What sells watches? This is the 20 billion Swiss franc question in today’s challenging economic climate.For at least part of the answer to what sells watches (and how to buy them in down markets), we can learn a lot from two of the steadiest performers in the watch industry.
In mid 20th century, a gentleman who lived in New York was the fortunate owner of a pair of unique Patek Philippe minute repeating wristwatches, the refs. 2419 and 2524/1. The owner, whose name has now been lost to time, ordered the second repeater as a substitute for the first when it was away for servicing. The descendants of […]
Recently, a good friend and avid collector gave me the mouth-watering opportunity to photograph two splendid Patek Philippe minute repeaters: the 5074P and 5078P. If you’re one of those people who believe in wearing a watch with your tuxedo, I don’t think you’d ever go wrong in pulling the 5078P out of the safe to wear. What else is interesting about it?
Often described as “celebrated” in auction catalogues, Jean-Pierre Hagmann is arguably the most famous maker of watch cases, or boîtier in industry parlance, of the late 20th century. Guided by his principle of “simple is better but quality is important”, Mr Hagmann is one of the few component makers in Swiss watchmaking who has become a marquee name in his own […]
Last week, we see history being made with the world’s most expensive wristwatch sold at an auction.…
Lasque diamonds are flat diamonds with irregular outlines, a cut that originated in India centuries before. Also known as portrait diamonds because they were used as covers for miniature portraits, lasque diamonds are a niche strand of diamond collecting. The flat shape of a lasque diamond makes it suitable for a watch crystal, which is what Patek […]
The bonus season is around the corner, and many of us are already thinking of different ways to reward ourselves for the hard work and effort that we had put in this year. While there are various means to spend our bonuses, but Watch-Idiot-Savants (WIS) like us will probably use the money to get ourselves a new timepiece to add into our…
Sacha Davidoff Reports On The November 2016 Watch Auctions Following my preview of the Antiquorum & Phillips watch auctions, my brother and I took a look at Christie’s upcoming auction catalog, but sadly did not have the pleasure of viewing the watches in person yet as they are currently traveling. The Christie’s team have focused […]
Some manufactures grew to an almost mythical status and became legends, and not only among watch collectors. Their fame have simply crossed the circle of initiates to gain a worldwide aura. And as always with legends, there is a gray area. One of them is Patek Philippe. Many tried to bring light on the history of this Old Maison, we did try to bring light on some parts of the story (cf. Nautilus History) but today, you’ll have the opportunity to know everything about Patek, with an official book that can be seen as the definitive history of the legendary Swiss manufacture. Here is “Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography” by Nicholas Foulkes – and it is available now via Patek.com.
Patek Philippe celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Nautilus with the release of two new Nautilus watches: the Nautilus 5711/1P and the Nautilus 5976/1G 40th Anniversary Editions. Both received mixed reactions from collectors, ranging from “ugly anniversary blurb on the dial”, to “too huge case for a…