Frank Geelen’s Baselworld 2017 Top 10 and Musing about the Fair

Back in 2008 the world faced a new challenge. The worldwide financial crisis began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The following year the watch industry was kind of nervous and saw a small drop in sales. And while the financial crisis went on, on a global scale (we’re still recovering from that), the big crisis in the watch industry didn’t really come through… yet. Last year was the first year that brands and luxury groups published numbers that showed serious signs of the crisis, and this year’s numbers are actually more than worrisome. This year the crisis could also be felt in the novelties as presented by the brands, not only during the SIHH in January, but also at the 100th edition of the Baselworld Watch & Jewelry show that has just come to an end. Still, it was possible to list ten watches that got me exited! However first some musings about this year’s edition of Baselworld…

8 years ago

Xavier Markl’s Top 10 of Baselworld 2017

The 100th anniversary edition of Baselworld has just came to an end. It has been another packed event, despite a strange overall impression and the current situation that prompted brands to be more cautious. As for each fair, the offerings are diverse but we have to come with our highlights. A tough choice but as we had to pick ten, here are the Baselworld 2017 watches that have caught my eyes – presented without specific order… But as always with Monochrome watches, it is guaranteed 100% quartz- and android-free!

8 years ago

Hands-On – Patek Philippe Aquanaut Jumbo 5168G (Blue Dial, White Gold, 42mm)

This year, the Geneva-Based manufacture Patek Philippe is celebrating the 20th anniversary of one of its modern icons, the Aquanaut. As part of a new collection, the brand adds some color and a bit of boldness to a model that have always been playing on the discreet side, with a 42mm and blue dial Patek Philippe Aquanaut Jumbo 5168G.

8 years ago

Patek’s Home in Plan-Les-Ouates Pt. 3: A Manufacture inside a Manufacture

In 2013, a Christie’s auction stunned the world with a record setting, eye watering sale of a Patek Philippe Grand Complication. The specific watch in question? Stephen S. Palmer Patek Philippe Grand Complication. The hammered price? USD2.25 million for a Patek Philippe Grand Complication pocket watch completed in 1898 and sold in…

8 years ago

Only One Watch – 10 Different Price Categories

Every once in a while we receive the question whether we could live with just one watch, and which watch that would be. You have probably also fantasized yourself of trading (all) the watch in your collection for just one watch. One Watch Only! In this article, we take a look at watches that we […]

8 years ago

Patek Philippe Calibre 89 Uber-Complication Up For Sale (Again)

Introduced in 1989 for Patek Philippe’s 150th anniversary, the Calibre 89 was a landmark in watchmaking, becoming the most complicated watch (or rather portable timekeeper) ever made, boasting 33 complications. Though the Calibre has since been superseded by the Vacheron Constantin Ref. 57260 with 57 complications, the Calibre 89 held the record for so long it’s significantly more […]

8 years ago

Watch of the Week: Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph

Ask people about their favorite Nautilus, and you can expect a variety of answers. Some prefer the original time-only model in steel; others want a moon phase or a precious metal. We fell in love, at its introduction in 2014, with the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph.

8 years ago

Novelist Jackie Collins Was A Surprising Lover Of Fine Watches As Bonhams Auction Reveals

In the 1980s you may have read perhaps a few entertaining books by Jackie Collins, who passed away on September 19, 2015 at the age of 77. She was a very wealthy woman after 47 years of publishing bestselling romance novels, and now Bonhams is set to auction her estate of 1,000 lots for an estimated total of $3 million on May 16 and 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, and there are a few interesting watches included. In fact, I’d say surprising watches.

8 years ago

Inside Patek Philippe’s Home in Plan-Les-Ouates Part 2.

Over 20 years ago, Patek Philippe had unified all of its operating and production units from a scattering of facilities across Geneva into a central campus in Plan Les Ouates. While that might seem good business sense, it was a high risk decision made during the 1995-96 period of industry turmoil. Yet, two decades down the line Thierry Stern…

8 years ago