Close to 120 years after Abraham-Louis Breguet patented the tourbillon, master watchmaker Alfred Helwig (1886-1974) created a “flying” tourbillon at the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte. The flying tourbillon became somewhat characteristic of Glashütte and lives on in a few very special watches today. Who was Alfred Helwig? Find out here.
Petermann Bédat is a young company comprising a youthful duo of independent watchmakers by the names of Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat. Their first watch features a deadbeat style of seconds created with the help of grand master Dominique Renaud. Our friends at The Watches TV hosted Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat in their Geneva studio to find out more. Watch their talk here!
The 2020 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published the list of shortlisted (“nominated”) watches in the run-up to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 12. Elizabeth Doerr shares all of the finalist watches in each category here. Let us know your favorites!
Effervescent red wine in Australia was originally known as “sparkling Burgundy” and is often still affectionately referred to as “Spurgles” in accordance with the country’s national need to shorten every name. Ken Gargett confesses that he is a fan and shares a few of his favorites here alongside the history of this fascinating sub-genre.
Not only Martin Green thinks that a date has the power to swiftly ruin the appearance of a watch. But that didn’t happen to Breguet’s latest addition to the Tradition family, the smart Quantième Rétrograde 7597 with its clever new date function. See for yourself!
Joshua Munchow feels a philosophical bond with John-Mikaël Flaux, an independent watchmaker and automaton designer, just from how Flaux describes himself and why he creates. Joshua loves the mechanical marvels he constructs, but it’s deeper than the result of his craftsmanship: Flaux is a mechanically curious person and his passion comes through in the objects he makes. Find out exactly what those are right here.
Oster Jewelers recently published the latest episode of its very cool ‘Keeping Time’ podcast featuring our very own nerdwriter, Joshua Munchow! In it, Joshua and Oster Jewelers owner Jeremy Oster explore a wide range of subjects, ranging from the history and development of hairsprings to trends in watchmaking today. And you can find out which watch Joshua can’t stand if you listen.
Seiko’s story is much more complicated than most people might think. This is a manufacturer that not only followed a trend, but actually created some of its own, capitalizing on expertise, knowledge, and skills that were practically the mother of necessity for this manufacturer located so far away from the established European centers of watchmaking. Including its extraordinary Micro Artist Division, its little-known department for high horology.
‘Tenet’ is not the first time Hamilton has collaborated with wristwatches on a Christopher Nolan movie; the first was The Murph created for ‘Interstellar’ back in 2014. And like ‘Interstellar,’ ‘Tenet’ uses time as one of its main themes, running like a gold thread through the complicated plot. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at the Navy Khaki BeLOWZERO models that Hamilton created as a prop and as a limited edition release.
GaryG wears all of the watches in his collection, though some watches are more suited to daily wear than others. A reader’s question got Gary thinking, both about which pieces in his assortment are the go-to routine watches for frequent wear and, at a more fundamental level, what makes a watch a “daily wearer.” Read his opinion on that right here.