A grail watch can be pretty much anything. But one thing a grail watch always is is personal. Very personal. I was introduced to my personal grail watch by a close friend of mine who had recently treated himself to a new watch: a pre-Collection Privée Cartier Paris Louis Cartier Tank in platinum.
Though this cautionary example of buying a new watch online is not new, with the current influx (or perhaps “flood” is a better word) of grey market watches to mainstream channels it’s perhaps more poignant today than ever before. Read how you can protect yourself when buying pre-owned timepieces from unknown online sources.
This is the second year in a row that I’ve had the opportunity to attend the November watch auctions in Geneva. On last year’s trip, a good friend and I had the pleasure of participating in several events organized by Patek Philippe as well as the biennial OnlyWatch auction. This year, we returned for the previews and salesroom action at major houses including Phillips, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s.
As read by you, here are the Top 10 most viewed articles on Quill & Pad for 2016. A few may even provide a (pleasant) surprise. So without further ado and in no particular order we present the top 10 most popular posts of 2016.
Many watches hold a special significance for their owners. The watch I am chronicling here didn’t just change someone’s life, it changed MY life: the Jean Daniel Nicolas Two-Minute Tourbillon by Daniel Roth.
One evening while we were sipping away at his ex-wife’s stock of 1945 Pétrus, my buddy Slippery Steve and I contemplated a few of the essential questions in life, the kind that rarely find a real answer. Where do I come from? Is there life after death? Can I wear brown shoes after 6:00 PM? Is my Audemars Piguet a fake? Following on that conversation, Slippery Steve and I offer you six easy ways to recognize if your watch is fake.
What sells watches? This is the 20 billion Swiss franc question in today’s challenging economic climate.For at least part of the answer to what sells watches (and how to buy them in down markets), we can learn a lot from two of the steadiest performers in the watch industry.
Here begins a very special three-part series looking at, and listening to, two of Patek Philippe’s splendid minute repeaters: References 5074P and 5078P. If there’s any curiosity about which of the two I prefer, I’ll get that question out of the way right now: I consider the 5074P to be one of the finest contemporary wristwatches; it is a piece that awes me every time I handle one.
This photo was taken of just a few of the watches at a recent collector’s GTG (get-togtether) in Brisbane, Australia.
But what else could explain this diverse array of mechanical marvels?
And I’ll add bonus points for naming all of the watches correctly.
When collectors gather anywhere and talk about their collections, recent purchases, and executed or potential sales, there’s a term that comes up more often than not: “getting hurt.” Here I provide a master class in how not to get hurt in the world of watch collecting.