Pinball machines may not be made in large numbers like they once were, but now, thanks to Hautlence and its cleverly conceived Playground collection, there is a brand-new pinball machine for enthusiasts – one that, of course, fits like a wristwatch.
Here I share photos of a few of the new timepieces that I saw during Baselworld 2017, chosen primarily for their aesthetic styling. My favorites are neither all Swiss, nor are they mainly French, but interestingly, though not deliberately, are mostly German.
Please join our traditional Quill & Pad round table discussion on Baselworld 2017, where we discuss what we did and didn’t like at at the world’s largest annual watch exhibition.
The retrograde indication is one of my favorite “Because We Can” (BWC) complications. Gears are an amazing invention and have allowed watchmakers to make incredible creations. Simple gear systems leave a multitude of openings for creativity. Look at some great examples of it here!
Have you ever realized that some people just don’t get jokes? When during Baselworld 2016 Hautlence released something unusual called Labyrinth, I knew things were about to get fun. And fun they got!
Skulls are much more than a depiction of the bones that hold the human face in shape and our brains in place. Used in many types of art, they are deeply symbolic, often representing themes of mortality. Take a quick symbolic journey with us back to Baselworld 2016 and discover skull-infused functional objects by Speake-Marin, Hublot, HYT, Hautlence, and Edelberg.
Bronze, a copper-and-tin alloy some have described as “living” due to its beautiful way of patinating, seems to be making something of a comeback, which is certainly thanks to the beauty of the material. Is it becoming a trend? You can answer for yourself as here we show you five bronze watches we found at Baselworld 2016.
Please join our Quill & Pad round table discussion on Baselworld 2016. This time we take on some of the same topics that GaryG and his collector group use to the discuss their impressions of a watch fair: best of show, worst of show, watch you would buy with your own money, watch you would buy if money were no object, investment watch, patronage watch, fun watch, and a fantasy money no object watch.
Post-SIHH reports indicate that the inclusion of the so-called indies was a big success for both visitors and the small brands alike, but also that there was a little grumbling from some of the large established SIHH brands generated by the fact that visitors to the fair remarked − with justification − that there were more interesting watches in the Carré des Horlogers than in the rest of the SIHH altogether. What can the industry learn from their inclusion in 2016’s first fair?
As the SIHH closes its doors, the Hautlence team will no longer include co-founder Guillaume Tetu. At the end of 2015, Tetu announced that he would be leaving his own company to “take up a new challenge.” So what happens to Hautlence now? Read on to find out.
