Watch Dandy

Editor’s note: Early last year, our fearless leader Andrew McUtchen was fortunate enough to breach the inner sanctum of Hublot’s High Complication Department and have a chat with the boss, Emmanuel Missillier. What’s more, Mr Missillier proceeded to pull apart one of Hublot’s intricate tourbillon movements, all for our viewing pleasure.  Hublot have made big strides in recent years to establish watchmaking credibility as a counterweight to its heavy-hitting celebrity power. Regular nominations in various GPHG categories – across women’s and men’s watches – have been a meaningful benchmark for progress, and new crowd-pleasers, such as the delightful movement architecture of the Meca-10, have opened up a fresh conversation with watch lovers about what wearing a Hublot actually means in the modern day. To this end, when we were invited to the manufacture in Nyon to better get to know the brand, we were immediately interested in the High Complication Department and thought we might use its expertise to get inside the cases of some of the most popular, desirable and useful complications that Hublot offer. So, prepare yourself, we have a little three-part miniseries coming your way – each honing in on a complication. But rather than telling the story from…

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TAG Heuer has just unveiled the all-new Monaco 02, and it’s a big deal because it’s the first Monaco in the storied watch’s 50-year history to utilise a completely in-house movement. As a result, the Swiss watchmaker is kissing goodbye to the old Sellita SW300-based Calibre 12 movement, which has been a stalwart of the Monaco for quite some time. However, the Calibre 12 has been a true workhorse of a movement, and TAG is keen to give the automatic movement the send-off it deserves. Which brings us to this, the limited TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 12 Final Edition. Limited to 1000 pieces, the Final Edition is a particularly good-looking example of the Monaco breed, thanks in no small part to the gorgeous aesthetic that the dial presents. It’s hewn from something called Ruthenium, chemical symbol Ru and atomic number 44 (for all you chemistry boffins out there), and it sits in the platinum group on the periodic table. It is a handsome metal to behold and, according to TAG, the metal presents real iridescent quality that changes hews as it catches the light. Brush finished, the steely dial is complemented by a white chapter ring, black sub-dials at nine…

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To work at one of the largest international auction houses in the world, you need to know your stuff, which makes you very good at evaluating the world’s rarest watches and also passing that knowledge onto collectors and enthusiasts. One such watch auction expert is Dr Andrew Hildreth, who is responsible for presenting and writing Christie’s online course, “History of Watches: 1700 to Now”, a comprehensive overview of just about everything you might need to know about the last 300 years of horological history. The man seriously knows what he’s talking about, with his favorite vintage watch being a unique Patek Philippe ref. 2458 that was commissioned by the American lawyer J.B. Champion in 1952, and his grail modern watch is a Greubel Forsey Quantum Perpetual (“because it solves all the problems that have plagued the perpetual calendar complication”). In an interview with Christie’s, Dr Hildreth reveals the truth about who really invented the balance spring, why Fidel Castro was such a Rolex fanboy, and the seriously collectible vintage watches he believes aren’t on everyone’s radar yet. Find the link to the full article on Christie’s site here.

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To work at one of the largest international auction houses in the world, you need to know your stuff, which makes you very good at evaluating the world’s rarest watches and also passing that knowledge onto collectors and enthusiasts. One such watch auction expert is Dr Andrew Hildreth, who is responsible for presenting and writing Christie’s online course, “History of Watches: 1700 to Now”, a comprehensive overview of just about everything you might need to know about the last 300 years of horological history. The man seriously knows what he’s talking about, with his favorite vintage watch being a unique Patek Philippe ref. 2458 that was commissioned by the American lawyer J.B. Champion in 1952, and his grail modern watch is a Greubel Forsey Quantum Perpetual (“because it solves all the problems that have plagued the perpetual calendar complication”). In an interview with Christie’s, Dr Hildreth reveals the truth about who really invented the balance spring, why Fidel Castro was such a Rolex fanboy, and the seriously collectible vintage watches he believes aren’t on everyone’s radar yet. Find the link to the full article on Christie’s site here.

The post RECOMMENDED READING: 14 lessons from Christie’s watch auction expert appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.