Stepan Sarpaneva’s new Seasons models created with the help of Black Badger Advanced Composites pay artistic homage to the strongly differing seasons that take place in Finland. The dials comprise two parts: a stainless steel grid coated with either DLC or TiN placed above the solid block of lume in teal, green, violet, or blue. To find out what makes them glow so brightly, please read on.
A live report from Woking, England as McLaren’s Ron Dennis announced that another watch brand was set to step into the big Formula 1 sponsorship shoes left behind by TAG Heuer’s departure, a brand that fits the bill perhaps even better in terms of brand messages and commonalities.
“We’re at the beginning of this partnership, both as brands and as individuals,” Dennis, who praises commitment, said during the introduction at the McLaren Technology Center.
That brand is of course Richard Mille, and the two companies now enter into a ten-year contract.
Several years ago, Breguet quietly introduced a complicated vintage-style pocket watch into its collection: the Reference 1907 Classique Grande Complication. It displays the time in regulator style, chimes the time in the form of a minute repeater with grande sonnerie, and provides extra precision thanks to the one-minute tourbillon. So where does the reference number 1907 come from? That’s a mystery, for sure. And while I have no official explanation, I can make an educated guess. So I will.
Now, please don’t take this title the wrong way: this list is not definitive. Which is why it is not entitled “The 5 Most Innovative Wristwatches Ever Made.” It is specifically entitled “5 Of The Most Innovative Wristwatches Ever Made” because there are certainly more of them out there (this list could have encompassed 15, or even 20!) and there are surely differing opinions. For me, these five timepieces largely encompass comprehensive parts of what is great about the modern world of wristwatches.
I had the chance to wear the Glashütte Original Senator Automatic during the 2016 Berlinale, Berlin’s Film Festival. While models from this line can look a tad old-fashioned, this model really hits the sweet spot in every way, hinting at traditionality while remaining fresh. And the addition of diamonds on the bezel, which is not usually my favorite type of design expression, just adds icing to the cake here.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was the first modern watch carrying a haute horlogerie price tag to be cased in stainless steel. The Royal Oak certainly changed the watch industry’s feel for luxury timepieces in the 1970s, a tectonic shift that helped to usher in today’s modern, casual feel for luxury. In 2016 Audemars Piguet launched a complete Royal Oak collection in “old fashioned” yellow gold. Is this another bold move or just a stab in the dark?
The monkey is the ninth sign of the 12-year zodiac cycle. According to Chinese astrology, monkeys are quick-witted and innovative, but also mischievous. The sign’s lucky colors are white, gold, and blue – all colors featured on these interesting timepieces except that last one we present. Check out these artistic beauties!
The Ulysse Nardin San Marco Jaquemarts Minute Repeater from 1989 not only reintroduced translucent enamel to the world of modern horology, but in a way also reintroduced the minute repeater. And it also reintroduced seventeenth-century elements that had not been seen for decades: jaquemarts. Ulysse Nardin now presents the Hannibal Minute Repeater Westminster Carillon Tourbillon Jaquemarts, a sonorous timepiece seeped in all kinds of history.
“Sex on a stick.” That was only one of the juicy thoughts that ran through my head as I spied the these two new releases by A. Lange & Söhne at the 2016 edition of SIHH. The signature low-key style that this brand is known for in this case means that the tourbillons are not visible from the front, either. Please meet the two perpetual calendar tourbillons that really mean grailworthy business.
Watchmaker Patrik Sjögren recentently shared the news that his business partner Johan Gustafsson will be featured in an upcoming book by David Darom focusing on artistic folder knives and how they are made. A photo shoot in Gustafsson’s Swedish smithy was staged to illustrate the procedures he uses to make his signature Mosaic Damascus steel and the duo’s superb new Winter Nights model. Here we share some of those mood-heavy photos.