I counted no less than nine new striking timepieces at the 2017 SIHH. This has to be some sort of record! And of these, two brands – Vacheron Constantin and Ulysse Nardin – presented two new chiming watches each.
Here are five of these delightful new striking timepieces.
After following the story of former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and independent watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin for the past two years, I was itching to get the two together and hear a few of the behind-the-scenes stories on how they got together and what they “bond” over (see what I did there?).
It’s not just the Đông Sơn drum theme of these two quite different collector’s items by watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and pen maker Grayson Tighe that caught my eye: it was more than that, it was the actual pieces themselves inspired by the indigenous people of the Red River Delta of Vietnam.
What a beautiful theme to decorate such rare and interesting objects with.
A new year brings new beginnings – and what can be a more fabulous way to kick-off 2017 with a new watch? Say an uncommon watch?…
First introduced in 2014, the Veshelda is inspired by one of Peter Speake-Marin‘s earliest watches, the Shimoda. Both are characterised by a single, elongated hour hand tells the time to the nearest five minutes. The Veshelda Chinese is the latest in a series of one-handed limited editions, including one containing a drop of the most expensive […]
After the first Velsheda, Speake-Marin’s vision of the mono-aiguille watch (single-hand), a timepiece that was both relatively classical in terms of design and discreetly extravagant, followed later by a Gothic edition, showing a very specific typography for the numerals – something that definitely pushed this watch in the extravagant (in a good way) category – the brand today introduces a new version. What we have here is a model still with gothic inspiration, evolutions on the dial and in a limited edition of 8 pieces. Here is the second iteration of the Speake-Marin Velsheda Gothic.
Peter Speake-Marin is going back to his roots with a tourbillon, after an incursion in the world of sports watches. This complication is of very special significance for him. This is a good reason to take a closer look at his Magister Tourbillon, bringing together a host of details characteristics of his watch design we have been enjoying for some 15 years.
To some, when it comes to independent watchmakers, Peter Speake-Marin is probably one of the first few names that will come to mind. And yet others will go, “Peter Who?” The Speake-Marin began in earnest only in 2002, and is a relatively new name in the world of horology, but he had garnered a respectable following by…
When first introduced at Baselworld 2014, the Speake-Marin Spirit Seafire was the first chronograph of the brand (introduced alongside the Spirit Wing Commander, creating a new collection of sports watches). You’ll have to admit, coming from a man like Peter Speake Marin, more used to highly complicated watches and well known for his superior watchmaking skills, this was rather surprising. A more commercial-oriented piece for sure, plus also being a sportier development of a growing brand, the Spirit Seafire Chronograph is however still (very much) a Speake-Marin watch… just with a different perspective. Let’s look in details what a Speake-Marin for a larger audience can offer.
Pierce Brosnan’s personal and professional timepieces have included big names like Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Panerai, but also intriguingly Speake-Marin. What influence do the roles he plays have on his personal watch taste? Martin Green provides the answer.