NEWS: Imagine finding this in your pocket – Longines discover their oldest watch to date
There are few brands that take as much pride in their heritage as Longines. Not surprising, really, when you consider that the winged hourglass brand pioneered the way for the reissue. In fact, the Saint-Imier manufacturer is so proud of their history that their own museum is home to more than 10,000 historic pieces, while the brand also routinely holds competitions around the world in search of their oldest watches. Until recently, that honour fell to the 335th piece produced by Longines, but now, with the help of a dedicated Japanese-American collector, Longines have found a pocket watch with the serial number 183, dating the “savonnette” type silver pocket watch to the year 1867. A big year for Longines, 1867 was not only the same year that Longines began manufacturing their components under a single roof in their brand-new factory in the long meadows that the brand is named for, but also the year they began consecutively numbering the watches they produced. It was this system, as well as the brand’s diligent archiving of information, that made it possible for their historians and watchmakers to establish exactly when the pocket watch was made. Identifying it as one of the very…
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When the watchfam get together, it’s only a matter of time before the hot topic of grail watches rears its curious head. It’s no surprise, either, that for many collectors, their ultimate goal is usually found at the higher-end of the watchmaking spectrum. Perhaps a Patek Philippe or something of the Vacheron variety? Or maybe the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Brought to life by Gérald Genta, when he famously sketched the design for the “unprecedented steel watch” on the eve of the 1971 Basel watch fair, it was almost a year to the day later when the luxury sports watch made its debut in 1972. Taking its inspiration from traditional diving helmets, with an octagonal case featuring exposed screw heads and an integrated bracelet, the Royal Oak is widely considered as the very first luxury sports watch and sparked the trend that has since become the much-loved norm. Forty years later, in 2012, Audemars Piguet released this version of the Royal Oak, the ref. 15202ST, their most faithful tribute to the original yet, and one that is still in production and winning countless watch fans the world over. Matching the original’s 39mm case diameter – a size once considered huge…
When it was announced last year, I thought Hublot’s Orlinski case was one of the freshest, coolest new shapes I’d seen in quite some time. And then they went and released it in blue ceramic and I quietly lost my mind. But before we dive into the blue, let’s have a quick refresher on just what — or who — an Orlinski is. Richard Orlinski is a French contemporary artist, known for his bright, poppy, faceted sculptures. In this partnership, Orlinski has brought his geometric approach to Hublot. Fundamentally, the Orlinski Hublot is a classic fusion — a two register chronograph with a heavily skeletonised dial that’s well-worn territory for the brand. It’s big — 45mm across and 13.40mm high, and powered by the non-Unico HUB1155. From a distance, the case still has that classic Hublot look — brawny shoulders and big bezel. But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that while the fundamental clay that forms the watch is the same, it’s been remoulded into something entirely new. The clay metaphor is a (not so clever) play on the fact that Orlinski is a sculptor, but it also works on a more literal level. The incredibly vibrant blue ceramic…