The pounding of the drum backbeat and tick-tick-ticking of the mechanical watch form the background of my life, day in and day out. But what do these two fields concretely have in common?
Right at this moment in time they have two seemingly disparate Swiss made references welding them together: Paiste cymbals and Corum. Add Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice to the mix, and the whole thing looks, and sounds, amazing!
I have a fairly narrow frame of reference when it comes to buying watches for myself: my taste runs to independents, in-house movements, and superlative hand-finishing. So why on earth am I sitting here typing about the Corum Bubble, which is from a big (for me) brand and outfitted with an ETA 2892 movement with an industrial finish? Well, this is why I bought it.
When writing ‘Bridging Art and Mechanics: The Unabridged Story of the Corum Golden Bridge,’ I discovered much more about Corum’s artistic co-founder, René Bannwart, including the fact that he was the creator of Omega’s flagship Constellation and Seamaster lines.
In 2015, the Bubble, now 15 years old, makes a reappearance in Corum’s Heritage collection. Like other Heritage timepieces, the new Bubble is not simply a replica of what was. Naturally, it has been slightly altered to fit the times, which lends it a whole new proportion. It’s both bigger and funkier than ever.
I have always been a big fan of the Corum Golden Bridge thanks to its mechanical beauty, austere minimalism, and trademark transparency, which paradoxically almost seems mysterious, even though it doesn’t hide a thing. The Golden Bridge has gone through very few changes since its introduction in 1980. Until a dragon was added.
You may be familiar with the old Christmas diddy “The Twelve Days Of Christmas.” Let me sing you the final verse of this song, including what my true love gave to me on the twelfth and final day, in horological terms…
Before I realized that I loved watches I was sure that I loved mechanical things, and stood in awe of the many mechanisms and contraptions that I saw over my young life. I eventually became aware of watches and the amazing marvels that they held within. To me, the Corum Golden Bridge stood out as an example of perfect horological exhibitionism.
Few of China Haidan group’s acquisitions in the luxury watch sector have made more recent headlines in the world of watches than the jewel among them, Corum. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. China Haidian’s group communications director, Marie-Alexandrine Leibowitch, responded to my queries regarding the recent ousting of former CEO Antonio Calce and yesterday’s dismissal of head watchmaker Laurent Besse along with a few other employees.