GaryG looks back over 2021 to share his travels, acquisitions, thoughts, and even some of the more interesting swag he picked up in this delightfully comprehensive overview of a watch nut’s year.
Interest in mezcal has exploded in markets like the United States. Others have been a little slower to get on board but it is happening. And that is thanks to the top shelf, artisanal craft efforts. Here Ken Gargett takes a deep dive into mezcal and warns off drinking the bottles with a worm.
Joshua Munchow is the fortunate owner on a M.A.D.1 Red. Here he explains how he came to have a M.A.D.1 Red and what he thinks of it after a few months on his wrist.
Including established shapes, mechanics, and components within a watch that bucks the norm is a great way to gently pull people along as a watch brand goes in a new direction. Greubel Forsey has subtly mastered this technique, and the new Balancier S2 is the awesomely unique result. The Balancier S2 has the warmth of classic Greubel Forsey intermingled with the crisp future of the brand.
Jacky Ickx and Chopard co-president Karl-Friedirch Scheufele have been friends for 27 years. In 1989 Scheufele and Ickx drove the Mille Miglia together. “We got to know each other there. He turned up and said, ‘Well, I have no intention of driving. You’re driving; I’m going to watch the scenery’,” Scheufele recently laughed. It is such shared events in addition to the legendary race car driver’s achievements that have inspired Chopard to continue to dedicate timepieces to Ickx, honoring a man who can certainly be called one of the world’s very best drivers.
Alex has been a serious watch collector for decades, but it’s only in the last few years that he has focused his attention to independent watchmakers. Here he shares the story of his collecting journey and why he bought a Vincent Deprez Tourbillon Classique Souscription Edition
Vacheron Constantin released a watch that crosses the bridge between the worlds of watches and wine: a single-piece edition called Les Cabinotiers Grande Complication Bacchus. Ken Gargett understands that watch people find this as exciting as wine lovers might find the new vintage of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Romanée-Conti.
In GaryG’s 30 years of “serious” participation in the watch hobby, he has met few, if any, more interesting individuals than William Massena Rohr, founder and leader of Massena Lab, and Luca Soprana, an independent complications specialist. Here, Gary reviews (and photographs) the Old School watch collaboration between Soprana and Massena Lab.
After spending a few days with the Alpina Alpiner Extreme Regulator, Martin Green felt it was good looking, comfortable to wear and offers a lot of bang for your buck!
This is the story of GaryG’s pursuit, and eventual capture, of a classic vintage watch: a Type 20 “big eye” flyback chronograph manufactured by Mathey-Tissot.