As a reminder that Ian Skellern is getting old, it seems like it was only yesterday that Urwerk was a brash young startup, however 2022 sees the brand celebrating its 25th anniversary. For him, the one timepiece that encapsulates the most of Urwerk in one watch is the incredible UR-112 Aggregat.
Urwerk is developing an artistic design series to honor historical cultures that have related to time. The first is the UR-100V Time and Culture, which focuses on the Aztec sun stone.
GaryG encountered Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker, whose “face” is literally just that: two googly eyes show the hours and minutes with their respective pupils while a lolling red tongue displays the phase of the moon. He was transfixed, moments later placing his order. Find out why here.
Konstantin Chaykin’s Moscow Comptus Easter Clock masterpiece isn’t designed for the wrist but for the mantel. And it presents further evidence that the man Joshua Munchow dubs the “Wonderboy Russian Watchmaker” is one of the greatest watch- and clockmakers in the game today.
“I have no secrets as past watchmakers had. There are graveyards full of secrets and that’s enough.” – Philippe Dufour, 2014. That quote alone is enough to understand why he matters. But, as GaryG writes, there is much more.
There is a wide variety of criteria that Martin Green might apply to make a list of his top 5 watches of 2021, but he has chosen to follow the most important one: whether when he first saw the watch it brought a rush of excitement and continues to do so every time he sees it. Here he shares his five favorites of 2021, and some may surprise you.
John McGonigle has launched the H-B1, the first watch under his solo brand Oileán. It’s a beautifully hand-finished triple-calendar column wheel chronograph powered by a highly modified new-old stock Valjoux 88 movement. While not cheap, Ian Skellern thinks it’s the best value-for-money, exquisitely hand-finished, complicated watch he has ever seen.
Elizabeth Doerr was particularly pleased to receive a copy of ‘Konstantin Chaykin: Haute Horlogerie With Russian Soul’ and to discover it was expertly written by Alexey Kutkovoy, both of whom she has known and respected for many years. Her verdict? “There is nothing left to say but ‘spectacular’.”
Koen Simon is a 26-year-old watch collector from The Netherlands. A regular reader of Quill & Pad, he is a fan of high-end watchmaking. He recently sent us this story about how and why he acquired his rare two-tone Orion timepiece by Christiaan van der Klaauw, which we are pleased to share here.
Stephen McGonigle, owner and co-founder of McGonigle watches, has been regularly asked by friends and watch aficionados over the years to make something that they could afford – or at least aspire to. Making a relatively affordable watch that he could be proud of was a challenge. A challenge McGonigle has met with the first watch from his new Magon brand: the Fórsa Titanium, an automatic column wheel chronograph in a distinctive tonneau-shaped case.