Given my recent musings on these pages about the relative roles of rarity and complication in driving the value of a watch, it seems appropriate to dedicate this “Behind the Lens” entry to a piece that is both complicated and limited in production: Patek Philippe’s Reference 5950A. What’s so special about this watch? Well, first of all it’s a split-seconds chronograph. What else?
This photo was taken in what was then Zaire, but is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and it highlights what happens if a small pothole is not repaired . . . it just keeps getting larger and larger until it can literally swallow trucks whole. What other stories can you suggest for this photo? Please share your suggestions in the comments.
A watch brand adding writing instruments to its repertoire is not breaking news, but it is notable when a company focuses the same amount of attention and care on its pens as it does on its watches. Such was the case when almost ten years ago now, Blancpain engaged Canadian pen designer and maker Grayson Tighe to produce its writing instruments.
Timepiece repairs can be expensive and often take a long time, so you generally want to avoid damaging a watch. It’s obvious that throwing your watch against a wall, running over it with a Bentley, or smashing it with a hammer are things to to avoid. However, not everything that can damage a watch is so obvious, so here I list five common things you may not be aware of that can damage a watch and how to prevent them.
The car is a prototype by Pininfarina for Lancia from 1957 called the “Florida II” and it was the personal car of Mr. Pinin Farina for many years. This was one of the most influentially stylistic cars of its era. But why on earth do the windscreen and steering wheel appear to be at opposite ends of the cabin? What might this car really have been designed for?
Seventeen years ago the Rallye des Princesses (Princess Rally) was staged for the first time. Adding even more elegance, glamour, and performance, Richard Mille joined the event as principle sponsor in 2015.
Richard Mille invited Nola Martin and I on this year’s road trip, which took place May 28 through June 2, 2016. We were given a shiny new BMW press car with which to follow the rally, thereby gaining firsthand experience to find out what it takes to complete this beautiful journey.
Montblanc is known for a variety of annual limited edition collections lauding renowned figures of history and art. But this new Artisan Edition pen honoring Wassily Kandinsky is designed to not only turn the spotlight on the Russian-born artist and his abstract work, but also the highly trained craftsman at Montblanc who are responsible for this sculpted, gemstone-set fountain pen.
On the wrist is a diamond-set Urwerk UR-106, but what’s going on with the Vulcan finger meld? Might it be Urwerk’s latest winding system with power transferred through finger tips? What do you think is happening in this photo? Leave your fun, funny, or sarcastic caption in the comments!
The body of this brightly colored (sign of venom?) arachnodactyly robot is actually an optically superlative loupe by Loupe Systems that I spotted at Baselworld 2016. The question this week, though, is: what is it doing . . . and what’s the lead for?
One of the most tempting propositions within the Mercedes-Benz lineup has always been the AMG version of the C-Class, and the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Coupé is now what I would call the perfect Teutonic muscle car. It will make you smile from ear to ear as you thunder up a mountain road with its aphrodisiac of a V8 engine.