Felix is more than just a name. Felix is Latin for “happy” or “fortunate” and I feel that Maria and Richard Habring have found just the right moniker for their latest creation. At the same time, Felix proves that it’s entirely possible for a talented, small team to make a fully in-house manufacture movement at a fully affordable price.
According to a recent interview with CEO Jérôme Lambert at the company’s Hamburg headquarters, Montblanc’s watch business is humming along swimmingly. And an interesting statistic is that women constitute about 35 percent of the clients of this brand. Thus, it stands to perfect reason that the luxury brand boasting two Swiss factories producing elegant wristwatches would not forget women in its campaign to “share its passion for fine watchmaking.”
I love Richard Mille. Not the man (well, perhaps in a way), but his creations. I have loved the tonneau-shaped models from the moment I set eyes on them. They are masculine, sexy, beautifully proportioned, full of new technology goodness and unique in such a way that when you have one on your wrist, people instantly know what you are wearing. So why has brand ambassador Natalie Portman chosen a spider for the spotlight and how does it figure into the tourbillon and movement mechanics?
The date was March 2004. The place was Basel. I had gotten wind of a new “brand” and was heading down the street from Baselworld’s Hall 1 toward the local Starbucks to meet with the founders. In the ten years since that coffee-fueled day, Hautlence has basically experienced its own birth, middle age, near death and reincarnation. That’s quite a lot of history for any 10-year old brand. Read this story to find out where it is now and why Eric Cantona is the new “gentleman rebel” face.
In the world of complicated watchmaking, that which might appear simple when seen from the dial may often be quite complicated when you turn a watch over and peer into its depths.
In Kari Voutilainen’s case, not only does his style comprise an uncommon sort of complicated simplicity, it is also riddled with the thing that eludes many watchmakers: near perfection.
This month’s news roundup includes a complicated new timepiece by Audemars Piguet, a famous wrist wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot’s latest high-profile partnership, George Daniels and Roger Smith’s only serial timepiece up at auction, Speake-Marin worn by the world’s most famous spy, MB&F’s MusicMachine 2, Arnold & Son’s elegant ultra-thin tourbillon in a new case, Jaquet Droz’ latest timepiece, a unique bespoke timepiece containing an historical movement by Grieb & Benzinger, and a wristwatch Chronoswiss has created to auction off for charity.
“If you’re wearing a Rolex, you’re wearing something special,” Sir Jackie Stewart said as we sat and talked on a sunny day in Carmel Valley, California during Pebble Beach car week.
However, the fascinating congregation of food, wine, people, and some of the world’s most expensive and interesting cars faded well into the background as the Flying Scot began to tell stories.
If you’re looking for a fun work of fiction with a serious watch theme to take on your holidays, you might want to go for ‘The Grand Complication’ by Allen Kurzweil. ‘The Grand Complication’ is a quick read, steeped not only in the legends of modern watchmaking, but also appealing to bibliophiles with its many references to literature and libraries.
Stefan Kudoke’s Real Skeleton was inspired by 400-year-old memento mori timepieces, which address the transience of time in a symbolic manner. This model is just plain fun while displaying Kudoke’s creativity, make no bones about it!
Wilhelm (Bill) Kuettel is a typical participant in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, however, his 1923 car differed from most of the other hundreds of cars taking part in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance in a big way: Kuettel ‘s car was a legendary Hispano-Suiza (Spanish-Swiss), a near mythic brand that is half Swiss.