Landing on the Moon is among mankind’s greatest feats, but deep-sea exploration is often considered comparably difficult. Extreme pressures and an overall hostile environment require very specialized equipment and know-how to dive to 300 metres and beyond. The Edox North Sea 1978 pays tribute to the “Inverse Moon Landing” when explorers dove 320 meters under […]
The FHS, the Federation Horlogère Suisse (or the Swiss Watch Federation), has just released export statistics for 2020 marking a year of profound global change. Although the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak cannot be calculated accurately, the pandemic has had a strong impact on the watch industry. Exports dropped by 21.8% in value to […]
The watch industry has taken a big hit during the pandemic. Swatch Group has just released its 2020 results and, as expected, these have been severely impacted. At CHF 5,595 million, net sales are down 28.7% at constant exchange rate and 32.1% at current rates. The operating results remain slightly positive at CHF 52 million […]
I did choose to be very optimistic in my story last week about the astounding Vacheron Constantin Tour de L’Ile reaching a cool record $3 million to kick off a healthy 2021. The estimate was set at Antiquorum’s Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces in Monaco to a spread of $1.8 – $3 million. But the watch didn’t make it – far from it, in fact – ending up selling for a paltry $1.2 million plus buyer’s premium. This begs the questions: are we merely looking at early signs of a fickle market in this astronomical price range? Or does this suggest another year of tumbling auction sales? This VC sold for $2.1 million when it was produced, bearing in mind that at that time is was the most complicated men’s wristwatch ever made. Having just sold for less than $1.5 million, in the world of uber complex Haute Horlogerie this surely constitutes a bargain? Relatively speaking, of course. As in selling all the houses of my close family might make me able to afford said bargain. Yet analysing the other top lots in this Antiquorum auction, the market ultimately still seems healthy if slightly unpredictable, and maybe in a transformative phase…
The post AUCTION NEWS: This Vacheron Constantin sold for just 40 per cent of its $3 million prediction. Is 2021 off to a catastrophically slow start? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Start your engines. The metal in these limited-edition watches comes from two classic Shelby prototypes.
The “Save The Ocean” concept isn’t new at Seiko and has resulted in multiple special edition models based on the brand’s most beloved watches, such as the Samurai or the Turtle. The result of Seiko’s partnership with Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s grandson, it contributes to promoting health and conservation of the oceans. This year, Seiko is back […]
Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.
Grab a cup of coffee – with this wide selection of vintage, you’ll need it.
Let me start by saying the headline is paraphrasing master watchmaker, and OBE, Roger Smith, and a contraction of two statements. The first is that Britain “had a great history [in watchmaking], and we squandered it.” The second is his statement that “for a couple of hundred years, we had world dominance.” Assuming that you forgive me, we can continue with this very interesting development. Which is the formation of the British Alliance of Watch and Clockmakers, which had already amassed 30 trade members at the time of this interview, late last year. What’s the backstory here? What has led to the formation of the Alliance? I’ve noticed over the last 10 to 12 years, there’s just been a steady increase in people who are entering into this sector and I’ve been thinking about this for many, many years and realising that things were going on and that perhaps we all needed to get together and start sharing our ideas and trying to build this fascinating industry. And I bumped into Mike France, about two years ago at a Salon QP Events, which is held in the Saatchi gallery in London. Really, we felt that there was something bubbling away…
The post INTERVIEW: “We squandered world domination.” Roger Smith says British watchmaking deserves a new dawn appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Although the Timezoner concept isn’t something new at IWC, it remains one of the most practical functions the brand has patented. With its effortless system to change time zones without stopping the movement, the Timezoner relies on a clever mechanism making the bezel and movement interact. After being unveiled in 2016 along with a flyback […]