Romain Jerome Spacecraft on the wrist of brand CEO Manuel Emch (photo courtesy Erik Meza)

RIP RJ Romain Jérôme: First Horological Casualty Of The Coronavirus Fallout?

RJ Watches – formerly known as Romain Jérôme – has declared bankruptcy with immediate effect. Elizabeth Doerr takes a brief look at the 16-year run of this quirky boutique brand, its design-focused existence having formed an interesting tribute to the power (and limits) of marketing.

Watches & Wonders (SIHH) 2020 Cancelled Due To Coronavirus, Baselworld Next? Here’s What Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe Thinks

The news broke like a hurricane on the morning of February 27, 2020: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has been canceled for 2020. In the words of Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, “The future of the fairs is already [hanging] in the balance – to cancel them [this year] is really bad news for them, and for Baselworld in particular.” Read on for more of his opinion.

Corum Celebrating 65 Years Of Avant-Garde History In 2020 (Plus Videos)

To celebrate its 65th anniversary, Corum invited a few people to its manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds to look at some lovely vintage pieces and talk about what the brand has meant to the history of watchmaking. Elizabeth Doerr shares her visit, and visuals, here.

Ron Zacapa Centenario: Guatemalan Rum From ‘The House Above The Clouds’

Zacapa was one of the first rums ever to convince Ken Gargett that there was serious life in the category outside the ubiquitous “Bundy.” He doesn’t think that it will be long before people think of the best rums alongside other premium spirits, and Zacapa is one of the foremost proponents of this movement.

Omega Constellation Manhattan: An Overlooked Masterpiece Of Design

As a fan of the classic 1950s and 1960s Omega Constellations, Colin Smith had always dismissed Omega’s 1982 reworking of its flagship model, known as the Constellation Manhattan, as something of an aberration from the “true” Constellation concept. His “road to Damascus” moment occurred recently when he saw a 36 mm black-dial co-axial chronometer on display at an Omega dealer in Bordeaux.

Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1: Hands Breathing Life Into Metal

Everything Greubel Forsey does is about nurturing incredible skill, craftsmanship, and a fundamental belief in patience. This rings doubly true for the Hand Made 1. It looks absolutely perfect from every angle, and the experience is magnified when you realize that not only is this watch completely hand finished (the norm for Greubel Forsey) but wrought from scratch by an individual’s hands.

Win A Watch! Leap Year Giveaway Of A Gorilla Fastback GT Bandit

It’s a leap year, and thanks to our friends at Gorilla Watches, that means it’s time to win a watch. On February 29, 2020 we will be drawing the winner of a Gorilla Fastback GT Bandit. Read on to enter and perhaps even win this easy scavenger hunt. But hurry, this doesn’t happen every day (or year)!

Wait them out: the author’s A. Lange und Söhne Datograph Perpetual

Why I Bought It: A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual In White Gold – Reprise

The date: January 13, 2012. The place: Glashütte, Germany, where one of GaryG’s best friends had arranged for the two of them to visit A. Lange & Söhne. The vision: his friend extended his arm from the sleeve of his shirt, and what Gary saw left him reeling – his first view of the Lange Datograph Perpetual in white gold. He was confident from that very moment that this was a watch for him, but pursuit of the piece took four long years.

Why I Bought It: Ming Watches Model 17.06 Monolith

Incoming! If there’s a happier word in the watch enthusiast’s vernacular, GaryG is not sure what it is. After several months in the queue, he recently received the happy news that his Model 17.06 Monolith from the Ming Watches team had arrived. Here he shares why he bought it and what he thinks of it after wearing for several months.

Panerai Jupiterium planetarium with terrestrial perpetual calendar in the base

Out-Of-This-World Jupiterium: Panerai’s Tribute To Galileo Galilei, A Geocentric Planetarium Perpetual Calendar – Reprise

Given Panerai’s origins in Florence, it should come as no surprise that the Italian watchmaker created a horological tribute to the insatiably curious father of modern science Galileo Galilei, who was once a resident of the Renaissance city. The Jupiterium is a one-of-a-kind geocentric planetarium with perpetual calendar.