The inaugural Dubai Watch Week (DWW) has just closed its doors. And what a week it has been: sunny days filled withintroductory watchmaking classes, informative and often entertaining discussion panels, conversations with CEOs and watchmakers, and a multitude of watch collectors and aficionados enjoying all the event had to offer. But before we take a look at what was good about DWW, let’s get the “bad” and the “ugly” out of the way first.
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. In this article we predict who will take the top prize called the Aiguille d’Or (“golden hand”), the best of the best of all the watches pre-selected in the 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
The second half of 2015 was an exciting time for Ulysse Nardin, continuing the brand’s roots in conquering ocean time with marine chronometers. And now even more exciting that the brand has taken to the seas with Swedish challenger to the America’s Cup, Artemis Racing. And what a great way to start the retail introduction of the new Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver Artemis Racing: with Artemis Racing winning its first America’s Cup challenger bid in Bermuda!
The America’s Cup, the world’s oldest international sporting trophy, first became a serious topic in the world of watches back in 2003, when Audemars Piguet became the partner of Cup challenger ‘Alinghi.’ In this thirty-fifth edition of the America’s Cup, we see a number of watch brands involved aside from principal sponsor, Louis Vuitton. Beginning with Ulysse Nardin, the timing partner of Artemis Racing.
Dear De Bethune,
Can I call you Thunie? Or, even better, just DB?
I have decided to place quill upon pad after all these years of watching you . . . no, I’m neither a stalker nor a star-struck groupie.
But more often than not you have intrigued, baffled, dazzled, and surprised me.
You do not remember our first meeting; how could you? You were just a baby, very different from what you are today. You had rather classic looks inside and out, but there was a je ne sais quoi implying that you might grow into something more interesting and perhaps flamboyant . . .
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Sports category are the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, the Harry Winston Project Z9, Seiko’s Prospex Marinemaster Professional Diver’s 1000m Hi-Beat 36000, the Tudor Pelagos, and the Zenith El Primero Sport.
Greubel Forsey’s timepieces usually have much of the movement on display on the dial side, which is all the better to appreciate the beauty of its design and sublime hand-finishing. But the 24 Secondes Vision is altogether more discreet and it does not fully reveal its magic until it is turned over. That’s where the micro-mechanical ballet beneath the transparent dome takes place.
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Jewellery category are the audacious Audemars Piguet Diamond Punk, Bulgari’s MVSA High Jewellery Watch, the Chaumet Joséphine Aigrette Impériale, de Grisogono’s fluid Grappoli, the colorful Fabergé Summer in Provence Multicoloured Sapphire, and the Piaget Extremely Piaget Double Sided Cuff Watch.
The MCT Frequential One F110 shares DNA and some familiar form with its neighboring population of the Sequential One and Sequential Two, but it is an end population that is truly itself. It’s something new.
New mechanics with familiar form
Mechanically speaking, the Frequential One F110 is a very new watch. Stylistically speaking, it is clearly a co-evolved result of what has come before. Gone are the rotating prisms, the large minute hand indicating the jump hour, and the three-quarter ring that jumps to uncover the current hour. But what replaces them?
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six finalists in the Artistic Crafts category are the Blancpain Villeret cadran Shakudo, Girard-Perregaux The Chambers of Wonders – The New World, Harry Winston Premier Precious Butterfly Automatic 36mm, Hermès Slim d’Hermès Koma Kurabe, Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw, and the Romain Gauthier Logical One Secret Kakau Höfke.