As much as I love watches, I love the people who are occupied with our specialized hobby even more! So, you can imagine that I immediately began scheming about how to route my travels through New York when I opened my inbox one morning several weeks ago to find this message: “You are invited: invitation to the F.P. Journe Tourbillon Anniversary Event.”
There aren’t many gifts one can give that will endure the test of time as well as a watch will. A gift of a timepiece has the air of timelessness, of endurance, and of value. Each and every watch that I have ever been given has a very special story. Here are some examples and brief histories of a few of them.
So now that the dust has settled on the recent Phillips Start-Stop-Reset auction of stainless steel chronographs in Geneva, a sale that saw 100 percent of its 88 lots sold, I’d like to focus on a watch that I thought stood out from the very strong field.
This is a family affair: a story of my wife Brigitte, her horse Gucci, my father Neil, and an engraved Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique. And this is a good example of how and why you might want to commission a work of art on the back of a Reverso. Or not.
I thought what might be useful is to learn how to choose a great watch salesperson when you’re looking to purchase a watch or even get one serviced. So here are my professional tips for choosing the right sales professional for your horological needs.
Horophiles are pretty unique people and we have some pretty unique traits and habits. In the theme of Jeff Foxworthy and his “you might be a redneck if” routine, I’d like to poke a little fun at our WIS brothers and sisters as well as ourselves. So without further ado, you know you’re a watch guy if . . .
It is with a bit of trepidation that I turn my attention to independent watches from Baselworld 2016 that are now on my “desire” list; we’ll see whether any of these watches from Sarpaneva, Grönefeld, Voutilainen, Akriva or even Renaud & Papi make it onto my wrist as a result! In the meantime, enjoy these gorgeous timepieces.
André Kusni is only 17 years old, yet the teenager already owns several horological masterpieces and plans on collecting many more. Kusni first came in contact with fine watches when his grandmother gifted him a Rolex Submariner Deepsea Sea-Dweller. Since then, the fortunate teenager lives his passion, now mostly attracted to rather rare watches made by independent boutique brands.
Two of Elvis Presley’s watches are being offered in the upcoming auction “Music Icons 2016,” held by Julien’s and taking place on May 21, 2016 at the Hard Rock Café in New York City. Both the Mathey-Tissot day-date and Waltham pocket watch are in good shape and offer interesting backstories.
The last time I wrote here on Quill & Pad about my relationship with the world’s greatest mass luxury brand was last year when I explained ‘Why I’ve Never Owned a Rolex – And Why I Might Yet.’ Well, to know me is to know that if I say I “might yet” buy something it’s likely only a matter of time. So, too, with this Rolex: the GMT Master II BLNR “Batman” with black-and-blue bezel.