Hairsprings are miniscule. Generally no more than one centimeter in overall diameter when coiled, they are roughly 50 microns thick and 150 microns wide. Tiny they may be, but insignificant they are not. In fact, they are so significant that Rolex refers to them as “the guardians of time.” But what do silicon hairsprings bring to the table? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why he went from skeptic to fan.
It sometimes escapes notice, but between A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 and Tourbillon Pour le Mérite resides the Saxonia, whose name refers to the federal state in which Glashütte is located: Saxony. Here, Sabine Zwettler provides a rundown of the history of one of the German brand’s understated second-row stars.
Elizabeth Doerr and John Keil discuss the meaning of the 25th anniversary of the Lange 1 and in particular inspect the Lange 1 Anniversary Edition in white gold in some detail on John’s new collaborative video channel WatchWithUs.
Filming on the new, and still untitled, 25th film in the James Bond series has now shifted to London, and footage appearing in the media has confirmed the reappearance of the Aston Martin V8 from ‘The Living Daylights’ as well as the movie’s star Daniel Craig in more scenes in a suit and tie while sporting a split lip and bruised knuckles. Recent set photographs have also allowed a much better look at the Omega Seamaster 007 for ‘Bond 25’ on 007’s wrist, so here’s an update.
George Daniels’ first Space Traveller, which is one of the most famous pieces of the late Erivan Haub’s tremendous collection, hit the auction block on July 2, 2019 as part of Sotheby’s Masterworks of Time. The definitive highlight of the first of the four auction segments, it hammered for an astounding $4,561,407/£3,615,000.
Clos de Tart and Clos des Lambrays are two very fine Burgundy wines, both from Morey-Saint-Denis in France, but Ken Gargett doubts that their reputations have ever been higher. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, they were not exciting too many wine lovers. That’s not so now. For Ken they are what good Burgundy is all about: ethereal, elegant, balanced, subtle, and full of flavor and finesse.
Seriously, who cares how many jewels their watch has? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy thinks that you’d be surprised how many people care as they’ve been duped by a vintage practice of announcing the amount of movement jewels on watch dials. What is the real story here?
Among its fragrances, Geo. F. Trumper has quite a large selection of masculine colognes, which in this age is quite remarkable. Martin Green shares his impressions of a few of them.
The ‘Superbia Humanitatis’ Louis-Elysée Piguet/Franck Muller/Paul Gerber super complication is one of the most legendary watches of our time. And what a story! And here it is in its entirety: from 1892 when Piguet made the movement through 1992 when Franck Muller altered it, all the way through the present day when Paul Gerber altered it three more times to make it the most complicated wristwatch in the world.
As far as Ken Gargett is concerned, if you want a well-priced champagne that will age immaculately, Lanson is the house for you. Cheers!