Alexander Doerr hadn’t really paid much attention to opals before, but upon closer inspection realized that this gemstone is extraordinary – they are shrouded in mystery and well worth learning more about. Looking at an opal is like looking at fireworks or even looking into a galaxy. And two Swiss watch brands specialize in using the fiery gemstone in watches are Jaquet Droz and Piaget.
There is something about interviewing people like Stephen Forsey, co-founder of Greubel Forsey, that makes it a unique experience. Not only is Forsey a great watchmaker, he is also an entrepreneur with his finger on the pulse of the industry. And here he shares many insights from the last 15 years of his company, one the best watchmakers in the world.
The political scene in Germany currently shares a number of issues with other countries around the world, including the rise of the extreme right. Without going into the politics, Elizabeth Doerr highlights this particular interview with Nomos Glashütte managing director Judith Borowski because she feels it is incredibly courageous for a manufacturer to clearly state a definitive side and speak out on what it thinks is right (and wrong), despite the fact that might cause a few potential customers to look elsewhere for their watches.
Dubai Watch Week and Christie’s have partnered to bring the first International Horology Forum to London on September 11-12, 2018. The overall theme centers around bridging the gap between innovation and tradition, though the planned discussions tend to be wide ranging. We hope to see you there, but you can also follow the Horology Panels live streaming on IGTV. Check out the “best of British” speakers and times here.
The 2018 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published the list of “pre-selected” (shortlisted) watches in the run-up to the eagerly anticipated red-carpet event in Geneva on November 9, 2018. You can check out the all the watches in the competition here.
At Baselworld 2018 young boutique brand Akrivia launched its Chronomètre Contemporain, the very first timepiece in the Rexhep Rexhepi Collection. To say that Joshua is impressed is an understatement, but there is more to it: this watch represents a new, diverged direction for the independent watchmaker.
Only a handful of producers are able to make hairsprings, most of which are large-scale industry suppliers. But a few watch brands manufacture their own using recipes and processes, which they keep close to their hearts. Bovet is one of these rare few manufacturers. Take a walk through the factory here thanks to The Watches TV, one in which cameras are usually not allowed.
Though pen makers collaborating with watchmakers is more common today than it was a decade ago, the combination of Blancpain and Grayson Tighe continues to delight with characteristically distinctive writing instruments expressing elements of both creators. The titanium Series 2 is a perfect example of the pen maker’s art mixed with thoughtful watch details.
The very cool thing about Qlocktwo’s timepieces is that they spell out the time every five minutes using a typographic indication with letters: so instead of “7:30,” the time on a Qlocktwo “dial” quite literally reads “it is half past seven.” Sabine Zwettler finds this eminently intriguing!
In 1815, King Louis XVIII appointed a new ‘Horloger de la Marine’: Abraham-Louis Breguet. Martin Green thinks it was somewhat ironic that until then Breguet had never really made marine chronometers. That soon changed.