It’s no secret: GaryG is an immense admirer of Philippe Dufour. Part of greatness, of course, is leaving a legacy; not only through one’s works, but in the skills and inspiration passed on to those who follow, which Dufour has liberally done. But who, if anyone, will history regard as the lineal heir to the Dufour tradition? Gary has reached what may seem a counterintuitive conclusion: Romain Gauthier.
When Ken Gargett first heard mention of a gin called Monkey 47, he assumed it must fall very much in the novelty category. Then he tried it and it has been his favorite gin ever since. Here Ken shares the story, more than likely a mix of fact and the apocryphal, of how Monkey 47 gin came to be. And it involves a watchmaker!
While its convertible Amadeo case allows the Bovet Miss Audrey watch to be easily converted to a pendant or desk clock, the focus of Sweet Art is its incredible sugar crystal dial. Joshua Munchow was skeptical when he first heard about the sugar being used but the results speak for themselves, and it is hard to argue that the dials aren’t indeed gorgeously crafted. You must see this for yourself.
Can a serious watch manufacture get away with producing such a “gimmicky” timepiece as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther? Serious and gimmicky are not mutually exclusive, but they were posed as two different questions in the same breath by Marc André Deschoux of The Watches TV in a special video taking a look at the first timepiece to emerge from the collaborative energy between Audemars Piguet and Marvel Studios. What’s your opinion?
The majority of today’s numerous flieger-style watches are inspired by the now-iconic German pilot’s and navigator’s watches of World War II, becoming a genre unto themselves. Bhanu Chopra flies high to take a deep dive into the long history of this popular style.
The date: January 13, 2012. The place: Glashütte, Germany, where one of my best friends had arranged for the two of us to visit A. Lange & Söhne. The vision: my friend extended his arm from the sleeve of his shirt, and what I saw left me reeling – my first view of the Lange Datograph Perpetual in white gold. I was confident from that very moment that this was a watch for me, but pursuit of the piece took four long years.
Antiquorum will be holding its next auction in Monaco on July 21, 2021, where collectors will have a chance to bid for the very first time on a Patek Philippe Reference 5711/1A-014. Yes, this is the brand-new stainless steel Nautilus with olive-green dial introduced in April 2021 as the model replacing the blue-dialed Reference 5711/1A-010. While that’s noteworthy, there are a number of other lots worth looking at too.
Ahead of Geneva Watch Days at the end of August and the European summer break, some independent watch brands have announced new watches. Here, Elizabeth Doerr highlights three of these new watches with eye-catching dials that really caught her own eye.
Caran d’Ache’s acclaimed Fixpencil was conceived in 1929 by Swiss engineer Carl Schmid, who invented and patented a unique clutch-style lead holder that made it possible to accept leads of different diameters. Zurich-based designer Alfredo Häberli is a fan, which led to the creation of the colorful new limited edition Caran d’Ache + Alfredo Häberli Fixpencil.
The lion’s share of high-end watch brands come from French- and German-speaking regions, so the correct pronunciations of their names are not always obvious or easy. This fun video by our friends at The Watches TV demonstrates the correct pronunciations and highlights a few common mistakes. And it will make you smile.