Entries by Ian Skellern

Jaquet Droz Charming Bird Deconstruction By The Naked Watchmaker (Plus Video) – Reprise

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Ian Skellern still remembers the sense of awe he felt when he had the opportunity to watch and listen to a recently restored centuries-old Jaquet Droz singing bird. The animation was compelling, and the quality of the birdsong sound was incredible. But as impressive a feat he thought that full-sized eighteenth-century Jaquet Droz singing bird clock was, shrinking that mechanical technology to wristwatch size is just mind-blowing. As The Naked Watchmaker Peter Speake highlights here.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox: Sounds Traveling Through Water Like Whale Song

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The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox doesn’t just sound as good below water as it does above, it sounds even better! While many of the recent Memovox models have been unashamedly contemporized, the Polaris Mariner Memovox is a relatively faithful tribute to the original 1965 Polaris. And it sounds as charming as the original, but better in every way.

Legacy Machine Perpetual Catapults MB&F Into The Big League: Here’s Why

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I’m all for evolution, especially continual evolution in watchmaking. However, from time to time we need revolution as well as evolution, and the former is severely lacking. While MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual looks to all intents and purposes like one of the least radical timepieces created in the brand’s ten-year history, make no mistake: it is revolution, not evolution.

Destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral Clock Restoration Boosted By Exciting Find Of Nearly Identical Clock

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The 850-year-old Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, one of the world’s most iconic buildings, was devastated by a fire on April 15, 2019 during renovations, which destroyed much of its roof and spires as well as the cathedral’s nineteenth-century clock. Unfortunately, there were no plans or digital files of the clock. Luckily, though, a nearly identical clock movement was recently discovered and a passionate team is working to use that as a template for (funds permitting) rebuilding a new clock for Notre-Dame.

Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection – Reprise

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Ian Skellern tried, but didn’t quite manage, to come up with a more diplomatic way of saying this, so he just came out with it: up to this point, he had not generally been a fan of Bovet 1822. So he was surprised by just how much he was impressed with the Ottantasei by Pininfarina and would be very happy to wear one daily. But there is one niggle that he just can’t shake off . . .

The Watch That Changed My Life: The Jean Daniel Nicolas Two-Minute Tourbillon By Daniel Roth – Reprise

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Many watches hold a special significance for their owners. Some timekeepers may be a powerful emotional reminder of an esteemed person, place, or event. Others the long-searched-for keystone in a valued collection. There are watches that can change your mood and generate a smile just by thinking about them. There are even watches that have changed lives, and the Two-Minute Tourbillon by Jean Daniel Nicolas significantly changed Ian Skellern’s life. Read how right here.

The How, What, When, Where And Why Of Seeing The Aurora Borealis, AKA Northern Lights – Reprise

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Ian Skellern and his wife serendipitously chanced upon “seeing” the aurora borealis while visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the excitement of that led to months of research. And that research led to spending a few days in the Arctic Circle in the north of Sweden. Here is what Ian has learned about the northern lights so far, some of it firsthand.