Pre-selected Sports watches for the 2016 GPHG above clockwise from top left: Grand Seiko The Hi-Beat 36000 Professional 600m Diver’s, Hublot Techframe Ferrari Tourbillon Chronograph, MB&F Horological Machine No7 Aquapod, Montblanc TimeWalker Chronograph Rally Timer Counter Limited Edition 100, Tudor Pelagos LHD, and Ulysse Nardin Marine Regatta

Quill & Pad’s Predictions In The Sports Category Of The 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve

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A lot of great sports watches came out this year, many of which were able to break the mold of what a sports watch should look like or can do. This is vital for the industry as it retains the attention of potential buyers and shows that there is still creativity in one of the most popular watch segments. See what our panel thinks of the shortlisted watches in the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève’s Sports category.

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Pre-selected watches in the Artistic Crafts category of the 2017 GPHG: (clockwise from top left) Chopard L.U.C XP Esprit de Fleurier Peony, Hermès Slim d’Hermès Promenande de Longchamp, Konstantin Chaykin Joker, Piaget Altiplano Art & Excellence feather marquetry, Vacheron Consantin Métiers d’Art Copernicus Celestial Spheres, and Kari Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure

Our Predictions In The Artistic Crafts Category Of The 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève And Our Panel Is Unanimous

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Artistic Crafts is a Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève category for beauty; it’s as simple as that. Mastery of techniques is the only requirement, and the results are always stunning. It is also a great place to see some unique applications of skills rarely seen, allowing us to view just what artists can imagine when given such a small canvas.

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Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance

A Watchmaker’s Technical Look At The Mirrored Force Resonance Fire By Armin Strom: A Dual-Balance Watch With A Difference

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The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Fire has captivated everybody with the mesmerizing appearance of its twin balances and the unusual, long, sinuous, grey spring gently oscillating along the middle of the watch. ‘The Horological Journal’ editor and watchmaker Justin Koullapis asks the question, “Does it live up to the hyperbole?”

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The pre-selected Jewellery watches for the 2017 edition of the GPHG are shown in the image above clockwise from top left: Audemars Piguet Diamond Outrage, Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewelry, Chanel Les Eternelles de Chanel Camélia Secret Watch, Chaumet Frise Divine, Chopard Lotus Blanc, and Piaget Hide & Seek Manchette.

Our Predictions In The Jewellery Category Of The 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie De Genève

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Welcome to our predictions for the winner of the Jewellery category of the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in which the team members pick their favorites and explain what they like, don’t like, and why.

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Exercise in coherence: Rolex GMT Master II

Focus On Materials: Primer On The Science of Steel, The Stuff Of Cases, Mainsprings, Hairsprings, Pinions, Escapements And The Backbone Of Watchmaking

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Today I want to talk about steel: the metal that made the world! Watch cases and other movement components are commonly made from certain stainless steels, 304 and 316L being the most common. It also happens that some brands hold exclusive rights to use specific alloys in the production of its watches. Here’s what you should know about steel.

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Parting shot: double tourbillon, Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1

How To (And Not To) Photograph A Watch

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One of the great pleasures of being a contributor here at Quill & Pad is that it gives me an excuse to set aside other priorities on a regular basis and immerse myself in the world of macro watch photography. Along the way, I’ve been asked by a number of folks to reveal techniques that I use to create the images you see in my articles, so here are some of my tips.

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Tiffany Rolex Submariner Reference 1680 owned by Sylvester Stallone from from 'A Man and His Watch'

Book Review: ‘A Man And His Watch’ Features Personal Watch Stories And A Few WIS Surprises

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‘A Man and His Watch’ by Matt Hranek is full of interesting horological stories of personal histories and backgrounds to well-known figures in the watch world, semi-famous New Yorkers, and famous vintage watches. Here you can meet Paul Newman’s own Rolex Daytona, Sylvester Stallone’s favorite watch, and RedBar co-founder Adam Craniotes’ very first timepiece.

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Roger Dubuis Excalibur Carbon Spider

Focus On Technology: Plastics In Watches And Why We Are Likely To See More Of Them

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Exotic materials: love them or hate them? And where are you in regard to plastics, which are ever-increasingly appearing in wristwatch cases and movements?

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Patek Philippe Beta 21 and advertisment (photo courtesy Atom Moore and Christie's)

Quartz: Past, Present, But No Future?

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Nothing can stir up the watch world these days quite as much the launch of a new Apple watch. For some it’s a must-have gadget, for others it just isn’t a real watch. But perhaps quartz watches face more competition from smartwatches than mechanical watches. Does quartz even have a real future?

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Peter Speake-Marin at watchmaker's bench

Guest Post: Peter Speake-Marin Explains His Reasons For The Naked Watchmaker (A Tale In Time)

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In 1985 I walked into Hackney Technical College; the course on horology had already started two weeks earlier, but I was welcomed on board. And so began my education in horology. But how did I come to found The Naked Watchmaker?

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