Hands, hand-made: the Voutilainen Observatoire

WAG And SIWP Independent Watch Exhibitions In Geneva, January 2015

If you are in Geneva during the SIHH week, you may want to consider going to one of the other horological exhibitions taking place in town at the same time as the main show: WAG (Watch Art Gallery) and SIWP (Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion). Both exhibitions provide visitors with the chance to get to know independent creators and boutique luxury brands.

Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle fitting very nicely on the wrist of the yours truely

Andreas Strehler Entered Into ‘Guinness Book Of World Records’

The Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle by independent watchmaker and A.H.C.I. member Andreas Strehler has been entered into the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ as the world’s most precise moonphase indicating wristwatch with a deviation of only one full day in 2,060,757 years.

The Watchville app newsfeed

Watch Out For Watchville

As much as we try to cover all the horological news that matters on Quill & Pad, despite our best intentions we just can’t write about absolutely everything. If only somebody could develop a platform to aggregate all of the news from the best watch blogs so it can all be viewed in one place.
Well somebody has and it’s called Watchville.

RGM MM2 Pennsylvania Tourbillon

Born In The USA: RGM Pennsylvania Tourbillon

Released in 2010, the RGM Pennsylvania Tourbillon made a pretty big splash among those who have educated themselves about such things. It is, after all, the only serially produced tourbillon made in America and is simply an increditastic watch from any perspective. Design, function, and finishing: it is at the head of its class.

Quill & Pad: Our First Year

One year ago today, on a crisp and sunny New Year’s Day in Central Europe on the first day of 2014, Quill & Pad quietly went online. Since then, we have added four knowledgeable contributors with distinct areas of expertise to our little band of merry men and women − Joshua Munchow (technical nerd), GaryG (collector), Nancy Olson (pens), Boris Pjanic (vintage) − and have posted around 300 original stories. And this was just the start!

Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1 in pink gold

GaryG’s Year in Review 2014

It seems like only yesterday, but it was all the way back in January of 2014 that I had the opportunity to sit down for the first time with Elizabeth and Ian and hear their plans for Quill & Pad. Before the year completely gets away, here are a few of my observations and reflections on the industry, my first year at Quill & Pad, and my year in watches.

A very pleased Dr. Helnut Crott with the prize for best Mens watch at the 2014 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève for the Urban Jürgensen Central Seconds

Urban Jürgensen Under New Danish Ownership

The modern history of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner (UJS) began with Peter Baumberger, who resuscitated the brand in 1981 along with a little help from some of his friends, such as Dr. Helmut Crott, Kari Voutilainen and Derek Pratt. The boutique brand has now returned to Danish hands.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque

The Twelve Watch Days Of Christmas

You may be familiar with the old Christmas diddy “The Twelve Days Of Christmas.” Let me sing you the final verse of this song, including what my true love gave to me on the twelfth and final day, in horological terms…

Montblanc Orbis Terrarum on the wrist

16 Brand-New Pre-SIHH 2015 Watches By Richard Mille, Greubel Forsey, Jaeger-LeCoultre And Many More

In this age of digital information, watch companies try to get ahead of the competition by releasing news on their new timepieces ahead of the big watch fairs. This year is no different, and in honor of the upcoming 25th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), we present you with an overview of some of the new models that have already been revealed.

The dials appear to burn when first placed in the oven

Why Do Ulysse Nardin’s Dials Look So Good? Because Donzé Cadrans Authentically Fires Enamel

The first timepiece Donzé Cadrans and Ulysse Nardin worked on together was in the early 1980s: the complicated jacquemart-outfitted Hourstriker San Marco with its vibrant blue, which was the first enamel dial of the modern incarnation of Ulysse Nardin and perhaps of the Mechanical Renaissance. Follow us on a visit to Donzé Cadrans and learn about the unique 300-year-old process this one-of-a-kind dial maker utilizes to make its aesthetic elements.