Ladies, watch out! In 2019 many brands are catering to their female customers in a more mindful way, bringing out intriguing examples that both set fashionable accents and make bold statements in terms of sophisticated technology. Here’s a selection of three stunning new daily wearers from Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Carl F. Bucherer.
The Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain contains most of the key features familiar to the ultra-high-end brand, and all in a package that is friendlier to the wallet (even if only slightly) and a touch more under the radar when placed next to a watch like an Invention Piece or the GMT Earth. In fact, some of the Quill & Pad team have fallen madly in love with the Balancier Contemporain!
There are high-end watch brands titled with a person’s name that have no reference to a specific human being. But more often than not in horology, there are actual people behind watch brands with human-sounding names. And there is hardly a brand more human in Elizabeth Doerr’s estimation than Armin Strom, an independent Swiss manufacture making some of the highest quality timepieces on the market.
Waking up one morning with his coffee, John Keil was scrolling through the headlines on ‘Business Insider’ when he came across a post entitled “Science Says You Shouldn’t Buy Luxury Brands.” With all due respect to author Elizabeth Lang he thought, ‘screw science and buy luxury watches!’
A great ladies’ watch is all about getting the proportions right and taking extra care with the design details. At Time to Move, the Swatch Group’s 2019 replacement for Baselworld, Breguet showed us the subtle art of creating great ladies’ watches. Martin Green highlights his favorites here.
In recent years, the Rolex GMT-Master with its multi-time zone display has become one of the most desirable Rolex watches to own. And the very first GMT-Master, Reference 6542, is easily the rarest and most sought after of all the vintage GMT-Master references. Especially in the version we show here.
For those looking for the rare, thrilling, exciting one-offs and perhaps wildly expensive cigars, I am afraid that this time we must disappoint. Partagás Serie D No.4, which tends to be known simply as the D4, is a cigar that almost all serious cigar lovers will have enjoyed. And here Ken Gargett provides some history and of course his tasting notes on the cigar.
Elizabeth Doerr is partial to the use of meteorite in watches because it’s literally the heart of a shooting star; when she gazes at a meteorite dial, she sees a tamed piece of heaven catching the time as it passes. Here she highlights five watch brands also seduced by the beauty of meteorite that made their debuts in 2019.
One of the best horological examples that Joshua Munchow has recently seen of uncompromising design is the Bovet Récital 26 Brainstorm Chapter One. Bovet often pushes the boundary in case and movement design, but Brainstorm Chapter One is a particularly good example of keeping the design intent throughout the development process. And the result is astounding!
The fact is that if many people do not appreciate superlative hand-finishing, then fewer will pay for superlative hand-finishing, so there is likely to be less superlative hand-finishing on offer. So why are we in a golden age for appreciating it right now? Ian Skellern explains.