Some watches are so perfect there isn’t a thing you want to be changed about them. For Martin Green, this was the case with the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Split-Seconds Chronograph Ultra-Thin Collection Excellence Platine. Apart from its name, which he thinks is decidedly too long. But a look through the display back more than makes up for that.
A grail watch can be pretty much anything. But one thing a grail watch always is is personal. Very personal. Martin Green was introduced to his personal grail watch by a close friend who had recently treated himself to a new watch: a pre-Collection Privée Cartier Paris Louis Cartier Tank in platinum. Here’s the story of how Martin got his grail.
“Dress watches” were initially just “watches.” While their popularity may have dwindled over the years as more casual and sporty watches have taken off, many brands have stayed faithful to the concept of the dress watch as Martin Green highlights here with five beautiful new examples.
Designing a new Calatrava may be one of the most difficult tasks a watch designer can be given. As a benchmark model in the dress watch arena, anything less than perfect is unacceptable. The new Reference 6119 highlights the fact that the Calatrava is capable of both changing and remaining true to its roots as Martin Green explains here.
Trends rule a larger part of our lives than many of us wish to admit. Sometimes we follow trends consciously, but often we are subconsciously influenced in the choices we make. All brands perform a delicate tightrope walk, but they differ in how successful they are. Let’s take a look at how trends affect or don’t affect now-iconic timepieces.
The first day of Watches and Wonders 2021 highlighted that green is not a trend color anymore; it is a movement. Martin Green (perhaps unsurprisingly) has always had a particular fondness for his namesake color and thought it was good time to zoom in on five very different watches introduced during the fair that put green on center stage.
In recent years, the world of high-end watches has become a far more colorful place. We have evolved from decades of conservatism in which a blue dial was daring to a kaleidoscopic era where anything is possible. And now it’s red’s turn, which has the advantage of the richness of hues available. Here Martin Green looks at 4 new red-dialed watches from Bell & Ross, Oris, Rado, and Omega.
Ikepod launched in 1994 so co-founder and designer Marc Newson could create his own playground, which is exactly what he did. And there is no better example of his joyful design than the Ikepod Megapode launched in 1999. But to trade a Rolex for it?
The perpetual calendar (along with the split-seconds chronograph) ranks among Martin Green’s favorite complications. Here he highlights 5 perpetual calendars that caught his eye during Watches & Wonders 2021.
As the resident gentleman of Quill & Pad, Martin Green feels that the time is soon approaching to write an obituary announcing the death of the dress watch. He thinks that its passing is coming and it’s not an isolated event. But it still hurts.