In keeping with longstanding tradition, on Saturday evening our Northern California collector group held its annual pre-SIHH dinner with independent watchmaking legend Kari Voutilainen for a sneak peek at what the watchmaker will have on exhibit at the 2018 fair. Enjoy this short preview.
Waxing poetically about moon phases has gotten me excited enough to take a trip through certain “phases” of engineering excellence . Here we bring you the eight most accurate moon phases currently fitted into a wristwatch. Join us on this odyssey through space and time.
With the FVF Emotional Horology No 1 Superligero, Franc Vila moves beyond the craziness of his Cobra designs to enter the realm of handmade, complex haute horlogerie delights that evoke emotion not only with the design and composition of the watch, but also the finish. To accomplish this, Vila has teamed up with independent watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi of Akrivia.
The de Fossard Solar Time Clock isn’t so much a clock but a time-telling sculpture because it unites the past, present, and future in a single object. Its design is rather futuristic, almost timeless, and the same can be said of the mechanics, but rather than reaching into the future like the design, they go back to the heyday of clockmaking.
One of the most influential pioneers of the twentieth century in watchmaking, Dominique Renaud (of Renaud & Papi renown), had a fantastic career before “retiring” in 2000 and moving to the south of France. After years of commissions and working on new ideas, a set of very intriguing concepts led to his return in 2013 and with it a promise of once again being a pioneer in the field of horology. And now the first tangible piece is here.
Resonance. No, it is not a Tesla-themed Evanescence cover band. Resonance is a physics principle that, to be honest, most people will never need to know to go about their daily lives. So what is all the hubbub about resonance? It’s a word that is, even in the watch world, so mysterious and rare that it is heard only once or twice a decade. In this article Joshua Munchow explains how resonance works and why it matters.
The name Ming Thein should be instantly recognizable (seriously) to any ardent purveyor of all things horological, and his new brand, Ming, has made a name for itself in record time. The new 19.01 features an exclusive Schwarz-Etienne 100-hour skeletonized movement, a stunning design, and an exciting glimpse into what we might expect in the future.
Let’s be honest: nobody needs a high-end mechanical watch. That we want one is based on the different levels of how a particular watch appeals to our emotions. And in the heat of passion, we sometimes tend to forget that, as in any normal industry, companies sometimes cease to exist for a panoply of reasons. What should you consider if you own, or would still like to own, a watch made by a now-defunct brand?
When presented with the Manufacture Royale ADN I didn’t know at first that it was supposed to be an evolution of and return to the brand’s DNA – or in this case, ADN. I quickly figured out that was the intent as the piece was being described, but it took actually being told that ADN was the French variant of DNA to finally get the whole picture. Oh, the struggles of being a monoglot! Luckily this very interesting timepiece doesn’t struggle with anything, mastering dual time zones and gravity all at once.
Moritz Grossmann offers not one but two watches for the Only Watch auction, which will be held by Christie’s in Geneva on November 11, 2017. The Atum Homage set comprises a circa 1875 vintage Moritz Grossmann chronometer pocket watch made by the famous watchmaker himself plus a brand-new wristwatch counterpart emulating the historic gem.