The initial key concepts for the AgenGraphe chronograph included having the elapsed time indicators displaying around the center hole so that the indications were large and highly legible, and that the minute and hour displays jumped instantaneously so that there could be no confusion when reading elapsed time. But the new chronograph ended up offering much more than that. Much more!
‘Watchmakers: The Masters of Art Horology’ is an international traveling exhibition of watches by 13 of the world’s best independent watchmakers and horologists. This special exhibition of horological art was created by the Maxima Gallery in Rome at the behest of gallery director Claudio Proietti.
When I say unbelievable, I mean what were Rolex, Omega, IWC, and Cartier thinking? Get the real inside story on servicing watches here.
Can something that is highly functional also be art? If there is one brand that has proven — at least in watches — that functional objects can be art it is Nomos. The German company’s designs can are minimalistic, which leads to enormous focus on every minuscule detail. The ‘De Stijl’ version offered by Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam takes all of this even further in a limited edition that costs no more than the regular collection edition.
Watch straps have come a long way since the era of Caroline Murat (née Bonaparte), who is said to have commissioned the world’s first wristwatch from the talented and accomplished Abraham-Louis Breguet when uniting a bracelet with a timepiece was an unprecedented pairing. But most probably don’t break as many fashion boundaries as these three examples by Bulgari, Hublot, and Breguet.
There is nothing quite like the experience that wearing an ultra-thin mechanical watch can provide. Despite a svelte, often understated case hugging your wrist in a barely perceptible embrace, you know that a there is a fully mechanical movement functioning at the edge of what is mechanically possible beating inside. And the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic is an especially fine example according to Martin Green.
One of the greatest watch brands that has emerged since the turn of the millennium is Greubel Forsey, who plays each “hand” as part of a larger strategy aimed at keeping it in control of the game it has chosen to play. One of the latest “hands” played is impressive: 2018’s GMT Earth.
If fewer people appreciate superlative hand-finishing, then fewer will pay for superlative hand-finishing, so there is likely to be less superlative hand-finishing on offer. Appreciate away!
The Watches TV went to Watch Time New York for the first time in November 2017. And while there had the opportunity to talk to Roland Murphy of RGM and discover this luxurious American brand based in Pennsylvania.
Only the most expensive, and often also the most complicated, watches are fitted with platinum cases. But should this be the case? And, most importantly, is this true? Martin Green takes a closer look at the myths and truths of platinum.