Rafael Nadal, The World’s No.1 Tennis Player; The Richard Mille RM 27-01, The World’s Most Expensive Sports Watch; And The Ion Tiriac Trophy, The World’s Most Complicated Tennis Trophy
The Mutua Madrid Open is a young tournament; it crowned just its thirteenth winner on May 11, 2014. This winner happens to be world number one Rafael Nadal. And Nadal was wearing an evolution of the ground-breakingly ultra-light RM 027. In lightness as in its $690,000 price tag, this watch breaks all kinds of records.
Heraldry, Coats Of Arms, And The Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime
Before the turn of the last century, a famous travel goods company by the name of Louis Vuitton was working with elite clientele, which often encompassed world travelers. These clients wanted a way to mark their goods with a personal design that would represent them all over the world and distinguish them as wealthy and powerful business people.
Heartbeat: Vacheron Constantin And The Art Of Openworking
In honor of Mother’s Day we revisit four fantastic openwork watches that Vacheron Constantin presented earlier this year at the SIHH in Geneva. The idea with openwork, aka skeletonization, is to remove as much of the material as possible to reveal the mechanisms beneath the dial, while ensuring it remains looking elegant and is still structurally rigid enough for its purpose.
Weekly Roundup 9 May: Zenith, Seiko, A.H.C.I., Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Cartier
This week’s roundup: Richard Mille announces the RM 011 Automatic Flyback Chronograph White Demon; the Beyer Uhrenmuseum in Zurich is exhibiting the works of 16 members of the A.H.C.I.; Audemars Piguet partner NBA team the team Atlanta Hawks; New York luxury watch show Timecrafters takes place in May; Devon Works introduces the Tread 2 Godiva and much more.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Incredible Chiming Machines: The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon And The Duomètre à Grande Sonnerie
In 2009, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a wristwatch so complicated in its premise and execution that it made my jaw drop: the Duomètre à Grande Sonnerie. Then earlier this year, the Le Sentier-based brand introduced the Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon.
The World’s Biggest Man-Made Calendar: El Castillo At Chichén Itzá
Contemplating the 30-meter-high ancient pyramid at Mayan archeological site Chichén Itzá in the blazing Yucatán sunlight, I was awestruck by the structure’s complexity. Not just because of the pure historical ramifications of the pyramid and temple , but also because of its timekeeping capabilities. Chichén Itzá’s most famous structure was actually built to be the world’s largest calendar And this at a time when calendars didn’t even exist!
Blood Moons, Lunar Tetrads, And The Andreas Strehler Sauterelle À Lune Perpétuelle
The Andreas Strehler Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle contains a moon phase mechanism that will only need adjustment by one full day every 14,189.538 years. And not only does the Lune Perpétuelle have an extremely accurate moon phase, but with the help of the constant force mechanism it is even more accurate for the little intervals as well.
Give Me Five! Tourbillons From Baselworld 2014 Part 3
This is the last in our three-part series on tourbillons from Baselworld 2014. It includes fantastic timepieces from Blancpain, Greubel Forsey, Girard-Perregaux, Hautlence and Vianney Halter I have stretched the criteria a little here: while I saw the Greubel Forsey and Vianney Halter watches during Baselworld, neither of them was actually exhibiting at the fair.
Weekly Roundup 2 May: Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin And More
* Richard Mille’s team has just returned from Caribbean island St. Barth, where it was the main sponsor of regatta Les Voiles de Saint Barth for the fifth consecutive year. The regatta’s Maxi class winner, Alex Shaerer, was awarded an RM 028 Edition Voiles de Saint Barth in titanium.
The Secret For Eternal Youth: Patek Philippe Is 175 Years Young
One hundred seventy-five years is an enormous span of time for a watch company to be in continuous existence and consistently producing not just timepieces, but top-of-the-range timepieces. What is the secret of this quintessentially traditional company, which has managed to move with the times so gracefully, continuing to appeal to younger people just getting bit by the horology bug as much as older, settled collectors?