Entries by GaryG

Collectors Speak: Picks And Pans Of SIHH Week 2016

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It’s already been six consecutive years that I’ve had the delightful experience of going through SIHH week with several of my closest friends. Our closing discussions centered around four questions, which were focused more tightly on SIHH itself this year due to the inclusion of nine independent watchmakers: what watch did you think was best of show at SIHH? What was the worst watch of the show? What watch displayed at the show would you buy if money were no object? What watch did you see on display that would you buy with your own money?

Sneak Peek – New Voutilainen SIHH 2016 Wristwatches With Live Photos

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It’s SIHH 2016 week! And already, our California collector group was off to a splendid start with our traditional Saturday evening dinner with friend and genius watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. Kari brought along several of the watches that he will be presenting this week at SIHH, and was kind enough to grant permission for us to show them here before the official start of the show.

Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece 8 Decimal Repeater

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One of the big introductions of 2015 in the collector’s world was A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater: a watch that both shows and chimes off the time using a “decimal” format of hours, tens of minutes, and minutes rather than the more traditional hours, quarters (15 minutes), and minutes. But the first decimal repeating wristwatch to reach the market wasn’t the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. It was by independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

Keep Calm And Continue Collecting: Advice For An Up And Down Watch Market

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Now, it seems fairly evident that we are on the down slope of either a cyclical correction in prices or, if one takes a less optimistic view, a permanent loss of watch value as the mechanical timepiece industry faces a variety of challenges and potential disruptions. So what’s a collector to do? And what lessons can we draw, both from recent watch auction results and the history of other luxury categories, to guide us?

Why Romain Gauthier Is The Logical Heir Apparent To Philippe Dufour

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It’s no secret: I’m an immense admirer of Philippe Dufour. Part of greatness, of course, is leaving a legacy; not only through one’s works, but in the skills and inspiration passed on to those who follow, which Dufour has liberally done. But who, if anyone, will history regard as the lineal heir to the Dufour tradition? I’ve reached what may seem a counterintuitive conclusion: Romain Gauthier.

You Are There: Attending The Only Watch Auction 2015 With Patek Philippe

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Only Watch, the biennial charity auction on behalf of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research, has firmly established itself as a landmark event on the watch scene. This year’s sixth renewal of the event, serving as the kickoff for the autumn Geneva watch auction week, saw Patek Philippe donating the landmark piece for the event, a blue-dialed, steel-cased Reference 5016A-010, which hammered for more than $7 million.

The Harry Winston Opus 14: A Considered Collector View

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By now, pretty much everyone who follows horological news has heard about and likely seen images of the Harry Winston Opus 14. Much of the hard data – the 1066 component parts, four separate stacked dials including three interchangeable ones, the formidable 54.7 mm diameter – is already well known. But how does this immensely complicated watch “stack up” after a bit of reflection?

Live Photos Of Harry Winston Opus 14 Plus Comments From Marc Hayek

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The Harry Winston Opus 14 was introduced at a celebrity-studded event in Baden-Baden, Germany. The real star of the event for watch enthusiasts in attendance, of course, was the watch itself: the new Opus 14 with a second hidden time zone designed by Franck Orny and Johnny Girardin, the same movement geniuses behind the Montblanc Metamorphosis. Watch Marc Hayek demonstrate the Opus 14’s big trick: revealing and hiding the second time zone and displaying a “Route 66” style American star.

You Are There: Breguet’s Art And Innovation In Watchmaking Exhibition

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I had the privilege of being invited to the recent pre-opening gala for the San Francisco exhibition of the works of Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Since the foundation of my collecting passion has a lot to do with gaining access to the behind the scenes world of watches, I made a point of shuffling my “day job” schedule to attend. And now you can come along.