As a fan of the classic 1950s and 1960s Omega Constellations, Colin Smith had always dismissed Omega’s 1982 reworking of its flagship model, known as the Constellation Manhattan, as something of an aberration from the “true” Constellation concept. His “road to Damascus” moment occurred recently when he saw a 36 mm black-dial co-axial chronometer on display at an Omega dealer in Bordeaux.
When perpetual calendars are too complicated but a simple calendar just doesn’t cut it anymore because nearly half the months have less than 31 days, it’s five adjusts a year too many for some. But don’t fret, there is a middle ground between the most basic calendar watches and complex perpetual calendars. The annual calendar automatically adjusts for each month with 30 or 31 days, meaning just one adjust for the owner in February. Here’s a brief history of the complication.
If you were to ask people about the first watch they received as a child, the majority would probably say it was a Timex. And although LIP was at one point the world’s seventh largest watch manufacturer, it’s now little known outside France. Both companies share an extremely turbulent past one aspect of which Colin Smith shares with us here.
Loved the world over by collectors and watch brands alike, the Zenith El Primero has been keeping the world on time since 1969. And Rolex choosing to use the movement was high praise for Zenith indeed. The El Primero is still considered an exceptional chronograph to this day, and watchmaker Aston Tracy explains why.
1969 marked the introduction of the world’s first self-winding chronographs. These were presented by Zenith with its El Primero, Seiko with the 5 Speedtimer, and an illustrious group consisting of Breitling, Heuer/Leonidas, and Hamilton/Büren, with the Chronomatic Caliber 11. Sabine Zwettler takes us through the history and looks at three of the latest-generation commemorative automatic chronographs by these early pioneers.
When writing ‘Bridging Art and Mechanics: The Unabridged Story of the Corum Golden Bridge,’ Elizabeth Doerr 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.
Nothing can stir up the watch world these days quite as much the launch of a new Apple watch. For some it’s a must-have gadget, for others it just isn’t a real watch. But perhaps quartz watches face more competition from smartwatches than mechanical watches. Does quartz even have a real future?
If you’ve been lucky enough to travel to the “four corners” area of the southwestern United States (where U.S. states Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico “meet”), then you may have seen or even visited some of the cliff dwellings built by the ancient natives formerly known as Anasazi. Read on to find out what we know about how this ancient tribe of people now known as the Ancestral Puebloans kept time and why.
Contemplating the 30-meter-high ancient pyramid at Mayan archaeological site Chichén Itzá in the blazing Yucatán sunlight, Elizabeth Doerr was awestruck by the structure’s complexity. Not just because of the pure historical ramifications of the pyramid and temple known as El Castillo, but also because of its timekeeping capabilities. Yes, you read that right: timekeeping capabilities!
In 1783, just as the queen of France, Marie Antoinette, was sitting for a portrait, an officer of the queen’s guard visited Abraham-Louis Breguet’s workshop: Queen Marie Antoinette desired a pocket watch containing all known horological complications at the time. It took 44 years to complete and is perhaps the most famous watch in history, as much for its intriguing story as its ingenious mechanics.