Joshua Muchow became somewhat informed about gemstones and related techniques in studying for the jewelry-heavy Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève categories we discuss annually. This new information has sparked a significant amount of passion for the topic, leaving him wanting to share some of what he’s learned about one of the most beautiful sides of haute horology: gems and their settings.
French independent watchmaker Theo Auffret has called Paris his professional home for many of the last eight years. His debut watch, the Tourbillon à Paris, is both testament to his watchmaking philosophy and a fine example of French tradition in practice.
I’m all for evolution, especially continual evolution in watchmaking. However, from time to time we need revolution as well as evolution, and the former is severely lacking. While MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual looks to all intents and purposes like one of the least radical timepieces created in the brand’s ten-year history, make no mistake: it is revolution, not evolution.
Both the Chronoswiss SkelTec and the new Opus chronograph show that Chronoswiss is on track to continuing the innovation begun with 1995’s Opus chronograph. Anders Modig takes a dive into contemporary skeletonization with two brand-new models by the brand, including two reboots of the original Opus.
The Iconic category emphasizes men’s or women’s watches from a brand’s emblematic collection, meaning one that has had a lasting influence on watchmaking and its history as well as having been on the market for more than 20 years. Our panelists have mixed feelings about the Iconic category and are (nearly) split down the middle on picking a favorite.
In perusing the names of the 2020 jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, two distinct things became obvious to former jury member Elizabeth Doerr: that the entire jury is based in Switzerland and that it is far less diverse than it has been over the last decade. Here she breaks down why that is and provides some commentary and background on the new members.
The two new Bulgari Aluminium models look a lot like their predecessors, which makes you realize how timeless the design is. They don’t even look retro, highlighting the timeless quality of the original design. And the good news is that they are relatively affordable compared to other watches in Bulgari’s collection. What else do these watches have going for them?
The GPHG foundation describes the Men’s Complication watches as remarkable in terms of their mechanical creativity and complexity. But many of our panelists are scratching their heads as the perennial question “is a tourbillon a complication?” comes up yet again.
GaryG shares his thoughts on if/how the impact of COVID-19 has affected some of the issues brought up in Apocalypse II, the 2019 Dubai Watch Week Horology Forum panel discussing impact of connected watches and technology.
One of the most famous bourbon distilleries of all is Buffalo Trace, whose story started centuries ago with a famous name: Daniel Boone, who rode through Leestown in 1771 “on the buffalo trace” more than 20 years before Kentucky even became a state. Ken Gargett shares here why he thinks the bourbon from this American distillery is so special.