Welcome to the inaugural Quill & Pad Baselworld “awards,” in which we highlight a few of the watches and goings-on that caught our eyes at the world’s largest watch exhibition. Here’s what caught our eyes at Baselworld 2014 in no particular order.
While static images are great for appreciating details, they are less effective at conveying the scale and sense of place of large exhibitions such as Baselworld. So to add another perspective to Baselworld 2014, we are please to share these interactive 360° views of Baselworld 2014.
And as much as I appreciate high-end complications, bright colors catch my eye just as much as the next person and here is a small selection of colorful timepieces from Baselworld 2014.
It is impossible to describe or exaggerate the sheer scale of Baselworld. Most of the halls are not only enormous, but contain even more brands, stands and booths you might think possible. There’s always something else around the corner, up the stairs or behind the door.
Elizabeth Doerr and I had the honour of being interviewed by The Watches TV founder, Marc-André Deschoux recently about our motivations for launching Quill & Pad.
Location. Location. Location. I work from a comfortable, but fairly non-descript office situated between Geneva and Lausanne. The region is visually stunning with the lake and Alps to the east and Jura mountains to the west, but one of the major things making the location so special to me is that I am only five minutes’ drive from the Speake-Marin atelier.
For those of you not aware of who, or what, Roland Iten is then the two words − though not the only two − you need to know are “belt buckles.” High-end belt buckles. Belt buckles crafted like a high-end watch. Belt buckles crafted like a very high-end watch. Crafted so well that both Sylvester Stallone and I are big fans.
This stunning diamond-encrusted minute repeater pocket watch is thought to be over 100 years old (circa 1910). An incredible 450 brilliant-cut diamonds ,over 16 carats in total, cover the case and covers with yellow gold accents on the crown, cover hinges and ring add a contemporary touch.
Ressence presented the Type 1, an organically curved wristwatch building on the success of the Belgian brand’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) prize-winning Type 3.
Resilience, Triad, Serpent Calendar, Spirit Mark II and Dragon. Those were just a few of the new models that Speake-Marin exhibited at Baselworld last year and we have heard a whisper that the brand will be presenting an even bigger line up of exciting new models this year.