Well, despite ever-present COVID, the war in Ukraine, and a property crash in China, the world’s economy has held together enough to make 2023 a fantastic year for fine watchmaking. Here are Ian Skellern’s predictions for the watches to win prizes at the 2023 GPHG.
A friend called Michael Friedberg recently, thrilled that he had just bought a rare 50th anniversary watch at a local boutique. Michael shared his joy and asked him how he acquired it – which led him down a rabbit hole of boutique madness. Here he shares his frustrating experiences trying to buy a luxury watch today.
Can you imagine buying a watch bracelet and then searching for the right watch to pair with it? Seems a bit far fetched, but that’s exactly what a good friend of GaryG’s did a few years ago. And it led to him purchasing two beautiful 1815 Chronograph models from A. Lange & Söhne.
There are always things that fans ask of brands across any industry, and the watch world is no different. Why not a Omega Seamaster 300M without a helium escape valve, a smaller titanium Rolex Yacht-Master, and why isn’t JLC more popular? Raman Kalra has a few more questions for 2023.
Joshua Munchow talks about steel here, the metal that made the world! Watch cases and other movement components are commonly made from certain stainless steels, 304 and 316L being the most frequent. It also happens that some brands hold exclusive rights to use specific alloys in the production of its watches. Here’s what you should know about steel.
So, what does a squillion dollar tequila taste like? The color is a deep gold/bronze, not dissimilar to an aged rum. The nose is both powerful and mellow, with dried fruits, orange rind, cinnamon, hints of nutmeg, honey, even cassis and Christmas cake. The palate is quite stunning, as smooth and seductive as one could imagine.
For Ken Gargett, the Veuve Clicquot 2012 La Grande Dame is a special champagne. It walks the tightrope between dense and coiled power with delicacy, finesse, and elegance. Great intensity, finally balanced acidity, early complexity, and it is still wonderfully youthful with a long future ahead of it. But what interesting story lies behind this fantastic champagne?
For a minute repeater, the volume and clarity of the sound is important. The Moser x MB&F Streamliner Pandamonium is made from stainless steel and has hollowed-out segments inside the case to amplify the sound. But it’s the Panda playing DJ that makes this unique piece repeater so special.
There are nice-looking watches, there are crisp-looking watches, and then there are watches that emanate an otherworldly glow. For GaryG the Rexhep Rexhepi/Akrivia Chronomètre Contemporain falls into the third category, so much so that it became a running joke for a friend to pantomime a “smelling salts” motion as a signal for Gary to pull up his sleeve and jolt him back to attention. Here he explains why he bought this new classic watch.
Osmium is so rare and dense, has such a high melting point, and is so hard to form or compress that it has very few practical uses. But earlier this year Czapek & Cie released the limited edition Antarctique Frozen Star S with an absolutely mind-blowing dial made of pure osmium crystals.