For this special article, GaryG has the pleasure of covering the wonderful Grönefeld One Hertz. For a watch fanatic, and especially for lovers of independent watch brands, it’s a dream come true to meet the makers of the watches that we admire. With the Grönefeld brothers, it’s that pleasure multiplied by two.
It was with great interest (as a watch enthusiast) and some trepidation (as a humble photography student of polymath Ming Thein) that GaryG took on the task of photographing a pre-production example of Ming’s latest, Model 19.02 GMT.
The Two-Minute Tourbillon by Jean Daniel Nicolas is a watch that changed Ian Skellern’s life. Read how right here!
Kari Voutilainen listened to his fans and created a watch that fulfills the oft-repeated desire “I almost want to wear the watch backwards because that movement is so beautiful!” The inverted 28ti does just that.
Here at Quill & Pad we are quite smitten by Romain Gauthier’s award-winning Logical One. But one thing that often gets glossed over somewhat is the subject of one of this watch’s four patents: the incredible high-precision chain made of synthetic ruby links. Combined with the snail cam, it is this element that provides the ingenious movement with constant force.
Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva is one of the men who has dared to venture down the road of fiber optics, though this is part of something much bigger for the independent watchmaker: his first in-house movement, aka ‘moonment,’ which powers his new Lunations timepiece. And it has Joshua Munchow howling!
GaryG encountered Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker, whose “face” is literally just that: two googly eyes show the hours and minutes with their respective pupils and a lolling red tongue displays the phase of the moon. He was transfixed, moments later placing his order. Find out why here.
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 pieces. And, from time to time, a helpful technical hint or two. And great watches don’t come much better than the Philippe Dufour Simplicity.
Ah, gift giving! If there’s another ostensibly positive activity so burdened with the risk of a negative outcome, GaryG has yet to find it. And a watch that looks like a skull for a special present isn’t perhaps a conventional choice, but he had no doubt that this particular skull would receive an enthusiastic reception. Find out why right here.
Why do high-end watches cost so much? To answer the question, Ian Skellern looked at low production numbers and high complexity, but the cost he focuses on here is hand-finishing, because unlike low production numbers and high complexity, ultra-high-level hand-finishing is not easy to appreciate.