Unmistakable style: Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon

Behind The Lens: Beat Haldimann’s H1 Flying Central Tourbillon

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In my view, every successful independent watchmaker has elements of a “house style” that may attract some buyers and put off others, but nonetheless sets him or her apart. And, at the highest level, this style goes beyond “branding” to become an expression of the personality and artistic vision of the creator. In the picturesque Swiss town of Thun, Beat Haldimann and his small team distinguish themselves by focusing on technical virtuosity of the highest order, as typified by the Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon.

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Aurora borealis in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Time-Lapse Of Aurora Borealis In Jackson Hole, Wyoming

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While on holiday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming I thought that I would take advantage of the moonless, clear sky and try my hand at shooting a time-lapse series of photos of the stars rotating. I set up my Canon 5D Mk III on a tripod pointing roughly north with the following settings: Lens: 35 -70 mm set to 35 mm; F: 4.0; ISO: 1600 and shutter: 30 seconds. This is the big surprise that I got!

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The ‘Watch’ painting by American artist Gerald Murphy

‘Watch’ Painting By American Artist Gerald Murphy On Display In Dallas Museum Of Art

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A visit to Dallas, Texas gifted me with a surprise: I came across a very large painting simply entitled ‘Watch’ at the Dallas Museum of Art. Further inquiry into its painter, Gerald Murphy, revealed a fun historical anecdote and a bit of a mystery. Why did Murphy paint a giant Cubist impression of two watches in 1925, and which watches were they?

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The 2015 Rolls Royce Dawn

Rolls-Royce Dawn: The Digital Age Arrives For The World’s Most Traditional Automobile

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The original Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn saw the light of day in 1952. This ultra-famous name in the Rolls-Royce repertoire has been used only 28 times since then. Fast forward to September 8, 2015, when Rolls-Royce did something unprecedented: it streamed the press conference of its latest creation on the worldwide web. The brand-new Rolls-Royce Dawn is officially a product of the digital age!

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Part of Balcony House in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

How The Native American Ancestral Puebloans Kept Track Of Time

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If you’ve been lucky enough to travel to the “four corners” area of the southwestern United States (where U.S. states Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico “meet”), then you may have seen or even visited some of the cliff dwellings built by ancient native Americans that were erroneously called Anasazi for thousands of years and now go by the term Ancestral Puebloans. Read on to find out what we know about how this ancient tribe of people kept time and why they needed to do so.

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Fountain pen from the Montblanc M collection

The Montblanc M With Marc Newson Heralds a New Generation Of Pens

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There’s no doubt that the M is a Montblanc pen, due in part to its glossy black body and crowning snowcap. But the similarity ends where the transcendence begins, thanks to Australian designer Marc Newson’s signature biomorphic style. For the first time in Montblanc’s history, a fountain pen’s gold nib is plated in two tones using rhodium and ruthenium. But that’s not all.

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The courtesy Porsche at Chopard's Hôtel De Vendôme in Paris

Hôtel de Vendôme In The Heart Of Paris: Now Owned By Chopard

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I recently had the chance to spend two nights at the Hôtel de Vendôme, which is situated as the gateway to Paris’ swankiest shopping square: Place Vendôme. I stayed there as a guest of Chopard on the way to Le Mans, and this is when I learned a very interesting fact: the beautifully appointed hotel housed within an eighteenth-century mansion now belongs to the Swiss brand.

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Nixie Machine for MB&F by Frank Buchwald, idea and Nixie tubes by Alberto Schileo

Science Fiction Incarnate: Frank Buchwald’s Nixie Machine For MB&F

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When you think of fantasy and science fiction, what do you think of? I sometimes allow my imagination to drift into the paranormal and early twentieth-century years of discovery. This is the world that inspired the creation of Frank Buchwald’s latest creation for the M.A.D. Gallery, which is, of course, the Nixie Machine, a fantabulous clock featuring rare and giant Nixie tubes produced in the 1960s by the state-owned RFT in East Germany. I can imagine this clock in a variety of fictional settings from the worlds of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and even Isaac Asimov.

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Imperial Black Visconti Millionaire

Visconti’s Marvelous Marble Pens: Look Out, Michelangelo!

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Dante Del Vecchio’s love of culture and innovation led him to found Visconti, an Italian brand with a remarkable assortment of pens, watches and accessories. Each of the collections tells a story – about art, archaeology, philosophy, literature or history – through the eyes the founder and, of course, his chosen city: Florence. Historically used as the material for creating sculpture, architecture, and objets d’art, Visconti is now using marble for its latest pen collection, Millionaire. Crafting a marble pen, however, is not simple.

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Is The Biggest Risk To National Security The Apple Watch And Fitness Bands?

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Security breaches of company databases have been in the news recently, but what if there was a spy who knew everything you were doing, including when you slept, ate, had sex, exercised, and worked – at what and for how long. A spy that monitored not just what you were doing, but how you were doing it, for how long, and how well. Have you really thought about what your fitness bracelet knows?

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