The newly released Montblanc Timewalker Chronograph 1000 is certainly an intriguing proposition. Two wheel trains with two balance wheels, one running at 18,000 bph, and another at 360,000 bph. The latter would normally imply a resolution of 1/100th of a second, but the Timewalker Chronograph 1000 measures up to a resolution of 1/1000th of a…
To discuss Bulgari grand complications and their dedication to high end watchmaking is to return back to the very start of its founding in Rome, 1884. That is not to imply that Bulgari and their history of watchmaking extends to such a distant past but rather the planting of a seed of insight into the innovation and creativity which has…
Laureus. A name associated with social change and development via sports-related projects. Laureus comprises the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus World Sports Award and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The Foundation was established in 1999 by Daimler and Richemont and funds and supports children’s community sports projects. The…
Introduced in 1996, the Patek Philippe annual calendar has had a stellar run, becoming of the brand’s bestsellers. Thanks to its modular construction, the annual calendar mechanism has been fitted to a variety of base movements, but its most classic form is arguably the window-type display found on the various versions of the ref. 5396. […]
When Vacheron Constantin released news of their new “piece-unique” Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 watch for SIHH 2017, my first impression was that unlike the Reference 57260 most complicated pocket watch ever created, the Ref. 9720C/000G-B281, most complicated wristwatch…
Three times a seconds… At first glance the Urban Jürgensen & Sonner (UJ&S) 1140C is an alluring dress watch with the traditional attention to detail and lavish craftsmanship that goes into all the brand’s timepieces. Take a closer look though and you will notice the unusual, almost jerking motion of its seconds hand, which actually moves three times a second. Not just a pretty face, the reference 1140C is powered by sophisticated mechanics regulated by a detent escapement, a grail of chronometry adapted to fit in a wristwatch.
Each year for SIHH, it is Lange tradition to debut a timepiece of monumental complexity as the star novelty. Last year it was the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon – a perpetual calendar chronograph with a tourbillon regulator – and the year before that, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, a decimal minute repeater that also…
There’s a great line attributed to the fictional character Gregory House from the popular show House that seems very applicable in our social media driven world of instant feedback; “if nobody hates you, you’re doing something wrong.” It seems appropriate now more than ever as we see an increasing number of independent watchmaking brands emerge from relative obscurity to take center stage in what can only be described as ‘interesting’ times for the luxury watch industry as a whole. One such notable player is a small, British-based watch-maker by the name of Garrick Watch Co.
When our good friend Justin Mastine-Frost was assembling his lists of last year’s best watches at various budgets, one entry in the 3-4k category sprung out – the Hyperchrome 1616. And no, not just because of how huge it is. The reason it stood out is because it challenges many of the stereotypes and preconceptions about Rado watches. When I think Rado, I immediately visualise sleek, thin cases, instantly recognisable thanks to the opalescent sheen of ceramic. Well, the 1616 is none of those things, but that doesn’t mean it’s not Rado to the core. You don’t have to be an expert to realise that the 1616 is inspired by the ’70s, an era where the prevailing attitude to watch design was the bigger and bolder, the better. Its muse is a watch called the Cape Horn, which had a distinctive shape with the same sort of rounded-off square case that we see here. Rado has taken this silhouette and run with it, bumping up the size to a highly polished 46mm that will not go unnoticed on your wrist. You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s polished steel but in fact it’s a specially treated titanium which makes it almost as scratch-resistant as ceramic. So even on this ostensibly heritage-styled…
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An even fancier version of the extravagant original, the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky is a huge wristwatch with an exotic, three-dimensional display for both the time and astronomical indications. Though the American jeweller is best known for its bejewelled multi-time zone watches that have little technical interest, the Astronomia Sky is a mechanically intriguing timepiece, built by complications specialist […]