For those of you who are regular readers of GaryG’s “Behind the Lens” series, it’s no secret that he and his watch pals are big fans of independent watchmaking. Here Gary points his lens up close to a rare McGonigle Tuscar One Of Ten.
Roger Smith holds a special place in the pantheon of independent watchmaking, both on his own merits and as the man who worked most closely with the legendary George Daniels. While any Smith watch is rare, the particular Series 2 is unique: it’s the only watch in stainless steel that Smith has yet produced.
A generous friend recently offered GaryG the opportunity to shoot his white gold Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II so that Gary is able to share delightful photos of both his custom pink gold Chronograph II in comparison with his friend’s custom white gold version.
As part of his “enthusiast collector” role at Quill & Pad, GaryG takes a look at watches that strike his fancy, sharing the visual results with our readers along with a few observations on photography, the watches themselves, and the collectors who own them. In this installment of Behind The Lens, GaryG takes on the formidable F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain.
The buyer of this unique-piece Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II was inspired by the look of the F.P. Journe “Black Label” Chronomètre Souverain already in his collection. And GaryG finally gets it into his light tent, sharing not only what he thinks, but also what he sees behind his lens.
For this edition of Behind the Lens, GaryG shares a series of photographs of one of the great watches of our time, the Philippe Dufour Duality. The Duality, with its linked twin escapements, was originally planned for production in a series of 25 watches. In a turn of events that seems almost unbelievable today, a lack of initial demand eventually led Dufour to limit production to just nine pieces, one of which is owned by a good friend of Gary’s.
For this special article, GaryG has the pleasure of covering the wonderful Grönefeld One Hertz. For a watch fanatic, and especially for lovers of independent watch brands, it’s a dream come true to meet the makers of the watches that we admire. With the Grönefeld brothers, it’s that pleasure multiplied by two.
It was with great interest (as a watch enthusiast) and some trepidation (as a humble photography student of polymath Ming Thein) that GaryG took on the task of photographing a pre-production example of Ming’s latest, Model 19.02 GMT.
In the Behind the Lens series, GaryG presents great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives, while at the same time passing along a few thoughts on what it’s like to shoot these pieces. And, from time to time, a helpful technical hint or two. And great watches don’t come much better than the Philippe Dufour Simplicity.
In this edition of ‘Behind the Lens,’ GaryG pays tribute to the introduction of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 25 years ago on October 24, 1994. He brings us stunning images of two very special variants of the classic watch: the rare Cellini limited edition, of which only 25 were made for the New York City retailer, and the even rarer stainless steel Lange 1, which was not a limited edition per se but is certainly a (very) limited sort-of production watch.