Two brand-new chronographs debuting here at Baselworld illustrate extreme sides of the coin: De Bethune’s manually wound DB29 Maxi Chrono Tourbillon and Glashütte Original’s Senator Chronograph Panorama Date.
Elizabeth Doerr and I had the honour of being interviewed by The Watches TV founder, Marc-André Deschoux recently about our motivations for launching Quill & Pad.
* Maurice Lacroix announces a three-year partnership with FC Barcelona as its official watch partner. Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona is considered one of the world’s most prestigious “footie” clubs and boasts an emotional global fan base of over 300 million admirers and 100 million social media followers.
This stunning diamond-encrusted minute repeater pocket watch is thought to be over 100 years old (circa 1910). An incredible 450 brilliant-cut diamonds ,over 16 carats in total, cover the case and covers with yellow gold accents on the crown, cover hinges and ring add a contemporary touch.
Ressence presented the Type 1, an organically curved wristwatch building on the success of the Belgian brand’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) prize-winning Type 3.
Elizabeth and Ian are live on location in Le Sentier this week, where we are getting a first-hand look at the skills of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s artisans in some of the 180 different trades and crafts that this manufacture founded in 1833 unites under one (admittedly very large) roof.
* Quill & Pad has the honor of introducing Grieb & Benzinger’s latest bespoke creation: the Black Tulip Red Midnight. This masterfully skeletonized watch is the direct result of a customer’s desire: a watch connoisseur looking for a “stealth” watch that nonetheless portrays its value and rare handcrafts in a lower-key way, creating an eye-catching black-and-red look using unusual gemstones.
Richard Mille announces another new sporting ambassador following quickly on the heels of skier Alexis Pinturault, who won bronze at the Sochi Olympics in giant slalom. The luxury sporting brand now welcomes Romanin Grosjean to the fold. This announcement coincides with the first Formula 1 testing sessions of the E22 Lotus, which makes sense since Grosjean is a Lotus driver and Richard Mille also sponsors the entire Lotus team.
* We have just completed our very first themed fortnight, which provided you with stories from the Olympics in Sochi and Russian watchmaking and this week we bring news from : Panerai, Thomas Prescher, Vianney Halter, Baselworld, Nomos and more.
A happy Valentine’s Day to you!
* As we approach half-time at the Olympics, we’d like to direct your attention to the close of our first Olympic Week.