In January 2017, three of our “watch gang” had the particular pleasure of visiting Agenhor, the horological design and assembly shop led by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, which has been behind some of the most innovative watches of recent years. Here are a few of the things that we saw and learned.
My first rule when it comes to collecting is to avoid setting too many exclusionary rules. If, however, I force myself to set criteria for what constitutes collecting to me, I keep coming back to passion and enjoyment. Nevertheless, there are lots of “safe queens” in the watch world. Yes, I’m looking at you, Mr. “Triple Sealed In Its Own Original Geneva Air And Never Wound Let Alone Chimed Patek Minute Repeater.”
While in my day job I’m rumored to be a moderately creative guy, and in my youth I was a bit of an instrumentalist, suffice it to say that when it came to drawing and sculpting I never really showed any aptitude. That hasn’t kept me from admiring the works of visual artists, though, and over the past several years my attention has been drawn to the works of one painter in particular: Alexa Meade. You may imagine my surprise when I found her staging an art installation for Maurice Lacroix at Baselworld 2017!
To my longtime friends in the watch hobby, and perhaps to regular readers here as well, the mention of my name may conjure up a number of connotations: patron of the independents, fan of A. Lange & Söhne, admirer of Patek Philippe grand complications, and longtime customer of Jaeger-LeCoultre, among other characterizations more or less favorable.
But these likely never included vintage maven! So how did I get here?
I hadn’t had much contact with Parmigiani over the past few years, so I was eager both to wear one of the brand’s most distinctive watches and to learn more about its current collection and plans. The moment I liberated the Pantographe from its box I was impressed: this is one serious watch. Read on to learn what I thought about this watch and what the brand might do to bloom.
The first weekend of November 2016 was a big one for me: in addition to attending the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, I collected not one, not two, but three spectacular watches. The watch I left home certain to bring back was one that I had been waiting patiently for since January 2016: the split-seconds chronograph Reference 5370P from Patek Philippe. Here’s why I bought it.
When the hammer came down at the Phillips auction late 2016 and I had become the new owner of a A. Lange & Söhne Pour Le Mérite Tourbillon, the feeling was one of complete joy, representing the culmination of a multi-year chase. What makes this particular watch so special in so many ways?
Anyone who visits online watch forums with any frequency very likely comes across at least a few heated discussions of “finishing,” a topic that seems to fascinate, and divide, enthusiasts. What is it and why are opinions divided?
SIHH week 2017 is off to a great start for our small group of California collectors. The highlight of our first day was our now-traditional Saturday night dinner with independent watchmaking legend Kari Voutilianen. Each year, Kari meets with us to share and explain the watches that he will be introducing at SIHH. And here they are.
This is the second year in a row that I’ve had the opportunity to attend the November watch auctions in Geneva. On last year’s trip, a good friend and I had the pleasure of participating in several events organized by Patek Philippe as well as the biennial OnlyWatch auction. This year, we returned for the previews and salesroom action at major houses including Phillips, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s.