Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary celebration, which took place on October 13, 2014 at the brand’s impressive factory in Geneva, was a firework of artistic expression. From the unique oeuvres that Patek Philippe calls its Rare Handcrafts, I’d like to single out the piece called Dawn on the Lake, by master enameler Anita Porchet.
Today we introduce the latest resident writer to Quill & Pad, one who literally puts the “quill” into it! Nancy Olson has been an advocate of pens and the art of handwriting for twenty-five years, as well as probably the foremost authority on fine writing instruments, and we have the immense pleasure of adding yet another layer to our repertoire of luxury journalism and musings.
Louis Vuitton embarks down a colorful path that may lead to the brand becoming a big player in the luxury watch industry as head of the iconic leather brand’s watch and jewelry division, Hamdi Chatti, recently revealed. And this alongside stunning pieces of haute horologie such as the Tambour TwinChrono and the Escale worldtimer. Is Chatti looking to change Louis Vuitton’s existing strategies, forcing it to morph into something it has never been before?
In October 2014, Germany celebrates 25 years of reunification and A. Lange & Söhne celebrates 20 years since the truly iconic Lange 1 was introduced. Quill & Pad has the immense honor of presenting a new film to you with a great deal of never-before-seen footage ahead of its October 25 premier in Dresden.
Tutima’s Hommage represents an important premier: it was the very first minute repeater fully conceived, designed and produced in Germany. Outfitted with a gong emitting a “joyful” sound, this finely finished timepiece was created in celebration of Tutima’s return to the Saxon capital of watchmaking.
I clearly remember watching the history-altering events on television on November 9, 1989: the day that the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Since then, watchmaking in Germany, just like the country as a whole, has undergone a lot of change. The rebirth of Glashütte’s horological industry is an unparalleled story, one coming with a great number of human-condition stories that will someday need lots of telling . . . and here is the first.
This month’s news roundup includes a pair of limited edition humdingers by Richard Mille; an elegantly understated day-date by Vacheron Constantin; IWC’s Formula 1-powered new Ingenieur models; a complicated red gold timepiece by Fonderie 47; a black plastic rendition of MB&F’s HM5 called CarbonMacrolon; HYT’s latest collaborator; a Bauhaus beauty by Nomos; Jaquet Droz’s Enchanted Journey; Moser & Cie’s clever new tourbillon; and the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
Ferdinand Adolph Lange had already been selling watches in Saxony’s capital city Dresden since 1844. Follow us on a historical journey through nineteenth-century Dresden to lightly trace the footsteps of the Glashütte watch industry’s founding father, which continues in the modern day with A. Lange & Söhne’s new boutique on New York City’s Madison Avenue.
The claim to fame of Pierre Jaquet Droz (1721-1790) was his lifelike automata, also called androids. Continuing this long tradition, at Baselworld 2014 Jaquet Droz released an ultra-modern rendition of an automaton called the Writing Machine, which utilizes traditional techniques that have been miniaturized and modernized. CEO Marc Hayek explains the premise of this contemporary android.
On this sunny day in the La Chaux-de-Fonds factory, which is half charming eighteenth-century farmhouse and half state-of-the-art technical facility, I was entirely surprised by having learned something new about one of Greubel Forsey’s production elements: screws. The subject came up in passing at lunch, sparking great passion in Forsey despite what might seem to be a miniscule topic to the uninitiated.