly complicated catalogue. First launched in 2020, and with 600 components, this latest evolution in Richard Mille’s complicated split seconds chronograph offering has proved to be a popular one. Recently the reference was updated with two new colorways, the pastel blue will be a regular addition to the catalog, while the deep yellow is limited to 120 pieces. THIN PLY TECHNOLOGY Of course, Richard Mille’s cases are often as complex as its calibers, and that’s certainly the case here with Quartz TPT (Thin Ply Technology), a high-tech material developed by North Thin Ply Technology, which offers high-heat resistance, strength and electromagnetic transparency. This composite material is created by heating and…

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” These words, uttered by one of my favorite characters, Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson) in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film The Departed, could easily have come from Jacob Arabo, a man who, through his sheer force of will, testicular fortitude, unrelenting drive and a flair for larger-than-life design, has created one of the most exciting watch brands on the planet. While other brands make their bones in the rarefied milieu of watch nerd gatherings, Jacob & Co. has over the past years staked its claim and waged its game of horological one-upmanship on the one piece of real estate where it is the undisputed champ: the red carpet. Whether it’s…

One of the most impressive releases at Watches and Wonders this year is the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar. It is a secular perpetual calendar which has a 400-year cycle encoded in its gear train, taking into account the common year that occurs at the end of three consecutive centuries while maintaining the leap year in the fourth century. What’s even more intriguing is that the secular calendar ingeniously leverages the foundational design of the renowned perpetual calendar module developed by Kurt Klaus, thus innovating to achieve a 400-year cycle within that framework. As such, the Eternal Calendar inherits the user-friendly design of Klaus’ module in which all calendar indications, including the moonphase, can be adjusted via the crown. Beyond that, the Eternal Calendar shatters the world record held by Andreas…

Among watch categories, the dress watch is the most unassuming piece of watchmaking where the basic philosophy is to let the quality of execution and materials speak for themselves. Traditionally, a dress watch is defined as a time-only watch that features a uniformly white or black dial and a classically proportioned case. To maintain a slim profile and avoid disrupting the cut of a gentleman’s suit, it is typically equipped with a hand-wound movement. Dress watches exude a sense of quiet dignity that commands respect without demanding attention and are the direct antithesis of talking pieces or so-called hype watches. As a category, dress watches have been under threat pretty much since the birth of luxury sports watches in the ’70s. But today there has been a stunning resurgence, driven…

Cheryl Chia One of the greatest technical minds in luxury watch journalism today, Cheryl Chia is a renowned watch writer with a deep interest in specialist topics such as independent watchmaking, movement engineering and decoration. Contrary to popular sentiment, she believes that watches can be assessed objectively in terms of complexity, quality and finishing. Oliver R Müller Oliver R Müller is the founder of LuxeConsult, an independent agency that helps create or reposition brands in the watch industry. He is also foremost recognized as the primary contributor of the annual Morgan Stanley x LuxeConsult Swiss watch report, a valuable resource relied on by the entire industry. In addition to his blog Le Sablier, he contributes regularly to Revolution as Business Editor. Drew Coblitz Entrepreneur and former race car driver Drew…

The watch retail scene has always been a dynamic space where brands and retailers are constantly bringing out new concepts that offer ever more intuitive experiences for their customers. Looking at Hublot’s latest boutique reopening at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the brand has certainly carried its progressive approach in watchmaking over to its retail stores as well, supported by its long-time partner in the Asia-Pacific region, The Hour Glass. Occupying this prime location since 2010, the boutique has just gone through a major facelift and now presents one of the most welcoming and engaging in-store experiences in the luxury industry. Designed to encourage current customers and new visitors alike to fully explore the environment, the 71sqm space boasts a tasteful mix of majestic timeless features, such as the grand…

“I just liked wearing something on my wrist, it made me feel grown up,” says Fred Savage, reminiscing about where his journey as a watch collector began. It’s pretty easy to imagine the star of the iconic 1980s–’90s series The Wonder Years as a ten year old wanting to feel more adult by wearing a watch. He’s now very much matured as an actor-director and as a prominent personality in the watch-collecting community. When Revolution spoke with him from his car in Los Angeles, a purity to his enthusiasm for watches came through. If he weren’t already likeable enough, he’s also highly relatable as a collector. From a very special Bulova to impulse-buying a double signed Blancpain × Aqua-Lung Fifty Fathoms and more, here’s what he told us about his…

Case sizes have been exponentially shrinking over the last few years, with celebrity wearers like Timothée Chalamet and Bad Bunny pushing the envelope for how small a men’s wristwatch can be. And while we’re now in a space where sub-36mm men’s watches are “a thing,” teeny tiny versions of larger models are quickly becoming a certified trend, with plenty of brands making extra small versions of their biggest hits. Now, joining the ranks of Cartier’s mini Baignoire and the 29mm Hublot Classic Fusion is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Mini Frosted Gold, a trio of watches coming in at a perfectly petite 23mm. The Royal Oak Mini is the newest member of the prestigious Royal Oak family, and what it lacks in size, it makes up for in impact. Kicking…

In the years since the pandemic, tastes have developed to embrace the fine work of independent watchmakers, and today we have an interesting situation in that independent watchmakers have mushroomed on social media in great numbers, making it quite a challenge to keep up and sift the wheat from the chaff. The Essential by Tokyo-based Swiss watchmaker Fabian Pellet was attention-grabbing, to say the least, with an unusual beauty about its movement that’s reminiscent of the pocket watches made by the American chronometer maker Albert H. Potter in the 19th century. The movement in the Essential is deceptively simple at first glance. But right off the bat, with the mainplate almost fully exposed, you would realize that the crown and ratchet wheels are missing, which hints that there might be…

Over the past four and a half years since surging onto the market in 2020 like a horological tsunami, Furlan Marri has been an unstoppable force of affordable watchmaking. Establishing themselves with affordable mecha-quartz chronographs with classic, mid-century design language and elegant detailing, they have since expanded to finely finished mechanical movements as well. Now, another classic design is joining their collection — the Disco Volante. Typified by their diminutive yet distinct disk-like design, Disco Volante-style watches were made throughout the 1960s and 1970s (though examples can be found dating back to as early as the 1930s) by many of the grand Swiss watchmaking houses — Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Jaeger-LeCoultre, to name but a few. While there are certainly outliers, the vast majority of these watches…

There are few kinds of complications more beautiful than astronomical complications, to the extent that any attempt at describing them philosophically seems to do their scope and impact a disservice. While the basic building blocks for timekeeping are derived from natural cosmic rhythms — the rotation of the Earth on its axis around the Sun, and that of the Moon around the Earth — astronomical complications are a more explicit representation of these celestial phenomena. They simulate the rhythms and cycles of the cosmos, such as the phases of the Moon and the orbits of planets, naturally becoming a launchpad for any number of ruminations on the nature of time itself, our place in the world, and the vast, yet orderly and intelligible nature of the universe. Undoubtedly, the most…

Few things are as exciting in the world of watches as a new bezel option from Rolex. A change that, for any other brand on the planet would be seen as an incremental cosmetic change is, for Rolex fans, a revolutionary change worth celebrating. So, when the Big Crown dropped a black and gray GMT-Master II (reference 126710GRNR) in Oystersteel, the reaction was a fanfare that seemed oppositional to the subdued nature of this latest take on the pre-eminent travel watch. Before we dive into the weeds as to what makes this latest Black and Gray model the latest and greatest, it’s time for a quick history lesson on the Rolex GMT. The early years of this watch (which debuted in 1954) and its tie-in with the iconic Pan-Am airlines…