Joshua Munchow genuinely loves moon phase watches, and here he looks at the most accurate moon phase wristwatches in existence. Their precision is truly out of this world!
The Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1L features an age-of-the-moon indication tied to an ultra-precise moon phase display. It also discerns the direction of phase (waxing or waning) to signify where in the lunar cycle the moon is. And all presented using some cool mechanics and very clever design.
Ever since Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele created the Ferdinand Berthoud brand Martin Green has been a fan. Here Martin shares impressions from a recent visit to the boutique brand’s workshop in Fleurier.
For a niche brand yet to celebrate its third birthday, Ferdinand Berthoud has made quite a horological impact: its Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 won the prestigious Aiguille d’Or at the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. And now for 2018, the nascent brand presents an interesting and well-finished regulator: the Chronomètre FB 1R.6-1.
There was much to enjoy at Dubai Watch Week 2017’s day 2, but the best part wasn’t written on the formal schedule: it was the many moments throughout the day when little knots of people gathered here and there to chat about watches – and not just any people, but the who’s who of watchmaking from all over the world with “ordinary” watch fans welcomed to join in. For that alone, Dubai Watch Week is unlike any other horological event in the world.
The Quill & Pad panel reflects on watchmaking’s biggest night: the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, often described as the Oscars of watchmaking. In this segment, we chat about what we liked and what we didn’t like, which watches won and why we think they did.
We also express a bit of dismay at times.
The first timepiece to emerge from the new Ferdinand Berthoud brand is called FB 1. “It has to be something special,” said the man behind the reborn brand, Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. And special it was: so special that the FB 1 took the Aiguille d’Or, the top prize at the 2016 GPHG. Read on to discover why.
The first timepiece to emerge from the new Ferdinand Berthoud brand is called FB 1. It is intended as a natural continuation of the work accomplished by Ferdinand Berthoud. “It has to be something special,” said the man behind the reborn brand, Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. “It’s a big responsibility to make the first Berthoud wristwatch meaningful and contemporary.”
Ferdinand Berthoud was born in 1727 in Switzerland. When he passed away in 1807, after having lived most of his life in Paris, he left behind a vast body of work in marine chronometers, clocks and watches, tools, scientific measuring instruments, and written publications including dozens of specialized books and treatises encompassing 4,000 pages and 120 engraved plates. The search for precision was his life. But why are we bringing this up now?