Many brands participating in the 2021 Only Watch auction took inspiration from the orange-colored livery of the 2021 auction and worked it into their watches. While all of these watches are very different, what they have in common is their highly creative approach. Here Martin Green highlights five watches with orange in them from the 2021 Only Watch auction.
anOrdain is not your average watch company. Located in Glasgow, Scotland, its name derives from a remote loch deep in the Scottish Highlands. There, Lewis Heath, a trained architect, first got the idea of creating a modern watch brand honoring traditional crafts. And the new Model 1 Payne’s Grey Fumé exemplifies how anOrdain not only honors these crafts but superbly progresses them.
Today’s high-end automata beautifully illustrate that extraordinary engineering can be combined with impressive artistic crafts to wonderful ends. But even in the highest quality examples, the principles of what drives automata are largely the same as they have been for centuries because most are based on very straightforward mechanical principles to create motion. Everything you ever wanted to know about automata is right here.
The rules for the GPHG’s Jewellery category state that the watches must demonstrate exceptional mastery of the art of jewelry and gem setting and are also distinguished by the choice of stones featured in them. Once again our panel has a favorite, but there’s no consensus.
One of Martin Green’s favorite watches of 2021 is the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem. At rest, the time is not visible on this watch. However, after pushing a snake-shaped button the entire dial comes to life as a rattlesnake begins to move and the skull begins to laugh at you. And finally you can see the time (but only if you need to).
A. Lange & Söhne launches the Zeitwerk Lumen in a limited edition Honeygold case on October 24, 2021. The brand’s own special gold alloy adds fresh appeal to one of its technically most complex pieces. But there is much more to this launch rooted in history as Sabine Zwettler notes.
Martin Green still vividly remembers admiring the Minimatik in the comfort of the Nomos booth at Baselworld 2015. Other watches were presented to him during this appointment, but he kept reaching for the Minimatik. Now he has bought one for himself, and here Martin explains why.
Cars and watches, watches and cars: they do seem to go together! Scratch almost any watch lover and you’re going to find a car lover just under the surface. GaryG talks with his pal “Enzo” in this interesting discussion about the similarities and dissimilarities of car and watch collecting.
It’s not easy to have a single product line that spans all the way from entry-level pieces to multimillion-dollar halo watches, but Jaeger-LeCoultre has achieved it with the Reverso. It’s still possible for a young collector to do exactly what GaryG did almost 30 years ago and enter the world of true high horology with a first Reverso purchase.
As Martin Green became ever more impressed by the performance of the Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement, he also found himself enamored by its little quirks and the variety of watches it has been tapped to power. Here Martin outlines the history of this classic automatic chronograph movement.