It’s that time of year again when the list of watches entered in the next edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) is published. The GPHG is the “Oscars” of the watchmaking industry, and 2016 is the sixteenth edition of the red carpet event.
This list comprises all of the watches competing in the first round of the competition from which the jury will pre-select six in each of the 12 categories.
During a recent trip to Paris, I stopped by Hermès’ Faubourg Saint-Honoré boutique to look at the Crafting Time exhibition. A highlight was the intriguing Hermès Arceau Pocket Ailes et Ecailles, whose dial is uniquely embellished with scarab beetle elytra fragments in a beautiful shimmering mosaic.
I’ve been trying, but have not managed, to come up with a more diplomatic way of saying this, so I’ll just come out with it: up to now, I have not generally been a fan of Bovet 1822. So I was surprised by just how much I was impressed with the Ottantasei by Pininfarina and would be very happy to wear one daily. But there is one niggle that I just can’t shake off.
The incredible UR-105 T-Rex is an extinct-reptile-inspired bronze creation using forced oxidation to create a dramatic patina on the surface, while the insides and the rear of the case remains crisp, black, and new as one would expect from Urwerk. My initial response was ‘whoa,’ but among observers there was no middle ground: the Urwerk UR-105 T-Rex is polarizing.
Date: late February 2010. Place: a small San Francisco restaurant. Players: an informal group of Northern California watch collectors, all owners of at least one Kari Voutilainen watch. One of the members of the group nonchalantly mentioned, “I’ve been talking with Kari about something . . ..” It was a set of bespoke Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II models. Time: two seconds later. Response: “I’m in!”
In 2010 I had the pleasure of visiting a Swiss artist, whose talents spread across a broad spectrum of artistic domains. However, he would be much better known to anyone reading Quill & Pad as the designer of some of the most revolutionary wristwatches of the last century. Can you guess who he is and the watches he has designed from the clues provided?
Carl F. Bucherer proved once again at Baselworld 2016 that the brand certainly knows how to pack a punch. One of those punches was delivered by the Manero Peripheral, which looks like the manifestation of a classic dress watch . . . until you turn it over and realize you don’t immediately see a rotor winding the automatic movement.
They say that money doesn’t grow on trees, but during a visit to Christophe Claret I discovered what appears to be the secret to the company’s manufacturing process: regular pruning. What story do you think explains the horological fruit that this tree bears? Please leave your suggestions in the comments.
Independence Day in the United States of America is celebrated on the 4th of July. In honor of this important day, I’d like to take a look at some American-themed wristwatches you may have forgotten or never even knew about. These timepieces proudly wear their red, white, and blue!
Bentley created the Bentayga as the ultimate SUV, whose base price of just about one-quarter of a million dollars does not include several important and very luxurious extras that include removable tablets ($7,155), replacement of wood trim with carbon fiber ($28,500) . . . and the automatic Breitling for Bentley Mulliner Tourbillon ($160,000).