Last week I visited the Leica factory and spent some time admiring an exhibition placed in the spacious foyer of this massive new factory building called “36 aus 100” (“36 from 100”). This image of the soldier wearing two watches – perhaps very, very briefly reminding me of the late Nicolas G. Hayek’s penchant for wearing two timepieces – caught my attention.
Quill & Pad’s monthly news roundup for May includes Rolex, Patek Philippe, Panerai, Girard-Perregaux, A. Lange & Söhne at the Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy, new Chrono Hawk chronograph by Girard-Perregaux, Armin Strom at the casino, the Monegasque from Roger Dubuis, impressive auction results, Skeleton Tourbillon by DeWitt, Breva Génie 02 does the Patrouille des Glaciers, MB&F sponsors the A.H.C.I., the 2014 GPdG calling for entries, and much more.
Wetzlar, Germany is to optics like La Chaux-de-Fonds is to Swiss watchmaking. In fact, with Leica’s focus on handcrafting and precision, it could almost be part of the watch industry itself.
Small format photography as we know it today – also known as 35 mm – was born a century ago in Wetzlar, when Oskar Barnack made the very first Leitz camera.
Quill & Pad has the honor to introduce the new GoS (Gustafsson and Sjögren, the “o” stands for “and” in Swedish), “Bifrost” Damascus steel watch and knife set, named for the famed rainbow bridge that the Norse Asgardians used to reach Midgard (earth).
Côme de Valbray, co-founder of Valbray watches, is the perfect example of the typical Leica customer. An avid amateur photographer for many years, the trained engineer perfectly understands and appreciates the luxury camera brand. Leica celebrated its centennial in May 2014 with a number of amazing new elements: inauguration of a brand-new factory building housed within a complex called the Leitz Park, a number of special new products and, of course, the Valbray EL 1 Chrono.
Few of China Haidan group’s acquisitions in the luxury watch sector have made more recent headlines in the world of watches than the jewel among them, Corum. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. China Haidian’s group communications director, Marie-Alexandrine Leibowitch, responded to my queries regarding the recent ousting of former CEO Antonio Calce and yesterday’s dismissal of head watchmaker Laurent Besse along with a few other employees.
Vintage watches are becoming more and more of a subject in our little world of ticks and tocks. So I set out for Frankfurt very early on a Saturday morning to meet up with an old acquaintance, vintage watch dealer Ron Geweniger. And we set off for the Dr. Crott auction so I could learn a bit of what goes on behind the bidding.
The Mille Miglia is a ray of sunshine in your heart,” famous Belgian race car driver Jacky Ickx writes in Chopard’s commemorative book celebrating 25 years of being the race’s global sponsor. “The Mille Miglia is one of the last great adventures possible today,” concurs Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. Chopard’s co-president is racing his 25th Mille Miglia this year. Here are a few impressions from the last couple of days and nights on the strada italiana. . . .
The Cannes Film Festival is where Grace Kelly first met Prince Rainier in 1955. So the The opening film could therefore not be a more fitting one: Grace de Monaco, a new film by French director Olivier Dahan, is set to open the 67th edition of the glittering event and Cartier figures prominently into this 30-million-dollar feature film.
The Mutua Madrid Open is a young tournament; it crowned just its thirteenth winner on May 11, 2014. This winner happens to be world number one Rafael Nadal. And Nadal was wearing an evolution of the ground-breakingly ultra-light RM 027. In lightness as in its $690,000 price tag, this watch breaks all kinds of records.