High-end Watches Archives - Page 83 of 123

Hands-on – Patek Philippe Ref.5270/1R Gets the Midas Touch

The combination of a chronograph and a perpetual calendar is the epitome of what Patek Philippe does best. This year we were regaled with not one but two 5270 references, one in platinum with a much-praised salmon-coloured dial and this rose gold model with an ebony dial. Dripping in 18k rose gold from head to toe, Patek’s Ref. 5270/1R is as different from its platinum brother as chalk and cheese. With the same sophisticated in-house manual-winding movement as its sibling, the 5270/1R comes with a sumptuous rose gold bracelet with the QP correctors artfully hidden in the links.

Independent Watchmaking – Sitting at the Workbench with Karsten Frassdorf and an In-Depth Look at the Spirograph Tourbillon’s Calibre 360

If you are a regular reader of Monochrome-watches you might be familiar with Montres KF’s Spirograph, a wristwatch that can withstand shocks up to 5,000G and magnetic fields up to 1,000 Gauss. Inside the 45mm Spirograph is the calibre 360, a hand-wound movement regulated by an eye-catching and unique oversized tourbillon. We sat at the […]

Women’s Watch Wednesday – Bovet Dimier Récital 11 Miss Alexandra: Once in a Blue Moon

Shattering the prevailing opinion that women just want a pretty dial and couldn’t care less about mechanical complications, Bovet presents a timepiece that seduces on the mechanical and aesthetic fronts – and how! Complicated yet feminine, poetic but not affected, Bovet’s red gold version of the Dimier Récital 11 Miss Alexandra puts on a blue-hued […]

In-Depth – The Art of Hand-Guillochage at Breguet, Preserving Traditional Crafts

A classic Breguet is easily recognizable, even at first glance. The fluted caseband, the welded lugs, the Breguet hands, the Breguet numerals, the secret signature are some of the immutable codes that make a Breguet a Breguet. The timelessness of the brand resides in a style that was established by Abraham-Louis Breguet over 2 centuries ago. The great watchmaker has got the most profound influence on the horological art. Some of his inventions changed the world of watchmaking: the perfecting of the self-winding with his ‘perpétuelle’ watches, the ‘pare-chute’ shock-protection system, the tourbillon or the Breguet hairspring to name a few. But today, we’ll focus on the art of guilloché or engine-turned dials.

Interview – Armin Strom’s Serge Michel and Claude Greisler talk about what makes the brand unique and what’s coming next

Armin Strom is not a usual brand. And this is not only due to the unique design of their watches. We’ve told it to you several times when reviewing their timepieces and when we took the opportunity to visit the manufacture – because Armin Strom is a truly integrated manufacture that produces most of the parts of a watch and that has a true innovation power (see the Resonance watch). Today, we take the time to talk with Serge Michel and Claude Greisler, owners of the brand, to talk about what makes this watch manufacture unique and what they have in mind for the future.

In-Depth – Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Qualité Fleurier (and what this quality label stands for)

Designed back in 1996 by Michel Parmigiani, the Toric made a comeback a few months ago with the Toric Chronometer. Displaying time and date only, it is much more than a traditional three-hander. And this year, it has been fitted with a tasteful guilloche dial and it has been submitted with success to the demanding Qualité Fleurier criteria. A good reason to go hands-on with this superbly crafted dress watch.

Hands-on – Chopard L.U.C All-in-One – The Janus watch

Chopard is now an established member of the select coterie of Haute Horlogerie manufactures and the brand’s ability to produce beautiful complications has resulted in this L.U.C All-in-One masterpiece and the equally impressive L.U.C Full Strike minute repeater, which secured the Aiguille d’Or at the 2017 GPHG. Equipped with fourteen indications spread across two dials, the L.U.C All-in-One was originally released in 2010 to celebrate the brand’s 150^th anniversary. Revisited in 2018 in two limited editions – 10 in rose gold and 10 in platinum – Chopard’s most complex model to date is fitted with the same hand-wound movement, the same 46mm case, but features design tweaks that give it a very different face.

Hands-on – Patek Philippe Ref. 5205G-013 – The Young Man’s Patek Annual Calendar

Blue dial watches have been popular for some time now. So much so, that they have almost become the rule instead of the exception. To stand out from the crowd with a blue dial nowadays, therefore, you have to do something a little special. That’s exactly what Patek Philippe has done with the latest iteration of its reference 5205G. Although not a new watch per se, the addition of a mouth-wateringly delicious blue gradient dial has reinvented this model in my eyes, driving its desirability factor through the roof. We spent some time hands-on with this watch recently, and let me tell you, the only thing harder than capturing the gorgeous blue tones was giving it back.

Hands-on – Breguet Marine Alarme Musicale 5547 – Classic Complication, Modern Style

Breguet has always been known for making complex watches. The brand’s tendency towards a traditional aesthetic, however, has sometimes deterred younger buyers. That trend seems to be changing. The latest example comes in the form of the new models introduced into the Marine collection at Baselworld this year. We’ve already covered the Breguet Marine 5517 in detail here. Now, we’re turning our attention to the Marine Alarme Musicale 5547, a contemporary styled watch with some very traditional complications.

Women’s Watch Wednesday – Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Petite – Feminine Proportions

Jaquet Droz is all about sensory delights. From exquisite enamel dials and the pursuit of rare métiers d’art to animated automata like the chubby gold cherub being drawn by a butterfly chariot and chirping birds on minute repeaters, this is one brand that knows how to appeal to the senses. The Lady 8 plays on the sensuality and symbolism of the figure eight and is revisited in 2018 in this delightfully petite model with a sparkling blue aventurine dial or a glamorous red gold mother-of-pearl version. Fitted with an automatic movement, the diameter of the case measures a dainty 25mm and the watches feature a spherical pearl or aventurine ball at noon that rolls under the finger.

Watch Dandy

Category: High-end Watches