In an insightful move Montblanc chose this year, the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare death (or what the company delicately calls the “anniversary of his life’s achievements”), to honor him with an annual Writers Edition limited edition pen full of symbolism.
Welcome to the 2016 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. In the Mechanical Exception category our panel is split, but one mechanically exceptional timepiece here did garner more votes than the others.
At SalonQP 2016, London’s premier watch show, Quill & Pad will have a bigger presence than ever before with both myself and Ian actively taking part in the exhibition. Ian will be hosting the seminar “In conversation: Kari Voutilainen” while I have curated the exhibition, “Métiers d’Art: Art of Time.”
Social media has experienced quite the discussion of a Chinese phone “by Kari Voutilainen,” a Swiss-based Finnish independent watchmaker, which turned out to be not a phone but a SIM card cover. If not a social media storm in a teacup, then a brisk zephyr in a thimble, which also involved another Finnish independent watchmaker, Stepan Sarpaneva.
Welcome to the 2016 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. The watches in competition for this category are: Manufacture Royale’s 1770 Haute Voltige, the De Bethune DB25 World Traveller, the Fabergé Visionnaire DTZ, Louis Vuitton’s Escale World Time, Bovet’s Virtuoso VI Triple Time Zone, and the unique Montblanc 4810 Orbis Terrarum Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition.
This is a photo of the movement of the Jacob & Co. Astronomia triple-axis tourbillon: even that one-carat diamond “globe” counterbalancing the earth rotates on two axes! I’m sure there are people who believe the fiction that this is a movement destined for a wristwatch, but I’m hoping you are not one of them. Let us know what you think this contraption is really for in the comments!
It’s usually difficult to fully grasp the changes that have occurred to the automobile from our modern perspective, but recently I attended an incredible event that unknowingly provided a detailed look into the history of the passenger car: the inaugural Atlanta Concours d’Elegance 2016.
This photo was taken of just a few of the watches at a recent collector’s GTG (get-togtether) in Brisbane, Australia.
But what else could explain this diverse array of mechanical marvels?
And I’ll add bonus points for naming all of the watches correctly.
Welcome to Quill & Pad’s 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in the Calendar category in which the team picks favorites and explains why. The pre-selected watches in the running for this category are: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, H. Moser & Cie.’s Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Concept Funky Blue, the Chopard L.U.C Perpetual Chrono, Andersen Genève’s Perpetuel Secular Calendar “20th Anniversary” Blue Gold Dial, the Andreas Strehler Lune Exacte, and the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual.
Welcome to Quill & Pad’s 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in the Jewellery category in which the team picks favorites and explains why. The pre-selected watches in the running for this category are: the Voutilainen Scintillante, Audemars Piguet’s Diamond Fury, Graff’s Princess Butterfly, the Chanel Secret Watch Signature Grenat, the Hublot Big Bang Impact Bang, and Chopard’s Precious Chopard Watch.