One of the most beautiful things about Cartier is that once it created the perfect watch, the designers pretty much left it alone. Meaning that the whims of fashion did not get a hold on models like the Tonneau – for the simple reason that it transcended fashion. And now a new version arrives in 2019. So what (if anything) has changed to make Martin Green proclaim that it heralds the age of elegance?
When collectors gather anywhere and talk about their collections, recent purchases, and executed or potential sales, there’s a term that comes up more often than not: “getting hurt.” Here I provide a master class in how not to get hurt in the world of watch collecting.
There are some watches you fall for the moment you see them. Sometimes that initial infatuation passes and you move on to the next temporary obsession, but then there are those instances in which the more you see, talk about, and learn about a piece and its origins the more you resolve to save up to buy one. For GaryG, the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire was one of the latter.
Every year people working in the watch industry pass away, and brands come and go. We now highlight a special few of those we’ve lost in 2018.
Over these last five years – and indeed since Elizabeth Doerr has been writing about watches – the large fairs and exhibitions have played central roles in seeing the year’s new pieces. At the moment, the position of the fairs seems to be in some jeopardy, but for now it’s business as usual. Here are a few highlights from the last five years of the world’s largest watch fair, Baselworld.
The Naked Watchmaker (TNW), aka Peter Speake-Marin, has recently began a series of deconstructions of a broad selection of modern Breguet watches and movements, starting with the Classique 5177, a relatively simple (for Breguet) three-hand dress watch with date. Here Ian shares a few details that The Naked Watchmaker didn’t reveal.
For many watch enthusiasts, it is probably not a stretch to say that fine timepieces are often enjoyed with a fine glass of bubbly. And since Quill & Pad acquired an expert writer in this field in 2017 – Ken Gargett from Australia – we can happily recommend some of the best tipples in existence. Here are five very fine champagnes recommended just in time for the new year!
Laurent Ferrier won the award for best Men’s Complication watch at the 2018 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the Galet Annual Calendar Montre École, an imagining of an annual calendar based on Monsieur Ferrier’s original ‘montre école’ (final exam watch). Joshua Munchow appreciates the watch’s simplicity and legibility and feels that it’s a perfect example of what an annual calendar can be.
GaryG had the pleasure to handle, listen to, photograph, and write about two truly splendid minute repeaters, both property of a good friend: Patek Philippe Reference 5074P and Reference 5078P. They both look great, but you’re probably most interested in how they sound. Well, here’s your chance. Welcome to the great Patek Philippe chime-off!
Drum roll please . . . In no particular order here are the ten all-time most-viewed stories we have posted on Quill & Pad over the last five years.