John McGonigle has launched the H-B1, the first watch under his solo brand Oileán. It’s a beautifully hand-finished triple-calendar column wheel chronograph powered by a highly modified new-old stock Valjoux 88 movement. While not cheap, Ian Skellern thinks it’s the best value-for-money, exquisitely hand-finished, complicated watch he has ever seen.
Never let it be said that there was a bandwagon that Ian Skellern didn’t jump on. It looks like it’s the season for everyone to be sharing their favorite watches of 2021 so here are his top ten horological highlights of the last 12 months.
Stephen McGonigle, owner and co-founder of McGonigle watches, has been regularly asked by friends and watch aficionados over the years to make something that they could afford – or at least aspire to. Making a relatively affordable watch that he could be proud of was a challenge. A challenge McGonigle has met with the first watch from his new Magon brand: the Fórsa Titanium, an automatic column wheel chronograph in a distinctive tonneau-shaped case.
As read by you, here are the top ten most viewed articles on Quill & Pad this past year. There are definitely a few surprises. Drum roll, please: in no particular order, our top ten most viewed articles of 2021 were . . .
How much time could one survive in space without a suit? Are there truly 24 hours in a day? Why could dinosaurs not live in the present day (shock: ‘Jurassic Park’ is complete fiction)? Where are most of the volcanos on earth? Is there a river beneath the Amazon? How long has it been since it has rained on the driest place on earth? And what percentage of the world’s species we have discovered? Here are 50 things you should know about the planet we live on.
The Bovet Ottantasei Tourbillon is the brand’s sixth timepiece designed by Pininfarina, and the years of experience that the two brands now have working together shows. It truly is a sensational watch, but here Ian Skellern focuses on Pininfarina, a name evoking mystical status among anyone interested in world-class design and sensational cars.
The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève was full of surprises. Check out the complete list of laureates here and let us know what you think about the night’s winners and losers.
The 2021 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published its list of shortlisted (“nominated”) watches in the runup to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 4, 2021. Ian Skellern shares all of the finalist watches in each category here. Let us know your favorites!
You may have heard of a few or more of the following historical people and events: Thomas Mudge, George Graham, John Harrison, the Longitude Prize, Captain James Cook, and the mutiny on the ‘HMS Bounty.’ However, you are less likely to have heard the name of a horologist who played a pivotal role in all of the above: Larcum Kendall (1719–1790). Come with me on a worldwide adventure involving timekeeping and history.
I know of only three watchmakers making watches completely (no CNC machines) by hand today: Greubel Forsey with its Hand Made 1 and Dominique Buser and Cyrano Devanthey, who are hand-making watches they call l’Instant de Vérité under the umbrella of their own micro brand Oscillon. And what a watch this is!