Léon Hatot and Blancpain met in 1929 and Hatot revealed his prototype of a revolutionary movement with automatic winding: the inside of the Rolls case included a rail on which the whole movement moved up and down on ball bearings, powered by the motion of its owner and providing the name for this unique timepiece right out of the history books.
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.
I had never imagined I could be jealous of myself until after I stepped out of the Corsa yellow Lamborghini Huracan that I had just pushed beyond my experience of everyday physics during an exhilarating five laps at the historic Sebring Motor Speedway. The time behind the wheel of the Huracan changed me forever and I immediately burned to be the guy that had been in the car, not the guy now walking away from it.
The evening of Thursday, October 29, 2015 played host to the red-carpet gala evening in Geneva for the presentation of prizes in the 2015 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. We will be sharing our thoughts and insights on the winners of the big night, and why those not so lucky may have missed out. But without further ado, here are the brands and watches that went home with a well-deserved trophy.
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Sports category are the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, the Harry Winston Project Z9, Seiko’s Prospex Marinemaster Professional Diver’s 1000m Hi-Beat 36000, the Tudor Pelagos, and the Zenith El Primero Sport.
Welcome to the 2015 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) predictions in which we pick our favorites and explain why. The six pre-selected finalists in the Calendar category are: Blancpain’s Villeret Quantième Complet, the Claude Meylan Full Calendar, Hermès’ soon-to-be-iconic Slim d’Hermès QP, Hublot’s Classic Fusion Aeromoon, the Tiffany & Co CT60 Annual Calendar, and Ulysse Nardin’s FreakLab.
The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) has just published the list of 2015’s pre-selected watches in the run-up to the big red carpet event in Geneva on October 29. The pre-selected watches will go on a world tour that includes stops in Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai, Geneva, and London in October and November. But enough preamble, let’s have a look at the watches that are now in serious contention to take home big prizes this year.
For Quill & Pad’s themed “Ladies’ Week” in my role as resident collector, my thoughts turned immediately to that other collector in my life: my charming wife. MrsG is perhaps most enthusiastic about her collection of Southwestern Native American arts and jewelry, but let’s get started with a look at her interesting watches, which include excellent examples from Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain, Alain Silberstein, Audemars Piguet, and more.
The most significant difference between the tourbillon and the karussel is that Bonniksen’s device is driven by the third wheel (the transmission wheel between the wheels driving the minutes and seconds) instead of the fourth wheel (which also drives the second hand) like Breguet’s revolving whirlwind. This fact makes the karussel much sturdier and less prone to shock than the traditional tourbillon. But that’s not all: what about a watch that combines both? Extraordinary!
The very solid and spacious tent on the grounds of the La Reserve hotel in Geneva on May 10, 2015 turned out to be a very special time and place as the world’s most prestigious watches went under the hammer for the inaugural Phillips Watches auction in association with Bacs & Russo. Let’s have a look at how a few of the most interesteing pieces did at this premier event, which was presided over by auction guru Aurel Bacs.