Entries by Ian Skellern

Geneva Watch Days 2020 Is On: Good News Or *Covid-19 Cough* Desperate, Short-Sighted, Money Grab?

/5 Comments/in , , /by

Ian Skellern’s feelings regarding the rapid series of announcements of watch events like the cancellation of Watches & Wonders and Baselworld as well as the full-steam-ahead project Geneva Watch Days have been equally quickly undulating: from initially being enthusiastically for, Ian ended feeling against Geneva Watch Days. Why put anyone’s health at risk, especially with perhaps little in return but a few photos and a persistent cough? But it is a tough call.

All Gold On Earth Came From A Big Bang (Not That One) In Outer Space – Reprise

/6 Comments/in , , /by

The most common choice for classic dress watches has to be gold, but have you ever wondered where that gold originally came from? And by “originally” Ian Skellern isn’t referring to a gold mine on earth but the original source of the gold before it even arrived on our planet. Spoiler alert: it involves an explosion, a very big explosion!

5 Things You Should Know About Port Wine But Probably Don‘t, Including Why You Don’t Want To Know The Bishop Of Norwich – Reprise

/0 Comments/in , , /by

There are a plethora of places to see in Porto − the city center is a UNESCO World Heritage site − but one absolute must for wine aficionados is to spend a couple of hours across the river Douro in Vila Nova de Gaia visiting a Port house and tasting the wines. Follow me on such a journey . . . saude!

Jaquet Droz’s Charming Bird Deconstruction By The Naked Watchmaker (Plus Video)

/1 Comment/in , /by

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-Marin, highlights here.

Quill & Pad’s Predictions For The Aiguille d’Or (Grand Prize) Of The 2019 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

/1 Comment/in , , , , , /by

The most interesting aspect of the Aiguille d’Or is how the winner won’t always be the most complicated, expensive, or groundbreaking. To win the Aiguille d’Or, a watch needs to be a fantastic all-around watch and have that little something extra, that ‘je ne sais quoi.’ So which watch has our panel set its sights upon? There is much discussion, of course . . .