The short documentary film ‘Time Piece’ features two of the world’s best living watchmakers, Philippe Dufour and Vianney Halter, and provides excellent insight into what makes the watches by these masters so special.
It’s no secret: GaryG is an immense admirer of Philippe Dufour. Part of greatness, of course, is leaving a legacy; not only through one’s works, but in the skills and inspiration passed on to those who follow, which Dufour has liberally done. But who, if anyone, will history regard as the lineal heir to the Dufour tradition? Gary has reached what may seem a counterintuitive conclusion: Romain Gauthier.
Ahead of Geneva Watch Days at the end of August and the European summer break, some independent watch brands have announced new watches. Here, Elizabeth Doerr highlights three of these new watches with eye-catching dials that really caught her own eye.
When brands look to the past to find the absolute best details to combine into a killer timepiece, the result can be a terrific diver, a classy chronograph, or, in the case of American watchmaking company RGM, a fantastic pocket watch-inspired, enamel-dialed wristwatch like the Pennsylvania Series 801 Classic Enamel. Joshua Munchow feels this watch stands apart as a culmination of the brand’s ideology.
Is it possible to make a watch providing a novel and entertaining display of time that is wearable in a variety of settings and will be respected years from now? GaryG believes that he owns such a piece: the Upside Down made by independent watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard.
Philippe Dufour is the epitome of traditional watchmaking, and it was his time-only Simplicity that really brought the Vallée de Joux-based watchmaker horological fame. Here The Naked Watchmaker deconstructs three examples of this watch for our pleasure.
Late in 2015 the news came through that A.H.C.I. co-founder Svend Andersen had sold his company. But how did Andersen get here? Let’s take a quick tour of more than half a century’s worth of independent horology the Danish way to find out, which includes an extravaganza of worldtimers, unusual erotic watches, and even poker-playing dogs.
With auction prices soaring, it was a good time for an auction house to be offering rare timepieces by the world’s best independent watchmakers. And a 1999 Millennium wristwatch by George Daniels and Roger Smith offered in Bonhams’ sale on June 16, 2021 set an auction record for a British-made wristwatch!
In the Behind the Lens series, GaryG presents great watches as seen from a variety of visual perspectives while at the same time passing along a few thoughts on what it’s like to shoot these great watches. And they don’t come much greater than the Philippe Dufour Simplicity.
The click spring is one of the smaller components of a mechanical watch, but it is of enormous importance. Ever wondered why the crown doesn’t retaliate furiously and unwind every time you crank it? Without the click spring, a wound mainspring would immediately – and explosively – uncoil like a raging viper in a hat box.