After a chance remark at Dubai Watch Week, Ian Skellern reflected on if he had had a sufficiently interesting life. Here he shares a few anecdotes to let your decide if he’s more James Bond, Austin Powers, or just a wannabe Walter Mitty.
Type 20 is a specification by the French Ministry of Defense for the standard-equipment pilot’s watch chronographs. Unlike German pilot’s watch specifications, those for the French Type 20 are not clearly documented but are rather based on common characteristics shared by various manufacturers. Bhanu Chopra explains what makes these watches so sought after and goes through the main models and characteristics.
As anyone who has seen Tom Mosso talk in his numerous (6,000+) podcasts or a horological seminar, he has a prodigious memory for watch reference numbers and details. But there’s much more to Tim’s brain than that as Ian Skellern explains.
After spending a few days with the Alpina Alpiner Extreme Regulator, Martin Green felt it was good looking, comfortable to wear and offers a lot of bang for your buck!
The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Fire has captivated everybody with the mesmerizing appearance of its twin balances and the unusual, long, sinuous, grey spring gently oscillating along the middle of the watch. ‘The Horological Journal’ editor and watchmaker Justin Koullapis asks the question, “Does it live up to the hyperbole?”
Ian Skellern, speaking from many years of experience, says that the R8 MKII Sport belt buckle isn’t a show pony, it has much more functionality than simply stylishly holding up your trousers. But above all, it is a pure indulgence.
If there’s one thing (apart from snow) heralding the start of winter in Scandinavia, it’s frost. The dial of the GoS Sarak Frost recreates the scintillating appearance of icy frost.
Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva has just released a watch that helps you keep track of time no matter how light or dark it is outside: the Midnight Sun.
Ian Skellern had the honor to be interviewed by Rikki Daman for the Scottish Watch Podcast. If you are interested in how Ian came to be a watch journalist and how he convinced Aldis Hodge to feature in the Making Time documentary, check this out.
One of the best things about Dubai Watch Week are the presentations, debates, and talks in the Horology Forum. These cover a very wide range of topic and are usually 45-minutes long with time for audience questions at the end. Here are five that Ian Skellern particularly enjoyed that will hopefully both entertain and educate, as well as give you an idea of the types of diverse topics covered.