By Roberta Naas
Recently, we had the chance to talk one on one with Aldo Magada, Zenith CEO, about the brand, its products, its plans and the challenges facing the watch industry. The interview comes on the heels of a host of new introductions, including the Range Rover partnership.
This year, at the SIHH 2016, Montblanc continued to impressed us with a new watch, the ExoTourbillon Slim, an elegant, luxurious and technically complex watch, which includes the brand’s latest innovation, the ExoTourbillon. This watch not only have a tourbillon regulator that clearly stands out of the crowd, with unique technical solutions, but it is also an extremely good “value for money” offer, in the actual accessible luxury motto of Montblanc. We, at Monochrome-Watches, decided that this watch and its regulator needed to be explained in details, and for that we’ve been visiting the Montblanc Manufacture in Villeret and asked Davide Cerrato, Managing Director of Montblanc Watch Division, to tell us everything about the ExoTourbillon.
As former Chief Artistic Officer at Audemars Piguet, Octavio Garcia has about as much watch industry cred as most could hope for. So it is interesting that he has chosen to strike out on his own, leaving behind the comfortable heritage of the Swiss luxury establishment to follow his dream, start a new brand, and produce a democratically priced watch at under €1,000. The brand debuts with the Gorilla Fastback watch that is an exercise in automotive-inspired design and materials.
I’ve known Sylvain Dolla, Hamilton’s CEO, for some years now, and he has always been extremely agreeable and open. I managed to talk to him just before Baselworld to find out his thoughts on Hamilton’s sales strategy, how the brand wants to face the “connected” phenomenon, and his strategy in Hollywood.
By Roberta Naas Just a couple of days ago, we got word that Major League Base baller Giancarlo Stanton would not be able to finish out the season with the Miami Marlins due to injury. It is a devastating loss for the Marlins, as MLB’s hardest hitter has to become a sitter instead of a player. The right fielder is also a TAG Heuer brand ambassador and epitomizes the brand’s “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign. Cool, calm and seemingly easy going, the 26-year-old Stanton packs so much power in his swing that he not only breaks bats, but also breaks records. In an exclusive interview he shares his thoughts on time, commitment, baseball and injuries.
By Victoria Townsend
“I wish I were a woman so I could wear a Serpenti!” Overhearing these words as I entered the Bulgari booth at Baselworld 2016 on my way to meet with the Director of Bulgari Watches Design Centre, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, I was surprised that the esteemed watch editor who pronounced them (and later confirmed to me) would cite a timepiece known more for its distinctive feminine design than for what makes it tick. My surprises were not over, as I discovered during my time at the booth.
By Roberta Naas Last week, we brought you the news about the incredible precision timing of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games by Omega, which has been the Official Timekeeper of the Olympics for years. Now, we talk with Omega CEO and President Raynald Aeschlimann about what it takes to stay on top of timing the world’s largest sports gathering.