Philippe Dufour (left) and Henry-John Belmont

Philippe Dufour And Henry-John Belmont Win FHH Homage To ‘Passion’ And ‘Talent’ Awards

This young award is just barely three years old, but indeed it has already managed to reward some of the greatest personalities in the world of watches for their “passion” and “talent” – which are undeniably the most essential ingredients for the finest watchmaking. A jury from the Cultural Council of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) honored two exceptional personalities in 2014: Philippe Dufour for his “talent” and Henry-John Belmont for his “passion.”

"Le Vautour" and "Le Chef" Petite Heure Minutes by Jaquet Droz in homage to the Bejart Ballet

Béjart Ballet Glissades Its Way Onto The Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute In Tokyo

Earlier in 2014, Jaquet Droz announced a partnership with Lausanne’s Béjart Ballet. A ballet dancer perfectly masters the movements of his or her body, which makes for perfect allegory to Pierre Jaquet Droz’s lifelike mechanical androids using flow, flux, movement, and human expression through motion. Meet The Vulture and The Chief, two extraordinarily artistic Jaquet Droz timepieces paying homage to the dance.

SalonQP 2014

Roundup of SalonQP 2014: London’s Premier Watch Exhibition

SalonQP, London’s premier watch exhibition, ran from the 6th through the 8th of November 2014 at the prestigious Saatchi Art Gallery in central London. It was bigger and better than ever in terms of both size and visitor numbers.

Read on for more than just a few reasons (and lots of photos) why SalonQP is my favorite watch exhibition.

Diamond set Frédéric Jouvenot Surya in white gold

The Second Inevitability? Frédéric Jouvenot And The Solar Deity Collection

Independent watchmaker Frédéric Jouvenot’s Solar Deity collection highlights the creativity of the jump hour function even as it surprises the viewer with the complete readability of such an atypical dial: radial jump hour arms secured to a dodecagon-shaped piece in the center that houses the rotation pivots and the jump mechanism rotate once an hour, while a central half disc tracks the minutes as they pass. The effect is astounding!

Richard Mille RM-07-01 (photo courtesy Alice Keehn)

Richard Mille And Diana Luna: Feminine Power And The RM 007

Follow us on a day spent with professional golfer and Richard Mille ambassador Diana Luna at the Ladies Lacoste Open de France. The picturesquely-situated Chantaco Golf Club near Biarritz, France, set the sunny scene for golf, watches, and champagne: the perfect environment for Richard Mille timepieces such as the RM 007, the brand-new RM 07-01 and the RM 016.

Pre-selected Mechanical Exception watches in the 2014 Grand Prix

Mechanical Exception Pre-Selected Watches: Round Table Discussion Of The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2014

While this category in the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is called “Mechanical Exception,” it could well be titled “exceptionally difficult to pick a winner.” And that’s because of the incredible selection of exceptional watches to choose from: Urwerk EMC, Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater, TAG Heuer Monaco V4 Tourbillon, MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2, Hublot, MP-05 LaFerrari, and Andreas Strehler Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle.

Richard Mille RM011 Orange Storm and White Ghost

Monthly News Roundup: Richard Mille, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, MB&F, HYT, Nomos, Jaquet Droz, Fonderie 47, And Moser & Cie

This month’s news roundup includes a pair of limited edition humdingers by Richard Mille; an elegantly understated day-date by Vacheron Constantin; IWC’s Formula 1-powered new Ingenieur models; a complicated red gold timepiece by Fonderie 47; a black plastic rendition of MB&F’s HM5 called CarbonMacrolon; HYT’s latest collaborator; a Bauhaus beauty by Nomos; Jaquet Droz’s Enchanted Journey; Moser & Cie’s clever new tourbillon; and the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 in red gold against the backdrop of Dresden’s Semper opera house

A. Lange & Söhne: From Dresden To Madison Avenue

Ferdinand Adolph Lange had already been selling watches in Saxony’s capital city Dresden since 1844. Follow us on a historical journey through nineteenth-century Dresden to lightly trace the footsteps of the Glashütte watch industry’s founding father, which continues in the modern day with A. Lange & Söhne’s new boutique on New York City’s Madison Avenue.

Greubel Forsey And The Proverbial Loose Screw: An Anniversary Tale

On this sunny day in the La Chaux-de-Fonds factory, which is half charming eighteenth-century farmhouse and half state-of-the-art technical facility, I was entirely surprised by having learned something new about one of Greubel Forsey’s production elements: screws. The subject came up in passing at lunch, sparking great passion in Forsey despite what might seem to be a miniscule topic to the uninitiated.

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Quantieme Ivory Enamel

Monthly News Roundup: Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot, George Daniels and Roger Smith, Speake-Marin, MB&F, Arnold & Son, Jaquet Droz, Grieb & Benzinger, Chronoswiss

This month’s news roundup includes a complicated new timepiece by Audemars Piguet, a famous wrist wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot’s latest high-profile partnership, George Daniels and Roger Smith’s only serial timepiece up at auction, Speake-Marin worn by the world’s most famous spy, MB&F’s MusicMachine 2, Arnold & Son’s elegant ultra-thin tourbillon in a new case, Jaquet Droz’ latest timepiece, a unique bespoke timepiece containing an historical movement by Grieb & Benzinger, and a wristwatch Chronoswiss has created to auction off for charity.