In the “Objects of Desire” series, I look at pieces that fall into the categories unobtanium and timenotrightium, as my Quill & Pad colleague Joshua Munchow might say. And, where better to start on the topic of desire than with the watches of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey?
The lines between form, fun, and functionality have been blurry, especially in recent years. Which is why we see more and more mechanical objects with relationships to time but perhaps not directly related. Here Martin Green explores three such objects by Jaquet Droz, Urwerk, and MB&F.
One of the three Limited Edition program releases from Habanos for 2017, the Partagás Series No. 1 has hit the shelves. This cigar is still very young, but Ken Gargett has distinct opinions on it.
American actor Mark Wahlberg recently uploaded a video to his Instagram account wearing an early-delivery Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Root Beer,’ once again putting his penchant for precious metal watches on display.
With the FIFA World Cup 2014 long finished, Elizabeth takes a brief look at ten – well, eleven – of the most interesting soccer-related timepieces. Among these are the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Leo Messi and Richard Mille’s RM 11-01 Roberto Mancini. Flip through the list and see which is your favorite.
In the early 1960s, engineer Kelly Johnson of Lockheed Martin came up with “keep it simple, stupid,” which became better known by its acronym, KISS. Watches that employ clever levers and clearly adhere to the KISS principle are always something that can turn me into a giddy fan boy, and one such piece is the Konstantin Chaykin Genius Temporis. Heck, even the name implies some genius.
When perpetual calendars are too complicated but a simple calendar just doesn’t cut it anymore because nearly half the months have less than 31 days, it’s five adjusts a year too many for some: don’t fret, there is a middle ground between the most basic calendar watches and complex perpetual calendars. The annual calendar automatically adjusts for each month with 30 or 31 days, meaning just one adjust in February. Here’s a brief history of the complication.
There has long been a connection between fine wine and art. But as much fun as the packaging of the Longview Piece Shiraz 2015’s art label is, what ultimately counts is what is in, not on, the bottle. And for Ken Gargett, this shiraz delivers where it counts: taste.
In early June 2018, nearly 200 people from all corners of the planet traveled to the the quiet Vallée de Joux in Switzerland to celebrate independent watchmaker Philippe Dufour’s 70th birthday party. Ian Skellern thought the occasion might make for a nice film and asked a few old friends to help out.
It’s not just the Đông Sơn drum theme of these two quite different collector’s items by watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and pen maker Grayson Tighe that caught Elizabeth’s eye: it was the actual pieces themselves, which were inspired by the indigenous people of the Red River Delta of Vietnam.