Entries by Joshua Munchow

Ancient Drums Are Booming: Speake-Marin Dong Son Tourbillon

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Peter Speake-Marin’s eponymous brand’s creation, the Dong Son Tourbillon, finds its inspiration in an ancient style of bronze drums found in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. This gorgeous tourbillon with its finely etched dial interspersed with blue lacquer is an amazingly beautiful unique piece addition to it. And, naturally, Speake-Marin drew from the most notable examples of Đông Sơn drums for the layout of this extraordinary dial.

The HYT H2 Tradition: Timeless In A Surprisingly Steampunk Way

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Passion for historical items, objects, and ideas are quite prevalent in timepieces that emerge from the modern watch industry. While HYT captures the passionate feel such items in its new H2 Tradition, it also manages to unwittingly create a true steampunk object . . . if it wasn’t for the cool microfluidic technology. Nonetheless, HYT itself calls this piece “traditional.” Read on to make up your own mind about whether it’s traditional, steampunk, or simply technical.

A Watch Nerd’s 7 Favorite “Digital” Watches

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It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read my pieces in the past that I like a good jump hour mechanism. Actually, I love a good jump hour mechanism. There is just something about that instantaneous change driven entirely by mechanical means that fascinates me. And yet not all “digital” watches require the use of jump hours and minutes; some don’t even use a jump at all yet still read digitally. So today I want to break down a list of my seven (plus change) favorite “digital” watches.

In The Face Of Complexity, Simplicity Rules: The Konstantin Chaykin Genius Temporis

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In the early 1960s, engineer Kelly Johnson of Lockheed Martin came up with “keep it simple, stupid”, which became better known by its acronym, KISS. Watches that employ clever levers and clearly adhere to the KISS principle are always something that can turn me into a giddy fan boy, and one such piece is the Konstantin Chaykin Genius Temporis. Heck, even the name implies some genius.

Ebb And Flow: Christiaan Van Der Klaauw Real Moon Tides

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In the Real Moon Tides, Christiaan van der Klaauw’s watchmakers incorporated an indication of the phenomenon that is the most real-world expression of the moon’s effects towards life on earth: tides. The most incredible aspect of tides is how variable they actually are when you really get into the nitty-gritty details. And this watch reflects them in a beautiful way.

Focus On Technology: Pad Printing

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Have you ever wondered how Titleist gets its logo on bumpy round golf balls? Well this is your lucky day as I’m about to discuss the secret of one very specialized printing process that goes on in the world and how it has its roots in watchmaking. In fact, you still see the results of this process every time you look at your watch dial.

The Sonnerie Souveraine By F.P. Journe: A Legend In Its Own Time

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One of the most incredible timepieces François-Paul Journe has ever created is the Sonnerie Souveraine. This chiming masterpiece took six years to develop and warranted ten patents. Joshua Munchow revisits the reasons why this masterpiece and its maker are legends in their own time, while Ian Skellern provides original photography and video of the stainless steel-encased grand sonnerie.

Here’s Why You Should Learn To Service Your Own Watch

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As has become apparent over the past few years, getting your watch serviced, especially with any group-owned brands, can be a major thing. It can take many months, and even up to a year. The reason, of course, is that there are only so many qualified watchmakers to service these watches, and brands are overrun with a gargantuan backlog of service requests.

But that’s only one of the reasons to consider becoming a backyard watchmaker.