Vianney Halter Goldfeil, that's What Makes Me Tick

The Unbelievable Story Of “What Makes Me Tick”

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It was a sunny but cool autumn day in 1775, yet young Madeleine was sweating profusely and cussing quite colorfully at young Eugene – her husband. “Bloody zut . . . I can’t take this any longer! When is it finally coming out?” she hissed through gritted teeth. Young Madeleine was giving birth, a most unpleasant affair at the beginning. Once the child was born, he became the star in her sky. Later, she gazed at him tenderly as his dashing good looks brought tears to her eyes . . . like that of all the women blessed enough to cross his path. Meet Quill & Pad’s new contributor, a humble man.

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Historic Audemars Piguet minute repeater

Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater Wristwatch Reference 5528 From 1885 Has Feminine Roots

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Geneva was abuzz with activity just days before the first round of 2015 auctions took place in May. Once in a great while, interesting timepieces pop up at auction that would probably receive a lot more attention if the auction world wasn’t currently quite so fixated on Patek Philippe and Rolex. One such beauty is this historic minute repeater wristwatch by Audemars Piguet.

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R60 Diablo by Roland Iten and Claude Sfeir

Can A Man Wear A 60.66-Carat Diamond? The Roland Iten R60 Diablo Belt Buckle Says Yes

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With the advent of the R60 Diablo mechanical belt buckle, Roland Iten now assures the world that you no longer have to be a princess to wear an incredible jewel in an everyday setting. Or even a prince. The highlight of the red gold and titanium chassis of the R60 Diablo mechanical belt buckle is a fairly well camouflaged fancy cognac diamond weighing in at 60.66 carats.

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Breguet 7077 La Tradition Chronograph Indépendant

Breguet La Tradition 7077 Independent Chronograph: Twins Or Not?

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Sometimes watchmakers come up with something that appears to come straight out of a medical textbook. Like a mainspring that’s not a mainspring, even though it’s a mainspring. And this is the kind of incredible thing present inside the Breguet 7077 La Tradition Independent Chronograph, which, as its name implies, has a chronograph gear train independent of the main going train even powered by its own spring. And they are designed to do two very different things.

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Celestial Azure by David Oscarson

David Oscarson’s New Alexander Fleming Pen Collection

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David Oscarson has been creating luxury fountain pens since 2000 and has won three Robb Report’s annual Best of the Best award – each one a personal tribute to the art of writing. “The biggest challenge today is helping people remember what a signature means: that it is an extension of one’s self,” says Oscarson. The use of hand-rendered guilloche and enamel, traditional art forms also seen in watchmaking, are emblematic of the brand, and Oscarson takes great care in keeping their quality pure. This also true of the new Alexander Fleming collection.

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Kennin-ji-Temple Masters Project by Speake-Marin

Speake-Marin Kennin-ji Temple Masters Project

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If you know Peter Speake-Marin, then you know why he is so popular with collectors: as a creator, he goes the extra mile to conceive something absolutely stunning and unique. He has also made one of the most breathtaking timepieces I had the pleasure to see at Baselworld 2015: the spectacular Kennin-ji Temple Masters Project, which was realized with the help of two engravers and a leather maker.

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Milling underway in a Valbray 5-axis CNC machine

350 Processors And 90,000 Watts of Power Just To Mill A Curved Line? CNC Primer

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On a recent visit to the Valbray manufacture, I surreptitiously looked at the electrics in back of a CNC machine (as one does). Seeing my interest, Côme de Valbray, who co-founded the brand with his wife Olga, casually mentioned that the racks of electronics contained the processing power of 350 powerful computers and that the machine drew up to 90,000 watts of power in operation: that’s equivalent to the power used by around ten homes.

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Scent flask with singing bird by Pierre Jaquet-Droz circa 1785

Jaquet Droz Leads Sotheby’s Swiss Mechanical Marvel Automata Auction (Updated After Sale)

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Auction house Sotheby’s will stage an auction in New York on June 11, 2015 featuring items from a private collection of musical automata within its sale of important watches. The auction pieces, mainly made for export to royalty throughout Europe, Turkey, India, and China, are headed up by a singing bird scent flask made by Pierre Jaquet-Droz in 1785.

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The Richard Mille RM-60-01Regatta Flyback Chronograph

Richard Mille Introduces RM-60-01 Regatta Flyback Chronograph At Voiles De St. Barth

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Richard Mille introduced the RM 60-01 Regatta Flyback Chronograph during an annual event held on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Barth: the exciting young regatta called Voiles de St. Barth. The 60-01 was conceived and designed for open-sea racing with a unique titanium rotating bezel containing an integral compass and a special crown/pusher locking system.

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Intricately engraved gold Montegrappa Cult Q1

Four Cartridges For Four Colors: Montegrappa’s Cult Q1

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One pen that really caught my eye at the 2015 edition of Baselworld was the Montegrappa Cult Q1, which offers a first in the world of fine writing instruments. The Q1 can be loaded with four different ink colors that may be exchanged mid-sentence.

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