WHO TO FOLLOW: @Horonation

Self-described ‘WIS Globetrotter’, @Horonation likes to keep his identity secret — preferring the moniker ‘Mr X’. To say he’s serious about his watches would just about be the understatement of the year. Hey mate, what is your ‘daily watch’ and why? I rotate and wear all my watches. But I find it very comfortable wearing vintage Rolexes and white metal on a daily basis rather than wearing those dressy rose gold pieces. But no particular ‘daily beater’ for me. I wear my double tourbillon, Greubel Forsey, as much as I wear my other watches. Perhaps I usually select what I wear on my wrist to match my outfit of the day. How did your love of watches start? When did it escalate to the point you realised it was a serious addiction? I was first attracted to horology when my father-in-law bought me a piece. The visit to the watch retailer was an eye-opener as I didn’t know that the horology world was so vast. At that time I was only aware of two brands – Rolex and TAG Heuer as the most popular brands among Indonesians. Fuelled by my curiosity and eagerness to learn, I started reading about horology and joining local…

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8 years ago

Hands-on – The Complex Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite Now in Steel

The vast majority of people are comfortable with watches simply displaying hours and minutes but multiple time-zone watches are (and we can tell thanks to our own experience) useful for globetrotters or those who need to keep track of time in different countries. With the Senator Cosmopolite, Glashütte Original’s take on the complication is packed with a unique set of features, making for a highly functional and original travel watch. Initially launched in gold in 2015, its sophisticated mechanism is now cased in steel – thus more accessible (or, at least, less expensive).

8 years ago

RECOMMENDED READING: Who needs sleep? LVMH watch boss Jean-Claude Biver shares his tips for productivity

At Baselworld this year, I met Mr Biver for the very first time. And I can say, with complete conviction, that he was every bit the personality and man I expected him to be. He is one of the rare few who has well and truly left his mark on Swiss watchmaking. And played a big part in bringing the industry back from the brink of the ’70s “quartz crisis”. He’s also at his absolute best in this short interview with Wired, where he gives insight into his time in the industry and how he makes the most of his time. From a hippie commune to CEO, he explains why you shouldn’t work, never sleep, and only use email.

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8 years ago

LIST: Somewhere over the rainbow – 8 of the year’s best gem-set watches 

There’s no point sugar-coating it. Gem-set watches aren’t for everyone. For one, all that ice racks up the price tag (so much so that all the watches below are POA), and for another, it takes a certain type of person to appreciate the — occasionally over-the-top — artistry it takes to make a watch shine like the proverbial crazy diamond, sapphire or peridot. But even if it’s not your thing, you can’t deny the power of the bling. Rolex Rainbow Daytona in Everose One of the major standouts of Basel 2018, the latest model to get Rolex’s famous (and divisive) rainbow bezel treatment is the Everose Daytona, and it is a knockout (and one of my favourite watches of the fair). On top of the usual Daytona awesomeness, you get 36 baguette sapphires on the bezel, and another 56 diamonds on the case. The final touch is the pink gold crystal registers. You need to see this watch IRL to appreciate just how awesome it is. Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Sapphire Rainbow The second, and indeed final, rainbow set watch on this list could not be any more stylistically different to the Daytona. Hublot’s big tonneau, the Spirit of Big…

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8 years ago

Must Read – Richemont “Destroys” More than EUR 450m of Unsold Watches in Two Years

It is no breaking news to say that the industry had to face difficult times in 2015 and 2016. Business had been tough due to decreasing sales. The Richemont Group – the luxury powerhouse that owns Cartier, IWC, Montblanc or JLC – had also been affected by this situation – as reported by MONOCHROME here. Part of Richemont’s plan to help cleaning the situation was a massive buyback strategy, thus reducing stocks at retailers. What was unknown was the total amount of watches bought back by the group… Well, according to The Guardian, we’re talking about approximately half a billion Euro/Dollar.

8 years ago

Breaking News – Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewellery fair, appoints a new Managing Director, Michel Loris-Melikoff

The man tasked with reshaping Baselworld to meet the current challenges is a 53-old lawyer who started his career in Private Banking. He was previously in function with MHC group (the company organizing Baselworld) in Lausanne. The longstanding Managing Director of Baselworld, Sylvie Ritter, has decided to step down from her position at the MCH Group after 15 years in the position. The transfer of management will take place on 1 July 2018.

8 years ago

Hands-on – Ulysse Nardin Freak Out – The UN Freak Concept More Affordable Than Ever

It all started in the early 1980s with the encounter of Rolf W. Schnyder, a visionary businessman and Ludwig Oeschlin, a brilliant horologist. The two men turned Ulysse Nardin, a century-old manufacturer into one of the most innovative watch brands around. The most striking development brought to life by the duo is, without a doubt, the Freak (2001). This legendary timepiece was powered by a revolutionary in-line movement pivoting on itself to indicate the time. It was regulated by the cutting-edge ‘dual direct escapement’. With the Freak, Ulysse Nardin not only became a silicon pioneer (as such it is a true game-changer in the watch industry) but developed a concept like no other regarding design, display and technology.

8 years ago