Here at Quill & Pad we are quite smitten by Romain Gauthier’s award-winning Logical One. But one thing that often gets glossed over somewhat is the subject of one of this watch’s four patents: the incredible high-precision chain made of synthetic ruby links. Combined with the snail cam, it is this element that provides the ingenious movement with constant force.
As humanity barrels toward the premier of the final season of HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ saga and the highly-anticipated showdown with the Night King, various companies begin to roll out associated items to profit from the show’s massive fan base. But Elizabeth Doerr has yet to see anything equaling the chilling look and high quality of Montegrappa’s latest limited edition pen set recreating some of the show’s most gothic-looking characters.
Despite seeing aventurine in six new wristwatches at SIHH 2018 – more than the number of new tourbillons Elizabeth counted – it remains a decorative artisanal element used only by luxury watchmakers in small series or unique pieces for its beauty and decorative properties. While there is some public uncertainty about the origin of aventurine, it continues to add mysterious shine and scintillating glamour to watches. Here is what aventurine really is and where it comes from.
The Red Dot is inarguably the most important and widely recognized of all design awards. Until the 2015 edition of the competition, there was no dedicated watch category. That changed and now the prestigious German prize counts a three-man jury dedicated exclusively to watches. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at this year’s crop of Red Dot prize winners in the watch category.
For the last 250 years, Hine has been headquartered at Hine House on the banks on the Charente River in Jarnac. Hine holds a special honor given to no other cognac producer: in 1962, it was granted a royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth II to act as supplier to the royal household. And how does the brand’s Antique XO measure up?
While watching a recent clip from the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Nick Gould noticed that Chris Pratt was wearing a watch on each wrist – and both from Cartier. On his right wrist was a Calibre de Cartier Chronograph and on the left a Calibre de Cartier Diver. Why would he do that?
If you want to love Rolex, but you love mechanical movements more than you love watch brands themselves, rejoice: Tim Mosso thinks that we are living in the halcyon days of Rolex movement innovation and shares a few well-illustrated technical and movement highlights right here.
Oh, those Geneva auctions! While GaryG’s intention is usually to browse the rare pieces on offer, gain an education from his auction-house friends and escape unscathed, it seems that more often than not there is a piece that puts him into bidding mode. And sometimes, that piece is entirely unanticipated as was the case of the Vacheron & Constantin Reference 4560 triple calendar that he stumbled across at the Sotheby’s preview. Here is why he bought it.
Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva is one of the men who has dared to venture down the road of fiber optics, though this is part of something much bigger for the independent watchmaker: his first in-house movement, aka ‘moonment,’ which powers his new Lunations timepiece. And it has Joshua Munchow howling!
Chances are that if you have a pulse, you have probably watched – or perhaps even read – some of the ‘Game of Thrones’ series. And unless you live at the bottom of the Eyrie, you are probably aware how popular the series is. And if so, you may also be interested in Montegrappa’s set of pens paying tribute to the dragonlicious show