Christophe Claret In Bloom: Introducing Margot, His First Ladies Watch
Christened Margot, this magnificently complicated timepiece for the feminine wrist allows the wearer to play the whimsical petal-picking game “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.”
I am the co-founder of Quill & Pad and was editor-in-chief until December 31, 2022. Specialized in horological publishing since my first Basel Fair in 1991, I have contributed to magazines, newspapers and websites too numerous to recount here.
My primary focus remains on the technical side of high watchmaking where progress meets tradition, but I often also profile the colorful personalities and historical elements that make up this surprisingly diverse and compelling world of ticks and tocks.
Christened Margot, this magnificently complicated timepiece for the feminine wrist allows the wearer to play the whimsical petal-picking game “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.”
At Baselworld, Girard-Perregaux presented the Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges, a relatively profound re-issue of an old favorite. While it retains the original codes and architecture of Constant Girard’s oeuvre, the major changes that have occurred – but which are not so obvious when taken individually – have to do with the shape of the bridges, the crystal, and the completely redesigned caliber.
Two brand-new chronographs debuting here at Baselworld illustrate extreme sides of the coin: De Bethune’s manually wound DB29 Maxi Chrono Tourbillon and Glashütte Original’s Senator Chronograph Panorama Date.
At Baselworld 2014, Bremont introduced the next incarnation: the MBIII. The new model goes a step further than its predecessor with the addition of a new GMT movement; however it still retains the distinct feel of the original.
Patek Philippe’s booth at Baselworld made for big news at both the 2013 and 2014 fairs: last year for not having been upgraded, and this year for being the only brand in Hall 1.0 to debut a brand-new, chic structure designed by a big-name architect.
Hermès’ introduced two exceptional timepieces at Baselworld 2014: a playfully complicated watch called Dressage L’heure masquée and Arceau Millefiori, which features an artisanal crystal dial made by Cristalleries Royales de Saint-Louis, an Hermès manufactory in Alsace, France.
* Maurice Lacroix announces a three-year partnership with FC Barcelona as its official watch partner. Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona is considered one of the world’s most prestigious “footie” clubs and boasts an emotional global fan base of over 300 million admirers and 100 million social media followers.
Not everyone gets to check out Breguet’s factory from the inside, and those who do generally don’t get to take photographs of what they see. This modernized factory in the heart of the remote Vallée de Joux with its many annexed hallways, secretive doors and interesting manufacturing capabilities has long been a jealously guarded secret.
Entering Mentink & Roest’s booth, one is not only immediately enchanted by the lovely chimes and ticks of timepieces that are hundreds of years old. Here at this booth planted squarely within The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) held in Maastricht, Holland, the senses are also barraged by the conversations taking place among the various connoisseurs, collectors and dealers of these pieces, . . .
History has a way of repeating itself, so it should not come as a huge surprise that something is brewing in Dresden, once the seat of central Europe’s progressive fascination with fine mechanics. That this particular seat (a throne, really) has moved to Glashütte along with A. Lange & Söhne is not news. Today’s story is remarkable in that it comes from perhaps an unexpected corner: the A.H.C.I.’s only member in the Saxon capital city.
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