A Hero’s Journey Begins And Ends: Naissance d’Une Montre, Le Garde Temps
After arduous and exhausting trials of skill and wit over many years of one’s life, sometimes the best path is the one with new challenges and goals. This is especially true if you are a watchmaker tasked with learning and disseminating all of the extremely difficult skills of traditional watchmaking. This is the true story of Michel Boulanger and the conclusion of his first epic adventure and the beginning of the next one. This is the end of the story of Naissance d’une Montre, Le Garde Temps. Or is it?
Kees Engelbarts’ Unique Platinum Tsuba Features Rare Crafts And Imaginative Interpretations Of Japanese Art Forms
A tsuba is the hand guard of a traditional Japanese sword. “These eventually became elaborate pieces of art – far beyond their practical use,” says engraver Kees Engelbarts, whose fascination with Japanese handcrafts led him to use the Japanese metal alloying technique called mokume gane as the first one in watchmaking. It has now also led him to dedicate a watch to the tsuba theme, inspired in particular by a piece by Japanese swordsmith Hamano Masanobu.
Photo Caption Competition No. 10 Featuring Two “Hard” Men Rugged Up For Cold Weather
Thanks for the entries in last week’s caption competition and congratulations to Martin Moore for his winning caption linking smartwatches and dogs. You can check that out at Photo Caption Competition No. 9.
This week’s caption competition looks relatively easy (I know, that’s easy for me say): statues of two men rugged up for the cold. One has a what looks like a briefcase so they may be commuters.
Or maybe not. That’s for you to decide.
Benzinger By Zanella: Mechanical Art With Heart
While you hear very often that watches are “mechanical art,” in this case the overused description makes sense: here mechanical art (Benzinger’s unique movement embellishment) meets conventional art in the form of the dial embellished with an oil-on-canvas painting by French painter Léon Zanella.
Pure Basaltic Lava Reinforced With Resin Is The Secret Ingredient In The Visconti Homo Sapiens Pen
More than five years ago, Visconti introduced the Homo Sapiens collection featuring a new concept in writing instrument design: lava straight from the active volcano Mt. Etna on the island of Sicily was used to craft the bodies of the pens. Now, a new era is being explored with the Homo Sapiens Dark Age. And though the Dark Ages signified cultural decline, ironically this pen represents nothing if not the opposite.
Behind The Lens: The Philippe Dufour Simplicity
As regular readers know, the idea of the Behind the Lens series is to present great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives. Mostly, I feature watches on loan from my generous friends, but this time let’s look at a piece that I am very fortunate to have in my own collection: the legendary Simplicity by Philippe Dufour in a 37 mm white gold case with white lacquer dial.
The How, What, When, Where And Why Of Seeing The Aurora Borealis, AKA Northern Lights
My wife and I serendipitously chanced upon “seeing” the aurora borealis while visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming last year, and the excitement of that led to months of research. And that research led more recently to spending a few days in the Arctic Circle in the north of Sweden. Here is what I’ve learned about the northern lights so far, some of it firsthand.
Prediction Comes True: Panerai Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanium With DMLS 3D-Printed Titanium Case
Imagine my surprise when, in one of my rare predictions about the future of 3D printing in watchmaking, I got one right: the Panerai Lo Scienziato Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanium says it all. It is (as far as I know) the first production watch to utilize 3D direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) printing for the case construction. The case is made of titanium for extra lightness, but that’s not the only, or even the main, reason for using DMLS titanium.
Heartbeat: U2’s Adam Clayton Visits SIHH 2016 Wearing H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
Just as we were exiting the H. Moser & Cie stand at SIHH 2016, who should walk up but Adam Clayton, bassist for Irish band U2. What struck me first was the stylish look of his outfit. This extended to his wrist: Clayton was wearing the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar in platinum with a grey/black dial the brand calls “ardoise.” Why is this watch so rock and roll?
Photo Caption Competition No. 9 Featuring A Grönefeld One Hertz, Snow, And Dogs
This week’s caption competition is a hard one as it has quite a disparate mix of subjects including a Grönefeld One Hertz, lots of snow (it was shot in the Arctic Circle), and a few dogs for good measure. What appropriate, funny, or sarcastic comment can you think up as a caption or for the optional speech bubble?