Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, thinks that the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance is a perfect fit for his brand. Here Martin Green explains why and looks at the unique piece 1815 Chronograph created in its honor that will be auctioned for charity.
The 2022 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published its list of shortlisted (“nominated”) watches in the runup to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 10, 2022. Ian Skellern shares all of the finalist watches in each category here. Let us know your favorites!
Patrick Mouratoglou morphed from a frustrated player in his teens into today’s perennial supercoach; he is able to deal with the highly complicated psyche and game of an elite competitor just the way a horologist is qualified to finetune a supercomplication. And he is a Zenith ambassador. Learn all about him here thanks to tennis and timepiece writer Miguel Seabra!
Tennis and timepieces are coming ever closer together thanks in great part to brands spending more and more money on ambassadors. But not only! Elizabeth Doerr shares thoughts on two new tennis-themed watches from Studio Underd0g and Maurice De Mauriac.
Why is this timepiece important from a holistic view of horological history? The reasons are manifold and include the unheard-of technology nestled within its movement, the audacity of a German newcomer in challenging Swiss status quo, and the symbolic value for A. Lange & Söhne’s rebirth as well as the golden age of mechanical timepieces.
Despite having made more than 100 pièces uniques among a grand total of approximately 1,500 timepieces spanning 42 years of a truly inventive career, independent watchmaker and co-founder of the A.H.C.I. Svend Andersen has become particularly known for the worldtimer, a complicated timepiece displaying the time in 24 time zones. Here Elizabeth Doerr shares a brief history of worldtimers and blue gold while looking at the Andersen Genève x Asprey Heures du Monde.
The OAK Collection is filled with extraordinary, museum-quality, one-of-a-kind timepieces, many of which are either historically important, unrepeatable special orders, or rare limited editions. These include (but are not limited to) five Patek Philippe watches once owned by Henry Graves, 16 Nautiluses, seven Voutilainens, and a plethora of rare Rolex and Patek Philippe models!
The Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales is first and foremost about being a piece of mechanical art, reminiscent of MB&F, only entirely realized for lovers of nature, precious stones, and poetry. Telling the time is secondary, but that doesn’t make it any less horologically stupendous.
Ken Gargett is delighted to see the Champagne Charlie make such an impressive return, but he prefers Charles Heidsieck’s wonderful Blanc des Millénaires 2007 and here he explains why.
It seems that watches are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, as a mainstream fashion category. With the good comes the bad, of course, and one characteristic is that it attracts a set of well-off, low-information buyers. GaryG shares his tips for navigating uncertainty in watch collecting in 2022.