Elizabeth Doerr arrived home exhausted from the extravaganza that was Baselworld 2019, but was still running on enough residual adrenaline to get a few words out and jotted them down. Here are a few of her thoughts from the fair while they are still fresh.
Baselworld is fighting for its life, but new management under Michel Loris-Melikoff unveiled ambitious plans for the future that Elizabeth Doerr shares with us here.
With the the L.U.C Flying T Twin, Chopard releases its first flying tourbillon. Martin Green thinks that it is balanced, refined, typically Chopard, and a worthwhile addition to the world of the haute horlogerie. Read on for more.
Zenith’s Defy Inventor includes successful implementation of Zenith’s futuristic compliant component which offers insensitivity to temperature, gravity, and magnetic fields as well as no need for lubrication. It may even help change how mechanical watches are viewed and made. This is some futuristic stuff!
In the Behind the Lens series, GaryG presents great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives, while at the same time passing along a few thoughts on what it’s like to shoot these pieces. And, from time to time, a helpful technical hint or two. And great watches don’t come much better than the Philippe Dufour Simplicity.
Joshua Munchow thinks that TAG Heuer’s move to separate the Autavia into its own collction and have it be fully supported by Caliber 5 with its Isograph carbon-composite hairspring is a definitive step to creating a new, solid base for the brand to build on.
Schwarz Etienne’s new flying tourbillon Ode To The Seventies takes its cues from psychedelic art, where it is applied using very traditional crafts to create a bold new timepiece. And we think it is groovy, baby!
Greubel Forsey introduces the Quadruple Tourbillon GMT, a watch combining the unbelievable titanium-globed multiple time zone complication from the GMT Earth and the brand’s second fundamental invention, the Quadruple Tourbillon. Combining these two stunning elements into one watch is incredibly challenging: necessitating the creation of a whole new caliber, the Quadruple Tourbillon GMT demonstrates (again) the mastery of this brand when it comes to the architectural art of precision timekeeping.
Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele had an opportunity for a retail space in Monaco and had the choice of making another Chopard boutique – which he really didn’t need – or not keeping the space (which was too good to pass on). The third idea idea was to create a multi-brand environment, but Art in Time turned into much more than that: it is an unusual space for unusually creative high-end watchmaking.
The 2016 is one of the most declared port vintages of all time. And deservedly so: Ken Gargett thinks that 2016 is a vintage that should warm the hearts of all fans of port wine and bring in many more new fans.